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Concerning Gatofeo lube recipe

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Nemovir

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What I read is 1 pound tallow, 1 pound paraffin wax, 1/2 pound beeswax. I have 1 pound beeswax packages, why do I need the paraffin as well? Isn't beeswax a better wax then the paraffin?
 
The paraffin makes the mix as little harder when it sets up. I used lard instead of tallow when I made mine because I couldn't come up with lamb tallow locally. It seems to work fine as a wad lube.
 
I wouldnt use either waxes personally. Especially parrafin wax. Mix the two waxes together and you wont need a ball, just smack them up side the head with those hard patches. :rotf:
 
The paraffin adds stiffness to the mix. I use this mix to lube felt wads for C&B revolvers and BP cartridges in 45 Colt and 45-70. It's too stiff for lubing shooting patches. I find that stiff quality works as well or better than putting grease over the round ball in revolvers and is a lot less messy.

Jeff
 
You're running to much lube over the balls if its messy.

I just take a q tip and swirl it in my lube and apply it around the balls to make a nice seal.

Some guys Ive seen completely fill over the ball, all the way to the top of the cylinder. Tooooo much :surrender:
 
Here is the make-up of paraffin wax from Wikipedia:
"Paraffin wax is a white or colorless soft solid derivable from petroleum, coal or oil shale, that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between twenty and forty carbon atoms". If black powder residue does not "get along" with petroleum products then why would you use it in a weapon that fires black powder?? Just saying - :hmm: :confused: :idunno: :v .
 
For what ever reason it plays just fine. In fact this was an original lube recipe for outside lubed bullets. Gatofeo stated he tried just about every lube and every combination and found this to work the best for him.

I've been using it on wads and conicals and find it works quite well.
 
Hi, new here but not on a few other BP forums. Have a few revolvers and have gotten into making lube as well as having a friend who makes some really excellent Gatofeo.

As I understand it (and has been working nicely for both my friend and I) its the wax used in home canning of jellies and jams that you want. It IS Paraffin (and therefore petroleum based), but for some reason doesnt have the same adverse effect... Or at least not as bad.

With beeswax costing what it does, and times being what they are, the idea of using wax that can also be used for canning and costs only a fraction of the beeswax... Eh.. Its basically the only thing that many of us can afford to use anyway LOL.

A lot of times, to save on the "real" Gatofeo if Im only gonna be shooting a little bit (sadly my MOST common shooting style lately!) I'll just mix up some Lard (unsalted!) and canning wax in a roughly 50\50 mix... Varying the mix a tad one way or the other depending on the season and outside temperature. In the rare event that I actually get to spend any real time at the range, I'll splurge on the real thing and an extra squirt or two of olive oil on the arbor or center pin just to keep things rolling along..

Hope this helps!
 
Check and see if you have any bee keepers in your area. Many times they will sell you bees wax directly at a very reasonable price. You could also check with your local county extension office, farmers market etc. to get a lead on local bee keepers.
 
Long ago I used bearing grease and allox-bee. Both made a mess. I used to read about using Vaseline and water pump grease as recommended. Ned Roberts's book, "The Muzzle loading Caplock Rifle" talks about using Vaseline as a patch lube in an original Hawkin.

Could it be that based on the poor results from automotive greases people inferred that all mineral oils and greases are junk? We know that is not so. Ballistol is a favorite. When a person treats patches with it, what remains after evaporation is mostly mineral oil.

IMHO just because the old timers had nothing other than animal fats, it does not mean nothing else will work, or even that they are necessarily the best. I find that far more than patch lubes, the humidity on a particular day more effect on how fast the fouling builds up. In my dry climate moose milk works great because it has it's micro-climate, it is mostly water.

I can't believe I got sucked into a lube thread! :wink:
 
I bought some dry felt wads for my Ruger old army by mistake. Thinking of spraying them heavy with a dry lube. Would that work?
 

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