Alright I admit I have absolutely no experience with cap and ball revolvers but am interested in possibly purchasing one, i've read as a lubricant that vegetable oil can be used... my question is how effective would that be, and wouldnt it damage / rust the finish after a while?
Vegetable oil as lubricant for cap 'n ball revolvers?
- Thread starter greenr18
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Not well.
However, there are plenty of cleaners available, and dish soap works fine, too.
As uncomfortable as it seems at first, the best and quickest place to clean the thing is in the sink. Use a hair dryer when you're done, THEN you can wipe it with Break Free if you want to.
Just don't expect to lube it with Break Free. The arbor needs something a bit thicker. Rig worked, but I guess that stuff's not around any more.
Last time, I was using Crisco to seal the chambers, and every few cylinders, I wiped off the really thick crud and put Crisco on the pin. I was still shooting when my flask ran out of powder.
However, there are plenty of cleaners available, and dish soap works fine, too.
As uncomfortable as it seems at first, the best and quickest place to clean the thing is in the sink. Use a hair dryer when you're done, THEN you can wipe it with Break Free if you want to.
Just don't expect to lube it with Break Free. The arbor needs something a bit thicker. Rig worked, but I guess that stuff's not around any more.
Last time, I was using Crisco to seal the chambers, and every few cylinders, I wiped off the really thick crud and put Crisco on the pin. I was still shooting when my flask ran out of powder.
Cap n Ball
Member
I usually use a little bore butter as a bullet lube if I need it and a very light application of virgin olive oil on exterior surfaces. The less lube the better in most cases. Others may disagree. It really depends on the gun in question.
Crisco is a helluva lot cheaper than Bore Butter, and it works fine, too.
Also, it's a lot easier to use in the Winter.
Cap and Ball revolvers are pretty forgiving. A large accumulation of dry fouling is about the only thing that's ever stopped me from continuing to shoot. That's what the Crisco is good for: softening up the accumulation of crud.
But like I said, I fill up a flask and shoot 'til I have no more powder in it.
Shooting a BP revolver is messy. Your hands will be black. Some of the best ways to make the gun work involve greasy, gooey stuff like Crisco. Just roll with it, and have fun. It IS fun!
Also, it's a lot easier to use in the Winter.
Cap and Ball revolvers are pretty forgiving. A large accumulation of dry fouling is about the only thing that's ever stopped me from continuing to shoot. That's what the Crisco is good for: softening up the accumulation of crud.
But like I said, I fill up a flask and shoot 'til I have no more powder in it.
Shooting a BP revolver is messy. Your hands will be black. Some of the best ways to make the gun work involve greasy, gooey stuff like Crisco. Just roll with it, and have fun. It IS fun!
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Franco2shoot
Member
Franco's mix
I took a tin about the size of a shoe polish can. Inside I put a layer of bore butter, dumped in a tab of Mikes Bee's wax ( I see this stuff at book stores, but don't know why) , and a little virgin olive oil(about a teaspoon). Heated until it all melted, stirred it around, then let sit outside in the cold.
The result is something a little harder than shoe polish yet quite plyable. I use it on the Pin of my Uberti 1858 Remington, which can become quite sticky and normally hard to remove after firing just 6.. I was putting a dab on top of the ball, but found that on firing the grease went mostly out the front ahead of the ball. It seems to work better if you put the dab on a couple cylinders, preferably ones that will be the first to fire, and put it in the cylinder before you put the ball in. In other words load powder/pellet, then wadding, then dab-o-grease, then ball.
KKKKFL
I took a tin about the size of a shoe polish can. Inside I put a layer of bore butter, dumped in a tab of Mikes Bee's wax ( I see this stuff at book stores, but don't know why) , and a little virgin olive oil(about a teaspoon). Heated until it all melted, stirred it around, then let sit outside in the cold.
The result is something a little harder than shoe polish yet quite plyable. I use it on the Pin of my Uberti 1858 Remington, which can become quite sticky and normally hard to remove after firing just 6.. I was putting a dab on top of the ball, but found that on firing the grease went mostly out the front ahead of the ball. It seems to work better if you put the dab on a couple cylinders, preferably ones that will be the first to fire, and put it in the cylinder before you put the ball in. In other words load powder/pellet, then wadding, then dab-o-grease, then ball.
KKKKFL
I'm sure that works fine, but it takes twice as long and costs more.
It's not a problem that the grease doesn't all stay in the chamber mouths. It's mainly just there to prevent chain firing and soften up that hard fouling, which it does.
Beeswax and Crisco melted together work fine, too, if you want something thicker. But in the Winter, I don't.
I use PAM, the cooking spray, on my stubborn guns, mostly the Paterson. It works better than anything I've ever tried. I also use it on my Remingtons and even on my Ruger Old Army. Spray a little on the cylinder pin and the cylinders keep turning, much better than Bore Butter, Crisco, etc. But for some reason it does not work well on other Colts (besides the Paterson) - I'm guessing it all comes down to the grooved cylinder pins on the Colts that cause it to bind.
I also spray a little down the barrel when I want to field clean the guns - I'm amazed at the clump of crap that slides out the other end.
Hey, try it - works for me (I even buy the store brand instead of the national brand).
I also spray a little down the barrel when I want to field clean the guns - I'm amazed at the clump of crap that slides out the other end.
Hey, try it - works for me (I even buy the store brand instead of the national brand).
