Wad or...?

What's your preferred method of chain fire protection?

  • Over ball grease

    Votes: 13 19.4%

  • Lubed wad

    Votes: 30 44.8%

  • Grease and wad both

    Votes: 7 10.4%

  • Nothing, over sized lead is good enough!

    Votes: 13 19.4%

  • Doesn't matter to me as long as I use something!

    Votes: 4 6.0%
  • Total voters
    67
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
BlackNet said:
First bumble bee thing is a gross myth that has been going around for some time, it's simply false.

Second this is what is going on when you fire.
4500 frames per second

So please explain 'shut down the fire' when a) the fire source is outside of the cylinder and b) powder in the rear of the cylinder gets ignited and runs to the front.
Click to expand...
first what are you talking about powder running to the front?

The fire source is I assume the fired cylinder it spits out all sorts of flaming nasty bits
of black and lead if you dont have grease covering the nearby cyls there is a very small
chance that the nearby cyls could also catch fire (which is generally very very BAD)
the grease prevents this

look like i said test it yourself the grease smothers the fire light a match and stuff it in a pan/pot of lard.

even though lard is flamable chances are the match will be extinguished before the lard
catches fire


well im off to bed after this ill look in on this tomorrow perhaps you will have a chance to test what im saying
 
The fire source is I assume the fired cylinder it spits out all sorts of flaming nasty bits
of black and lead if you dont have grease covering the nearby cyls there is a very small
chance that the nearby cyls could also catch fire (which is generally very very BAD)
the grease prevents this
Click to expand...

incorrect, grease on the OUTSIDE will become problematic.

Any "lube" you put up there will just make the top of your cylinder sticky thus attracting grains of powder when you reload and it is loose powder grains that are responsible for the vast majority of chain fires.
Click to expand...
 
An over sized ball is the answer I picked but most of the time I do use lube over the ball, but that is for fouling not chain fire
 
I use the Gatofeo lube recipe with wads I punch out myself. Compared to commercial wads mine cost a few pennies on the dollar. But they are for lubrication and I don't mind the slight extra time it takes to seat them. To prevent chain fire I rely on proper ball diameter and correctly fitting caps. In thousands of rounds I've never had a chain fire.

I use the same felt wads in 45 Colt and 45-70 BP cartridges.

Jeff
 
I make my own wads and use the Gatofeo recipe.

I have since quit using them as I have been using Triple 7 and not having a problem with fouling using my Ruger Old Army. Even when using Pyrodex I didn't seem to have a problem in 50 shots or so. But maybe that's also due to the design.

I will sometimes use a wad instead of filler when loading lighter loads, and if it's to possibly sit for an extended period of time it's dry as I'm not sure if the lube will contaminate the powder or not.

I use the Gatofeo lube on my bullets too...
 
Buy my lubed wads in bulk (3 or 4 thousand at a time) so the cost is kept to a minimum. Tried punching and lubing my own; but was too much trouble ( I freely admit that I'm lazy). Grease/lube/lard/whatever over the ball is messier than I care to deal with. Don't get me started on chainfires. Lubed wads used in Colt style revolvers with plenty of lube on the arbor will keep the revolver running smoothly for 100+ rounds - depending on weather conditions. If it's hot and dry, no matter how much or type lube you use, you will have trouble after about 50 rounds - sometimes less.
 
Bought a large supply of Wonder Wads a few years ago, no chain fires, and reloads come quickly like in CAS shooting. I'm a bit lazy in my old age also, as I've also got the punch and the felt.:)
 
Wow! I was thinking there would be a lot more grease over ball users than what the poll shows. Clearly wads are winning but next is nothing at all!:eek:
 
Grease, ball, cornmeal or farina (got a lot of old racid stuff) and then powder.
 
Ox yoke wonder wads and Ox yoke wonder seals....but i'm new to BP shooting so i haven't started spairamintin yet.
 
Yep. I use lube pills. Or lube cookies. Consist of toilet bowl wax ring, parrafin and olive oil.
 
I’m new to c p revolvers, my history is cap Kentucky and flint tower musket pistol. So I’ve been playing with a recipe for lubed wads. I read a lot of ya all’s posted recipes and am liking one using two parts Manteca lard, one part paraffin wax and enough colored candle wax to tag the recipe, and good measure of hand soap shaved up with a cheese grater. All this pourd melted over cotton cosmetic pads from the dollar store, 88 for a buck and I get 12 .50 cal was out of each pad. The soap shavings do seem to make cleaning easier later and also seems to keep the wads firm. All this is by eye ball measurement. I guess that after 30 years with that musket I figure that often times consistency doesn’t necessarily mean exact.

By the way Blacknet is right the charge does burn back to front. The burning sludge you spit out the muzzle is overcharge ie wasted powder, no good just mess, and dammed hard on your frizzen spring too.
 
Blacknet,
That first you tube vid shows the hammer jump back after first hitting the cap indicating early pressure buildup pushing the hammer back. That is where a lot of cap jams occur when the cap is forced back with the hammer and then jams up the works especially in open tops.
 
BlackNet said:
'Grease' will *NOT* prevent chain fires. Grease and wads are used for Fouling Management.
Click to expand...
Correct answer!

