felt wad lube

[M. De Land]

I think I remember Elmer Keith writing that he punched felt wads out of old hats and just used melted Bee's wax for lube in his cap-n-ball revolvers.
Do any of you remember for sure his recipe? Mike D.

 

[George T.]

No but he may have just melted it over them and it would work well. I would not know where to find old hats and their pretty cheap. Well yeah I'm last to. Geo. T.

 

[M. De Land]

I made some up last night after melting a couple sticks of SPG and saturating them in it. Cooled them on a cookie sheet and they're ready to shoot but SPG is pretty expensive if the same can be done with simple Bee's wax. Mike D.

 

[Billnpatti]

I don't remember his recipe but I have tried melting Bore Butter into sheets of 1/8 inch thick Duro-Felt. I simply spread the Bore Butter on the sheets and then put them into the microwave for just long enough to melt the Bore Butter into the felt. Then when it is cool, I punch out the wads. I don't know if that is actually the best lube for the wads or even if it comes close to Elmer Kieth's lube but it seemed to work pretty well for me. Just don't over lube the felt.

 

[Wes/Tex]

In Keith's book "Sixguns" in chapter XIV called "Loading and Management of Cap and Ball Sixguns", p.210, he says the following about wads:

"Next take an old felt hat, a thick heavy one, or similar heavy felt material an eighth inch thick, if you can find it, and soak it in a mixture of melted tallow and beeswax. If you do not have the wax, then deer, elk, beef or mutton tallow will do. When cold and hard, take a slightly oversize wad cutter and cut wads."

Skeeter Skelton said about the same when he reviewed the then new Colt '51 Navies when they first came out in the 70's. He then threatened to shoot anyone who tried to use his hat!! :wink:

 

[swathdiver]

Bore butter works fine but may foul or partially foul your load if you leave it loaded for a time.

Using a drier tallow/beeswax mixture it will dry hard and some po' boys skip the wool and just use the lube pill all by itself.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Found the original article after it was too late to edit the previous. Skelton was testing percussion from Replica Arms in 1972 and used Crisco because he refused to make wads of his Stetson. The test of the Colt Navy remake was by Toby Bridges who used an auto grease over the balls but made the comment that he'd been given the recipe of felt hat wads soaked in a mix of one-half pound of paraffin, one-half pound or beeswax and one-fourth pound of beef tallow. So take your pick! :wink:

 

[M. De Land]

Thanks for the info guys. Mike D.

 

[Heelerau]

five of beeswax to one of unsalted tallow by volume works for minnies, enfield paper cartridges and soaking felt to make wads for cap and balls.

Cheers

heelrau

 

[dikman]

Gatafeo's #1. A very old recipe that he found and is very similar to yours.
1 part paraffin
1 part mutton tallow
1/2 part beeswax

Used on felt wads or as a solid pill, which is what I'm using in the 1858 (saves me buying felt).

I went looking for used hats to cut up - I found they cost more in the thrift shops than buying new felt!!

 

[necchi]

Gatafeo's #1. A very old recipe

That's interesting, and kind of a neat way the internet spreads rumor and myth.
Gatafeo is 58 years old,
And Paraffin was widely available until the 1850s.

 

[jamesthomas]

I don't use any lube when I use mine as a over the powder wad in my .50 cal. Just load them dry.

 

[RADeO]

Gatafeo's #1. A very old recipe

That's interesting, and kind of a neat way the internet spreads rumor and myth.
Gatafeo is 58 years old,
And Paraffin was widely available until the 1850s.

I believe Gatofeo was merely quoting from a source for an old British lube recipe.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I would not know where to find old hats and their pretty cheap. Well yeah I'm last to. Geo. T.

Dunno about your neck of the woods, but in Southern and central Alberta, 3X and 4X wool felt western hats turn up in thrift stores and garage sales with sufficient frequency that I can easily supply all the felt wads I need for my smoothbores. I first cut the hats into three or four pieces - brim, sides of crown, and top of crown (maybe into two) - and iron them flat. I usually lube after punching rather than before.

Regards,
Joel

p.s. occasionally a 4X or better fur felt hat turns up, but I refuse to cut up that nice a hat for wads.

 

[dikman]

Yep, you're right (that's why I said he found it, in a journal or something). He didn't actually create it himself.
So I'm not quite sure what myth is being perpetuated.

 

[necchi]

(that's why I said he found it, in a journal or something).

:redface:
Sorry, I missed that part,
My Bad, :redface:

 

[AwRuuska]

Gatafeo's #1. A very old recipe

And Paraffin was widely available until the 1850s.

It's still widely available, just go to the canning supplies of any good hardware store. :stir:

 

[crockett]

M.D.- the straight beeswax is a little too hard IMHO, you need the tallow. Tallow is just beef fat that is heated and the lumps removed and the grease sort of set. You could probably use something else like Crisco that wouldn't smell like beef.

 

[Billnpatti]

Properly cleaned, beef tallow is practically odorless. Once rendered, it must be placed in several changes of boiling water to remove all contaminants. To do this, put the rendered tallow into a pan of water and bring it to a boil. Allow it to cool until the tallow hardens on top of the water. Carefully lift it off the water and repeat the process. After a couple of these "cleanings" the resultant tallow will be a very light to white color have almost no odor beyond that of grease. It is now ready to be used as a patch or bullet lubricant in your rifle, pistol or any other firearm. If it is a bit too soft, you can "tighten" up by adding bees wax. Personally, I would not use paraffin to tighten tallow if I could get bees wax.

 

[Dickydalton]

I blew my life's savings and bought a tub of mutton tallow from Dixie and mixed it with bee's wax and paraffin, just like Gatefoe said to. It takes a long time to use 3/4 of a quart jar of that even if you're lubing conicals too.