New lube.

[Loyalist Dave]

Never found it an issue. Still offers plenty of advantages by absorbing salts.

Actually the beeswax acts as a preservative of sorts. I made several small cakes of the stuff several years ago, and they haven't gone rancid.

LD

 

[Stumpkiller]

Actually the beeswax acts as a preservative of sorts. I made several small cakes of the stuff several years ago, and they haven't gone rancid.

LD

These Egyptian beeswax figurines are 3,000 years old and not rancid.

 

[Britsmoothy]

These Egyptian beeswax figurines are 3,000 years old and not rancid.

I don't think you should of melted them down Stumpy

 

[Idaholewis]

Rendered Bear Fat, Lanolin, And Beeswax. Nothing better in my opinion

 

[stevenjay1]

WHEN YOU HANG A FABRIC TO DRY, GRAVITY CAUSES THE LIQUID TO TRAVEL TO THE LOWEST PART AND THEN WHEN DRY THELUBRICANT WILL BE MORE EVIDENT ON THE THE LPWER HANGING PARTS AND THERE WILL BE NO CONSISTENCY IN THE SLICKNESS.


LETTING THE FABRIC DRY ON A FLAT HORIZINTAL NON ABSORBENT SURFACE IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO.

DUTCH

Dutch, I thought that laying the patchs or strips was the way to go but I thought I would check to be sure. I'm always willing to learn a new trick.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Rendered Bear Fat, Lanolin, And Beeswax. Nothing better in my opinion

Sounds like a good mix.

B.

 

[rawhide]

I make lube a 50-50 mix of beeswax and buffalo tallow. Works great even in cold weather. Or u can use olive oil and beeswax it works to

 

[atllaw]

Tell me more please?

Probably best to just quote his post on another forum. He prefaces his recipe with:
"Do not use greases or oils that are petroleum-based. The older black powder manuals suggest using automotive grease over the chambers of revolvers. Don't do it. Petroleum-based greases somehow create a hard, tar-like fouling when combined with the black powder.
The proper grease or oil is animal or vegetable-based, such as Crisco, canola, beeswax, sunflower, commercial lard, mutton tallow and similar substances."
Then the meat of it:
"My own patch, wad and bullet lubricant is a 19th century recipe, found in a 1943 issue of the American Rifleman.
The recipe is:
1 part paraffin (I use canning paraffin, found in grocery stores)
1 part mutton tallow (sold by Dixie Gun Works)
1/2 part beeswax (available at hobby and hardware stores)
All measures are by weight, not volume. I use a kitchen scale to measure 200 grams of paraffin, 200 grams of mutton tallow and 100 grams of beeswax. This nearly fills a quart Mason jar.
Place the Mason jar in a pot or coffee can with about 4 inches of boiling water. This gives a double-boiler effect, which is the safest way to melt waxes and greases.
When the ingredients in the jar are thoroughly melted, stir well with a clean stick or a disposable chopstick. Remove from water and allow to cool at room temperature (trying to speed cooling by placing in the refrigerator may cause the ingredients to separate).
This creates a lubricant nearly identical to a well-known black powder lubricant sold commercially.
To use, place a small amount of the lubricant in a clean tuna or cat food can. Melt in a shallow pan of water. Drop your revolver wads or patches into the can and stir them around with a clean stick until all wads or patches are saturated. Allow to cool then snap a plastic lid (available in the pet food aisle) over the can and store in a cool, dry place. This keeps dust and crud out and retains the lubricant's natural moistness.
I don't bother to squeeze out the excess lubricant from patches or wads but use them as-is.

This is an excellent bullet lubricant for all black powder uses. I also use it for patches in my .50-caliber muzzleloading rifle, and lubricating cast bullets for my .44-40 and .45-70 rifles. I've tried it with .357 Magnum bullets at up to 1,200 feet per second and it prevents leading. I haven't tried it at a higher velocity in the .357 or other calibers, but may someday.
I like the addition of paraffin in this bullet lubricant, because it seems to stiffen the felt wad somewhat, and scrapes out fouling better.
I've used the Ox-Yoke Wonder Wads in the past and they're good, but lack enough lubricant for my likes. I soak them in the above lubricant.
With a well-lubricated wad twixt ball and powder, you can shoot all day without ever swabbing the bore."

 

[Britsmoothy]

