Boolit lube recipes??????

[Fly]

Man reading the endless recipes of boolit recipes makes ones head spin.I'm
sure many work great & many just so,so.It reminds me when I was in South
La all the different gumbo recipes.

One person try's another's concoction & thinks this is not bad, but if I add this
it will make it better :drinks:.It is fun reading all the different ones.But it seems
the one thing that is hardly ever left out is good ole bee's wax.

Fly:violin:

[BABore]

Bee's wax is a great lube carrier due to it's porous structure. According to my lube mentor, 357Max, any lube using beeswax as it primary carrier needs a long cook time to make it a great lube. I'm talking 24+ hours cook time. Talk with Lars, I'm sure he will back this up. There are other great cariers out there that do not have this problem. Microcrystalline wax is one of them. Get it melted with your other ingredients and your done. It is also very porous and typically has an oil content to it that's already filling the pors. Typically a form of mineral oil. Micro wax can be used as a lube all by itself even. Micro wax is also tackier than BW, thus it will adhere to a boolit better without some other modifier. The only downside of microwax that I've found is that it has a very narrow plastic range in a lubrisizer. Meaning when it's just warm enough to flow properly, you don't want to go much warmer or it will turn to goose chit on you.

357Max's best lube to date is an offshoot of the old LithiBee recipe. The first batches were made of;

1 14 oz tube of MAG1 multipurpose lithium grease (no substitutions here)
2 lbs Microcrystalline wax BW-430
1 lb Paraffin wax
1 block Yaley solid candle dye

This is an outstanding lube for all medium velocity and up pistol and rifle including very HV loads. We were both attempting to duplicate or exceed LBT lube while eliminating it tendency to throw flyers at colder temperatures. Max's recipe does just that. The only trouble with it was the plastic stage was narrow. IMO the tendency is likely what helps this lube override the cold temperature flyer syndrome. Afer I was given a sample and found it to be too fussy in the luber, we both tweaked it the same way. We substitiuted cees wax for about 1/3 of the micro wax. We didn't find the need to cook it any longer either. I finally got around to making a 10 lb batch of it myself about a month ago. I ended up reducing the paraffin by 25% to produce a softer lube. It will just barely flow in my Saeco without heat. Just a touch sticky on a lubed boolit, but not as bad as NRA 50/50.

Hopefully, you can see that there is a real science to making good lube. Assuming you have a good boolit fit, alloy, and a smooth bore, almost anything including ear wax will prevent leading. Accuracy is a different story. Bees wax still has its place, but it's not the only game in town anymore.

[felix]

Try skipping the canning paraffin completely, and exchange the current micro wax with another having a lower melting point. This should widen the flow range while keeping the other characteristics. Flyers happen when lube re-hardens (or never melts) randomly within the barrel. ... felix

[BABore]

Try skipping the canning paraffin completely, and exchange the current micro wax with another having a lower melting point. This should widen the flow range while keeping the other characteristics. Flyers happen when lube re-hardens (or never melts) randomly within the barrel. ... felix

Already there on the microwax. See Bw-430

http://www.blendedwaxes.com/index.php/products/microcrystalline-waxes

I'm not getting the flyers with this recipe now. It pretty much eliminated them and also cold temp problems. If I didn't add a stiffener (paraffin) I would need a grease gun to apply it. Adding more BW would defeat the purpose regarding cook time. Caranuba would work, but is costly. If I make another batch, I may sub in some grated soap anlong with the grease. You have to get it plenty hot before you add the waxes so it will combine well. Joe has had good luck with a soap based lube at HV. A hybrid of the two might just work out. So close to perfection now that only small tweaks are in order now.

[Lead Fred]

The age ole recipe

50% bees wax, 40% lard, 10% canola oil

[seetrout]

The age ole recipe

50% bees wax, 40% lard, 10% canola oil

Forgive my ignorance. I thought that was for BP.

[fryboy]

Forgive my ignorance. I thought that was for BP.

that's the basic emmert lube it works well for black but also for quite a bit of smokeless...just as easy is the darr lube ( with or without the stp ) ermm no beeswax tho lolz

1/2 paraffin
1/2 vaseline
1-2 TBSP stp

[warf73]

My go to lube is 50/50 Bee's wax / Olive Oil. I use it in all my pistols 357mag, 40 S&W and 44mag, rifles 445SM, 45LC carbine and long barrel, and 7.62X54R.
I can say in the 54R if you stand behind and to the left or right and look about 40~60 yards down range you can see the lube sling off the boolit.
My point being that this lube is good for other things other than BP and yes I do use it in my front stuffer:)

[seetrout]

that's the basic emmert lube it works well for black but also for quite a bit of smokeless...just as easy is the darr lube ( with or without the stp ) ermm no beeswax tho lolz

1/2 paraffin
1/2 vaseline
1-2 TBSP stp

So not to threadjack, but what would be the easiest for pan lubing without having to resort to a cookie cutter. I tried with some NRA and that was a total disaster. :hijack:

[fryboy]

having 3 sizers ( plus the a few lees...) i rarely pan lube , i do have a couple lubes i'm trying out and as always i try a half dozen in a lil pan just to see how it adheres but i'd have to say the emmert lube ,alot depends upon what ur shooting and how fast u wanna take it , the faster u wanna go changes things a bit ( less so if ur boolits are properly sized) there's a article i'm trying to find that would be ideal for u to read ,only trouble is is it's gonna take a bit of searching , when i find it i'll either edit this to add it or post it if needed as a new comment ,in the meantime this thread has alot of good info ( someone help me out ...lookin for the thread with the foto's of pan lubing - there was two great articles in one in it )

edit for add..
found half of it in the member articles
http://www.castpics.net/
go to the articles by members and scroll until u find this " Pan Lubing - A piece of Cake. "

[stubshaft]

So not to threadjack, but what would be the easiest for pan lubing without having to resort to a cookie cutter. I tried with some NRA and that was a total disaster. :hijack:

I use it as a pan loob but the key is to chill it down so that the boolits can be pushed out.

