formula for home made swaging lube

[Dframe]

Title says it all. I'v been trying various search criteria to find home grown formulas for swage lube. Please share yours with a noob swager. I'm New to this part of bullet making. Have my press and still waiting on dies. Need some lube recieies.

[ANeat]

A lot of good info here http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=75099&highlight=lanolin

[blaser.306]

Quick and easy 50/50 Anhydrous lanolin and castor oil . Done !

[Houndog]

I use 50/50 Vaseline and Anhydrous lanolin. Just put equal parts in a microwaveable container, heat untill it liquifies, and stir. I put mine in a large in a large syringe I get from Tractor Supply for vetenary use. It makes dispensing and storage a snap.
Blazer's formula works as well and is what I started with.

[BT Sniper]

Anhydrous lanolin and castor oil. Mix in castor oil to get consistancy you want. I went with 1lb lanolin to 4 oz castor oil. Probably equaled a 80-20 mix. I don't think you can get it wrong whatever mixture you use with these two ingredients.

BT

[blaser.306]

I just sugested 50/50 because that is what Dave Corbin's mix is suposed to be and it woks for me . And countless others !

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

80/20
Anhydrous lanolin / neatsfoot oil

I started with 50/50 by that was too thin, I had ejection issues.

[Dframe]

Thanks very much guys. Where do you buy Lanolin? Drugstore? Farm & Home type stores?

[blaser.306]

Thanks very much guys. Where do you buy Lanolin? Drugstore? Farm & Home type stores?

I had mine ordered in to the drugstore down the street , and as it is a perishable product . It's nice to know that what you are getting is fresh !

[stephen perry]

Hate to break it to you guys there are no Hero's in making Jacket Lube for Bullet making. As you see most lubes are lanolin based. My mix is 3 parts anhydrous lanoline 1 part vaseline. Heat together and store in film containers till needed. 8 oz of lube will last a couple lifetimes.

I make a minimum of 500 bullets at a time. I use a gallon mason jar to roll my jackets with lube. Minimum lube is a good way to go. Weigh wax paper square 1 in x 1in with lube added and either wipe the inside of the jar with the lube all four sides and the lid or if you use a tumbler throw the wax paper and lube in and let it go. For the jar I will roll the jar for 15-20 minutes. For the tumbler do what you feel is right.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

[a.squibload]

... it is a perishable product ...

I got a tub of AL off fleabay, should it be refrigerated, or would a cool basement be good enough?

I don't have castor oil, do have some glycerin, suppose that would work?

[blaser.306]

Al is not going to turn rancid overnight , But on the advice of my pharmacist who used to sell small bottles of lanolin to highscool musicians for cork grease on wind instruments , and it was he that advised me of the perishable part . So yes in my opinion a cool basement should do just fine . And if by chance the jar starts to get a funky oudor it means your not swaging enough bullets fast enough !!!:swagemine:

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Thanks very much guys. Where do you buy Lanolin? Drugstore? Farm & Home type stores?

Yeah, local drugstore. $2 for a 1 oz tube
Jon

[sargenv]

How does the rancidity (is that a word?) affect the lubricity? Or does it just smell bad but work fine for our uses?

[a.squibload]

Good point Sarge, also, could we get a scale of stinkyness?
Like say, better or worse than gear oil?

[gjb]

All I have ever used is 10w30 synthetic motor oil 1 quart lasts a lifetime

[Linstrum]

I have a one pound jar of anhydrous lanolin I have just kept in a cool place since 1990 and it works fine as far as lubricity goes. I suppose the warning for the rancidity is for sax, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon players who have their noses an inch away from the lanolin on the cork mouthpiece gasket in their instruments. Lanolin gets a stiff oxidized layer on top but even that still works okay as a lube for high pressure applications, in fact when I first started reloading, my buddy had some lanolin that was thirty years old and it worked okay. The rancid smell it gets isn't all that rancid to me, it smells like an old sheep barn is all and I kind of like it because it reminds me of when I worked for one of the last sheep men in Southern California delivering water to his sheep camps.


rl903

[deltaenterprizes]

STP works great for sizing and swaging!

[DukeInFlorida]

Get the lanolin and anything else that you need for home made lubes, from Castboolit's own RandyRat:

BEESWAX- LANOLIN- CARNAUBA WAX
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW FOR PRICING AND INFO
PM RandyRat andhe will give you the ordering/billing info
CARNAUBA WAX= http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=100177
LANOLIN=http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=96820
BEESWAX=http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=86774
Added Stearic Acid to the lineup this week PM RandyRat for details


Thanks very much guys. Where do you buy Lanolin? Drugstore? Farm & Home type stores?

[warf73]

I use frog snot from Alaska

[Pappa]

Hi Guys
I know it's an old thread but I'm new to this. Got the lube made up, going to use a tumbler (3lb). I see putting a weighed amount on a piece of wax paper is a method used. I don't see how much to put on a piece of paper. Any ideas or advice? I want this to work without the jackets being too greasy or dry. A starting point would be appreciated.

[Linstrum]

From my experience, it is kind of like writing with a pen where you don't have to worry about getting too much ink on the paper even though there is enough ink in the pen to make a big puddle, the ink takes care of itself. Above a certain amount more lube just won't stick to the boolit. For starters just throw a tablespoon or two of lube in the tumbler and see how it looks.

rl 1,197

[BT Sniper]

Table spoon is an awful not of lube. For a quart size Ziploc bag ful of 22lr jackets I use a pea size to a bean size amount of lube.

[HollowPoint]

This may be off topic just a bit but not to much.

When I started swaging I didn't have any lube and I wasn't sure what would work for me. I figured that anything with the slightest amount of lubricity was better than no lube at all so I tried WD-40, Gun Oil, Machine Oil, Alox and a number of other things; and they all worked better than nothing but they were messy. Some would eventually start to bind.

I happened to have a tube of Ultra-Lube that I'd bought to lube my air guns with and to my surprise it's worked out fabulously. Just a super thin film of this stuff goes a long way; at least for me. It's like a cream lithium grease.

If I remember correctly, it cost me about seven-bucks at the homedepot hardware store. It's not messy at all and it wipes right off when you do get some where you don't want it. If I only used this stuff on swaging projects, the small tube I have would probably last the rest of my life but, I use it on lots of other things as well so eventually I'll buy another tube of this stuff.

Of course, home made lubes are good too but, I don't know if they're any cheaper when you add up any costs for ingredients.

HollowPoint

[ohnomrbillk]

Blackmon advised me to use 1 lb of anhydrous lanolin and 20 oz of caster oil.

I mixed with the kitchen aid mixer, warmed in the oven until liquid, stirred again, and poured into containers to set up.

I suspect my current 2lb 4 oz supply will last my great grandchildren a long time.

[marten]

Castrol R 2 stroke racing oil. No need of lanolin!