Probably best to just quote his post on another forum. He prefaces his recipe with:
"Do not use greases or oils that are petroleum-based. The older black powder manuals suggest using automotive grease over the chambers of revolvers. Don't do it. Petroleum-based greases somehow create a hard, tar-like fouling when combined with the black powder.
The proper grease or oil is animal or vegetable-based, such as Crisco, canola, beeswax, sunflower, commercial lard, mutton tallow and similar substances."
Then the meat of it:
"My own patch, wad and bullet lubricant is a 19th century recipe, found in a 1943 issue of the American Rifleman.
The recipe is:
1 part paraffin (I use canning paraffin, found in grocery stores)
1 part mutton tallow (sold by Dixie Gun Works)
1/2 part beeswax (available at hobby and hardware stores)
All measures are by weight, not volume. I use a kitchen scale to measure 200 grams of paraffin, 200 grams of mutton tallow and 100 grams of beeswax. This nearly fills a quart Mason jar.
Place the Mason jar in a pot or coffee can with about 4 inches of boiling water. This gives a double-boiler effect, which is the safest way to melt waxes and greases.
When the ingredients in the jar are thoroughly melted, stir well with a clean stick or a disposable chopstick. Remove from water and allow to cool at room temperature (trying to speed cooling by placing in the refrigerator may cause the ingredients to separate).
This creates a lubricant nearly identical to a well-known black powder lubricant sold commercially.
To use, place a small amount of the lubricant in a clean tuna or cat food can. Melt in a shallow pan of water. Drop your revolver wads or patches into the can and stir them around with a clean stick until all wads or patches are saturated. Allow to cool then snap a plastic lid (available in the pet food aisle) over the can and store in a cool, dry place. This keeps dust and crud out and retains the lubricant's natural moistness.
I don't bother to squeeze out the excess lubricant from patches or wads but use them as-is.

This is an excellent bullet lubricant for all black powder uses. I also use it for patches in my .50-caliber muzzleloading rifle, and lubricating cast bullets for my .44-40 and .45-70 rifles. I've tried it with .357 Magnum bullets at up to 1,200 feet per second and it prevents leading. I haven't tried it at a higher velocity in the .357 or other calibers, but may someday.
I like the addition of paraffin in this bullet lubricant, because it seems to stiffen the felt wad somewhat, and scrapes out fouling better.
I've used the Ox-Yoke Wonder Wads in the past and they're good, but lack enough lubricant for my likes. I soak them in the above lubricant.
With a well-lubricated wad twixt ball and powder, you can shoot all day without ever swabbing the bore."

Thank you.

B.

 

[Black Hand]

These Egyptian beeswax figurines are 3,000 years old and not rancid.

These are FANTASTIC! Thanks for posting.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Do not use greases or oils that are petroleum-based. The older black powder manuals suggest using automotive grease over the chambers of revolvers......
The recipe is:
1 part paraffin (I use canning paraffin, found in grocery stores)

Well I thought that paraffin, for canning from grocery stores, WAS a petroleum product. ???
Well maybe the sheep tallow mitigates the paraffin?

Ned Roberts says that Bear Oil or sperm whale oil is [was] the best lubricant, of course that was 1949, and he was mostly concerned with linen patched, conical bullets, but it holds true to the idea of using animal fats.

LD

 

[Robby]

Not all paraffin is a petroleum by product, it can be derived from plants and even bees wax.
Robin

 

[stevenjay1]

Not all paraffin is a petroleum by product, it can be derived from plants and even bees wax.
Robin

How can you tell the difference?

 

[Stumpkiller]

As far as I know all paraffin wax petroleum based.

To the Brits "liquid paraffin" is kerosene.

 

[Britsmoothy]

As far as I know all paraffin wax petroleum based.

To the Brits "liquid paraffin" is kerosene.

There is or was an odourless paraffin that my trapper friend swore by for lubricating his traps and another feller swore by it for worming dogs!
I have no idea what it was and I haven't come across it!
Something else to Google....

 

[atllaw]

Well I thought that paraffin, for canning from grocery stores, WAS a petroleum product. ???

As far as I know it is, and Gatofeo said he believed it was also. But he was quoting the mixture as published and also said he had never noticed any adverse effect from using the paraffin. Actually, neither have I.

 

[John Duckitt]

In South Africa one can buy "Liquid Parraffin" it is a plant-based oil used to clean out the stomachs of little kids (I know, I had it done to me, and it tasted just as terrible as Castor Oil) same as Castor oil. I have used it very successfully combining it with beeswax as a lube. Very slippery used in minute quantities for lubing cases when resizing, and fantastic as a patch lube in my Hawken. However, I find I have to clean after 15-20 shots, so perhaps adding mutton tallow will improve it. Unfortunately mutton tallow is a VERY valuable resource used in making dried sausage, so finding some of this jealously guarded resource might be tricky and expensive!!

 

[Robby]

How can you tell the difference?

I dunno Steven. Seems like, if they went to the trouble it would be on the packaging.
Robin

 

[Loyalist Dave]

In South Africa one can buy "Liquid Parraffin" it is a plant-based oil used to clean out the stomachs of little kids (I know, I had it done to me, and it tasted just as terrible as Castor Oil) same as Castor oil. I have used it very successfully combining it with beeswax as a lube.

I don't think the American Rifleman in 1943 was publishing a formula using South African liquid paraffin, especially as it's specified as "canning paraffin", which is the petroleum product.

LD

 

[Kansas Jake]

I've made up a batch of lube for felt wads using an adaption of Gatofeo's recipe, but substituted unsalted lard from the grocery store for lamb fat. I couldn't find the fat locally. It has worked fine in my revolvers and hasn't turned bad in a couple of years. Now, I've jinxed myself and the next time I check it will stink to high heaven. Revolvers seem to clean up fine.