Going to try the Felix lube

[Bignutt]

I was thinking about trying to make some of the Felix lube or a close version of it, and I am wondering if the olive oil would be an ok replacement for the castor oil. I haven't found any of it yet but I do have the olive oil, does the castor oil do something special? Thanks.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Yes, castor oil does do something special.

Have you checked out the dollar store in the pharmacy section ?
http://www.dollargeneral.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12579167
also, any drug store, grocery store with a pharmacy, or any of the big box stores with a pharmacy.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

more info on Felix lube:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?147595-Trying-to-Understand-Boolit-Lube-a-Bit-Better

If this thread doesn't answer your questions about Felix lube, Gear posts a Link to the Felix lube sticky in post #8 and your answers will surely be in there.

[runfiverun]

I buy castor oil here at the local grocers in the pharmacy section.
it's like 3-4 bucks for a little blue bottle.
you need to follow the directions where you get things smoking slightly and stir for the whole recommended time.
adding in the soap is what makes your grease matrix and is the key to making this all work.
many make up a larger batch of the base oil then add it to the wax as needed.
the lube actually gets better after it's melted down and re-worked a few times.

[vzerone]

No olive oil is entirely different then Castor oil. One example in difference is Caster oil is one of the few oils that travels towards the heat source rather then away from it. All drug stores should have it.

[fryboy]

Most pharmacy's will carry it as well,haven't tried it as such ( read Tom Sawyer too many times lolz ) but it's supposed to be a laxative
Many oils will work for a lube,olive oil for example is used in quite a few black powder lubes,rapeseed ( aka canola ) is another one, most oils have different properties including smoke point temps, castor oil is one of the better ones ,jojoba is also up there on the list

[waksupi]

I believe Felix said the castor oil does a polymerization process that is necessary for the ingredients to combine properly.

[geargnasher]

Castor oil is an interesting molecule. It needs to be heated for a period of time to make it cross-link so it doesn't weep out of the finished lube. It still does its thing (what vzerone mentioned) when mildly polymerized.

Gear

[btroj]

Castor oil also has an unreal film strength. Great lubricant.

Ask your friendly pharmacist, they will help you find it.

[vzerone]

Castor oil's biggest problem as a lubricant (in engines) is it forms gummy deposits. If the engines it's used in are regular torn down and rebuilt then this isn't a problem.

I'm wondering how Turkey Red Oil would work in a soap lube. Basically and simply put it's an oil made by putting sulfuric acid in Castor oil.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive been using it for 15 years and make it just like he told me too. Cant see why id want to substitute any ingredient unless I couldn't find it but in this day and age of ebay ect you can find anything.

[Bignutt]

Looks like I'll be trying some castor oil,thanks for the help.

[Maven]

Like Lloyd, I followed Felix's recipe to the letter for the first batch. Although it came out OK, I found I had to remelt it to blend all the Ivory Soap better, and later added a bit more Vaseline (petrolatum) to make it a bit softer. I'm happy to say it worked just as Felix said it would. However, for the second batch, I substituted ordinary ATF for the castor oil, as I had run out of the latter. The pink colored lube worked as well as the original, but the hot oil smell from the ATF wasn't appreciated by SWMBO.

[vzerone]

Like Lloyd, I followed Felix's recipe to the letter for the first batch. Although it came out OK, I found I had to remelt it to blend all the Ivory Soap better, and later added a bit more Vaseline (petrolatum) to make it a bit softer. I'm happy to say it worked just as Felix said it would. However, for the second batch, I substituted ordinary ATF for the castor oil, as I had run out of the latter. The pink colored lube worked as well as the original, but the hot oil smell from the ATF wasn't appreciated by SWMBO.

Ivory soap (assuming shaved off a bar of Ivory) is very hard to melt and take up to 460 degrees F to melt completely. Hard to do without scorching the rest of the ingredients especially Beeswax.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Ivory soap (assuming shaved off a bar of Ivory) is very hard to melt and take up to 460 degrees F to melt completely. Hard to do without scorching the rest of the ingredients especially Beeswax.
460º HUH ? ...you must have read that on my SL68B lube making thread ;)

[vzerone]

460º HUH ? ...you must have read that on my SL68B lube making thread ;)

Yes, but I've read it from geargnasher when he was posting more on here before I signed up and that was a long time back.

