Grease/lube
- Thread starter kell
- Start date
Malachi Leviticus Blue
Member
IMO,
Main Purpose = To soften fouling and theoretically help reduce chain fires
Why not Crisco? = Crisco is a sloppy mess, especially in warm, hot weather.
Main Purpose = To soften fouling and theoretically help reduce chain fires
Why not Crisco? = Crisco is a sloppy mess, especially in warm, hot weather.
Jackrabbit1957
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- Apr 6, 2018
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As stated above, in the area I'm in summer temps can hit 110 in the shade. Crisco turns to liquid and runs all over the place. It also gets messy on a gun that's hot from shooting.
Ray Rapine, the mold maker, advised me to use 50% crisco and 50% beeswax for my Minie balls. Add more beeswax for summertime. I am sure a mix will work well on covering the balls on a cap and ball revolver.
I did try Ox Yoke wads in my 44 revolvers, and they worked great. Really kept the fouling in the barrel down, and did not cover me with crisco!
I did try Ox Yoke wads in my 44 revolvers, and they worked great. Really kept the fouling in the barrel down, and did not cover me with crisco!
Crisco used to the the "goto" for black powder lube BUT some years back, they changed the formula to make it more "healthy" and decrease the triglycerides. While the new formula is supposedly more healthy, it lost some of it's qualities that make it a good lube for black powder. When I started down the path looking at black powder lubes and what worked best, I ran across a post deep in a round ball forum where they were discussing this very thing. Seems loads with the new Crisco weren't as accurate as the old ones. I happened to have some old and checked and yes, it was verifiable. Lard put the accuracy right back where the old Crisco was. I then tested new formula Crisco against lard with nothing else added. In ALL but one case, lard out performed crisco in the accuracy dept.
So, while crisco is still a decent black powder lube ingredient, there are much, much better choices if you care about accuracy.
But what would I know about lube and minies?
So, while crisco is still a decent black powder lube ingredient, there are much, much better choices if you care about accuracy.
Since you don't ask specifically about any particular type of arm, the general answer is that it keeps the fouling soft. Black powder can leave fouling that is very detrimental to accuracy. In a revolver, a mix of beeswax and (lard/crisco/tallow) will keep the fouling soft so subsequent shots are as accurate as the first and the cylinder can turn. While you can get decent results with modern crisco, it's not your old school, artery clogging stuff.
But what would I know about lube and minies?
Mike OTDP
Member
As others have noted, straight Crisco is liquid on a hot day, a bit hard to work with. There are a variety of lubes out there. I've seen people use petroleum jelly, mixes of motor oil and beeswax, and a long line of commercial preparations. Me? I've a stock of Ox-Yoke Wonder Lube, which has worked for me as an over-bullet lube for revolvers. Minies are Len's Lube (I think it's a mix of beeswax and Mobil 1 motor oil).
Driftwood Johnson
Member
Howdy
As explained, Black Powder bullet lube needs to be soft and squishy to help prevent hard, crusty fouling building up in the bore and ruining accuracy.
I gave up using Crisco many, many years ago, because as stated, it melts. Particularly in the chamber of a revolver next to the one that has just been fired. The heat of the powder burning reduces the Crisco to a runny goop which runs out of the chamber, completely useless.
When I first started loading Black Powder in cartridges I made up bullet lube that was about 50/50 Crisco and beeswax. I melted the beeswax in a double boiler to prevent it catching fire, then mixed it about 50/50 by weight with the beeswax. I let it cool into cakes, then pan lubed my bullets with it.
Later, I stopped making my own bullet lube and went with SPG sticks instead.
As explained, Black Powder bullet lube needs to be soft and squishy to help prevent hard, crusty fouling building up in the bore and ruining accuracy.
I gave up using Crisco many, many years ago, because as stated, it melts. Particularly in the chamber of a revolver next to the one that has just been fired. The heat of the powder burning reduces the Crisco to a runny goop which runs out of the chamber, completely useless.
When I first started loading Black Powder in cartridges I made up bullet lube that was about 50/50 Crisco and beeswax. I melted the beeswax in a double boiler to prevent it catching fire, then mixed it about 50/50 by weight with the beeswax. I let it cool into cakes, then pan lubed my bullets with it.
Later, I stopped making my own bullet lube and went with SPG sticks instead.
Ugly Sauce
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- Oct 26, 2020
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The best mix I've found is Wonder Lube 1000 and bee's wax. Canning wax seems to work well, and I usually toss in a bit. SPG lube is of the right consistency to use as is. Scrape it up into "lube-pills" and just grab a pill, press it into the chamber mouth over the bullet or ball. Fast and no mess. Might have to wipe one finger on your jeans. Oh bummer. Bore is clean as new with one wet patch, one dry patch, and a oily patch if you wish. Of course the rest of the pistol is as dirty as ever, but no lube splattered all over it like Crisco.
It's a pleasure to hear from you again. ( You responded to a post I made about a dropped revolver. Black Powder's a ways off from S&W. If it's ok, I'd like to ask about a Colt replica.) I've been using Crisco but it's kinda messy, so I think I'll try the beeswax mix. Take care.
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Driftwood Johnson
Member
Not as far as you might think.
Not Cap & Ball, but I shoot 44 Russian ammo in this pair of S&W New Model Number Threes. The ammo is loaded with Black Powder, and I use bullets with commercial black powder bullet lube. The idea is the same. Keeping the fouling soft in the chambers and bores so it does not become hard, crusty, difficult to remove fouling. This photo was taken after a CAS match. The revolvers are still sooty, from being fired with Black Powder ammo.
Not Cap & Ball, but I shoot 44 Russian ammo in this pair of S&W New Model Number Threes. The ammo is loaded with Black Powder, and I use bullets with commercial black powder bullet lube. The idea is the same. Keeping the fouling soft in the chambers and bores so it does not become hard, crusty, difficult to remove fouling. This photo was taken after a CAS match. The revolvers are still sooty, from being fired with Black Powder ammo.
You're still the best photographer I know.
dweis
Member
Ok, I will risk being set upon by those who see cooking fats the same a machine lubricants. Industry has invested billions of dollars over the last century to develop high quality lubricants for situations where mechanical interactions cause friction. Yes, lard can meet they need, but nature did not engineer it to protect metal on metal friction. Synthetic lubricants like Mobil 1 weed so engineered. So why do I use CLP to clean my pistol after firing and RemOil to lubricate it between firings? I do,it because CLP is an excellent cleaner/lubricant. It is a strong cleaner and light lubricant. So it cleans and preserves. Once the pistol is clean a light oil will keep operating smoothly. The light oil will evaporate and need to be renewed. That takes less than 3 minutes a month.
My option would be to use a synthetic oil like Mobil1, but I do not for the same reason I do not use RemOil in my car. Oils are engineered for different purposes. I like a motor oil of a motor and a gun oil for a gun. Same applies to cooking oils. I am not using lard, olive oil, canola oil, grape or peanut oil on my pistol. But if you want a entirely oil use butter/
My option would be to use a synthetic oil like Mobil1, but I do not for the same reason I do not use RemOil in my car. Oils are engineered for different purposes. I like a motor oil of a motor and a gun oil for a gun. Same applies to cooking oils. I am not using lard, olive oil, canola oil, grape or peanut oil on my pistol. But if you want a entirely oil use butter/
The lard and Crisco and beeswax aren't lubricants. They bind with black powder residue and help keep it from fouling the works.
hawg
Member
We're not talking about lubricants per se. We're talking about keeping powder fouling soft. Bore Butter is just as runny as Crisco.
woodnbow
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- Feb 19, 2007
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We don’t really “set upon” people around here lately… not like the old days, that’s for sure…
robhof
Member
I lucked into a large doe a few yrs back that had a surprising amount of fat, I rendered that fat and used it for the Gatafeo lube mix, still using it with my own cut felt wads, I soak the felt sheets then drill the wads with hole bits, been working great for 3+ yrs now. As stated above more bees wax for summer, less for winter mix.
