Recipe for Home-made bullet lube(for cast)

jtoews80

jtoews80

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Location
Bonnyville, Alberta
This recipe is in % per volume.

50% Beeswax
40% Olive oil
10% STP engine oil treatment.

melt wax, measure volume, Add oil and STP, watch out for splash and spatter if the wax is really hot. May require some heat to use if you are pouring into a pan to pan lube. Or you can wipe it on by hand or use a lube and sizing die/kit.

Not sure if anybody cares, but the bullet casting crowd is growing pretty fast as the supply of jacketed stuff is getting more scarce. And the store made stuff is not all that cheap plus this stuff smells not too bad, alot better than the Lee Alox stuff.

JT.
 
I just mixed up some and it seems to need the oil to be workable. I ran out of oil and with 900 ml of wax, 125 ml of oil and 200 ml of STP it seems like a sticky soft wax. With more oil it will be a little bit softer and less sticky.

In theory, bullet lube doesn't actually make your bullets slide out, just creates a coating that has less drag than the bare steel of the barrel and puts something between the residues left by each round allowing them to be broken down easier when it comes time to clean.

This is mostly an experiment for me, I got this recipe off a guy on the Nosler forum. I was kinda hoping for somebody that has used it before. I will post pictures and results when I cast some more bullets. I have been using that Lee Alox lube, but find it is too expensive to just pour into a pan and let harden on the bases. This stuff is cheap, I think this mix is worth about $20 for 2 liters when I've got the oil into it.

JT.
 
It's just for Cast Pistol bullets. I load pretty light and don't use gas checks. I try to keep my velocity under 950 FPS to avoid severe fouling.
In my 44 I load with 7 grns of W231 and a 225 grn SWC cast with an RCBS mould, 40 S&W 175 grn with 4.6 grns W231 and 9mm 125 grn RN cast I need to work up a load for. Powder has been a little scarce and I have been stuck using only W231, which is not really problem. It does however, leave alot of room in the 44 cases. I would like to find some Blue Dot, but the only stuff I can find is in a 5lbs keg.

JT.
 
A lot of farmers markets have a honey seller at them and they ussually have candles and soap and stuff made from bee's wax. They also often have bulk wax. I got a 5lb block for about 12$

I find the hardest part with cast bullets any more (since i don't have a casting set up) is finding soft enough ones! the Hard cast stuff is ok in the 1911 that slams em around feeding, but in my 625 it leads like mad, base is to hard to obdurate under pressure and blow by gas cuts up the rifling leading the bore quickly weather i load up or down. I picked up some cast bullets from a caster in Hamilton area i'm going to try, hopefully they work better. Wish i'd been able to get grandads casting set up before it was auctioned off,,,sob
 
For years when we were loading commercialy we used the following bullet lube....
50/50 beeswax and parafin, yes the stuff you use when sealing canning jars....Available at most grocery stores.

I found that you should melt the beeswax and strain it through cheescloth to remove solids.

Then add the parifin wax.... This will give you an extremely hard lubricant, it will not flow though an unheated lubrisizer.

If you are using a small lubrisizer either add one of the many heater units available, or simply (cheaper) lean a 25watt light bulb against the housing....

Being hard, once cooled,the bullets are not sticky, handle easily without sticking to your hands....

If you are using bullet feeders, simply sprinkle the bullets (before they cool) with baby powder, they will slide through the feeder without any hangups.... And your hands will smell nice....
John
 
Beeswax and STP lube

I've used beeswax softened with STP ever since STP hit the market.

It can be a bit messy and at times too hard. Thus the olive oil will help.

I'm currently trying the two with some hard parafin and some carnauba was added. I have dipped heated plain base bullets in it for throat seating in my .38-55 Hi-Wall.

When I get a chance, I'll pour some into my old Lyman #450 lube sizer for my .338 WM and a .30-06.
 
I've tried lots of lubes, but the ones I've settled on use carnauba(lots of it) and beeswax, for smokeless loads, and Lanolin(lots of it) and beeswax for Black powder Lube. The BP lube should not contain any petrol products, and should work with your blow tube to keep the fouling soft. The hard lubes used on some commercial bullets are more for shipping then for shooting, and if you check out some fired bullets down range, you will see most of the lube remaining!
 
Making home made lube for bullets reminds me exactly like smoking fish! Ask six people who smoke fish what their recipe is for marinating, preparing and smoking the fish, and you will get six different answers. But every one makes excellent smoked fish!
Ask six reloaders what they use for home made lube and you get six answers. And every one works great!
When I started out I read that the Bufalo hunters used a mixture of beef tallow and bees wax. In hot weather, use more wax than suet and in cold weather use more suet than wax.
I never thought that they were talking about black powder loads, but I used that mixture successfuly with cast bullets in my 30-06!
 
I made up a batch that was 60% (all % by weight) beeswax and 40% "MAG1" lithium grease from Parts Source. It worked great, but was messy to make, sticky on the bullets and smelled like an old axle when shot.

I made a second batch 65% beeswax, 20% vegetable shortening, 10% MAG1 and 5% red wax from some Edam cheese. It melts more cleanly, is harder and handles better, but I haven't shot it yet.
 
Melt some of your kids broken crayons, warm the bullets and roll them around- let them dry and load up!
Great for pistol plinker loads, barely any leading at all.
 
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