making a patch or bullet lub

[fho]

I was wondering if it would help or hinder a bullet or patch lub if you put a little graphite in the mix? :hmm:

Olie

 

[suzi]

While there is no harm in using graphite I see little benefit, anything shoved down the barrel has to be cleaned out.There are many lubes, homemade and commercial that are time proven and will do a better job without adding to the fouling.
Dub

 

[Swampman]

I think it would be really messy and it's unnecessary.

 

[Pittsburghunter]

Is graphite hard enough that it would etch the bore? I have no clue. Is there a chemist in the room?

 

[Norskie]

I'm not a chemist but I used to be a chemical process technician. No, graphite is not that hard; if I remember right, it's barely harder than carbon. Heck, it's been used to coat black powder since the 1800s. Graphite's crystal structure is weak, forming thin plates that slide past each other easily. That's where its lubricating properties come from.

 

[musketman]

I was wondering if it would help or hinder a bullet or patch lub if you put a little graphite in the mix? :hmm:

Olie

Since there is a graphite coating on the powder, it's already in there when the gun is fired...

I work with graphite in the rubber industry, it is some slippery stuff and it gets everywhere, needless to say it would help make your barrel even more dirtier than the standard fouling you get from spent black powder...

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you are interested in making your barrel easier to clean, or to shoot longer, you can have the inside of the barrel hard chromed. It does not appear to improve accuracy much, but it makes cleaning a snap. Back in the mid 1970's, I talked to Homer Dangler about this at Friendship, and he sent a barrel off to Marker Machine Company in Charleston, Illinois to have the bore plated. He made up one of his usual fine guns, and tested it. He could not see any real improvement in accuracy, but he told me he never had a gun so easy to clean.

 

[fho]

Musketman & Everybody:

Thank you for the information.

Olie