Caster oil for case lube???

[mikenbarb]

I was told that Caster Oil is the best case lube you can use and wondering if anyone has heard of this? I guess another plus would be if you feel sick you can lick your cases.LOL.:veryconfu

[felix]

Nope, the best of the naturals is lanolin, anhydrous. Cut with baby oil for the consistency required to do the job. ... felix

[cuzinbruce]

I think castor oil probably has a lot of possibilities. In my book on bullet swaging, a 50-50 mix of castor oil and anhydrous lanolin is recommended. Haven't tried it yet. Castor has always been a favorite in racing engines, 2 & 4 stoke motorcycle racing engines, and in premix for 2 strokes. At the track, you can smell when they are running castor oil. I think it is worth experimenting with. It is readily available and not expensive.

[mikenbarb]

I picked up a small bottle and gonna give it a try today and will post how it works for case sizing.

[beemer]

I have used it and it will work, to lube cases that is. Just don't lick your fingers.

[Calamity Jake]

1 cup 99% isopropal alcohol(from a drug store or hospitol supply), 1 and 1/2 tabelspoons anhydrous lanolin ,melted, pour it and the alcohol in a small spitcher spray bottle.

Works fantastic!!! This is Dillon case lube BTW.

[LowPE]

A little off topic here but there are two guys I shoot with that use castor oil as a replacement for Lee Alox. Works well for them -- they are both IDPA Master level shooters.

[shotman]

calamity is that what the frankfort spray that Midway sells? I like it its not oily after it dries or sort of most of the time I just leave it on the shells and shoot them they clean up nice

[Maven]

I see two problems that have nothing to do with the lubricity of castor oil and/or anhydrous lanolin. One is availability; the other is price per unit of volume, and the two are related. If you have to order either by mail, the price becomes prohibitive. Perhaps the better way is to purchase and use something like a quart (?) of STP, which is relatively inexpensive and will last virtually forever.

[Dale53]

STP has extreme film strength and that is one of the most important characteristics of a good case lube. I used it for years. It does an excellent job. The ONLY criticism I have regarding STP as a case lube is that it really requires a solvent dampened rag to wipe the cases off afterwards. Of course, if you tumble the cases after sizing, that will also work.

It IS important not to have grease or oil of any type left on the cases before firing. One of the properties of brass cartridge cases is that they grip the chamber upon ignition and reduce back thrust on the bolt. That can be VERY important....

Dale53

[leadeye]

+1 on STP. I picked up a few cans at a yard sale this year and it will last a long time. Never found anything better for a case or ram lube.

[EchoSixMike]

The amount of bolt face thrust reduced by a lubricated thinwall brass case is trivial. Firing lubricated cases does result in even case growth when fireforming as the case doesn't grip the chamber wall and thus you don't get incipient case head seperations due to the case web stretching excessively.

I just use the Dillon stuff, I buy a case at a time and it lasts for more than a year's use. And I keep getting the monthly hottie pics, err, I mean Dillon catalog. S/F....Ken M

[mikenbarb]

STP oil treatment??? I used the Caster oil and it worked great with a thin coating and it was real easy to clean off when I was done. Think im gonna keep on using it till the bottles gone.:-D

[Papa smurf]

Been using STP for years. Use very little and then tumble your cases in corn cob for about a half hour.----Good Shooting ---Papa

[mikenbarb]

Are you guys talking about STP oil treatment in the old foil paper cans with pop tops? I got a bunch in my garage for years and never thought about it as case lube.

[leadeye]

Are you guys talking about STP oil treatment in the old foil paper cans with pop tops? I got a bunch in my garage for years and never thought about it as case lube.


That's the stuff, works great.

[John Boy]

1 cup 99% isopropal alcohol(from a drug store or hospitol supply), 1 and 1/2 tabelspoons anhydrous lanolin ,melted, pour it and the alcohol in a small spitcher spray bottle. Works fantastic!!! This is Dillon case lube BTW.
Jake - I'm with you. Still have an excess PINT of it that will last until the Good Lord says it's time.

And folks, only 99% isopropyl. Any less % with water is going to make a gloppy mess

[fourarmed]

Somewhere around I still have my Dad's case lube pad. It is a Flying Dutchman tobacco can with a couple of layers of flannel in the bottom impregnated with STP Oil Treatment. He made it in the 60s. Still works fine, too. Just doesn't wash off easily.

[shooting on a shoestring]

I find lots of oils work fine, really doesn't matter for revolver cases, hornet cases or 30/30s. Now I do pay a little more attention to lube necking up military 30'06 cases to 8mm'06. STP gets the job for that one even after the initial forming. Military cases and the '06 taper seem to need more lube than the rest.

