Epic Fail / My first try

[BACKTOSHOOTING]

Well after a lot of reading on all the different lube recepies avail to make like most other first timers i tried to make a very simple Beeswax and Lee alox mix today and the results were to say the least, an Epic Failure.
I started with very slowly melting a half pound of bees wax and added 2 oz of Lee alox and mixed, and mixed and mixed in a tin brownie pan on top of my hot plate with a saw blade on top [My mold heater]
At first it seamed to be going well but the alox would not compleatly melt and blend, Had small particals thru out so i increased the heat to try and get it to melt but it didnt change at all so i shut it down, added 1 teaspoon of lanolin and decided that this would be "good enough".
I then remembered i had a 1/2 stick of the alox that came with a Lee pan lube kit i had so i turned the hot plate back on and added it to the mix and started stiring with a wood paint stirrer and the alox started to ball up and stick to the stirrer and in just a few minuets i had a ball of tar that seamed to be about 2 oz, an inch around and 3 inches long that seamed to be burnt and after it cooled it was dry and would break apart with out any stickiness at all.

I am assuming that i got it to hot but i dont under stand why the alox would not blend compleatly the first heat cycle.

Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Steve

[Jim..47]

I'm just tagging along for the answers. Good luck!

[Full Mold Jack]

I'm no lube expert but did you pick a recipe and follow it?

I made up a double boiler with two pots to avoid burning the ingredients and my first lube came out great, although there's no LLA in it.

[bangerjim]

There are a thousand and one "witch's brew" formulas for the "perfect" lube. I have never found one! Search this site and also google it. You will be reading for a looooooooong time.

I gave up and use 45/45/10 formula when I absolutely need to grease lube.

I powder coat all my boolits now and that eliminates any and all need for greasy lubes, be it in pans, expensive lube sizers, etc. Guys report cranking them up to high FPS rifle speeds with no leading. I shoot pistol loads only.

Check the thread here on the forum for powder coating!

bangerjim

[C.F.Plinker]

Alox makes many products and IIRC the Alox 350 (plus a little microwax) that is mixed with beeswax to make the 50-50 lube is different than the type of Alox that is used in Lee Liquid Alox.

[fryboy]

LLA also has it's own solvents added

ummm alox is a burnt grease ( in essence anyways ) it'd hardly be hurt by merely getting it too hot or perhaps even scorched , the beeswax however is a different critter altogether ( double ditto that on the lanolin and it scorches at a much much lower temp than the beeswax does) , as to why your experiment failed ... some of that failing is perhaps a matter of perception - a man has to try pretty hard to mess up a batch of flux , but i've no clue as to why it balled up as you describe other than perhaps the total of your mix the "tar" may be separated/congealed alox ?

[gunoil]

I been using alox since my long career if year and 1/2 casting/reloading. I had to give up, it whipped my ,, I recently bought Hi-Tek-Supercoat. Never look back, i guess i like being a amature! A man knows his own luck.

[shadowcaster]

My only experience with alox is from dip or tumble lubing, using it either straight or in the 45-45-10 mix. My other go to pan lube is beeswax and crisco based, and does not have any alox in it. I'm not sure what the fix would be..

Shad

[YunGun]

I'm hardly an expert, but as I just made up my own batch of 50/50 this past weekend I'll chime in...

it was dry and would break apart with out any stickiness at all.

I don't think you added enough Alox. "2oz alox : 8oz (1/2lb) beeswax" which means you had about a 1:4 ratio of alox to beeswax (instead of 1:1), & perhaps just didn't STIR it enough...?

I didn't really even measure anything; grated/slivered some beeswax in a cheapo $10 WM 2qt crockpot & let it heat on 'high' for probably almost 30 minutes, monitoring it & stirring frequently to prevent scorching, etc. Once the beeswax was thoroughly melted, I dunked the tip of a wooden dowel rod into the melt for a couple seconds, then removed it & marked a line with a sharpie. I then measured the height of the beeswax on the dowel rod & made another mark roughly the same distance higher on the dowel rod. I then re-inserted the dowel rod in the crockpot & slowly added alox until the level of the liquid in the pot was just below the top mark & began stirring CONTINUOUSLY for probably about 20 minutes or so until mixed completely, then turned off the heat & let it cool by an AC vent. It formed a 'soft crust' after a while but was still liquid underneath, so I stuck it in the freezer for a little while to speed up the process. In hindsight, it would have been much simpler to pour it into a mold or long-term storage container while still hot, but I've rarely been accused of doing things the easy way! [smilie=1:

At any rate, the end product turned out very similar to the 50-50 sample I received from Glenn@ WLL, just a tad stiffer (like I was hoping for). It's still pretty malleable even when cool but very malleable just working it with your fingers and has plenty of 'tackiness' to stick in the lube grooves, but seems to dry/harden just enough after a few hours to leave them with a non-tacky 'shell' making them easier & less messy to handle.

I'll bet you could still salvage your first attempt by re-melting it & adding some more alox & perhaps even some mineral spirits to help thin it a bit, although I'd suggest keeping the heat pretty low over a longer period of time since you've added lanolin to it already....

[Maximumbob54]

I kind of went through the same thing. At this point I just buy pre-made 45/45/10 and BAC from White Label Lube. "A man's got to know his limitations..." :-|