Ideal Handbook #15
From the Ideal Handbook, ca. 1904:
Recipe #1: Three parts beeswax to two parts cylinder oil
Recipe #2: Vaseline with enough parafin as required to harden it
Recipe #3: Japan wax with sperm whale oil to soften it
Notes:
'Japan Wax' is the wax of the carnauba tree. Commonly used as ski wax.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Horace Kephart's Lube
From the Ideal Handbook, ca. 1904:
"Melt over a slow fire three parts of of crude ozocerite and two parts vaseline. That is
all there is to it. The proportions may be varied to suit individual notions; but I have
found that the above compund needs no modification for any range of temperature that we
have at St. Louis. "
From Sharpe:
"Horace Kephart's lubricant. Crude ozocerite, 3 parts; vaseline, 2 parts. Melt together
in a double boiler. If too hard for your rifle, soften it by adding more vaseline." Notes:
Horace Kephart is the designer of the Kephart style of bullet.
Ozocerite is a mineral wax dug out of the ground like coal. The refined wax goes under the
name cerasine. The refined version does not work as well as the crude.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Ballard
From a conversation with a friend:
"Half beeswax, half toilet wax"
This is what I was told when I found a coffee can marked 'Tom's Magic Lube' in a friends
reloading room.
Notes:
Tom Ballard is a mould maker here in Montana
'Toilet Wax' is, I am told, the wax gasket applied when installing a toilet. Stranger
things have been used.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Niedner Mixture
From Sharpe's Handloading:
Japan Wax Acheson's graphite #1340
"To a half pound of of melted Japan Wax add four heaping tablespoons of powdered Acheson's
graphite #1340. The melted mixture must not be too hot, and the graphite must be added a
little at a time and stirred continuously. When the entire amount has been added, remove
the mixture from the heat supply, and continue stirring. This is very important. If left
to stand in a melted mixture the graphite will seperate from the wax.
Notes:
I have no idea about the Acheson's #1340
'Japan Wax' is the wax of the carnauba tree. Commonly used as ski wax.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Herrick Mixture
From Sharpe's Handloading:
Japan Wax Beeswax Cylinder or castor oil
"...equal parts of beeswax and Japan wax with a small quantity of cylinder oil or castor
oil, the latter added primarily to soften the mass...the smallest amount should be used.
The oil will 'sweat out' if lubricated bullets or loaded cartridges are stored for several
months."
Notes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Henry Beverage Lube
From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Yellow vaseline 2 oz. mutton tallow 4 oz. japan wax 10 oz. beeswax 6 oz. crude ozocerite
6 oz. gunslick grease 1 tube per 6 oz. of mixture
Notes:
Formula atrributed to Leopold
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Dell #36
From Shooter's Talk:
Lithium stearate - 1 part by weight 600W worm gear oil - 1 part beeswax - 1 part lanolin -
1 part synaceti - 1 part
Mix everything except the beeswax at about 400 degrees F. Mix will melt, then jell, then
melt again. Pour in the melted beeswax and bring back up to heat until it all melts and no
gel remains.
Notes:
Synaceti 125 is available from some candle shops and is a substitute for spermacetti.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Dell #48
From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax - 10 parts by weight Peanut oil - 5 parts anhydrous lanolin - 4 parts lithium
stearate - 5 parts gunslick grease - 1 tube per 6 oz. of mixture
The waxes and oils are melted together and allowed to cool until they just start to harden.
Then the Li stearate is mixed in. It will look like tan mud. Reheat and keep raising the
temp. stirring at frequent intervals. First it will start to gel and turn translucent,
then will finally melt around 400F. It must be poured into moulds at this point because
when the temp drops slightly it will gel again.
Notes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Dell #53
From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 20 gm. anhydrous lanolin 5 gm. castile soap (Kirks) 2 gm. castor oil 5 gm.
Notes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manny, Hil, & Metzler
From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Tallow 1 oz. ozocerite 2 oz. japan wax 2 oz. beeswax 5 oz. steam cyl. oil 1 oz.
Notes:
This is probably an excellent pan lube
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leopold #245 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Japan wax 4 1/2 oz. tallow 9 oz. ozocerite 1 1/2 oz. lye 1/2 oz. rosin 1/2 oz. water 8 oz.
Boil until froth disappears. Mix, boil with lye and water, cool and remove cake from water,
wash and form into sticks for pump. High melting point, not for pan lube.
Notes:
This is probably typical of Leopolds formulas.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donaldson's Lube - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beef tallow 6 oz. beeswax 4 oz. rosin 2 oz.
Notes:
Harvey Donaldson was a responsible for several cartridges inc. the .219 Donaldson Wasp.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
N.H. Robert's #1 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 6 oz. beef tallow 2oz steam cyl. oil 3 tsp.
Notes:
Ned Roberts was the designer of the .257 Roberts ----------------------------------
N.H. Robert's #2 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Crude Ozocerite 1 part yellow beeswax 1 part Japan wax 1 part mutton tallow 1 part
Notes:
Ned Roberts was the designer of the .257 Roberts
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roderick #1 Hard - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 4 oz. mutton tallow 3 1/8 oz. Mobil 600 wt, steam cyl. oil 7/8 oz.
