So you want to make your own bullet lube.

[KHornet]

I am really not much for mixing my own lubes, but there are some dandy formulas out there. If I were to get the urge to make some, it would probably have to be Ben's formula. A couple of years back, Brad was working on a good, all weather (emphasis on what would work in cold weather as well as hot) lube. I like While Label lubes with emphasis on their 2500. That said, for me, accuracy with White Lable with anything with canuba waxed lubes starts going south at temps much below 40 degrees. Brad came up with a green lube, fairly soft, that shoots well and accurate in cold down to at least 10 degrees which is the coldest I have shot it, but think it is capable of much lower than that. Have shot it in 308's at vols of up to 2250, and have nice shiny bores. Have a quantity of the green stuff, and will use it for cold weather rifle shooting and hunting. Probably have about a 3-4 years supply of it. That said, have about 30 sticks of White Lable, and maybe half dozen of some other lubes that need to be used up as well.

Being an old timer, and for years with very little money, my lube was beeswax, Vasaline, and Crisco. About equal amounts of beeswax and Crisco, and Vasoline about half the weight of the other two. Had an old perc coffee pot that held the mix of probably about 2-3 lbs, to which I added a couple of teaspoons of the finest graphite powder I could find. It warmed just enough to pour if I left it sitting on a radiator over night, and sturred it to keep the graphite suspended enough and I could pour it on wax paper and then cut it into strips to put in the sizer. It was a bit messy, and shot a bit smoky, but it shot pretty well for quite a few years. Shot better than the old black Lyman lube that somebody gave me a couple of sticks of back then by the way.

 

[Brad]

Let me correct something. I did not come up with that green lube, I got it from Mike, the developer of MML. It is an older version and I beleive is lower in wax than the current version. It is great in cold weather but does get a bit soft when temps climb above 80.

 

[Ben]

I am really not much for mixing my own lubes, but there are some dandy formulas out there. If I were to get the urge to make some, it would probably have to be Ben's formula. A couple of years back, Brad was working on a good, all weather (emphasis on what would work in cold weather as well as hot) lube. I like While Label lubes with emphasis on their 2500. That said, for me, accuracy with White Lable with anything with canuba waxed lubes starts going south at temps much below 40 degrees. Brad came up with a green lube, fairly soft, that shoots well and accurate in cold down to at least 10 degrees which is the coldest I have shot it, but think it is capable of much lower than that. Have shot it in 308's at vols of up to 2250, and have nice shiny bores. Have a quantity of the green stuff, and will use it for cold weather rifle shooting and hunting. Probably have about a 3-4 years supply of it. That said, have about 30 sticks of White Lable, and maybe half dozen of some other lubes that need to be used up as well.

Being an old timer, and for years with very little money, my lube was beeswax, Vasaline, and Crisco. About equal amounts of beeswax and Crisco, and Vasoline about half the weight of the other two. Had an old perc coffee pot that held the mix of probably about 2-3 lbs, to which I added a couple of teaspoons of the finest graphite powder I could find. It warmed just enough to pour if I left it sitting on a radiator over night, and sturred it to keep the graphite suspended enough and I could pour it on wax paper and then cut it into strips to put in the sizer. It was a bit messy, and shot a bit smoky, but it shot pretty well for quite a few years. Shot better than the old black Lyman lube that somebody gave me a couple of sticks of back then by the way.

If I were to get the urge to make some, it would probably have to be Ben's formula.

Now I take that as a REAL COMPLIMENT ! !

Ben

 

[Pistolero]

Do we have a lube recipes in a sticky or other reference "library" location? I know that Ben's Red recipe
is posted over on another site, but since I haven't followed you guys multiple years of experimentation
very closely (occasionally dropping in until my head started to hurt from learning too much at a whack!)
I am not sure what you guys might consider as the current "state of the art". I see some amazing
groups that Ben posts, so I tend to think that, AT MINIMUM, Ben's Red does nothing bad for accuracy,
and probably the reality is that it does good things for accuracy.

I'm thinking along the lines of a "practical applications of new bullet lube technology" with a few recipes
and some do's and don'ts as a summary for those of use with our heads spinning from all the new
knowledge out there. How hard would it be to put together some sort of a practical applications
"note" for others to start trying out some of these new developments?

Thanks, guys.

Bill

 

[KHornet]

Pistolero, Over the past close to 60 years, I have seen so many formulas for lubes that I am amazed with what is on the market today, and what is on the web and the vast improvements in quality and shooting results. Brad has mixed up some lubes that works great, one a green that I have a quantity of that works very well in cold temps. He and a lot of others have been screwing around with mixing their own now for quite awhile. One of these days I will get to try some of Ben's Red, and I know it will be super, as is his Liquid mix. In the meanwhile, I probably have a lifetime supply of commercial and the green stuff Brad mixed up. When I was first starting to lube, I was in my early 20's, and I pan lubed and cut them out with an empty case cutter. My lube at the time was Beeswax, Vasoline, Crisco, and some graphite, a mix I got out of an old Pope book. I recall formulas in that book that used Whale oil.