To warm and you get mush. Too cold and the loob may tear out of the grooves.

[seetrout]

I use it as a pan loob but the key is to chill it down so that the boolits can be pushed out.

To warm and you get mush. Too cold and the loob may tear out of the grooves.

To be fair I should elaborate.

What I have might not be NRA lube.

I went to the only shop around that has anything casting related and told him I was looking for NRA lube to lube my molds. (Lee's recommendation) The 'cast' guy digs around on a bottom shelf and pulls out a box with about 10 different stick lubes in it, paws around a bit and pulls out a box (that looks vintage) labeled 'Microlube' and is $2. He opens it up, smells it, pinches it, rubs it a bit and proclaims it NRA 50/50. Most of the other stuff is in plastic tubes for $4 to $5 so I snagged both boxes (lube in wax paper).

I am casting .40's (175TC cast at 182gr avg) and tumble lubing (not a TL design). Chrono says 975 avg and absolutely NO leading in my XDm. Also dropping .38/.357 158gr slugs for a Taurus 66 revolver, although I may be getting a different gun, but that's a story for another thread in a different category. Same alloy, WW with 1% tin added, water quenched. 158 Lee TL design out of .38 cases at 800fps avg no prob. 158 RF design out of .357 cases at 925 avg and it starts leading up pretty quickly.

I tried pan lubing the RF 158's (cast at about 162gr) with the microlube and man is that stuff sticky. It even sticks to the plastic trays I tried using. It's the same brown color as a Sugar Daddy taffy, but reminds me of the pink, super sticky, taffy, that I used to get as a kid, but can't remember the name of. Sort of like salt water taffy, but stickier. I have to either scrape it or melt it to get it out of the 'pans'. Got a couple that had some lube in the groove, but mostly it was a failure. I started smearing it into the lube groove with my finger, but got tired of that in a hurry. What a mess! Finally just dumped the whole batch, pan lubed, smear lubed, unlubed, in my TL tub and hit em with the LLA.

I no longer have the TL mold as it was not right from the start and would not close properly which got worse as it got hotter and I was running about 50% rejects, mostly from flashing. Most of the good bullets hardly sized down at all. The RF design mold works well, but the bullets drop fat.

Lee sizing dies. You probly already knew that though.

I would like to try white label carnuba red, but after my first try I am *ahem* gunshy of what lubes are suitable for pan lubing without the fuss and muss of cookie cutting.

Does this additional info help qualify my previous post and add helpful troubleshooting information? Or have I gone off the deep end late at night and lost everyone?:veryconfu

Forgot to mention that the .357 is leading up to cast for my Casull, but would like to avoid GC's for simplicity's sake. This may not be possible.

[357maximum]

This is going to sound way too simple..i apologize for that, but for what you are shooting it will work especially in PA's climate.....................I guarantee it if you keep good notes.

Get some beeswax........get some vaseline or generic petrolatum.


While keeping good notes slowly play with the % of vaseline added to a pound of beeswax until it does work for your panlubeing efforts. I would start at 75% beeswax and 25% vaseline ........try it and then add vaseline (while keeping good notes) until you like it. A good postal scale is a must here.

When you are happy with it's panlube function...go test it for shooting function.......then enjoy.

Petrolatum is a blend of microwax and mineral oil that has not been seperated yet...........AND I AM A BIG FAN OF MICROWAX.............see the whole picture?....I trhink microlube is a blend of NRA and microwax.but that is a guess..........whatever they blended it is too soft.

**You edited while I typed.....I am slow and have fat fingers.
The same lube may work in the casull........but a copper disk will be required.

[seetrout]

Thanks Max. Since no one else seems to have any advice I'll give it a shot.

Beeswax and petroleum jelly.

[kbstenberg]

Baybore you gave the recipe for your lube but didn't give mixing directions. Or could you direct me to a thread for the information?
Allso the Yaley die blocks in your recipe, are they the 2.5oz. ones for around 2.75$
Kevin

[BABore]

Baybore you gave the recipe for your lube but didn't give mixing directions. Or could you direct me to a thread for the information?
Allso the Yaley die blocks in your recipe, are they the 2.5oz. ones for around 2.75$
Kevin

Yes, that's the right candle dye.

I made this lube outside, on a turkey fryer burner with direct heat. In a big pan, that will hold at least twice the volume of the batch, melt the grease first. This takes lots of heat and you have to be careful here. Have a lid handy should it catch fire. Lithium grease doesn't melt easily and it smokes a good bit. As it gets a little mushy (semi liquid), slowly add portions of the BW, Micro wax, and paraffin, stiring it in. When you get it all in, keep the heat going til it's all liquified. I ket it going for about 20 minutes or so. Add the dye and stir it in well. Pour it into your molds or pans. It's not too hard, just don't rush it with excessive heat.

[Lead Fred]

Forgive my ignorance. I thought that was for BP.

I use it for45-70 BP, and also reloader 7, @ 1700fps, no leading.

I use white label lube for 30 cal, they go over 2200-2500fps