Notes:
For use at 80 deg. F and above
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roderick #2 Medium - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 3 1/8 oz. Mutton tallow 4 oz. Mobil 600 wt. steam cyl. oil 7/8 oz.
Notes:
For use between 55 and 80 deg. F
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pope Lube - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Beeswax 2 oz. Bayberry wax 4 oz. mutton tallow 6 oz. steam cyl. oil 2 oz. Acheson graphite
#1340 170 gr.
Notes:
If you don't know who Harry Pope was, your mommy shouldn't be letting you play with bullets.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry Darr #1 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Paraffin 50% Vasaline 50% old RCBS case lube 1 tbs per lb. of mix
Notes:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry Darr #2 - From the Cast Bullet Mailing List (CB-L):
Paraffin 50% Vasaline 50%
Notes:
Same as Barry Darr #1 but minus the RCBS case lube
************************************************** ******************************************
"Have you ever lubed rifle bullets to be launched beyond 2K fps with just beeswax blended
with a little jojoba oil?"
YES, I have it will work, but I still like the liquid lanolin because of the flex and tack
it supplies. Plus it allows me to make a soft enough lube without inducing flyers.
pure jojoba oil added at the rate of 2 TBLSP's per pound "works" but it has no flex and in
my simulated winter shooting tests I had erratic performance. simply adding more did not
make the brittle nature or standard deviation problem go away.
1TBLSP jojoba and 1TBLSP liquid lanolin to 1 pound cappings grade yellow hard beeswax will
cover 90 percent of what any of us wants in a lube. Adding johnsons seems to shinify the
bore, but it makes the lube too soft so you need more wax, and the orange oil seems to
also have a solvent effect so I keep it. Before I knew it I ended up with the 5 pound
batches I quoted earlier. The ivory is not totally neccessary either, but if you cool
it rapidly in the freezer you will see why it can be important, plus it raises melt point
a bit. I have also played with some recipes using microcrysstalline wax, but they need
some tweaking yet. For the most part of this journey I have simply thought too hard, but
in the end I am happy with this.
MIKES MAGICAL MYSTERY LUBE
5 lbs beeswax
1 TBLSP Ivory
1 TBLSP Jojoba
2 TBLSP natural orange oil
1 TBLSP Johnsons p.w
1 TBLSP liquid lanolin
colored candle dye or chips of you choosing ( I will use orange or red if I ever run low
on lube) which will be at least a day or two.
I just hope I spared at least one person from going through the insanity of it all. It was
an expensive lesson, but fun none the least.
EDIT: One more thing DO NOT ever add something like kroil to a lube I did and it showed
promise at first, but a couple a weeks later them loads leaded to beat the band. All I
can figure is that the kroil slowly creeps into the pores of the lead and actually softens
the skin of a boolit.
************************************************** ******************************************
The only thing I do know about this recipe is...it came from Dan Theodore, and it was
posted on the BPCR (dot) net site a long time ago.
CM
"Great For Hot, Dry Conditions" - sourced from Dan Theodore
Ingredients, Procedures, Notes, etc.
All measures are by volume.
4 parts refined beeswax
2 parts LubeGard's "Valve and Assembly Lubricant"
2 parts anhydrous lanolin.
OR
5 parts refined beeswax
3 parts LubeGard
2 parts anhydous lanolin. "This makes a dandy lube for dry, hot conditions."
Note: LubeGard should be available at any NAPA Auto Supply store.
Note: Refined beeswax and anhydrous lanolin are available from:
http://www.from-nature-with-love.com/soap/.
Melt the beeswax and anhydrous lanolin in a double boiler. Once both are well melted,
add the LubeGard and stir for a minute. This lube works well for pan-lubing, as well
as through a lube-sizer.
************************************************** ******************************************
I have used Emmert's Home Mix for both Black Powder and Smokeless loads with excellent
results:
50% pure natural beeswax, 40% Crisco, and 10% Canola Oil (all measurements by volume).
Melt using a double boiler (overheating damages the lube).
A refinement is to reduce the Canola Oil by half and replace that half with Anhydrous
Lanolin. So, the improved Emmert's is:
50% beeswax, 40% Crisco, 5% Canola Oil, and 5% Lanolin.
************************************************** ******************************************
************************************BPCR.net lube list**************************************
50% Beeswax
50% Ballistol
Vary the Beeswax up or down for a patch lube or bullet lube. I melt the Beeswax in a Pyrex
Measuring cup in the microwave. Then add the Ballistol, stir, and pour into a plastic
microwavable container to cool. It can easily be re-melted to adjust the mixture.
The rich, pungent, aroma of the Ballistol adds to the enjoyment.
Jack Roberts, silhoutte4570
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Great For Hot, Dry Conditions" - sourced from Dan Theodore
Ingredients, Procedures, Notes, etc.
All measures are by volume.
