Cost of making Ben's Red?......

[waco]

If you had to venture a guess, what would you think it costs you per stick (assuming you have a Lyman 450) of lube?
I understand the cool factor of making it yourself, and as I understand it, it's a great lube.

But there are lots of great lubes out there for super cheap. I won't go listing all the names, you guys know which ones I'm talking about.

So. Cost of all the ingredients , your time, etc..... Please sell me on making this stuff myself.

Just a thought. And please don't get me wrong. It would be a good thing to know how to do anyway. If s&%$ hit the fan, and we could not buy such things anymore.

I'm curious to hear from you.
Waco

[ultramag]

I just made a batch and was figuring this last week. I didn't get too carried away with getting it to the penny, but it's around $1.25 a stick give or take.

[fryboy]

it will depend somewhat on several variables , namely how much did you pay for your beeswax and lucas red n tacky , both seem to run the gamut , as well as how big of stick and if solid or hollow ... i made a 3# batch if a commercial stick is 1.2 to 1.5 oz. 3 #'s is alot of stix !!!

this is what i did and i used a whole tube of R&T
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?81031-Made-some-bullet-lube-today&p=1597884&viewfull=1#post1597884

because i had everything but the grease on hand my cost is lower than a feller who never uses any of the stuff and has to buy it all for this one application , i had less than $15 in 3 #'s - that's too cheap to worry about how much a stick cost me , if however you pay high retail for R&T and beeswax both your cost could be considerably higher than mine , i guess i got around 32- 40 stix for my investment eg; well worth the doing

[375RUGER]

Sell you on making it. Buying all the ingredients to make 3 batches set me back $45 inc shipping of the beeswax, with JPW, STP and ATF left over.
And for comparison, I just spent $44 for 10 sticks of LBT, 15oz. Ben's Red is good arithmetic even if you have to thicken it up some with extra beeswax or carnuba.

[Ben]

If you have access to someone local that can supply you with some clean beeswax at a reasonable price , it makes the deal even more financially attractive.

Ben

[paul h]

There's a reason I've gone to BAC. I used to make lithi bee, and even with a free source of beeswax it simply wasn't worth the stink and mess when I could get bags of BAC delivered to my door for $2/stick. Lube is such a minute cost compared to lead, primers and powder that to me I can't even imagine wasting my time to save less than $1/1000 rounds when the lead, powder and primers are setting me back $50-100/1000.

That said, because I have some beeswax lying around and I'm an itineret tinkerer, I'll probably end up making a batch of Ben's Red just because. Though I'd rather spend my precious little free time on casting and run my silver beauties through the lube sizer.

[waco]

I use white lable lubes now. I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes. I was just curious. I thought it might be a fun project to try sometime, and bens red looked like a good one.
Thanks for all the replies guys.

[GMT210]

Based upon component costs, my cost is $0.36 per oz.

[MattOrgan]

I am at about 60 cents a hollow stick for my RCBS sizer. I've found a local source for bees wax and my next batch will be closer to 45 cents a stick. The savings is important to me, but most important to me is that it works so well in rifles ( great in handguns too), and allows me to be more self sufficient. Kinda like I could buy cast bullets, but I cast my own.............

[dverna]

Making lube is a good thing to know if the SHTF but not worth the pain when I can have it delivered to my door for under $2/stick. Sometimes it is nice to be a "high roller' and piss money away on commercial lubes.

[Gelandangan]

My comment is not only limited to Ben's Red.

Shipping cost for lube from USA to Australia is very high, IMO it is much cheaper to brew your own here in the land of Oz.
OTOH, I did bought some Speed Green in the past.. so this is a moot point.

[btroj]

The total cost seems high at first but you end up with enough lube to last for a few years. On a "per stick" basis it is pretty darn cheap.

Great lube too.

[357maximum]

Lube making can save you good money......the trick is to not let the "alchemist" in you take over and go all nutsy cuckoo. If that happens you will fall over the cliff and learn things you never knew you needed to know.

[35 shooter]

Cost of Ben's Red? Priceless! You get a ton of lube and it's good stuff.

[btroj]

Lube making can save you good money......the trick is to not let the "alchemist" in you take over and go all nutsy cuckoo. If that happens you will fall over the cliff and learn things you never knew you needed to know.


Come on Mike, outside of you and me, and a few others who has taken that leap..........:lol:


Follow Bens recipe and you get a fair amount of good, and pretty cheap, lube. Stray from the recipe and you get, well, what you get.

[Dale in Louisiana]

No alchemy?