I am still curious about lots of things regarding casting, loading and shooting cast bullets, but lube is not one of them. Between Ben's last two developments, and White Label , I am satisfied that unless there is an unforeseen breakthrough in new lube components, I am convinced that we have just about as good a product (commercial and home grown) with lubes as it will ever get. That said, more power to them who keep trying for better mouse traps and lubes. They are younger than me! Good luck~

 

[Ben]

Do we have a lube recipes in a sticky or other reference "library" location? I know that Ben's Red recipe
is posted over on another site, but since I haven't followed you guys multiple years of experimentation
very closely (occasionally dropping in until my head started to hurt from learning too much at a whack!)
I am not sure what you guys might consider as the current "state of the art". I see some amazing
groups that Ben posts, so I tend to think that, AT MINIMUM, Ben's Red does nothing bad for accuracy,
and probably the reality is that it does good things for accuracy.

I'm thinking along the lines of a "practical applications of new bullet lube technology" with a few recipes
and some do's and don'ts as a summary for those of use with our heads spinning from all the new
knowledge out there. How hard would it be to put together some sort of a practical applications
"note" for others to start trying out some of these new developments?

Thanks, guys.

Bill

Bill,

The instructions for making Ben's Red was also posted on this forum at Brad's request,

http://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/bens-red.15/

 

[Pistolero]

Yes, I have a file with that recipe in it, and recently picked up Lucas Red and Tacky, plus some STP. Is this
current STP the same stuff I used to used 50-50 with motor oil for an engine assembly lube 30 years ago? Has
the EPA or FAA or the CDC or anybody else made it illegal like almost everything else?

I plan on making up a batch of Ben's Red and one of Ben's Liquid Lube, have the Johnson's One Step in
hand, and several old bottles of LLA.

I still have a modest quantity of NRA 50-50 and LBT soft blue, both have done well for me over
the years, but looking at Ben's groups, it can't hurt to use that lube and may help me.

 

[358156hp]

I believe the EPA objects to the zinc content in STP, IIRC.

 

[Paden]

So you want to make your own bullet lube.

I'm not sure I want to make my own bullet lube...but I just received 16 pounds of sweet, fragrant bees wax in the mail. Is this how the sickness first manifests? If so, what can be done to minimize the effects of the affliction?

 

[Brad]

Want to minimize the affliction? Stay away from fiver and Ian. My wife says she will shoot Ian on sight should he ever step into Eastern Nebraska.

In reality, it isn't so bad. You do get to learn a lot about what doesn't work. It also makes you learn a new vocabulary and you can impress people with your knowledge of waxes and oils.

 

[carpetman]

I read that folks have experience with this and that and the other so they wonder if it will work as a bullet lube? I've never heard anyone inquire about using KY Jelly. Makes me wonder if we spend TOO MUCH time with casting.

 

[Josh]

I read that folks have experience with this and that and the other so they wonder if it will work as a bullet lube? I've never heard anyone inquire about using KY Jelly. Makes me wonder if we spend TOO MUCH time with casting.

Who needs KY? Last I checked that lubes itself naturally, bullets on the other hand... they need all the help we can give em!

 

[35 shooter]

Paden yep, that's exactly how it starts. There's no cure for you now except to dive in, pick out a good one and brew it up! Lots of satisfaction in making your own!

 

[Brad]

Kentucky jelly? Why would I use that? My bullets would never understand the drawl.

 

[Ian]

Oh, easy for YOU to say it isn't so bad! Did your wife tell you WHERE she was going to shoot me if she ever sees me? Yikes. You better stay on her good side! I'm gonna stay in Texas, and just for your safety, I'm NOT going to tell her that you had been warned about cooking bullet lube in her kitchen beforehand....let's see....Gear's Rule's #2 ring a bell?

 

[Brad]

Ian, I don't follow rules to well. It isn't that I think outside the box, I refuse to acknowledge that there is a box!

Actually, she would welcome you any time. Anyone who helps keep me happy and entertained is good in ether eyes. I married well that way.

 

[Paden]

All right, I've read as much as I can digest, to the point that it has started to make me dizzy. Or perhaps that's a function of the bottle conditioned yeast pee... Regardless, bolstered by all you instigators I have procured the following natural and artificial ingredients: Esters; Hydrocarbons; Fatty Acids; Fatty Alcohols; Synthetic Ester; Butene, homopolymer; Solvent naphtha, medium aliph; N,N'-di-sec-butyl-p-phenylenediamine; Phosphorodithioic acid; O,O-di-C1-14-alkyl esters; zinc salts, and I shall soon endeavor to assemble them into something resembling a bullet lubricant. It may take a few months before I'm able to report the results of my Betty Crocker adventure, but I shall, eventually, for better or worse.

 

[Paden]

Weather is utterly snotty today with sleet and snow, so I decided to stay inside and try my hand at making a lube... It turned out pretty well, I think; feels good. I have a few cylinders worth loaded up and should be able to shoot them within a week or so. If it performs well, I'll post the recipe. Given the weather it won't be too long before I can cold test them too, which is the real objective.

 

[Pistolero]

Sleet and snow????

Yikes! It was 76F here this afternoon in KC area, working on the gutters and fascia repairs in the good weather.

Where are you, Alaska?

 

[Paden]

Where are you, Alaska?

Yes, in the hills North of Fairbanks. Winter seems to be a couple weeks early this year....