Cooking Lube Pills

[DaveP (UK)]

I'm getting a bit fed up with greasy shooting using wonderlube over the ball and I fancy making myself some lube pills. I've seen different recipes on here and I'm planning to try equal parts of beeswax, parafin wax and mutton tallow.
Because of different word usage in the UK and the USA I need to ask about parafin wax. If I use a cheap white candle will that be the right stuff?
When I stamp 'em out is it best to go for a snug fit in the cylinder or an easy drop in?

And while you're there, What is toilet bowl wax -what exactly do you do with it? I dont think I've ever heard of it before, and I'm sure I've never seen it on sale over here!

 

[Mark whiz]

Toilet bowl wax is sold in a pre-formed ring that gets trapped over the drain pipe in the floor and under the toilet as it is set on the ground. Usually these are some sort of synthetic wax.

Most candles are made out of some sort of parafin, so as long as you didn't use a scented candle, they would probably work ok.

As far as fit goes, since you seem to be planning on loading these on top of the ball, The snugness would have to depend on how soft the lube pellet is. You will want to squish it down some over the ball, so the harder the pellet is, the larger you would probably want to make it.

 

[Bad Flynch]

Paraffin wax is a petroleum-derived product. It is not really a wax, but a really heavy oil (like motor oil), that is a waxy crystalline solid at normal temperatures. It is commonly sold in blocks/thick sheets for use in sealing applications such as the home canning of vegetables. It is a mixture of high molecular weight straight-chained paraffins. Most black powder buffs eschew the use of petroleum based products in BP lubes because they tend to form a black, tarry substance that gums up the works.

Cheap candles can be assumed to have a high percentage of paraffin wax, but are by no means pure. They often contain such things as soy wax, etc. I would think that a trip to your local grocery store would allow you to get what you need, if you want to try it.

Lube balls should be of a size that will allow you to fill the space on top of the seated ball conveniently, with finger pressure to level it without a lot of excess to waste.

There is more than one incarnation of Wonder-Lube. There is a variety sold by Track of the Wolf in jars, made by Ox-Yoke, that is stiffer than the stuff in the tubes. Perhaps it is available in GB, too.

 

[K.A.T.]

Lube Pill

I thought lube pills were to be used between the powder and the ball.That is what I do,never heard of putting them on top of the ball.

I've used lube pills since the day I started shooting revolvers,never had a problem in that area of shooting.

 

[Bad Flynch]

>I thought lube pills were to be used between the powder and the ball.<

Could be. I tried them by using them over the ball, as I just could not imagine exposing the powder to all that grease. They'd better have a high melting point, or they would melt in the hot trunk of a car.

 

[Snaggletooth]

Dave, Tallow should be plentiful in U.K. Bees wax can be obtained brom hobby shops, Hardware stores or Bee Keepers. Parafin wax is the type of wax that old timers melted on top of jellies etc. Cable wipers used it to test the temprature of lead. It may be known as sealing wax. Im sure that it exists in U.K. I have a round piece of copper pipe that is .45 caliber. I used an old .45 cading. cut the end off and made me a cutter, Then I got fancy and made a cutter using a .45 casing. I drilled the primer out and stuck a roofing nail in the old case, point through the hole. I ground the head down to slide into the casing. On the pointed end, I put a round piece of dowel . Now I can cut and push the cut piece out if it sticks to the casing. You can tell that I dont have alot of important work to do.

 

[DaveP (UK)]

I can see where I might have given a misleading impression, but I am planning to use these under the ball. As far as I can see any compound soft enough to smear over a ball is likely to be sprayed around by the blast from that first shot...

Tallow - I cook a joint of meat...
Beeswax - I generally have some around for bowstrings...
Parafin Wax - well, you see, in the UK, we put a disc of waxed paper on top of home made jam (Jelly, you see is the stuff you see flying around at kids parties ) and even those are becoming hard to find. Most people just dont do that sort of thing anymore - I havent even made any myself for a couple of years. As for home canning - well I have a couple of 40 year old books that tell you how to do it, but I have never even seen empty cans on sale. I doubt it happens any more - blame the freezer!
I might try a pharmacist, but I have a feeling that its going to be candle wax! I'll make a small batch and see how it goes.


Toilet bowl wax: For sealing the pan to the pipe, right? I did wonder if that was the purpose! Sanitary plumbing is such a basic feature of the developed world that I just expected that everyone did it the same way! The modern approach here is to use a multi flanged plastic collar. The traditional method was to pack tar soaked string round the spigot, inside the collar on the end of the pipe, and cap it off with a fillet of cement. Made changing the pan a chancy business!

 

[Shotgun Willy]

Paraffin

You might try an arts and crafts store. That's where I bought my paraffin and would have bought my bees wax if the toilet rings weren't a lot cheaper. You'll find them both in the candle making section. As far as tallow goes, if you don't want to mess around with it then just use Crisco. Crisco is a greasy, solid, vegetable shortening with a low melting point. I make mine with equal weights paraffin, bees wax, and crisco.
Bill

 

[Snaggletooth]

If you want to pay the freight, Ill send you 50 or so so you can try them. I use them under the ball, they are hard as beeswax. The hard part of the process is melting the tallow. I melt it in a pot of water, let it cool and take off the hard white film on top. If it causes the powder to be damp just add more parafin. I have very good luck with it and it lubes my arbor when I shoot.