caster oil?

[mainiac]

Have a large amount of caster oil left over from the wifes soap making. Would this make a good patch lube? If not straight,then how much would you cut it,and with what? Thanks,mark

 

[jeepwj992002]

Don't know about Castor oil by itself. You might want to check out Stumpkillers lube recipes in the members resources section. Good stuff there!!

 

[Keppy]

Welcome to the forum. Do a search on castor oil and you can read up on what has been decussed. Its great for rust protection as they used in WW II on everything from guns and airplanes. :thumbsup:

 

[Slamfire]

If'n yore gonna sniff burnt castor oil, you'll need to start drinkin' Blackberry brandy. It's the only thing that prevents the runs. At least that's what my Uncle Karnie a WWI Sgt. pilot claimed. :thumbsup:

 

[Wes/Tex]

If'n yore gonna sniff burnt castor oil, you'll need to start drinkin' Blackberry brandy. It's the only thing that prevents the runs. At least that's what my Uncle Karnie a WWI Sgt. pilot claimed. :thumbsup:

The real effect they never write about in WWI flier stories. Bread, cheese & brandy kept the Fly-Boys in the wild blue! :haha:

 

[longcruise]

Would this make a good patch lube? If not straight,then how much would you cut it,and with what?

I started playing with castor oil a couple months ago.

I tried to cut it with Rubbing alcohol and that didn't work. Denatured alcohol worked and it made a dandy lube. The mix was about 6/1 alc/castor. I was looking for a lube that would wipe as I loaded for small game hunting and extended woods walks that had no water content so's I would not have to worry about a rust ring.

It worked as good as moose milk (cutting oil and water) as far as accuracy and ease of loading without wiping and of course no worry about rust with the oil/alc system. I used it in my club match in June and managed a second place which I'd not done in many years. Was it the lube? I doubt it, but OTOH, it didn't hurt my shooting either

The denatured alcohol is a bit hard on the hands and could attack some wood finishes. I'm looking for something other than the alcohol to try, so if any of you chemists out there have any ideas, please chime in!

 

[Stumpkiller]

Don't run it straight. I cut it substantially with water and isopropyl (91%) alcohol for a moose milk style lube. Works great.

Here, once again, are the formulae:

Stumpy's Moose Juice

A general purpose blackpowder solvent and liquid patch lube. Shake well before using

Castor Oil 3 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz.

I dip my patching in this twice and let it dry laid flat on wax paper in between. Makes a semi-dry patch material that's easy to carry & use. If you don't mind carrying a little bottle it's a GREAT liquid lube as is.


Stumpy's Moose Snot

A premium multi-shot between wiping (10+) patch lube stable over a wide temperature range.
SPECIFICALLY designed for use of patched round balls in a loading block

Beeswax 2 oz.
Castor Oil 8 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.


Heat beeswax in a soup can set a pot of water. ( A double-boiler. I keep my beeswax in a one pound coffee can and measure out what I need by melting it and pouring it into measuring cups). Add just enough water so the inner can does not begin to float (should be just short of the lube level in the can). Heat the water to a low boil. In a separate can, add the castor oil and Murphy's oil soap (cold). Once the beeswax is melted, swap the castor oil can in the pot of water for the beeswax. Add the beeswax to the oils. It will clump up. Stir with an ice tea spoon as the mixture heats up. When it fully melts there will be a scum that floats to the top and just won't mix in. Be patient. DO NOT COOK THE MIXTURE. Once the solids are dissolved there is no need to heat further. Skim the scum off. Remove the mix from the heat and wipe the water off the outside (so it won't drip into the container when you pour it out). FINAL TOP SECRET STEP: Add a teaspoon of Murphy's Oil Soap and stir vigorously. This last step makes the lube frothy and smooth - really adds to the appearance; though it doesn't seem to matter to the function of the lube. Clamp the can in the jaws of a vice-grip pliers and pour into the waiting tins. Allow to cool a half hour.

Note: it if is a hinged tin - line the edge that has the hinges with a strip of aluminum foil so it doesn't ooze out before it cools.


The moose juice works well as a cleaning solution but I always follow up with a good wiping of Beechwood Casey Sheath afterwards. A few alcohol wipes before loading to remove the Sheath keeps things soft and slippery at the range. If I don't get 15 shots between having to wipe the bore it's too much like work.
:wink:

 

[longcruise]

Don't run it straight. I cut it substantially with water and isopropyl (91%) alcohol for a moose milk style lube. Works great.

Not sure what you are saying here. Are you suggesting to cut the castor oil with water and isopropyl alcohol? You must shake it well before using cause when I put those three things together, they go together like sailors and coast guardsman at a USO dance!

I've been making my bullet boards a bit looser and thicker and loading the balls in them with a dry square patch. Just before I loading a ball, a bit of liquid lube is squirted on the side of the ball covered by the patch and then started down the bore with one shove on the long arm of my short starter. Seems to work great with the castor oil/denatured alcohol mix and with the traditiona NAPA cutting oil/water mix.

