1st attempt at BLL with alternate Lundmark Wax

Dug

New Member
My formulation is based on an old 8oz Planters Peanut jar. Using Bens' 30-30-40 formula. I calculated, 2.4-2.4-3.2 ozs. I rounded the 2.4 to 2.5 for the Lundmark and Alox and the 3.2 up to 3.5 for the Mineral Spirits. Does this sound correct??? Or, should I have done differently??

Used an eye dropper to drop 5 drops and swirled 50 Lee 158 grainers for a few minutes and put them on wax paper in a cookie tray. Followed by 50 44 cal 240 gr KSWC HP's. Time dried for 25 minutes and they felt dry with just a hint of tackiness. Temp here in South Western NM is around mid 50's with 35% Humidity. Broke for lunch and came back to check. They pretty much felt the same with maybe a hint less tackiness. However, when I tried to dry my fingers, there was nothing to wipe off. Did I do this correctly. Would appreciate any feedback.

Doug
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
Doug,

Sounds like you're well on your way to shooting some fine groups with your lube. Just be certain you have a 100% air tight seal on the lid. If a trace of air can get into your storage container, it will all gel rather quickly. Of course after several days, you'll need to shake everything up for about 30 - 40 seconds.

Ben
 

Dug

New Member
Doug,

Sounds like you're well on your way to shooting some fine groups with your lube. Just be certain you have a 100% air tight seal on the lid. If a trace of air can get into your storage container, it will all gel rather quickly. Of course after several days, you'll need to shake everything up for about 30 - 40 seconds.

Ben
Thank you Ben,
I was hoping you'd reply. All I was looking for was affirmation as to the process I followed. By the way were my calculation correctly done??

Doug
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
follow your recipe next time and it'll come out the same.

here's the secret mix for normal groove filling lube.
60% wax @40% modifier 3-5% oil. [the actual lubricant part]

that's pretty much every successful lube ever made, and many of them leave out the last 5% because the modifier is mostly an oil already.


a tumble type lube is merely a coating that's been solventized, then the solvent evaporates leaving the wax and soaps behind to harden.
45-45-10 lube is cooked to take out the solvents that keep the JPW soft, then the other stuff is added in, and the spirits are just there to make a solution and then evaporate.
simple.

Ben's just ain't got anything in it that needs cooked out, it just gets mixed up in the solvent which simply evaporates away.
you can add as much as you want or as little as needed to mix the stuff in it together.
 

Dug

New Member
follow your recipe next time and it'll come out the same.

here's the secret mix for normal groove filling lube.
60% wax @40% modifier 3-5% oil. [the actual lubricant part]

that's pretty much every successful lube ever made, and many of them leave out the last 5% because the modifier is mostly an oil already.


a tumble type lube is merely a coating that's been solventized, then the solvent evaporates leaving the wax and soaps behind to harden.
45-45-10 lube is cooked to take out the solvents that keep the JPW soft, then the other stuff is added in, and the spirits are just there to make a solution and then evaporate.
simple.

Ben's just ain't got anything in it that needs cooked out, it just gets mixed up in the solvent which simply evaporates away.
you can add as much as you want or as little as needed to mix the stuff in it together.
fiver:

Thanks, this is a wonderful site and I am appreciative of all of the input. Slowly getting back into casting; and lubing is a new learning curve after a 55 year absence.
For clarification please, what specifically is a modifier and specifically what oils are you alluding to re:
"here's the secret mix for normal groove filling lube. 60% wax @40% modifier 3-5% oil. [the actual lubricant part]". Is this a reference to something altogether different from Ben's LL formula? Thanks again

Doug
 
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Ian

Notorious member
here's the secret mix for normal groove filling lube.
60% wax @40% modifier 3-5% oil. [the actual lubricant part]
Here.

Modifiers are bearing grease, non-lubricating oils like heavy white mineral oil, Vaseline, Crisco, etc. Lubricating oils for bullet lube are things like two-cycle engine pre-mix lube, castor bean oil, ester oils, and so forth, only used when needed for high speed and/or high pressure applications.

BLL is a liquid lube using somewhere around 50/50 of a LIQUID wax which is already heavily laden with solvent, and Liquid Alox, no additional solvent needed if you use a liquid wax. 45/45/10 uses equal parts PASTE WAX and Liquid Alox, thinned as required with actual mineral spirits (NOT the "odorless" milky water-based crap).
 

