Ben's Red

[Brad]

I think some air is mixed in the lube when flowing they a lube sizer too. Adding air leads to a lighter color and off enough is mixed in some areas will appear almost white.
Adding molten lube to the reservoir reduces air mixing into the lube. Ben probably gets little air as that is how he refills his sizer.

 

[Stonecrusher]

I pour the lube into my sizer as well. This is my first batch and all my lubed bullets have little to no red cast to them. If this is the worst thing I have to worry about I will count myself lucky. It is just that the pictures of Ben's lubed bullets are so pretty!

 

[Ben]

Yes, all my sizers are filled with molten lube.

I see people making molds for bullet lube. The kinds of moulds that will produce a hollow or solid stick of bullet lube. There is nothing wrong with that method and if that is your goal then by all means use that method.

However, for me personally, it just seems about 5 X quicker to simply pour your melted bullet lube directly into your lube sizers.

I was in a " Thrift Store " a few days ago and saw a nice old, clean , aluminum coffee pot - - ( $1.50 for the pot and lid ) . It had a strainer in the mouth to strain coffee grounds ( easy to remove with a Dremel and a carbide cutter ).

When I saw it , I thought :

" UUUUmmm, now this would be just the thing to melt and pour lube into my 2 lube sizers."

Today I made some more Ben's Red in this old coffee pot and when completed, rather than pouring the lube into molds for storage, I simply filled my two Lyman lube sizers. When they were both filled, I placed the lid back on the coffee pot and allowed the lube to solidify until the next time I need it.

SIMPLE ! !

Here I have filled both of my lube=sizers without spilling a single drop of bullet lube .

Remember , if you use this method , only fill to about 3/4 " of the top.

The pressure nut has got to go back in place once the lube cools & turns back into a solid :

Ben

 

[KHornet]

Did my first batch of Ben's Red yesterday. Now have 5 baggies full of it, and it brewed up real well by following directions, and recommendations. However, all my lubesizers had Lars 2500 in them, so to cure my itch to try Ben's, I emptied my old 45, (always a messy job) and loaded it with Bens. Found a few 224's that I had not sized and ran a few thru with Ben's. A little softer lube than I am use to but appears to have a lot of adhesion quality, and Ben says it hardens a bit after a couple of days. Will be overcoating all that I lube with Ben's BLL anyhow, and figure that the coating over the lube will make it work like a champ. Now to find time to cast some 224's and 6mm's.

 

[Ben]

Wonderful ! !

Glad to see you've had success.
A few have upped the Beeswax percentage to 55% to make it firmer.
Many have stayed with the orig. recipe and wouldn't think of changing it.

Yes, it is a bit softer, I've always believed that was a plus for Ben's Red.
The lube is continually slug out into the lands and grooves as it travels down the bore. I've seen photos of bullets with hard lube that are recovered down range with all the lube still in the grooves. In my mind, I can't see that as a plus.

Ben

 

[KHornet]

Being a berm scrounge, I have picked up a fair number of pistol bullets in the last few years, with a dark blue, very hard lube filling the grooves after they have been fired. Years back, I ordered some Magnus bullets, and they came with the same hard blue lube.

 

[JWFilips]

Paul,
When I first started shooting my pistols with cast it was only back in 2009 No one on my range knew anything about casting nor had any inclination to learn!
So they just gave me web sites where I should order bullets from and "Make Sure you buy the hard cast!" "because they are the only things that will shoot in your pistols" Looking back now what a pile of chumps & no nothings!!!
Anyway Carl from "CB Bullets" in Maine was my go to guy ...at least he would work with you to find a size to fit your gun Yes blue hard lube that never left the projectile when it went into the berm! He still does make an excellent product for the masses...Just not for me anymore

Hard cast so it could be shipped jammed into a Priority mail box without damage to the bullets and hard blue lube so it wouldn't melt off the bullets sitting in a hot delivery truck!!!

 

[JSH]

I would advise to plug the spout to keep out unwanted objects and things. A piece of foam works well.

 

[Ian]

When you remelt, all the bugs, lint, and cat hair end up on the bottom anyway so I don't worry about it too much.

 

[Kevin Stenberg]

All of my BR is cut into strips wrapped in seraran (sp) wrap then placed in a sealed baggy. And stored in my freezer.
If you store BR in a non-air tight container like Ben's coffee pot. Wouldn't the contents dry out when being stored, even in a freezer?
My Lube has been in the freezer for a couple of years. Because of my use of PC bullets.

 

[KHornet]

Would be interested Ben, on your comments on storing BR in the freezer??????

 

[Brad]

Mine has been in a plastic snap top box for a couple years. No change that I can see.

 

[Ben]

• I've stored Ben's Red in my coffee pot ( with the lid in place ) that I use to melt and pour into my 2 lube-sizers .
  
• I've stored Ben's Red in gallon sized zip loc bags both in solid blocks and strips.
  
• I've even cut it into strips with a utility knife and put the lube in large plastic containers ( holding 6 - 8 lbs of the lube ) with a sealing locking lid .

I don't wrap each piece with anything. They are just stacked on top of each other. None have ever stuck to each other.

1 yr., 2 yrs. down the road, I've never seen a change in the lube of any type. I have a tendency to use the lube by the end of a 2 year period so I can't say how the lube would behave in storage beyond the 2 year mark.
My experiences with storage have never led me to believe that anything could be gained from storage in a freezer. Room temp is fine for me. I keep mine stacked on shelves in my basement. The temp in my basement is fairly stable , 60 F - 78 F all year round.