Cast bullet lube

[bighit]

they standard lubes but do work....rather than use food colouring chuck in some kids was crayons.
go to castboolits website as they have 1000s of lubes to try out....like bens red

He mixes then all in to make his lube

Unless you meant that with them all in together that it was a standard lube ?

[loiner1965]

i meant they are simple to make lubes like they did in the early days before they introduce other ingredients like dexion stp motor oil.
They are hundreds of ingredientsan in all many of percentages now, but sometimes the simple lubes can be more effective for the conditions required.

[amc577]

The constituents of the current Alox seem to be a state secret, but I did find various copies of documents online...the stuff is supplied to Lee by a company called Lubrizol in 55 gallon drums...the markups for a 118ml plastic pot must be in the thousands of %. Current mix is a petroleum based product, possibly an oxidised form of petroleum jelly...vaseline?..do we have an analytical chemist online who can help...

amc577

[andrew375]

Lanolin is used in lubricants but usually as a softener for waxes and soaps. To see if it will work on its own just coat half a dozen bullets and give them a try. I suspect that the problem will be that Lanolin wont harden, so bullets will be very messy to handle. You can try hardening it with some bees wax. Let us know how you get on.

Liquid Alox is a wire drawing lubricant. That is for actually making wire where it is pulled through dies to reduce the diameter. Not to be confused with wire pulling lubricants available from electrical trade suppliers, these are for pulling electric cables through conduit. I've a sneaking suspicion that spray on wax car body under-sealer, like finigan's waxoil, is very similar to LLA. If so then one can will last you a long time.

The lube I use with pistol bullets is a floor polish, but it is one added to water and mopped on floors. It is normally sold for janitorial suppliers, look for descriptions such as "high wax content". What I use is 20% wax content. 100 mls will do about a thousand .44 bullets so a 5 Lt container will last decades. It gives a hard, clear coating that is good for top loads in .44 mag. and .30 carbine.

The two bullet lubes I make are;

For black powder - 50/50 (by volume) Beeswax / vaseline. This is a great lube for Minie bullets and is ok for pistol bullets up to 1800 fps. It is superior to the usual beeswax/tallow mix in that it doesn't dry out and become brittle.

For rifle bullets - 1/3 Moly grease (from a car accessory shop) and 2/3 soap (I use tesco value hand soap). Ratios by weight. So far the fastest I've driven bullets is to just over 2200 fps but no signs of fouling and accuracy about 1.5" at 100 yds. was consistent over 40 rounds.

[harry mac]

For black powder - 50/50 (by volume) Beeswax / vaseline. This is a great lube for Minie bullets and is ok for pistol bullets up to 1800 fps. It is superior to the usual beeswax/tallow mix in that it doesn't dry out and become brittle.

For rifle bullets - 1/3 Moly grease (from a car accessory shop) and 2/3 soap (I use tesco value hand soap). Ratios by weight. So far the fastest I've driven bullets is to just over 2200 fps but no signs of fouling and accuracy about 1.5" at 100 yds. was consistent over 40 rounds.

The beeswax/vaseline mix is what I use for lube cookies in my Martini Henry loads, it never hardens but is solid enough for (very) limited handling.
How do you mix the soap/grease mix? Just melt it in a pan?
If you use Imperial Leather does each shot smell like a freshly washed old lady?

[andrew375]

The beeswax/vaseline mix is what I use for lube cookies in my Martini Henry loads, it never hardens but is solid enough for (very) limited handling.
How do you mix the soap/grease mix? Just melt it in a pan?
If you use Imperial Leather does each shot smell like a freshly washed old lady?

For soap lubes you have to use a temperature above 100 degrees (C) but keep control so you don't overheat. This is because the soap, Sodium Stearate, decomposes before the melting point is reached. I use a toaster oven with the lube in a metal container. Powder the soap with a cheese grater simply mix in the grease. Getting the soap to disperse takes time. I have found you need at least 4 hours at 150 degrees. At the start the mix will foam up but this is just the water boiling out.

Yes, avoid any perfumed soap as you will get an aroma. Soap lubes are only suitable for use in a lubrisizer, they cannot really be melted.

[DesG]

From Ingot to Target:
A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chap...ubrication.htm

This is a classic lead bullet book from USA in the past. Contains loads of very useful info.

[dodgyrog]

will find out the name of the floor wax i use as you cannot buy what the americans use lol.....does the same job

Johnsons paste wax is what I use to make 45/45/10 lube with LLA and white spirit

[loiner1965]

Johnsons paste wax is what I use to make 45/45/10 lube with LLA and white spirit

lol as you know roger this stuff is hard to get this side of the big pond.
the stuff i use is adequate for my needs......