Patch lube

[Cutfingers]

Has anyone had any experience with using paraffin vs. bees wax in making patch lube? If so, please enlighten me.

 

[ohio ramrod]

no experience but I would recomend against it. Parafin is harder than bees wax and more likely to cause a build up. My self I use a mixture of 80% salt free lard and 20% bees wax. Except for below freezing weather when I switch to pure lard.

 

[boar]

I used beeswax&groundhog oil for lube when I started back in 80's, used it up to a few years ago, now use deer tallow. Had to use the beeswax to keep it from running out of the tin,deer stays at 90 degrees. Still use the grhog oil for my leather. Never tried the paraffin. Dilly

 

[rebel727]

I tried making bullet lube with it and it doesn't mix well.

 

[JohnnyO]

I once mixed Crisco an paraffin and it just wouldn't come out right, was always harder and more crumbly than I wanted, it wouldn't just thicken up like it would with beeswax

 

[shmrck1]

Cutfingers,
When it comes to patch lube a pound of
beeswax will go along ways.Parrafin is harder
and I don't believe would blend as nicely as
beeswax.IMO
snake-eyes:hmm:

 

[MikeC]

My post may be out of place but I don't understand why people go crazy with patch lubes. :hmm:

If OAT above is above freezing...Spit. :thumbsup:

If below freezing...mink oil. :thumbsup:

Simple. :wink:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

I use crisco mixed with some murphys oil soap. For some reason it attracts those darn bee's and wasps.

 

[Bountyhunter]

Are you being swarmed with wasps over there? I'm just down the road (80 mi) from you and we cant hardly get out the door for those danged wasps.

Paraffin is petroleum based. It does not mix well with vegetable based greases or beeswax. We moved a bunch of oil field tank batteries a while back and they had about 6" of almost pure paraffin sludge in the bottom. It even settles out of crude oil..........

 

[Kentuckywindage]

yeah wasps and bee's are all over the place. The horses water buckets are filled with them. Never seen them like this before!

 

[jtmattison]

Paraffin doesn't mix well with lard or olive oil. Beeswax is the way to go. A little beeswax lasts a long time. I bought 2 pounds over 4 years ago and I still have about 1/2 pound left.

HD

 

[Cutfingers]

I have a follow up question. What about raw bees wax? If I buy 5 lbs how much will I end up with after filtering? Or, is filtering necessary in making patch lube?

 

[jtmattison]

I have a follow up question. What about raw bees wax? If I buy 5 lbs how much will I end up with after filtering? Or, is filtering necessary in making patch lube?

5 pounds of raw beeswax will probably render 4 3/4 pounds of filtered. Maybe a bit more or less depending how much gunk is in it.

The best way I have found to really clean beeswax is to boil it in a large pot of water. After boiling a few minutes just let it cool and harden in the pot. You can then remove he clean cake of wax from the pot. It will have some gunk on the bottom of it that you can scrape off but the rest of the gunk will be in the water.

HD

 

[Greenmtnboy]

I have a follow up question. What about raw bees wax? If I buy 5 lbs how much will I end up with after filtering? Or, is filtering necessary in making patch lube?

I get my bees wax from a local lady who sells honey.
She strains it and sells in cake form and I have never had to do anything but use it.
When you say "Raw" do you mean never used?
Also IMHO and I know plenty of forumn members get outstanding accuracy with bees wax but I have found that it is to unmanageable in the Rocky Mts with the dry,cold climate.
I found deer or elk tallow as a thickiner to marmot or bear oil is more accurate and manageable than bees wax.

 

[rabjr]

I found deer or elk tallow as a thickiner to marmot or bear oil is more accurate and manageable than bees wax.

Me too. :thumbsup:

When I got unfiltered beeswax right out of the hive, there was a bit of unwanted junk in it including dead bees and most is done away with in one filtering and usable. The 40 lbs or so that I cleaned up a few years ago I twice filtered, just because, and it is just pure wax now.

 

[poordevil]

well there is you answer! use the bees as the thickener! :thumbsup: