Ben's Red

35 shooter

Well-Known Member
By all means, make another batch with clean beeswax but, you might take a crack at melting your first batch down slowly, re-stir with a wisk, then strain to get the bee parts and trash from the dirty wax you used out.

Work your loads up with the new batch of lube, then try some from the first batch to see if it works as well for you.
The color of the beeswax, plus if you "burn" the grease a bit, can change the color of the end result (ask me how i know lol), but it may still work just fine.

I cooked the grease a bit with too much heat on my first batch years ago and got a watermelon color in the end, but it still proved out to work as well as subsequent batches made in the right way.

I use Ben's Red ,and or, BLL on all of my cast loads with total satisfaction and confidence first shot to last at the range or in the field.

Good luck with your next batch and just remember, it's a blend, not a melt.
Low heat, lots of stiring and go slow....nothing to it!
 

KHornet

Well-Known Member
The trouble with a lot of us, is following directions, without
adding a little something of our own personal whims. Human
nature I guess.

Paul.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Will 212F from a double boiler be enough heat to melt the ingredients? Seems a
good way to ensure not burning, but may not be hot enough.

Bill
 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
Bill,

I've never used the double boiler method.
However, that doesn't mean it won't work.

If you have a good way to adjust your heat and you don't walk off and leave your lube mix, watching for smoke and keeping your heat adjusted to minimize or eliminate the smoke and constant stirring with a wisk will work very well.

Ben
 

Rally Hess

Well-Known Member
I scorched my first double batch of Bens Red also, but use it as a lube for buckshot and slugs now. I just re-melt it when needed and submerge the buckshot or slugs in the lube in a small fryer basket. The condition of recovered wads tell me it makes a difference and I feel it also works as a preservative for long term storage. I'll give you an update in about 20 years. LOL
 
Ok I'll be waiting for that report in 20 years. LOL
When it warms up some I will make a new batch. it was 8 deg this morning.
I live in Minnesota!
 

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
I had a similar situation when making my second batch of Ben's Red as a matter of fact I commented on it in a post here....the first batch came out perfectly..however by the time I got around to needing more the grease had dried some around the open end of the tube...it took some doing to get it blended the way I thought it should be.... ended up with the right color but had small pieces of grease suspended in it...kind of looked like strawberry ice cream (not the color but the pieces of strawberry)...
I have switched back and forth between batches during the last year and have not experienced any differences in performance...

I will say that I have cut back on the amount of BLL that I use IMO I think it mixes with the powder fouling and gums things up a bit...not saying it's not good lube just saying IMO less is best...Like Ben suggest ..."a little dab will do ya"..especially when used in conjunction with Ben's Red

BTW my comments come from shooting thousands of rifle rounds using both of Ben's Lubes.. they don't necessarily apply to Ben's lubes used in handguns....Dan

 

Ben

Moderator
Staff member
Everyone would be wise to listen to Dan.
You can look at his groups he has been firing and see that he is very knowledgeable about shooting cast rifle bullets.

Ben
 

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Everyone would be wise to listen to Dan.
You can look at his groups he has been firing and see that he is very knowledgeable about shooting cast rifle bullets.

Ben

Ben ..Thanks..but really some times you just get lucky and get help from people like the ones on this site and when you listen and apply what they have told you...it can definitely improve your shooting...

As a side note I just love explaining my home made Ben's Red lube when people look at my bullets and ask what I'm using...especially when I tell them it's got ATF in it that helps the bullets to "shift gears" on the way down the barrel...:)
 

Rally Hess

Well-Known Member
Longhunter,
I also live in Mn, near Grand Rapids.

Dan,
Good to know about the BLL, because I can't find any polish and the Ben's Red is working real well for me. I added more Beeswax to my lube to get the consistency I wanted also.
I had a buddy of my youngest son in my shop the other night. He's a union boiler maker and gearhead. We were discussing Ben's Red and I'd of loved to hit him with the "shifts gears " line. Too funny

Ian,
My shop is all pneumatic, and I have several foot operated swagers and cutters. I've used all kinds of lubes over the years to keep them working freely. I just found a lube at a local TSC type store that really works well. It's called "Lube-It-All" and in spray can. The label claims it is a deep lubricating oil and contains Moly oil. Can you think of any reason it could damage the cylinders on my tools? I keep my shop fairly cool, because of the fur handling, and used to get an occasional foot pedal freeze up, but not since using this stuff. I'm pretty impressed with the stuff so far. Label says it is silicone free and it can be used on switches, solenoids, and near PC boards. Any ideas what this stuff is?
 

Ian

Notorious member
If it had moly in it, it would be black or dark grey and for sure moly compounds would be listed on the MSDS. Also, it would not be suitable for electrical switches if it contained moly in any form I know of.

Basically it's light oil, hydrocracked to remove the waxes, probably a "group III" base stock which is used, somewhat deviously, in most "synthetic" crankcase oils. Should be just fine for all HBNR seals. If it works, it works.

If you want something especially outstanding for cold-weather lubrication and solvency, it's tough to beat an ester oil...the only problem is it can be hostile to many kinds of o-rings and lip seals, so you need to know what they're made of. Any kind of straight paraffin oil with no polybutene and no additives such as pour point depressants or coiled-molecule viscosity modifiers tends to work well for cylinder lube since it doesn't gum up, doesn't evaporate, is non-polar, and doesn't break down into sludge (think automatic transmission fluid, or plain old mineral oil from the pharmacy, thick for laxative use, thin for babies, blend if required).
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
moly oil?
i wanna see them squish the oil out of that.
it would be like making antimony oil.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
I think Ian has broken the "Code Talker" info code for that oil. :D

You'd think there would be a snake shortage with all the snake oil that is being sold
commercially these days.

Bill
 
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Rally Hess

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys. I was just worried it could damage some seals. Works well so far, even if they lie on the label. Whatever happened to truth in labeling?
 

Ian

Notorious member
The AG is overwhelmed as it is. Same deal with internet fraud, if it isn't a seven-figure problem, the FBI won't even call you back. Companies play the numbers game and actually budget some of their profit on a business model for lawyering-up or settlements. The smartphone game is played with about a 30% budget to cover patent-infringement suits, because everything is patented and you can't produce a single thing without violating a number of them. So companies like Samsung launch a product, make their money in the first year before suits get to court, get out and on to the next model, and pay off their competitors while ending up with a profit at the end of the day.