4 parts refined beeswax
2 parts LubeGard's "Valve and Assembly Lubricant"
2 parts anhydrous lanolin.
OR
5 parts refined beeswax
3 parts LubeGard
2 parts anhydous lanolin. "This makes a dandy lube for dry, hot conditions."
Note: LubeGard should be available at any NAPA Auto Supply store.
Note: Refined beeswax and anhydrous lanolin are available from:
http://www.from-nature-with-love.com/soap/.
Melt the beeswax and anhydrous lanolin in a double boiler. Once both are well melted,
add the LubeGard and stir for a minute. This lube works well for pan-lubing, as well
as through a lube-sizer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Emmerts" - provided by Ken Hurst
This is an old lube but still has a following and has never failed me when using it
for Black Powder. I understand it can be used for smokeless if you are using
low-pressure loads.
50% bees wax
40% Crisco or lard
10% canola oil
I heat this in a dbl boiler to mix. Do not heat in a micro wave as it offers too much
heat usually. I fill my lubasizer with the lube while it is hot and it works well. I
have also pan lubed with good success.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"1995 Lube" - sourced from Paul Matthews
2 parts yellow beeswax
1 part Pure Neatsfoot Oil
1 part Murphy’s Oil Soap
(easy to make in 8-oz batches)
1) Melt 4 oz of beeswax in the microwave. Usually 6-8 minutes is about the right time.
2) Stir in 2 oz of Neatsfoot oil when beeswax is melted. Stir until the mixture is lumpfree.
3) Stir in 2 oz of Murphy’s Oil Soap, stirring continuously as the soap is added. Again,
mix until there are no lumps.
4) Pour into storage containers as soon as batch is well mixed.
Very soft and sticky. Will not melt in the sun, but works well in the cold, too.
NOT suitable for pan lubing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Shows Promise Lube” - sourced from Paul Matthews
8 oz Yellow Beeswax
4 fl oz Pure Neatsfoot Oil
1 cake (3 .5 oz) Neutrogena Facial Soap
1) melt the beeswax over a low fire
2) stir in the neatsfoot oil until lumpfree
3) cut the soap into fine peels, then add to the melted mixture.
Don’t boil the mixture. A very sticky bullet lube. Looks to be very good.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are some bullet lubes I have used with very good results in the hot shooting
weather of the west. - Mystery Guest
13 oz of beeswax
5 oz of peanut oil
1/2 stick of 50/50 alox
1 oz of anhydrous lanolin
6 oz of beef tallow
4 oz bayberry wax
2 oz beeswax
2 oz synthetic sperm oil
1 heaping teaspoon of Moly
6 oz of beeswax
3 oz of bayberry wax
6 oz of bacon grease
1 tablespoon of Dawn soap
2 tablespoon of neatsfoot oil
40% beeswax
30% conola oil
30% lanolin
......................this looks and feels a lot like SPG
70% Soywax
20% Avocado oil
10% lanolin
......................this is good for cooler weather, spring/fall
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emmerts – for Texas Heat - source unknown
50% beeswax
40% Crisco
10% jojoba by volume
.......................this lube will not foul a .45-2.6 34” barrel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recipe One
One part clean beeswax
Three parts rendered and refined deer tallow
One part stale canola oil (kitchen reject don't you know)
Powdered graphite (I don't think the graphite play much of a part as it settled out in
cooling)
I just shot my C.Sharps hunting gun (74) for the first time at any distance two weeks
ago and got a three and a half inch 4 shot group at 300 measued yards with this lube,
a Saeco 411 gr 40 cal. bullet silver blade front sight and C. Sharps 108 hunting tang
sight cranked up as high as it would go. I would have gone for more rounds but I ran
out after walking them up on to the target. I had never shot it farther than 100 yards
before. It is a 40-70 SS and I used 70 gr by volume of older Goex 2f. I'm a little
worried about the powder. I store it in a chicken coop in a styrofoam cooler and when
I tried to pour it out of the can there were big lumps in it. I had to shake the heck
out of it to break up the lumps. It has been froze and thawed on and off for at least
5 years maybe longer. I bought it from Coonie's back when Goex was $6.03 per can in
case lots with shipping. I used this lube to kill a couple of deer and to shoot bowling
pins and steel targets in the yard.
Another traditional one I like. (I substitute jojoba for sperm whale oil.)
One part clean beeswax
Three parts rendered then refined buffalo tallow
One part Jojoba oil (killed a buffalo with this one)
Cold weather muzzle loader patch lube is:
Two parts rendered then refined coon oil (two coons will provide a quart or more of
rendered oil and good barbeque plus 20 bucks for the hides)
One part buffalo tallow (this lube melts as you rub it into the patch even below zero)
After I render oils and fats I recook them with water for a while then let them cool
until they crust over. I break the floating disc off the water and scrape off the dirt
and jelly like junk that clings to the bottom of the disc. I do this to try to eliminate
any naturally occuring salts in the animal fat. I used to bear oil my muzzle loaders
and they'd rust over night in a damp tent until I started water cooking the salt outa
the fat.