Anybody use Coconut oil and Beeswax for BP Revolver Wad Lubricant?

[SlowFuse]

I have a Pietta 1858 on the way, so I will ask the question I have been wondering: what do you mean by "pack?" Like, fill the interanals completely?

I've seen this mentioned on packing the internals and have been thinking about trying it. From what I understand just about any fairly stiff/thick grease thats synthetic will work.

 

[Cowhide Cliff]

I judge my lube by how it performs in my paper cartridges. I put the lube disks (sandwiched between wax paper on both sides or just on the powder side and a cardboard/manilla folder card on top) unnderneath my bullets in paper cartridges..if the lube starts seeping into the paper then i dont use it or atleast wont use it in paper cartridges because that means it will eventually contaminate the powder. Also depends on the paper used. I use RAW rolling papers and hair curling paper with 1:3-1:4 tallow to beeswax ratio by weight. I dont use crisco as just about every crisco mix ended up leeching into the paper cartridge (it turns the paper the infamous clearish stain as when you put fried food on paper). Also dont use crisco for the fact that it isnt like natural fats/tallow or most oils that once heated and cooled revert back to its original state...crisco once heated and left to cool turns into a sticky glue. Ive tuned quite a bit of guns where the customer tells me they use crisco as part of their lube mix and when i open up the guns it has a sticky film in it and i have to clean it all out real well to cycle the guns and see what the timing is and how the parts are working together without thw sticky crisco glue gunk messing it all up. I used Emmerts lube and made lube disks with great success using crisco...they just didnt work in paper cartridges due to contamination of paper and powder...and the cooled off of crisco lube had to be cleaned out of every nook and cranny before it could turn to gummy glue. Its too bad as crisco does work for the most part. But as of now im sticking with tallow and shea butter made lubes...and sometimes a pinch of olive/vegetable oil and/or lanolin.

Just so I understand you are using the lubed paper towel discs between the ball/bullet and the powder? or are they over the ball? I've been wanting to play with making some paper cartridges myself. thanks for sharing all the info.

 

[woodnbow]

I save the coconut oil for super models, lol. How about Thompson Center Natural Lube 1000 Plus Bore Butter?

Hey Howie, my pop was a Combat engineer with 3AD. He won(?) Purple Heart twice, the second time he was pulled out in March 1945 and rode back stateside on a hospital ship. The division did some good work then, and lately too.

 

[TheOutlawKid]

I have a Pietta 1858 on the way, so I will ask the question I have been wondering: what do you mean by "pack?" Like, fill the interanals completely?

Yes i fill the inside of the gun with Mobil1 synthetic grease. Mine and all the guns i tune for my customers get this treatment. Mike from Goons Gun Works does the same to all his customers guns. It helps protect and lube the internal mechanisms and keeps fouling from causing rust or sticky hard fouling.

 

[TheOutlawKid]

Just so I understand you are using the lubed paper towel discs between the ball/bullet and the powder? or are they over the ball? I've been wanting to play with making some paper cartridges myself. thanks for sharing all the info.

Between powder and bullet/ball. If you make a really soft lube it can be used over ball/bullet as well but it doesnt work as well as between powder and ball/bullet

 

[TheOutlawKid]

Heres a posting on how i assemble the paper cartridges...you can see the lube disk through the paper.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/31-36-and-44-ammo-box-labels.859019/page-2

And these are some paper cartridges with some custom conicals i designed...you can see the lube disk through the paper here as well...

 

[HowieG]

Hey Howie, my pop was a Combat engineer with 3AD. He won(?) Purple Heart twice, the second time he was pulled out in March 1945 and rode back stateside on a hospital ship. The division did some good work then, and lately too.

The division shut down in 1992 after the Gulf War. I am a bit younger than your father. I joined up in 1974 about a year before the end of the Nam war. I was a tank crewman. My regiment still exists though. The 33d Armored Cavalry in the 101st Airborne Division.

 

[brewer12345]

Yes i fill the inside of the gun with Mobil1 synthetic grease. Mine and all the guns i tune for my customers get this treatment. Mike from Goons Gun Works does the same to all his customers guns. It helps protect and lube the internal mechanisms and keeps fouling from causing rust or sticky hard fouling.

So you pack the internals with the grease. Do you remove it in order to clean it after shooting? If not, how do you clean the rest of the gun?

 

[Blackpowdershooter44]

Forgot to ask...what type of coconut oil you using? The semi solid stuff that melts really easy with even just body heat or the liquid kind thats like any other oil?

Its the solid stuff that comes in a jar.

 

[TheOutlawKid]

Maybe try a 50/50 mix and see if it gets you the texture you like? I use the solid kind as well. If you mix it with lanolin it makes a really good arbor/cylinder pin lube.

 

[windini]

Thread Revival!

I've made my own lube and it is much too hard... hoping someone can weigh in with a refresher ratio.

I mixed 50/50 beeswax beads & lamb tallow, melted in a Crock Pot & stirred to blend thoroughly. When it set up, it was so solid it was brittle.

So I melted it again and added another measure of tallow, new ratio 1:2. Still too stiff. (I'm eyeballing 1/4lb increments)

I'm now up to 1:3 beeswax : tallow and it's still too solid to scoop out of the tin I put it in with anything other than a pocket knife. What am I doing wrong? Can I add Olive Oil or Canola Oil or some such, and how much?