Shultzhaus
Member
Crisco for projectile lube. Ballistol for internals lube. And I will try the graphite thing (I believe that's a Scrat) when it gets warm enough to go to the range again. Right now, at my age, it's nicer to sit at home, "fondle" the guns, and sip a little glass of "warmth"
Voodoochile
Member
I'm with ya there Shultz, I'll stay indoors as much as I can sipping on some Hot Taddy.
I too use Ballistol for my internals mostly now unless I intend to shoot within a few weeks then I'll use some Olive Oil as a internal lube.
50/50 Crisco & Beeswax as a bullet lube has worked for me for over 25 years & on occasion I'll use Bore Butter "but only when someone gives it to me."
I too use Ballistol for my internals mostly now unless I intend to shoot within a few weeks then I'll use some Olive Oil as a internal lube.
50/50 Crisco & Beeswax as a bullet lube has worked for me for over 25 years & on occasion I'll use Bore Butter "but only when someone gives it to me."
RSVP2RIP
Member
I wipped up a batch of the mutton tallow/parafin/beeswax (2/2/1) lube but I was wondering if I should thin it out with some balistol to make it a little "creamier" for spreading on the chamber mouths. Anyone try this?
Acorn Mush
Member
I cooked up some of this stuff too. Dipped my felt wads in it and let 'em solidify. First time I used the wads in my revolver I noticed that I seemed to have two fliers and they were very far out of the black! When I checked the target I found eight (8) holes in it. The "shots" I thought were fliers certainly were all right - from flyin' wads. Seems two of those wads had penetrated the target at 25 yards. Got a good laugh out of that incident.
Snaggletooth
Member
I use a recip of 1-1-1 of those ingredients and pour them in a flat pan. I use a cut off .45 casing and make pills out of them. For a .36 cal I use a 22-250 casing woth the primer end cut off for the .36 and the small end of the 22-250 casing for .31 pills. The work great on the Colts. I Pohillize the Rems with Pam. Dont knoc what works.
madcratebuilder
Member
That's pretty funny. I had a few patches out of my Howdah that almost started a fire.
You can see everyone has there own secret recipe for making grease. I make a mix of bees wax, paraffin, olive oil, a dash of Ballistol. I have had good luck using Ballistol as a finial clean up/oil.
Gatofeo
Member
Well, the Gatofeo No. 1 lube (as it's been dubbed) works fine for me, of course.
I use it to lubricate precut felt wads that are placed between ball and powder. I also lubricate conical bullets with it, if they have grease rings.
I agree that its original recipe is rather stiff for placing over a seated ball, if you prefer to avoid wads.
For this application, I use CVA Patch Grease. It has the consistency of a thickened suntan lotion. I also like that the tube has a long narrow neck, for easy application. This is particularly useful when getting into tight spaces.
I also use CVA Patch Grease to lubricate the base pin on my revolvers, as well as light dabs of it on the interior mechanism of my revolvers to help shrug off fouling.
I learned years ago that regular oil is burned or blown off the interior workings of a cap and ball revolver within a couple of cylilnderfuls. You need a grease in there that will remain to provide lubrication.
The sides of the hammer, and the hammer channel in the frame, are also given a light coat of this grease. This keeps my revolvers shooting long after conventional oils would have been overwhelmed by the fouling.
When I do use oil, such as on the threads of screws to make removal easier for later cleaning, I use olive oil.
I don't allow petroleum derivatives to touch my cap and ball revolvers -- with one exception: anti-seizing compound on the threads of the nipples. This makes nipple removal much easier, especially after a day of heavy shooting.
For exterior and interior rust preventative, I still use olive oil. But then, I live in the desert and high humidities are not so common.
Just plain ol' Crisco or any vegetable shortening is a good substitute if you can't find the CVA Patch Grease, which is somtimes difficult to find.
Great-great-great Grampa Gatofeo used to swear by a home-brew lubricant made of Dodo bird grease, Passenger Pigeon drippings and Unicorn fat. Never tried it myself; the ingredients are kinda hard to come by.
I use it to lubricate precut felt wads that are placed between ball and powder. I also lubricate conical bullets with it, if they have grease rings.
I agree that its original recipe is rather stiff for placing over a seated ball, if you prefer to avoid wads.
For this application, I use CVA Patch Grease. It has the consistency of a thickened suntan lotion. I also like that the tube has a long narrow neck, for easy application. This is particularly useful when getting into tight spaces.
I also use CVA Patch Grease to lubricate the base pin on my revolvers, as well as light dabs of it on the interior mechanism of my revolvers to help shrug off fouling.
I learned years ago that regular oil is burned or blown off the interior workings of a cap and ball revolver within a couple of cylilnderfuls. You need a grease in there that will remain to provide lubrication.
The sides of the hammer, and the hammer channel in the frame, are also given a light coat of this grease. This keeps my revolvers shooting long after conventional oils would have been overwhelmed by the fouling.
When I do use oil, such as on the threads of screws to make removal easier for later cleaning, I use olive oil.
I don't allow petroleum derivatives to touch my cap and ball revolvers -- with one exception: anti-seizing compound on the threads of the nipples. This makes nipple removal much easier, especially after a day of heavy shooting.
For exterior and interior rust preventative, I still use olive oil. But then, I live in the desert and high humidities are not so common.
Just plain ol' Crisco or any vegetable shortening is a good substitute if you can't find the CVA Patch Grease, which is somtimes difficult to find.
Great-great-great Grampa Gatofeo used to swear by a home-brew lubricant made of Dodo bird grease, Passenger Pigeon drippings and Unicorn fat. Never tried it myself; the ingredients are kinda hard to come by.
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