Cutting oil for patch lube?

[pepperbelly]

Since Ballistol isn't available locally and to avoid paying shipping I have been reading about other lube mixes. I have read several posts about using soluble cutting oil mixed with water.
Is there any reason not to?
Should I add anything else other than water?
I keep reading about people adding Witch Hazel, Murphy's Oil soap or alcohol. Why are these added? I mean- what do they do?
Since it's spring and I'm in Texas I won't have to worry about cold weather. I plan on using a dry patch- soaking the patch material in the lube, squeezing it out and letting it dry.

I have had this .40 caliber Jack Garner flintlock for about 5 years. I bought it to go shoot with my father, and after losing him in '09 I lost heart for a while. I have decided I really need to take it out to play. It's too nice to leave in a dark safe.
I have powder and roundballs. I need to go to Walmart and get some pillow ticking material for the patches.
My local Ace Hardware or NAPA Parts should have the soluble cutting oil. I will check the ingredients to make sure there are no petroleum distillates in it.

I thought about using olive oil, but that sounds messy.


I apologize for asking about patch lube. It seems to be a popular topic. Basically I just need to know if the soluble cutting oil is good for patch lube and if I need to add anything to it.

 

[Dave Marsh]

When target shooting and sighting in I use spit for a lube.....mink oil for hunting and cold weather. I try to keep it simple.

Dave

 

[jbwilliams3]

When target shooting and sighting in I use spit for a lube.....mink oil for hunting and cold weather. I try to keep it simple.

Dave

Same here. It's also cheap.

 

[curator]

Water-soluble cutting oil diluted with water was the original "dry-lube." The technique to find the most accurate patch lube for serious target shooting was to make patch strips with 5 to 1, 6 to 1, 7 to 1, etc., etc. water/oil mixes, saturate patch strips, wring out excess then dry horizontally on a cookie sheet. Once patch strips were dry one would shoot groups with each to determine the most accurate dilution formula. Obviously an already known and accurate ball-size/patch thickness/powder charge had to be used. "Tweaking" the patch lube amount refined an already accurate load into a "super-accurate" one.

 

[Dphar]

Since Ballistol isn't available locally and to avoid paying shipping I have been reading about other lube mixes. I have read several posts about using soluble cutting oil mixed with water.
Is there any reason not to?
Should I add anything else other than water?
I keep reading about people adding Witch Hazel, Murphy's Oil soap or alcohol. Why are these added? I mean- what do they do?
Since it's spring and I'm in Texas I won't have to worry about cold weather. I plan on using a dry patch- soaking the patch material in the lube, squeezing it out and letting it dry.

I have had this .40 caliber Jack Garner flintlock for about 5 years. I bought it to go shoot with my father, and after losing him in '09 I lost heart for a while. I have decided I really need to take it out to play. It's too nice to leave in a dark safe.
I have powder and roundballs. I need to go to Walmart and get some pillow ticking material for the patches.
My local Ace Hardware or NAPA Parts should have the soluble cutting oil. I will check the ingredients to make sure there are no petroleum distillates in it.

I thought about using olive oil, but that sounds messy.


I apologize for asking about patch lube. It seems to be a popular topic. Basically I just need to know if the soluble cutting oil is good for patch lube and if I need to add anything to it.

I use WS oil 7:1 (this can vary with the rifle) water/WS oil.
Mix well then I soak the patched and let them DRY to evaporate the water. Then I wipe every shot.
If hunting I use home rendered beef tallow or PURE Neatsfoot oil.
But matches are not hunting and hunting is not match shooting.
While I might use NF or Tallow in a match I would not use the WS oil for hunting.
There are a host of different formulas for patch lubes. Using a water based lube can allow shooting 40-50 shots without wiping but in this case I see no reason to used the WS oil in the mix. I also will not shoot 50 rounds without wiping the rifle. While is can and has been done a great deal. There have also been accidents where the gun fired while the charge was rammed due to a hot spot in the excess fouling build up in the breech. This has happened 3-4 times at the NMLRA Nats at least once with serious injury the first I read of was mid-late 60 when a shooter put rib and ball through his hand/wrist loading a FL pistol.
So its something to think about.
I tend to wipe the bore all the way to the breech every now and then just for piece of mind.

Dan

 

[George T.]

It took a long time for me but I eventually got on the wipe between shots band wagon also. I carry the Wonder Lube1000 treated cleaning patches to use when hunting or out of bag shooting. At matches I use moose milk! Geo. T.

 

[wulf]

Water soluble oil yes. Cutting oil ? I don't think
so....I use it when tapping and machining. Might
be too abrasive on the rifling...But that is just
a guess...

