Felix Lube - the Short Version

[Edward429451]

I made a double batch of it yesterday and from what I can tell, it came out great. I havent tested it for leakage yet but I think it will be ok. I'll know tonight.

It only took about 30 or 40 minutes to make since I didn't have to cook, only melt. I cut it last night to look for layering and it mixed well. It was so low impact on the kitchen that she says I don't have to make it outdoors...! She didn't like the smell when the ivory melted but it wasnt bad.

I wont be able to lube or shoot any until after next week but I think we have a weiner here. It turned out harder than alox but softer than my RR hard lube. One whole blue crayon colored it to a nice greenish blue. I plan on trying it on a crapload of 429421's I have sitting there first.

From what I can tell, I made about 56 dollars worth of lube as compared to the 4 dollar a stick RR, with enogh beeswax left over for another 14 sticks/ 56 dollars worth.

Woohoo, FWFL on the shelf.

[PineTreeGreen]

Wills,I did see your post before you edited it. I do understand your total frustration over plastic coffee cans. Not to worry,there is help available. Dr Phil will soon have a seminar offering help for those on the brink from plastic coffee can syndrome.(PCCS) It will require both you and your spouse to attend as it is a family dysfunction.

My mother used to stretch those metal windings from coffee and Spam cans and use them for icicles on our Christmas tree:coffee : Be careful they are sharp.

[ron brooks]

If you substitute olive oil Im not sure if you need virgin olive oil or extra virgin or if you need the non virgin type---not sure what it's called **** maybe? Ever seen olives doing it?

No now, it's not called ****, it's called "experienced", or maybe it should be called "friendly". There doesn't that sound nicer?

Ron

[PerversPépère]

Interesting post, BruceB.
I've been thinking of a way to remove the salts in lard:

Salt is water soluble but lard is not. I wonder if it would work to cook lard in a pot of water to free the salt. Pour out the water afterwards and let the lard solidify. Many cookings might be necessary before all the salts have been removed?

utk

Yes, exactly like you do when you want to recover duck and goose grease for cooking and there's a good salt content in it from the cooking: you boil it with a good amount of water.
Salt will mix readily with the water and upon cooling, the grease will be clean and salt free. Refrigerate and you can pull the cake of hardened grease easily.
I guess lard would do exactly the same.
PP.

[Bodine]

I saw one part of this thread that mentioned synacetti, a synthetic subsitute for spermacetti wax, anoyone got an idea where I could get some?

[felix]

http://www.tlcspaproducts.com/products.htm ... felix

[Bodine]

Thanks Felix!

[9mmcast]

I just finished up a batch of lube with the following contents:

3 Tbs. each of mineral, castor and "Extra Light Olive" oils
1 ounce (weighed on a powder scale) of finely grated Ivory Soap
14 ounces beeswax
4 Tbs. anhydrous lanolin

The oils were heated together at 300F for about one hour and stirred occasionally. At 300F this blend of oil occasionally gave off a wisp of light smoke. One ounce of finely grated Ivory is about a palm full and I was surprised when all of it melted into a meringue like foam. I took the stuff off the burner and placed a 14 oz. chunk of beeswax in the pan and realized it was going to need more heat in order to melt so I placed the hot plate on low and went away for a few minutes. When I returned the beeswax was only partially melted so I turned up the heat a bit more. Long story short, the concoction didn't become homogenous and thin enough to pour until above 225F which is where I added the 4 Tbs. of lanolin. After which I kept stirring as the temp climbed to 250F which is where I poured it through a piece of cheese cloth into a mayonnaise jar. It appeared there were a few lumps of undissolved Ivory.

After cooling, the lube has about the consistency of silly putty and is nearly as sticky as Javelina with a thick, slick feel to its residue. I just took a sample out of the refrigerator and although it's a bit firmer, after rolling it in my fingers I now have it all over my keyboard. I think it was a success... especially if this stuff's melting point is over 200F! Excuse me while I clean up my keyboard.

MJ

P.S. OK... I got most of it off my keys now, and placed a sample in the oven set half way between 150F and 200F. I'm going to leave it there for about an hour and see what happens.

A question:

You say that the lubricant has the consistency of silly putty but is sticky. Silly Putty is not sticky - it has a very stretchy - non-sticky characteristic.

Does this recipe produce a lubricant that has a texture like Silly Putty and is not sticky? I have tried making a batch and the lubricant is extremely sticky and too soft for my purpose.

I heated the Castor Oil/Mineral Oil to a smoking state (approximately 15 minutes). then added the Ivory Soap shavings. A lot of foaming occurred and I kept stirring until most of had dissappated. I had a double boiler fired up that had the molten bees wax in it. I added the Castor Oil/Mineral Oil mix to the bees wax and noticed that the foam was still at the surface of the wax. I then poured the mass into a mould. The result was a soft, mushy, grainular mass - not what I was expecting.

Should the bees wax be added to the Castor Oil/Mineral Oil mix (at the high temperature) over direct heat or was I on track by adding the two together in the double boiler?

Can someone help me out here because I think I am missing some important steps.

Thanks.

[felix]

Actually, I add the oil to the melted beeswax without using a double boiler at any time during the process. Yes, it appears you need to add more beeswax to the same mix you already have because the oil/soap mix was too thin. Not your fault in the least. I have found that every bar of soap I have ever used was from a different lot. No telling how much water is within a bar. ... felix

[9mmcast]

Actually, I add the oil to the melted beeswax without using a double boiler at any time during the process. Yes, it appears you need to add more beeswax to the same mix you already have because the oil/soap mix was too thin. Not your fault in the least. I have found that every bar of soap I have ever used was from a different lot. No telling how much water is within a bar. ... felix

Thank you Felix for the comeback. But, now another question: Is the temperature of the melted bees wax important during the mixing process? Or does the Mineral Oil/Castor Oil/Ivory mix combine with the melted bees wax over a double boiler?

Thanks.

This is a very interesting thread! And your information is so helpful!

[felix]

No need for double boiler when the pot is no more than 20 percent full and the sides perfectly, dishwasher, clean. Keep the heat on low at all times unless stirring rapidly, and once melted take the pot off of the burner and continue stirring. If you are going to add lanolin, do so last and when the total mess is just above its freezing point. ... felix

[twoworms]

Using the Felix Lube - the Short Version I made my first mix of Felix lube today.

Can you get to much carnuba wax in it, my mix is pink... Yeah pink, not that I intended it to come out that way. Other than that it turned out well I think.

Tim

[Drifter]

In the first post the Felix Lube formula calls for 2 Tbs. of Mineral (Baby) Oil and 1 Tbs. of Castor Oil. It says to heat the Mineral Oil until it starts to smoke and then add the Castor Oil and cook with continuous stirring for 30 minutes. My question is, if you're using twice as much Mineral Oil as Castor Oil can you go ahead and cook say 8 oz. of Mineral Oil and 4 oz. of Castor Oil for the 30 minutes and then store it for future use? This would save a lot of time in fixing future batches of lube because all you would have to do is heat up 3 Tbs. of the precooked mix and then add the other ingredients.

Drifter

[BluesBear]

Drifter, refer back to post #41 by Felix;

A good technique is to mix castor oil and a petro oil at 50/50. Cook that, and store that in a bottle for perpetual mixing use. Now you don't have to cook the lube except just enough to mix all the ingredients for a particular batch of lube.

It would seem logical that the same advice would apply to the 2:1 mix.

You only have to cook and stir it so long in order to polymerize the castor oil so it won't separate, later on, from the petrolium based products.
Also from post #41;

If you are not adding castor oil, then you don't have to cook the castor oil with the petro oil(s). Cooking is for poly-ing the castor oil only, and ONLY when a petro oil is present, OR will be in the future when fine tuning the mix for an app. Keep in mind that paraffin, baby oil, ATF comes from petro oil.

[twotoescharlie]

If you can find it," Ivory snow" is the same thing as ivory soap except it is in a powder form.
It should be in the washing detergent section at your local grocery emporium. I have a box that I have had for years. makes good Napalm.

TTC

[Drifter]

BluesBear,
Thanks for the reply.

I read post #41 and I didn't understand the 50/50 mix when the formula in post #1 calls for a 2 to 1 mix and the way I understand the other part of post #41 that you quoted was that the cooking made the Castor Oil blend with the other (petro) oil. On the second part I think you understand it the same way I do.

I plan on using the Castor Oil so I would have to cook it. It just seemed to me that it would be easier to cook a large batch of the two ingredients, use what you need for the size batch of lube you are making, and then save the rest for future use.

Might not work but it's just a thought.

Drifter

[felix]

Yes, pre-cooking castor oil with a petro product is a good idea. Just like annealing, it is the amount of time with heat applied makes everything work. Hotter the heat, the less time is required. Just where that demarcation is ... is completely unknown to describe, except through experience. Try to never let any kind of wax or oil smoke at all because good stuff is evaporating. Just below that smoke point is fine, and is considered the max temp to ever be applied to that mix ever again. Also, just like annealing, you can cool the mix, and then reheat many times. Each time adds more to the effect of what you are trying to do. So,,,, this means that if a batch of lube has been made with castor oil, and that lube begins to leak when placed on paper in the sun, sooner or later, upon another day later, it won't. You can hurry up the process by using the stove again. When there is no leak, there is full polymerization for the lube's purpose. Make sure you know the difference between leaking and melting when doing the "test". ... felix

[Drifter]

Thanks felix, I was hoping you would chime in on my question. After I read your post I went ahead and cooked 12 ozs. of Baby Oil and 6 ozs. of Castor Oil (smells pretty good). I washed out the Baby Oil bottle (which had a nice little squeeze spout for squeezing it out in the measuring spoons) and after the mix cools I plan on putting the mix back in the bottle and using it as I need it. I had to order the Lanolin so it will be a few days before I can finish the lube.

Thanks again,
Drifter

[felix]

Drifter, lanolin must be kept cool, say 125 degrees or less. This rule does apply after the lube is several days old and had its time to match-merge all of the ingredients. The other stuff in the lube will protect the lanolin from that time on to the higher temperatures used to remelt and modify. ... felix

[Drifter]

felix,
Thanks for the insight about when to add the lanolin. It's amazing what you miss when you read something sometimes. I've read this thread at least four or five times and it says in the very first post to reduce or remove from the heat after the beeswax has melted before adding the lanolin and I totally missed it. I would probably have added it while the lube was too hot.
Thanks again,
Drifter