I made my own bullet lube...

[J Danley]

I ran out of bullet lube for my luber/sizer. And I have about 500 .44 Magnum bullets and about 500 .38 Special bullets that I need to size and lube. I've got some bullet lube that I've ordered, but I didn't want to wait for it. I want to get these cartridges loaded up.

A guy told me about using a wax toilet ring and equal amount of candle wax for bullet lube. He said that is what he uses.

I added a little "extra" to mine. I'm going to give it a whirl and find out what kind of results I get.

1 wax ring for a toilet (unused of course)

8 candles for warming dishes

4 crayons

Half a bottle of Lee Alox (about 2 oz)

I bought a new measuring cup because I knew my wife wouldn't want me using hers.

I cooked it in my wife's oven.

While it was still liquid, I poured it in my sizer/lubricator.

 

[walnutred]

Looks like Thousand Island Dressing, but let us know how it works out

 

[J Danley]

Originally posted by walnutred:
Looks like Thousand Island Dressing, but let us know how it works out

Well, I got my bullets lubed. It went through the sizer/luber just like store bought stuff.

I guess the proof will be how good the bullets shoot. I'll give them a try this weekend if the weather holds up.

 

[MKT]

Did this concoction require heat to get it to flow through the sizing die? What is the cooled consistency like - 50/50 or some of the slightly harder lubes?

Do let us know how it performs under fire.

 

[Skip Sackett]

My homemade lube is much simpler to make. I have used it in all of my loads from 9mm to 44mag with good success. 50% Beeswax and 50% White Label Lube Liquid Xlox by volume, adjusting the Beeswax content for firmness.

Just melt both ingredients, measure and mix. Pour into mold and wait.

I switched to White Label Lube's BAC for my last lubing session. It works fine and saves me the hassle of making my own, a buck something per stick makes it worth it.

FWIW

 

[J Danley]

Originally posted by MKT:
Did this concoction require heat to get it to flow through the sizing die? What is the cooled consistency like - 50/50 or some of the slightly harder lubes?

Do let us know how it performs under fire.

It was fairly soft. I had the heater turned down real low, but I think it would flow fine without any heat at all.

 

[NKJ nut]

Now all you need to know is how it performs as a bullet lube.

If all else fails you can make candles out of it. You'd have the only candles around with Lee Liquid Alox in them

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Years ago when bullet lube started climbing toward $3.00 a stick I started making my own. I use 50% commode seal to 40% canning wax. I mix and melt and pour it into my RCBS sizer. When it solidifies I start lubing. I use it on everything from .32 S&W-44's/45's/444's/45/70, 30/30/30-06 etc. It works as good as any thing I ever bought and is cleap too.
Your mix will do fine.

 

[Gatofeo]

Just a note here:
Toilet seals used to be a good source of beeswax. However, for the past 10 years or so, most of what you encounter is not real beeswax but is a synthetic.
It makes a difference.
Years ago I created a black powder bullet, wad and patch lubricant that came to be named after me: Gatofeo No. 1 Bullet Lube.
Others have made it with the synthetic beeswax and reported it wasn't nearly as good as made with the real stuff.
One man reported that the melted toilet seal was green and lumpy.
Finding real beeswax can be a problem at times. I've had my best success and buys at Rendezvous and Renaissance Fairs.
You can find small amounts of it at times, in hobby shops, but it's expensive that way.
The best black powder lubricant I've found, especially for lubing felt wads (real wool felt, by the way, not polyester felt), remains Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant.
The recipe is simple:
1 part canning paraffin
1 part mutton tallow (sold by Dixie Gun Works)
1/2 part beeswax

Use any other tallow, or anything but canning paraffin and real beeswax, and its abilities to lubricate and cut fouling suffer.

Read the label when you buy what you think is beeswax. If you don't see "beeswax" anywhere on the box, it's very likely synthetic.

 

[Superflywimpy]

I made my first batch of lube and am still using it months down the road. Alot goes a long long way. I used 1 lb white bee's wax.1 lb white parafin wax and 1/3 lb vasaline petrolium jelly. I used a couple of old pots I bought at the Goodwill store and made a double boiler as I was careful not to burn the wax. I used silicone pans with the help of a wooden loading block the bullets were evenly spaced and sofar I am very pleased with the results. When you poke out the bullets they come out nicely lubed and dont break up the wax,put it back in the silicone pan and drop more bullets into the holes where the bullets came out and use a heat gun to melt the lube and now you have more lubed bullets with out having to melt and pour all over again. I lube about 500 and store them in a 1 lb margerine tub till I'm ready to load

 

[jrm53]

I have a Lyman 39 hand book and it says how to get your cast bullets to shoot accurately, i.e. vary your powder amount, try different powders try sizing the bullets smaller, larger,"try a different lubricant such as Marfak, water pump grease, Socony-Vacum "Sovarex" #1 and #2 and other greases. I can remember when I was a kid my Dad had some of that Marfak on the farm and it was thick and looked like earwax when all else failed try another bullet style or weight.