What?!? You don't add a few drops of cinnamon oil to the cooling mix? Makes the firing line smell like cookies!

dale In Louisiana

[fredj338]

If you have to buy all the ingredients at the going rate, IMO, you can not make it cheaper than White Label, well not by much. Obviously if yo uhave access to free BW, you are half way there. I tried making my own just to have an alternative to the $5/stick lubes before I found White Label. Randy's TAC also works well & is very affordable. If you have to figure any time cost, buy the lube, even @ $5/stick.

[runfiverun]

after a few batches you can whip up a batch in about 1/2 hour.
if that's too much of your free time you ain't got time to cast or shoot either so why bother with any of it.
the tacky in lucas red and tacky is from paratack it's found in other stuff too like bird repellant caulk tubes, lucas oil treatment, and stp.
there are other greases available that have the same basic ingredients without the tacky which you can get other way's.
[I just get out the bottle of paratack I have and use that with mag-1 grease]

[grampa243]

The savings is important to me, but most important to me is that it works so well in rifles ( great in handguns too), and allows me to be more self sufficient. Kinda like I could buy cast bullets, but I cast my own.............

this is how i look at it too. works great in my AR and glock.. barrel so clean i hardly have to clean them:)
plus you can ajust the wax to suit your needs.( not something you can do with lube you buy)

[rintinglen]

Cost of Ben's Red depends on the price of the divorce attorney if you make it in the house. Stuff stinks to high heaven but works great.

[CastingFool]

I get raw beeswax from a local beekeeper at $5/lb. Our local Menard's sells the R&T for $3.98 a tube, (which is a lot cheaper than other places) and STP for under $3.

[btroj]

Make it on the kitchen stove and see what the REAL cost is. Bet the Mrs will let you know loud and clear.

[Ben]

Make it on the kitchen stove and see what the REAL cost is. Bet the Mrs will let you know loud and clear.

I've said this about 100 times, let's make it 101 :

I do not recommend that anyone make Ben's Red inside your home !

Ben

[btroj]

I know Ben, but there is always that one guy......

Mine was made in the garage, doors wide open.

Now making a grease from ATF and sodium stearate on the stove, not my brightest moment in life.......

[Ben]

I'm not responsible for domestic violence and full blown divorce because of people's persistence in making Ben's Red in the kitchen.

It isn't good for your health. I'm not talking about you smelling the fumes. I'm talking about what that woman is going to do to you !.

[btroj]

Mine kicked me to the patio for all future lube making. She did buy me a big tote to put all the makings in. I think that was a way to get the stuff off her counter.

Women are far smarter than we think. Fortunately my wife is pretty darn tolerant of this stuff.

[waco]

This is all good to know...

[Alchemist]

Lube making can save you good money......the trick is to not let the "alchemist" in you take over and go all nutsy cuckoo. If that happens you will fall over the cliff and learn things you never knew you needed to know.

Whatcha trying to say there Bub??? [smilie=l:

[357maximum]

Whatcha trying to say there Bub??? [smilie=l:

Now that there is funny...thank you I needed that, but those few selected souls on here that have large rubbermaid tubs full of lube(s) and several 3 ring binders full of notes laying about know exactly what I was sayin. Boolit lube need not be all that slick, but it sure makes for a slippery slope to travel and it is real easy to lose your footing and fall off the path if one is not careful.

[myg30]

I was in Auto zone last night when I heard this Psssst.. Pssst... I turned around and it was the last and only tube of Lucas red n tackey #2.
I looked around some more, Nobody ! Well I figured it was just calling me to make some Ben's red. So fer $5.88 14oz. tube out the door we went. STP at wally world was $2.89 small 15oz bottle. Paste wax already at home and ATF always have open bottle in the garage.
I'll keep ya posted. Maybe new years eve wont be so boring after all !

Mike

[Ghost101]

Waco, be forewarned, Be on the lookout for the swarm of bees!!!

It was a very warm an beautiful day here in SoCal. So I took a pot of "Felix" lube that I had made up last winter an put it upon my little hot plate. I'm out side on the porch, the pot is smoking away( I really don't care for the smell of Beeswax), an to my surprise there appears a swarm, I mean a whole lot of theses little M@#$@%^%&, sorry, attacking the pot and myself. I grabbed my little handy dandy torch an was able to retreat safely into my abode, at which point I flipped the breaker for the pot. I'm very thankful that I'm not an owner of a flamethrower as my house an the ones close by would be smoldering ash at this moment. I will be buying my lube until I get a screened in porch.

Ghost101