Ben's Red

[longhunter]

Well I need some advice.
I made my first batch of Ben's Red yesterday. I looks like Pumpkin bars.(Color)
No Red at all. I worked on it for two hours. Starting real slow and low heat.
I got everything melted but some small pieces of the red grease(the dia. of a pencil didn't want to melt). Up went the temp.
no luck. Up went the temp............... you get the idea.
So is the lube still good? It was at the point of smoking.
Or do I start over.
I thought about a strainer at the end to take out any clumps/pieces.
Any Ideas from you guys?
Scratching my head!!!!!!
Thanks
Jon

 

[Ben]

Most people who make Ben's Red bullet lube for the 1st time become impatient and turn up the heat ( with the danger of a lot of smoke and over heating everything ) in an attempt to speed things up.

My old granddaddy always told me....." Boy, you can't rush good whiskey ". He was right.

There are many things that you just can't rush. More stirring and time would have eventually got you where you needed to be.

Is your lube ruined ? Most likely not.

Ben

 

[Stonecrusher]

I have found that a wisk works really well for breaking up the clumps and mixing at lower temps.

 

[longhunter]

Thanks For the replies. I hope it is still good lube. Will try it and see how it works out.
I think maybe a little cheese cloth and strain the lube might be in order.
Or I need to strain the bees wax before adding it to the mix. It is raw wax.
Thanks again, I'm open for anyone else to comment. I always learn a lot!
Jon

 

[Brother_Love]

When I made mine the beeswax I used was a Brownish color which made my batch Ben's Orange. It still works great!

 

[KHornet]

I also found that a wisk, and patients as Ben and Stonecrusher
recommend make a world of difference. If it smokes you are
to hot.

Paul

 

[JWFilips]

You need to beat it well with a wire whisk. It will all blend on low heat Whisk it continuously!
If your "over heated lube" doesn't smell like burning tires you should be ok!
But Properly blended Ben's Red actually has a pleasant smell

 

[Ben]

But Properly blended Ben's Red actually has a pleasant smell

I'm glad you mentioned that Jim ! !
I lot of people talk about how bad Ben's Red smells.
That tells me they over heated their mix .

Ben

 

[Ben]

I need to strain the bees wax before adding it to the mix. It is raw wax.

I definitely would strain the raw wax.
It contains bee parts, dirt, etc.
I don't want that going down my bore , I'm certain you don't either.

 

[JWFilips]

Ben,
what most folks ( especially the Lube compounders" ) don't understand Ben's Red is a Simple blend of ingredients !
It is not a magical "Compound "that has to be made in complex ways! If they do it that way it is not the Real Ben's Red
The blend is simple...... Just follow Ben's rules! Don't try to re-create it and you will be golden!
Jim

 

[KHornet]

When Ben came up with his Red, and documented the results, I had
probably 2-3 years of Lar's lubes, but trusting Ben, I made a batch.
When he came up with BLL, I started using a single coat of it as an
encapsalent (coating) for all my regular lubes Ben's Red, and the
Lars. Most of my rifle bbls look slick and like factory new by doing
it this way. For multi groove bullets, depending on how fast I am
going to drive them I use 2 or 3 coats of BLL, only and the results are
more than acceptable accuracy, and slick bbls. Ben's Red, and BLL
are the only lubes I have made since the beginning. Nothing against
those who are more or less constantly looking for the formulas for
the holy grail of lubes. Good for them, just not for me.

Paul

 

[KHornet]

Forgot, I do use a green lube that Brad whipped up
for cold weather, cause it works, and have killed
deer with it.

Paul

 

[longhunter]

Well I think a do over is in the works here.
Thanks for the advice.
Thanks Ben for all your work to make a great lube.
BLL is great and the next batch of Ben's Red will be also.
Jon

 

[Will]

I used Ben's recipe but used black moly grease. When I made it I put all the ingredients in a crock pot and just forgot about it for a while.

I would come back and give it a good stirring every now and then. The lube mixed well and turned out great.

 

[Ben]

Well I think a do over is in the works here.
Thanks for the advice.
Thanks Ben for all your work to make a great lube.
BLL is great and the next batch of Ben's Red will be also.
Jon

Jon,

I hope you enjoy the lube.

Ben

 

[quicksylver]

I used Ben's recipe but used black moly grease. When I made it I put all the ingredients in a crock pot and just forgot about it for a while.

I would come back and give it a good stirring every now and then. The lube mixed well and turned out great.

I bet the stew made in that pot afterward went down smoothly....

 

[quicksylver]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is how much each of us make at time..I only make enough to use up one half of the tube of grease..

On low heat it doesn't take all that long..I can imagine that making a batch using the whole tube would take much longer...

 

[Ben]

That is a good point Dan.

Ben

 

[Ian]

Here's another tip. Put the grease in the pot first and get it softened, but keep it below the smoke point. Add some ATF to thin out the grease. Once that's all the same consistency, add the JPW and get it all melted in, might want to do it a little at a time because at that point it will start to get lumpy. Once that's all smooth, add the beeswax and let it melt in very slowly, stirring the whole time.

It's like mixing pancake batter, if you just throw all the ingredients in and start mixing, you'll never get rid of the lumps.

 

[KHornet]

Good analysis Ian!

Paul