Dug

New Member
Here.

Modifiers are bearing grease, non-lubricating oils like heavy white mineral oil, Vaseline, Crisco, etc. Lubricating oils for bullet lube are things like two-cycle engine pre-mix lube, castor bean oil, ester oils, and so forth, only used when needed for high speed and/or high pressure applications.

BLL is a liquid lube using somewhere around 50/50 of a LIQUID wax which is already heavily laden with solvent, and Liquid Alox, no additional solvent needed if you use a liquid wax. 45/45/10 uses equal parts PASTE WAX and Liquid Alox, thinned as required with actual mineral spirits (NOT the "odorless" milky water-based crap).
Ian:
Thanks for the information. Funny even in older age one keeps learning; However, it still remains a progressive (oops bad word) process one piece/bit stacked upon another.

Curious any of you who post and interact, live in New Mexico??? Plata de ciudad for me (you'll understand if from this neck of the woods; actually sand.

Doug
 
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fiver

Well-Known Member
Ian's in Texas, and I'm in the polar opposite upper highlands of Idaho.

i think the closest one to you is Allen, he's over in California sorta near the saltan sea.
 

obssd1958

Well-Known Member
Actually, I think Ian is closer to Silver City, NM, than Allen is, by less than 100 miles.
But either one is 10 to 11 hours away.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Albuquerque is 11 hours from here the fast way. The only NM shooters I know are in that area.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
I'm no help , 18 hr more or less to Albuquerque for me and that's pee ,pump ,pass some more trucks 5 times if OKC and Amarillo don't have the slow me downs .

I used to know a guy on the NW corner of .... nevermind wrong state and latitude .
 

Dug

New Member
I'm no help , 18 hr more or less to Albuquerque for me and that's pee ,pump ,pass some more trucks 5 times if OKC and Amarillo don't have the slow me downs .

I used to know a guy on the NW corner of .... nevermind wrong state and latitude .
Thank you much guys. Was hoping someone might have been a neighbor of sorts. Will continue to endeavor on my own, with the exception of you guys.
take care and be safe to all. Doug in Silver City.
 

Dug

New Member
Ian's in Texas, and I'm in the polar opposite upper highlands of Idaho.

i think the closest one to you is Allen, he's over in California sorta near the saltan sea.
fiver:
What part of Idaho? As a kid hung out in Jerome, Twin Falls, and played around in my grandmothers mines in Bullion Gulch over in the Hailey Bellevue/Sun Valley area. . She later moved to Boise, loved swimming and playing in the Boise river. I hadn't been back, since her demise back in 71; sure used to be a great place to grow up in
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
i'm way over in Soda Springs.
if your not sure where that is, just draw a line 50 miles in from Wyoming and 50 miles up from Utah, that'll put you right about on top of highway 30 where it turns left around the mountain pass towards Pocatello.
 

Dug

New Member
by a good 15 degrees in the wrong direction though.... LOL
fiver and obssd1958
Yeah we used to come out of the Bay Area back in the good old days, come up Hwy 50 through Tahoe and into Truckee, pick up Hwy 395 and hook a right in Owyhee/Mc Dermitt on over to I-86 then into Jerome and in the later years into Boise. Would love to go rock hunting for jaspers and agates there in your neck of the woods, as I am a quasi flint knapper.

obssd1958, curious about your moniker, wouldn't stand for obsidian or by any chance obsessed since 1958 ?? Re Boise my G-ma had a house out of town going by way of the Esplanade, like heading to Luck Peak reservoir; she once owned the Mode O day womens shop downtown and an old Hotel across the street. I hear they tore down most of the prestigious Old Building from the 1800's; such a loss. In addition my aunt (also long deceased) had a denture business called Diamond Lil's. Yeah, Idaho carries some great memories; thanks for the trip down memory lane!

Well guys this has been great. And Ben not to leave you out, I've finished up about 7 or 800 38/357's and 44's. All thanks to your discoveries.
Will keep you posted once the shooting begins in a week or two, and see how the leading or not goes.
Till then, thank you all once more.

Buenos Noches Amigos! Su amigo el-doggie (yep it's got a story behind it) And my favorite...........Dug-out
 
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