 

[S.Kenton]

I use simple, plain,Olive oil..just lay the patches out in a a bowl and dump a little bit of Olive in it.. take a fork or your fingers and move the patches around a little..if there is an excessive amount of Olive Oil left in the bowl dump some more patches in and soak it up.. no fuss, no muss and they keep for a LONG time without molding or falling apart.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The other responses should give you an idea of what you have started. The quest for a good patch lube is a journey that will last the rest of your lifetime. There is no single answer.
Various 'moose milk' forumlas work fine.
Currently I am using beeswax and oil. Two batches, one is real whale oil, the other is peanut oil. You can subsitute the oil with canola, olive, castor, jojoba or many others.
When searching for the water soluable oil, be careful to only get real ws oil. There are many subsitutes on the market that are not real ws oil.

 

[bobthemotorcycle]

Ballistol is not avalable in your area? I buy everything I own from O,riely or Wal-Mart and I have a half full can of it on my shelf. I have had it since befor I got into black powder. I did not even know people used it in black powder.

If I own it then it came from O'reily Auto Parts. If they have it then most all other auto stores have it also. Try there.

After looking it up O'reily does not sell it. I wonder why in the heck I own any?

 

[bobthemotorcycle]

I went to their site and looked up where they sell it in Texas. Here is the list.

There are 32 Ballistol Dealers in TX

ABLE'S SPORTING INC.
HUNTSVILLE, TX
Phone: 936 295 5786

ACTION PAWN
WHITEHOUSE, TX
Phone: 903 839 8606

ALBERT ROBINSON
GRANDBURY, TX
Phone: 817 326 4137

APPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLGIES
TEAXARKANA, TX
Phone: 901 948 4515

AROUND TOWN LOCKSMITH
BROWNSVILLE, TX
Phone: 956-541-8749

BRIAN JONES
SHADY SHORES, TX
Phone: 940 765 5946

CENTRAL TEXAS CONCEALED LLC
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX
Phone: 956 499 6192

BIKERS DETAIL
HURST, TX
Phone: 469 585 6919

FINISH LINE MARINE
HITCHCOCK, TX
Phone: 409 938 4408

FISTFULL OF FIREPOWER
CISOLO, TX
Phone: 210 885 3972

FOUNTAIN FIRARMS
HOUSTON, TX
Phone: 281 561 8447

GRUMPY'S GUNS
ARLINGTON, TX
Phone: 817-821-8999

GULF COAST FIREARMS
SPRING, TX
Phone: 713-510-4867

GUNMASTERS INC.
PLANO, TX
Phone: 972 423 0121

JOE WEBB
LUBBOCK, TX
Phone: 940-585-7484

MARTIN HILL
CENTER, TX
Phone: 409 256 0153

NEUMANN SADDLE SHOP
ALICE, TX
Phone: 361 668 9559

OAKWOOD OUTLAWS
OAKWOOD, TX
Phone: 903 545 2252

OASIS OUTBACK
UVALE, TX
Phone: 830 278 4000

PAT CORCORAN
HOUSTON, TX
Phone: 713 828 9086

SOUTHWEST FERTILIZER
HOUSTON, TX
Phone: 713-666-1744

WALTER KELSO
GALVESTON, TX
Phone: 409 739 9516

YE OL' GUNSHACK
IOWA PARK, TX
Phone: 940-592-5430

SADDLE SHACK
ANSON, TX
Phone: 325-823-4046

MESA VERDE GUNSMITH
SAN ANGELO, TX
Phone: 325-277-1651

RESILIENT DEFENSE SYSTEMS
MCALLEMN, TX
Phone: 956-627-2625

JERRY ECKHART
CISCO, TX
Phone: 254-631-6809

BOGGUS FORD LINCOLN
HARLINGEN, TX
Phone: 956-430-7029

FASTENAL COMPANY
HOUSTON , TX
Phone: 713 450 0921

NFA VENTURES
RED OAK, TX
Phone: 972-415-6806

KNS PRECISION
FREDERICKSBURG, TX
Phone: 830-997-0000

KIRKS GUN SHOP
EL PASO, TX
Phone: 915-274-9964

 

[pepperbelly]

I was wanting to try a version of the Dry patch. I will call around for a local dealer in Ballistol, but the last time I tried I came up blank. Those lists are not always current.
That is why I was thinking of a soluble cutting oil. Is some of that really abrasive? I would think that would defeat the purpose of the oil.
If all else fails I can go with olive oil, but I really want to try something more constant like the dry patch is supposed to be. I can see where a oily patch might be a problem to keep the same amount of lube on.

 

[pepperbelly]

Well I don't have to worry about getting the right cutting oil. There is a small shop that is local that carries Ballistol. I will use that.