I also understand a brass case is just a gasket. It doesn't have strength to compare to hardened steel locking lugs on a bolt, or the backside of a revolver frame window. Therefore I perfer to have a little lubrication on my cases for easy extraction. I've never heard of a gun that let go because the brass case slipped against the chamber walls.

[Bullshop]

Lube in the chamber will cause case streaching and seperation. Straight wall cases will quickly streach to the point of seperation if lube is present in the chamber. Very low pressure may be somewhat more forgiving but I would guess pressures in the area of about 25,000 and above will have the effect. I expect you will say it has never happend to you even though you fire with lubed cases. I realy dont know what to say about that accept it has happend to me and many others and since I know it I will not do it and suggest others not do it either.
BIC/BS

[Ricochet]

I've used castor oil for case lube. Fresh, it works great! Put it on a case lube pad, and before long it turns to sticky glue.

[ra_balke]

The best cartrage case lube I ever found was just regular old NRA bullet lube.. The 50/50 stuff. Bee wax, and alox, as sold by Lee.

Another good one is bee wax, and neets foot oil. Mix to the consistancy you like. It makes a great bullet lube, and is also excellent as a case sizing lube.

[DLCTEX]

Neets Foot Oil contains lanolin.

[zxcvbob]

Castor oil makes a great case lube. I've always wondered how it would work as a spray.

I bought a little 4 oz pump-spray bottle at Sally Beauty supply. Last night I filled it with 1/2 oz of castor oil and about 3.5 ounces of 91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol (I have some 99%, but since castor oil is soluble in alcohol I wanted to see if 91% would work because it's easier to find.) That's a 7:1 dilution. Both were at cold-basement temperature. I shook it up and it quickly dissolved, and I sprayed a few 9mm cases. When the alcohol smell was about gone, they felt a little greasy but that might be my imagination. I will see if they size any easier than unsprayed cases tonight.

I think 7:1 may be fine for lanolin but castor oil might need to be mixed a little richer.

This morning the solution was a little clearer (like tiny drops had been in suspension before and now they fully dissolved) and none of the oil settled out. Again, it was stored in a cold basement. The solution is thin like water or straight alcohol. Not sure if I'm brave enough to try it as-is on .223 or .30-06 cases, but I should be able to get a good test using .30 Carbine brass and a carbide die. When I've used up a little, I will add another 1/2 oz of castor oil, making it roughly 3:1, and see if that still mixes completely and sprays OK.

[EDG]

The best lube by far is Mystik JT-6 chassis lube or it's equivalent. When you break the press linkage back over center after sizing a way over size tapered case the case will actually back out of the die under it's own force. An 8oz tube is about $3.00. It is a nearly transparent clear colorless grease. I am sure there are dozens of other brands of equivalent greases.

Like many other "really good home lubes" it is a bit messy and hard to clean up. But it works well on those heavy tapered nickle plated cases.
All in all, there are better things to play with if you do not have an over whelming need for such a remedy.

[MtGun44]

Castor oil dries and oxidizes into varnish.

STP works great, as far as I can tell the commercial lubes of the '60s were STP in a different bottle.

Bill

[300winmag]

I was told that Caster Oil is the best case lube you can use and wondering if anyone has heard of this? I guess another plus would be if you feel sick you can lick your cases.LOL.:veryconfu
When we were kids Grandma always said caster oil was the best thing ever and a cure for everything, Ha! So when we seen her coming with the bottle and a tablespoon, IT WAS TIME TO GO HIDE.

[abunaitoo]

I use Kiwi Mink oil.
It's the same thing as Imperial sizing wax. At half the price.

[GabbyM]

I used a dab of the new RCBS case lube from a squeeze tube at my SIL house over Christmas vacation. That was some slick stuff. I’ve use the spray on lube made of lanolin and alcohol for years. Still will as it’s great to lube up a large box full of cases. Also use the Imperial die wax. But this new RCBS lube is better than there old stuff and is worth considering over Imperial Die Wax. Several lubes work. If you have any lube on your shelf I’d use it up before buying new.

[o6Patient]

I was always taught (many moon ago mind you) that you shouldn't use oil at all
around any possibility of contaminating the primers, and yes the issue of chamber
wall "grip" also. Commercial lubes like the rcbs2 is, as I under stand, is a water based
..or rather a water soluble compound...?I wonder if it is a glycerin based product??
I can understand the discussion of case lube home recipes as good conversation
but can't see the advantage over a good commercial one ..like the rcbs lube2. Admittedly
I don't shoot a 100 or 1000 rounds a week (wished I did) like some do apparently, but
you'd have to load a great deal in order for the home made stuff to be of any real significant
benefit other than if you just flat out ran out of the commercial lube. mho

[MtGun44]

I tend to agree. More productive things to do besides experiment with case lubes. If you
have the time and interest, cool. I'm afraid I don't have the time or the interest. I have
several different commercial lubes that work fine. Problem solved.

Bill