Gato Feo #1

GATO FEO LUBE
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by weight, double boiler melted ...

1 part mutton tallow (dixie gun works - soon to be reoffered in 2019)
1 part paraffin canning wax (gulf)
1/2 part filtered PURE beeswax

"but isn't paraffin canning wax a petroleum product"?

a chemist provided what seems a plausible answer:
PURE canning paraffin lacks the hydrocarbons found in other petroleum products.
apparently, these hydrocarbons are the offenders with black powder guns.

Making GF#1 ...

https://imgur.com/a/wpRXPV6

Ugly cat lube?

yep, good ol' ugly cat home brew. hard to beat. in fact, ain't been beat yet at least for me. :)

I dont BP, but just had to find out what the title was about! LOL.

I suggest anyone that wants to make Gatofeo lube try to get a group together and buy from:

https://grasslandbeef.com/lamb-tallow

When I bought from them, there was a minimum order. I ended up selling all the extra thru S&S on this site.

If you Google "mutton tallow", you will get lots of results wanting you to buy for up to $4 for one(1) oz.

I think this is the information I used to make my supply of lube: Informative to go thru the whole thread.

http://1858remington.com/discuss/ind...c,352.105.html

a minimum grasslands order of mutton tallow is $89.44/shipped for 14lbs. i'm on my last pound of DGW mutton tallow and if they don't offer it again i plan on getting the grasslands order come this winter, keep half, resell t'other half.

I thought he (Gatofeo) used to post here, but I don't see him in the member list.
He must be active on some other site I lurk around at.
..

Fyi... Gatofeo over the years has been given credit for ‘his’ lube. This is incorrect. The formulation has been around for decades and Gatofeo found the lube formula in an 1942 American Rifleman article and posted it on a forum now defunct

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John Boy

Fyi... Gatofeo over the years has been given credit for ‘his’ lube. This is incorrect. The formulation has been around for decades and Gatofeo found the lube formula in an 1942 American Rifleman article and posted it on a forum now defunct

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yup, and GF has stated that publicly many times.

Is this more of a patch lube, a boolit groove lube or both?
Thanks Aaron

Quote:

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Originally Posted by joatmon

Is this more of a patch lube, a boolit groove lube or both?
Thanks Aaron

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BOTH. it'll even cure the common cold. maybe. i think.

Thanks rfd, I've got my stuff together and need to get some made!
Aaron

though i no longer need a lube for bullets as i've gone to paper patching and hi-tec coatings, GF#1 is my go-to patch lube for muzzleloaders. i rub and melt in the lube to strips of patch cloth, then roll up and stick in my shooting bags, or fill up patched ball board. no muss, no fuss. :)

Made my first batch, modified, 2 pounds mutton tallow. 1 pound beeswax pearls.

Ordered a 36"x24" piece of felt from Durofelt. Received a piece 60"x14.5", which is the right amount.

Used a 10"x15" metal cookie pan, which has the raised sides. I had cut the felt into pieces that were roughly 9" x14.5". That made me nervous, having the felt fit the pan pretty snug, so I cut each piece in half again, ending up with a bunch of felt roughly 9"x7". I was glad I did, as they were much easier to flip and maneuver in general. Yeah, may lose a few pieces of felt wads over the cuts, but there ya go.

Microwaved the tallow, then added the beeswax. I poured the mix into the pan, filling it fairly full. After the second piece of felt soaked and made it onto the sheet of aluminum foil, the lube mix started to cool and thicken. Uh oh!

Since I was working next to my stove, under the watchful eye of Mrs. Beek, I slid the cookie pan onto the stove, covering 2 burners. Low low flame! Kept the lube heated and flowing nicely.

All gear used (glass bowl, cookie pan, tongs, stirring spoon) are dedicated for lube only and were salvaged from Goodwill or the 99 cent store.

I'll have some tallow to offer for sale once my newbie probationary period is over. Bought an order from US Wellness Meats.

Bought a wad punch for .36 caliber from Track of the Wolf. May touch up the edges with a round file.

I'm set!

Has anyone substituted pork tallow for the mutton? I have my home rendered pork and free is a lot cheaper than what I see on mouton tallow prices. Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LIMPINGJ

Has anyone substituted pork tallow for the mutton? I have my home rendered pork and free is a lot cheaper than what I see on mouton tallow prices. Thanks

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The only problem I see is the port tallow has a lower melting point that the lamb tallow.
I have always gotten my lamb tallow from Dixie Gun Works. They usually have it every spring.

I agree, you would probably end up with a much softer lube. Maybe need a bit more beeswax.
As a source for mutton tallow, I found out my local meat cutter does a lot of lambs in the spring and was just throwing away the trimmed fat. I got him to save me out 50 lbs of it which I rendered in my crock pot, I now have enough tallow for years of shooting as well as cooking. Worth looking into if you have a meat cutter in your area.

Haven’t seen any at Dixie in a few years and nobody raising any sheep around here except as a hobby. My niece works as a butcher in a custom butchering shop and it’s just beef and pork hardly ever a sheep comes through.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LIMPINGJ

Haven’t seen any at Dixie in a few years and nobody raising any sheep around here except as a hobby. My niece works as a butcher in a custom butchering shop and it’s just beef and pork hardly ever a sheep comes through.

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I just checked to Dixie site and show it in stock. I have found they get a bunch in every spring but it sells out by the end of summer.

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index/...roduct_id/9705

Thanks forsgth, I put in mutton and lamb but didn’t add tallow to the search.

I refine hamburger fat. Takes multiple microwave heating and cooling cycles to remove the gelatin and water but it's worth it. I mean I'm cooking for my family and why waste the fat?
You can't leave anything that settles below the fat, it all has to be removed.

After that, I heat it one time to high heat to sterilize it then add to the usual ratio of paraffin wax and bees wax.

I've had it on bullets, in my Lyman 45 lube sizer and in jars both in my fridge and on my bench unrefrigerated for years and it's just fine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brimstone

I refine hamburger fat. Takes multiple microwave heating and cooling cycles to remove the gelatin and water but it's worth it. I mean I'm cooking for my family and why waste the fat?
You can't leave anything that settles below the fat, it all has to be removed.

After that, I heat it one time to high heat to sterilize it then add to the usual ratio of paraffin wax and bees wax.

I've had it on bullets, in my Lyman 45 lube sizer and in jars both in my fridge and on my bench unrefrigerated for years and it's just fine.

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That is good information on refining.

Kevin