Chain fires are most often a result of improperly fitted caps. Colt wrote about this 160 years ago... I know cause he borrowed my pen;)

The chamber is sealed when you shave lead seating the ball. Out of round chambers or chambers with wall imperfections may cause a chain fire.

Lube is to keep fouling soft.
 
Last edited:
Crisco Vegetable Shortening actually works as well as any of the expensive, special-purpose lubes for use over the ball.
 
I am convinced that most chain fires do not come from lack of grease or wad.They come from nipples that are too long and alow the caps to slam back into the recoil shield or from caps that do not fit right and fall off without you knowing it.Even if you have the proper size nipples for your gun if they have been peened from dry fireing then the caps may not be able to seat on them right causeing them to again be slammed into the recoil shield.Most of the imports we buy today are a lot better put together than they used to be.In the past i have seen brand new guns come with diffrent sized nipples on the same gun.
 
madcratebuilder said:
Correct answer!

Chain fires are most often a result of improperly fitted caps. Colt wrote about this 160 years ago... I know cause he borrowed my pen;)

The chamber is sealed when you shave lead seating the ball. Out of round chambers or chambers with wall imperfections may cause a chain fire.

Lube is to keep fouling soft.
Click to expand...
So question if you have a bad chamber or out of round ball or load up some balls that dont shave a good ring is there a chance that you could get a chainfire through the front of the cyl?

answer = yes

a little note as an aside most purchased balls are amazingly perfect but i bet there is
more than few casters here who have had flat spots or even cracks (from too cool lead or bad mix) and im sure some of these find there way into our revolvers.

so now if you agree with the first part im telling you 100% that grease over the ball WILL prevent at least this cause of chain fire.

And i dont care what Colt wrote with your pen LOL :D the colt design seems at least to me to be more problematic with caps anyway.:neener:
 
So question if you have a bad chamber or out of round ball or load up some balls that dont shave a good ring is there a chance that you could get a chainfire through the front of the cyl?

answer = yes

a little note as an aside most purchased balls are amazingly perfect but i bet there is
more than few casters here who have had flat spots or even cracks (from too cool lead or bad mix) and im sure some of these find there way into our revolvers.

so now if you agree with the first part im telling you 100% that grease over the ball WILL prevent at least this cause of chain fire.

And i dont care what Colt wrote with your pen LOL the colt design seems at least to me to be more problematic with caps anyway.
Click to expand...

A few things worth of note here.

A) If you pack the cylinder with grease then each and every time you fire that will cause other slots to heat up and it WILL vaporize the grease.

B) The purpose of firing caps ONLY is to CLEAN grease, oil and the like from the nipples and cylinder. <<<-----

C) Chain fires, Misfires, Cross fires whatever you call them can and will happen on BOTH ends of the cylinder. Just watch one of the video's I posted to see why that is the case. The #1 cause on the nipple side is poor fit; on the other side is because the cylinder WALLS = DIRTY. If you are crunching powder between the ball and the walls then guess what will happen.

D) Using grease/oil/lube/what not you have a GREATER chance of it attracting powder. Do this, put some dye in the lube. One cylinder put it UNDER the ball, the next cylinder put it OVER the lube. Fire the other cylinders first and save those 2 for last. Then look for the dye marks on the revolver.
 
BlackNet said:
A few things worth of note here.

A) If you pack the cylinder with grease then each and every time you fire that will cause other slots to heat up and it WILL vaporize the grease.

B) The purpose of firing caps ONLY is to CLEAN grease, oil and the like from the nipples and cylinder. <<<-----

C) Chain fires, Misfires, Cross fires whatever you call them can and will happen on BOTH ends of the cylinder. Just watch one of the video's I posted to see why that is the case. The #1 cause on the nipple side is poor fit; on the other side is because the cylinder WALLS = DIRTY. If you are crunching powder between the ball and the walls then guess what will happen.

D) Using grease/oil/lube/what not you have a GREATER chance of it attracting powder. Do this, put some dye in the lube. One cylinder put it UNDER the ball, the next cylinder put it OVER the lube. Fire the other cylinders first and save those 2 for last. Then look for the dye marks on the revolver.
Click to expand...
There may be a small amount vaporised but it is inconsequencial a larger amount is moved from the blast leaking from the cyl gap but this is also of little concern you can
fire 5 out of 6 shots and still have plenty of grease left over in the final chamber.
(unless maybee you are using a bad choice of lube/grease)

UMM why bother to clean grease out of the nipples and chambers if it does not inhibit
the burning of the power???

There is no argument from me about there being other causes of chain fire/cross fire
my only argument is that grease over the ball does prevent chain fire starting from the front of the cyl.

I have not noticed any large amounts of powder buildup in the grease and even if it does
that is good because powder lodged in grease has had its burning inhibited even completely stopped in many cases.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Terry G
  • Locked
Black Powder Wad
Replies
21
Views
764
Blackpowderwarrior
Blackpowderwarrior
Gatofeo
  • Locked
Felt wads in cap and ball revolvers
Replies
4
Views
4K
Old Fuff
O
ClemBert
  • Locked
Grease cookies in 45 Colt BP cartridges?
Replies
5
Views
2K
Pulp
P
D
  • Locked
Video - Making and shooting home made C&B revolver wads
Replies
4
Views
717
St8LineGunsmith
S
F
  • Locked
shotgun wad purposes
Replies
4
Views
2K
St8LineGunsmith
S
Back
Top