[Lloyd Smale]

trick to the soap is you have to shave it about thin enough to see through. Bigger chunks just don't work

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

trick to the soap is you have to shave it about thin enough to see through. Bigger chunks just don't work
Lloyd,
I'm curious, do you use it "fresh", or do you allow it to age and dry out a bit?
I ask because, because there are those that find the need to dry it out some and claim that if used "fresh", there is a lot most moisture to "cook off" making for a longer cook time. Because I have found that melting/blending "fresh" shaved Ivory, that the cooking off of moisture seems to aid in the melting of the soap, maybe even speeding up the process. When I tried it with soap that was aged and dried out a bit, it seemed that the last few bits of soap took a long time to finally dissolve, but I noticed that it's easier to shave finely when it's dry as opposed to fresh.

I also have been thinking of the bubbles. I'm wondering if they slow the process and am considering experimenting on my next batch and use an isopropyl spray to knock down the bubbles.

:castmine:

[waksupi]

Lloyd,
I'm curious, do you use it "fresh", or do you allow it to age and dry out a bit?
I ask because, because there are those that find the need to dry it out some and claim that if used "fresh", there is a lot most moisture to "cook off" making for a longer cook time. Because I have found that melting/blending "fresh" shaved Ivory, that the cooking off of moisture seems to aid in the melting of the soap, maybe even speeding up the process. When I tried it with soap that was aged and dried out a bit, it seemed that the last few bits of soap took a long to to finally dissolve, but I noticed that it's easier to shave finely when it's dry as opposed to fresh.

I also have been thinking of the bubbles. I'm wondering if they slow the process and am considering experimenting on my next batch and use an isopropyl spray to knock down the bubbles.

:castmine:
When I talked to Felix about adding soap, he said it is important to keep stirring until it dissolves. Also, when the mixture starts getting small bubbles appearing, you most likely have enough soap.
I don't know about Ivory, I've always used my homemade soap to make it.

[Calamity Jake]

Lloyd,
I'm curious, do you use it "fresh", or do you allow it to age and dry out a bit?
I ask because, because there are those that find the need to dry it out some and claim that if used "fresh", there is a lot most moisture to "cook off" making for a longer cook time. Because I have found that melting/blending "fresh" shaved Ivory, that the cooking off of moisture seems to aid in the melting of the soap, maybe even speeding up the process. When I tried it with soap that was aged and dried out a bit, it seemed that the last few bits of soap took a long to to finally dissolve, but I noticed that it's easier to shave finely when it's dry as opposed to fresh.

I also have been thinking of the bubbles. I'm wondering if they slow the process and am considering experimenting on my next batch and use an isopropyl spray to knock down the bubbles.

:castmine:

I've also been making FL from the beginning, the Ivory soap bar that I had was many years old and dry as a bone
when scraped with a knife it produced a fine powder almost like flour, it didn't take very long to melt
into the oils at just below the smoke stage.

[Bignutt]

Got some made tonight it looks like a nice lube seems soft and tacky both which is what I was wanting. I believe I used stearic acid rather than soap, and I put a little carnuaba car wax in there for good measure.

[Lloyd Smale]

fresh. I just take a bar and start shaving it with a razor knife and throw it right in. Never tried drying it. I guess I never saw a need.
Lloyd,
I'm curious, do you use it "fresh", or do you allow it to age and dry out a bit?
I ask because, because there are those that find the need to dry it out some and claim that if used "fresh", there is a lot most moisture to "cook off" making for a longer cook time. Because I have found that melting/blending "fresh" shaved Ivory, that the cooking off of moisture seems to aid in the melting of the soap, maybe even speeding up the process. When I tried it with soap that was aged and dried out a bit, it seemed that the last few bits of soap took a long time to finally dissolve, but I noticed that it's easier to shave finely when it's dry as opposed to fresh.

I also have been thinking of the bubbles. I'm wondering if they slow the process and am considering experimenting on my next batch and use an isopropyl spray to knock down the bubbles.

:castmine:

[geargnasher]

+1 Lloyd.

Gear