FWIW, I'm using pure white beeswax beads and the temp in that room is 72F. Not exactly cold.

Maybe a better question is: what oils/fats should I NOT use? I suppose I can keep thinning the mix until it's too runny, then add more wax if needed.

 

[TheOutlawKid]

Are you going by weight or volume? I always go bu weight just like the old Gato Feo #1 lube does. I use a stiff lube 1:3 mutton tallow to beeswax..by weight. And i make it into thin lube disks...this makes it easier to melt in the barrel to keep fouling soft. Easier to melt a thin disk than a thick one. Heres a pic of my lube disks. You can also make ur lube softer by adding a little olive oil.

 

[DocRock]

That mix can’t actually be “too stiff”, but I understand that it may not be easy to work with. Reheat and mix in some vegetable oil - canola, olive, coconut, jojoba, etc.

 

[windini]

Thanks @TheOutlawKid & @DocRock , just the input I was looking for.

Are you going by weight or volume?

Ah-ha! Visual volume, not weight. I suspect the tallow is heavier by volume, so maybe my actual ratio is even higher...

it may not be easy to work with

This is the nature of the "problem." I have made some lubed patch material and some lubed felt discs; both seem to work ok.

The inital patch material was over-lubed, in that it was caked with waxy lube, flaked all over the place, and was difficult to ram with a ball (rifle). Instead of laying the soaked cloth on wax paper to harden, I rigged a rack at an angle to drain off excess lube. That gave me a nicely lubed piece of material that hasn't made it to the range yet. I did this with the felt, too, then punched a buncha discs which are also waiting patiently for the next range trip.

The goal of the tin of lube is to have something of a creamier consistency to carry in the field (like Crisco consistency). This would be used for covering the tops of revolver cylinders when loading powder & ball w/o discs (or when not using paper cartridges, which I'm also messing around with), or for smearing on raw cloth for a patched rifle ball load.

One of these days, I'll be wantin' to lube some cast bullets as well. From my experience so far, I think it would be easier to smear lube into lube grooves than to dip into liquid. If dipped, lube must be pretty liquid, and then it would run out, no?

Anyway, thanks! Back to my laBORatory, Bwa ha ha...

 

[derek45]

@TheOutlawKid


I'm trying your paper towel method.

 

[woodnbow]

So you pack the internals with the grease. Do you remove it in order to clean it after shooting? If not, how do you clean the rest of the gun?

You leave it in there for a year or more of shooting. When you get ambitious strip the revolver completely, clean it observing the lack of corrosion of any internal parts, repack with your preferred grease and shoot for another year or so...

 

[woodnbow]

Thanks @TheOutlawKid & @DocRock , just the input I was looking for.



Ah-ha! Visual volume, not weight. I suspect the tallow is heavier by volume, so maybe my actual ratio is even higher...


This is the nature of the "problem." I have made some lubed patch material and some lubed felt discs; both seem to work ok.

The inital patch material was over-lubed, in that it was caked with waxy lube, flaked all over the place, and was difficult to ram with a ball (rifle). Instead of laying the soaked cloth on wax paper to harden, I rigged a rack at an angle to drain off excess lube. That gave me a nicely lubed piece of material that hasn't made it to the range yet. I did this with the felt, too, then punched a buncha discs which are also waiting patiently for the next range trip.

The goal of the tin of lube is to have something of a creamier consistency to carry in the field (like Crisco consistency). This would be used for covering the tops of revolver cylinders when loading powder & ball w/o discs (or when not using paper cartridges, which I'm also messing around with), or for smearing on raw cloth for a patched rifle ball load.

One of these days, I'll be wantin' to lube some cast bullets as well. From my experience so far, I think it would be easier to smear lube into lube grooves than to dip into liquid. If dipped, lube must be pretty liquid, and then it would run out, no?

Anyway, thanks! Back to my laBORatory, Bwa ha ha...

Most people who don’t own a lubrisizer will either rub lube into the grooves or stand the bullets in an old cake pan and pour the melted lube into the pan around the bullets. Stop when you have reached the top of any grooves you wish to fill then when mostly cooled you can either push the bullets free of the lube or use a cutter of some sort to free the bullets from the lube cake. I have melted my lube into old chapstick tubes and when solid I just rub the lube into the grooves. Use less than you think you need providing your lube is good. For lube I’m using IdahoLewis’ modified SPG lube. Add one 2.5 oz. container of Stihl HP synthetic two stroke oil to a bar of SPG. Melt and blend, adding any good organic vegetable oil til the consistency meets your needs. For winter I added a pint of Jojoba oil. For summer about half that amount of peanut oil. Awesome stuff, stops leading in its tracks.

 

[TheOutlawKid]

@TheOutlawKid


I'm trying your paper towel method.



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Awesomr! Looks good!

 

[William surveyor]

May be late to the party but I like 1 3/4 tbsp beeswax pellets, 4 teasp olive oil, 3 tsp coconut oil. Works great for me

 

[derek45]

@TheOutlawKid

I meant to reply to this sooner,......the paper towel beeswax olive oil wads work very well.




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