Homemade Wonder Wads

[Dark Skies]

New black powder revolver shooter here. I'm using wonder wads but going to start making my own wads. I have beeswax and olive oil so will try that first. My pistol is a 44cal Pietta. I measured the chambers at .444 with a caliper, maybe not a perfect measurement but close. I read about people using the 7/16 Harbor Freight punch, that would be .4375. I see a 12mm hollow punch on Amazon for $6.99. !2mm is .472 ... question for the wad makers here, has anyone used a 12mm punch for 44 cal revolver? I could make the 7/16" punch bigger but I'm thinking about getting a 12mm punch. That would be .028 over my chamber size. Thoughts on this? Thanks

I use a 12 mm punch for both .44 and .45. Works just fine.

 

[APG]

Well hello friends. Used up the last of my wads the other day so this morning punched some more.

View attachment 1025912

I make these from Durofelt brand thick pure wool felt and the lube recipe is 2:1 lamb tallow and beeswax. Not only are they a fraction of the cost of store bought wonder wads, they work about 10x better in my experience. Fouling stays fluffy and creamy all day and comes out with one patch. Keeps the gun shooting accurate cylinder after cylinder, no need to even wipe while shooting. They work that good. Worth making and fun to do.

-J.C.F.

I make mine the same way with the exception of when I cut the wad I place the edge of the punch right up to where the last wad was punched. Just saying you leave a lot of material between where the wads are cut.

 

[judgejohnmd]

I'd imagine a polymer cutting board would be better for the longevity of the punch. I got a polymer punching board from hobby lobby for $5, and it helps a ton in leather work. I'll have to try it out and give y'all a report.

What I use: works very well!!
John in MD

 

[JamesSh@@ter]

Durofelt and plastic cutting board. Works great, Thanks for all the info here!

 

[Blackpowderwarrior]

Durofelt and plastic cutting board. Works great, Thanks for all the info here!

Those look great! I'm loyal to my home made lube over my projectiles. Its cheap and one size fits all

 

[JamesSh@@ter]

I've been using beeswax and olive oil, half and half by weight. That has been working great, way better than the almost dry wonderwads. Cleaner barrel and cylinder and enough gets on the cylinder face when pushing them in to keep the cylinder face lubed enough to turn free after a few rounds of shots. I haven't experimented with any other lubes yet, just used what I had on hand.

 

[Appalachiannative]

Well hello friends. Used up the last of my wads the other day so this morning punched some more.

View attachment 1025912

I make these from Durofelt brand thick pure wool felt and the lube recipe is 2:1 lamb tallow and beeswax. Not only are they a fraction of the cost of store bought wonder wads, they work about 10x better in my experience. Fouling stays fluffy and creamy all day and comes out with one patch. Keeps the gun shooting accurate cylinder after cylinder, no need to even wipe while shooting. They work that good. Worth making and fun to do.

-J.C.F.

What do you use as a punch?

 

[AntiqueSledMan]

7/16" for .44, and 3/8" for .36 caliber.
I cut them dry, then soak lube them after.

AntiqueSledMan.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

Battery operated drill is much easier to use. A cheap cutting board works for a work surface.

Microwave plus canning jar for heating lube.

Wow neat gonna try that.

 

[red rick]

I made some lube out of 200 grams of mutton tallow 200 grams of canning paraffin and 100 grams of beeswax . When dried in the storage container it is kind of hard . Should it more like crisco ?

 

[Eyrie G. Dogg]

Olive oil to suit the ambient temp where/when you shoot.

 

[AntiqueSledMan]

When I first started loading my .44 Colt Original, I used 3/4 cup of Crisco, 1/4 lbs of Bees Wax, and 1/4 lbs of Gulf Wax (paraffin).
It was cast into sticks which I put into my homemade lubricator. I was able to push it through the sizing die and it filled the groove on my bullet.
I use the same mixture and just dip my wads while it's in the melted state, then let them set up on a piece of waxed paper.

AntiqueSledMan.