I've never used spit for lube cause I don't like putting dry cotton in my mouth OTOH, I'm thinking that using my loose bullet boards and plain old water would work just as well. Neither the NAPA/water system or any of the other water based lubes are suitable for loading for extended times though so for now, a woodswalk or small game hunt dictates the castor/denat alc mix.

For big game hunts, I guess it'll remain a grease lube.

Thanks for your comments Stumpkiller

 

[Black Hand]

Denatured alcohol worked and it made a dandy lube.

Please beware of the denatured alcohol. I many cases it is denatured with methanol which can ultimately cause organ toxicity and nerve damage.

 

[longcruise]

Please beware of the denatured alcohol. I many cases it is denatured with methanol which can ultimately cause organ toxicity and nerve damage.

Hey Black Hand, I'm not drinkin it!!

Never heard that about denatured alcohol. Can you add further to that? Don't want to be endangering my or anyone elses health :shocked2:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Don't run it straight. I cut it substantially with water and isopropyl (91%) alcohol for a moose milk style lube. Works great.

Not sure what you are saying here. Are you suggesting to cut the castor oil with water and isopropyl alcohol? You must shake it well before using cause when I put those three things together, they go together like sailors and coast guardsman at a USO dance!

I've been making my bullet boards a bit looser and thicker and loading the balls in them with a dry square patch. Just before I loading a ball, a bit of liquid lube is squirted on the side of the ball covered by the patch and then started down the bore with one shove on the long arm of my short starter. Seems to work great with the castor oil/denatured alcohol mix and with the traditiona NAPA cutting oil/water mix.

I've never used spit for lube cause I don't like putting dry cotton in my mouth OTOH, I'm thinking that using my loose bullet boards and plain old water would work just as well. Neither the NAPA/water system or any of the other water based lubes are suitable for loading for extended times though so for now, a woodswalk or small game hunt dictates the castor/denat alc mix.

For big game hunts, I guess it'll remain a grease lube.

Thanks for your comments Stumpkiller

You got it. If you start with the alcohol and add the castor oil and then the water it mixes best (castor is not water soluable, but it is alcohol soluable and alcohol is water soluable . . . my brain hurts). Still have to shake it - like Italian dressing.

For woods walks and all of hunting season I use the patch material soaked and dried twice. It stays "moist" with the oil for months, but is relatively unmessy to handle. I make up a batch of strips and keep them wrapped in wax paper (or Zip Loc bags) until needed. In my shooting pouch I carry a six foot roll inside a deerskin pouch that was painted (while turned inside out) with melted beeswax. Keeps them fresh mostly indefinately.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Why not use ballistol, or water soluable oil you can get from most machine shops instead of castor oil?
Even mineral oil smells better than castor oil.

 

[longcruise]

Maybe some water soluble with alcohol instead of water? Would eliminate the rust problem.

 

[Black Hand]

Hey Black Hand, I'm not drinkin it!!

Never heard that about denatured alcohol. Can you add further to that? Don't want to be endangering my or anyone elses health :shocked2:

It's not so much the drinking! The methanol is absorbed throught the skin and into the system.

 

[longcruise]

That's a very real concern and I'm going to look into it further. Thanks for the tip!

 

[410-er]

Stumpy's lube is all I use any more!

 

[Stumpkiller]

Why not use ballistol, or water soluable oil you can get from most machine shops instead of castor oil?
Even mineral oil smells better than castor oil.

????? Castor oil is odorless. At least the pharmaceutical grade I buy from drug stores or model airplane shops. Taste; that's another story. Texture, too. (Anyone else remember Fletcher's Castoria in their childhood? Gack.) I burn it in my R/C engines (hence it was already available to me). Also, the Romans used it in lamps and it has been around as a medicinal for 3,000 plus years. I can't prove it was used as a lube in flintlocks 250 years ago . . . but it could have been. NAPA water soluable oil and Ballistrol I can prove was not used "in the day". The only petroleum products around were ashpalt and linoleum. No refineries.

I shoot for more than target accuracy. :wink:

And if you want to talk smell lets get that Ballistrol out and swap whiffs. Tell me a deer can't pick that out at 200 yards to leeward.

 

[wtilenw]

Stumpy's lube is all I use any more!

Amen Brother! Me too.
Idaho PRB

 

[jeepwj992002]

I just made my first batch of Moose Juice this evening. I am going to try it as a dry lube on some duck cloth I got for patches. I hope to shoot some of it soon. :thumbsup:

 

[shmrck1]

Stumpy,
I agree castor oil is odorless.I have a 4oz
bottle in hand(cap off :wink and although
I don't have the best nose in the world,
I can't smell it.On the contrary the beeswax
has a very nice scent.IMO
snake-eyes:hmm: