1st attempt at an alternate mixture to replace the orig BLL

[Ben]

Here is my 1st attempt.

I'll probably cast some bullets tomorrow and coat them with the new mixture to see how it does when dried. I plan to record drying time, apparent hardness of the dried lube, etc.

THEN

The most important thing..........head to the range and test the new lube.

When I'll be able to do an actual field test with the lube, I'm not certain ? ?

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Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Now mix everything up !

 

[Brad]

I will be interested to see how it does and how the drying time compares to BLL.

Have you poured a small amount of the Lundmark wax put to see how long it takes to dry and how it feels when dry?

 

[Ben]

Have you poured a small amount of the Lundmark wax put to see how long it takes to dry and how it feels when dry?

No I have not Brad.


It was obvious when I uncapped the two containers ( The Lundmark Liquid Wax & The Xlox, Liquid Alox ) that both were quite a bit thicker than I'd anticipated.

It was after making that obversation that I kicked the " Solvent Component " up to a full 35%.
Seems to have been a good decision.
Tomorrow I'll coat some bullets with the new lube and see where all this is headed.

Ben

 

[Brother_Love]

I'm watching too! Thanks for doing the experiments.

 

[Ben]

 

[Ben]

Malcolm

Hopefully , good will come from all this ..... ? ? ?

 

[Brad]

Only one way to find out, isn't there?

Do you have a shelf dedicated to lubes that never panned out? I do and I know a couple guys with way more than me.

 

[Ben]

Brad,

Only one way to find out, isn't there?
Yes, only 1 way.
One can have many theories, but when the theories are put to the real test , that is when we find out if the theories were valid or invalid.

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A lot of people think that I'm some kind of research chemist, considering the good performance record of Ben's Red and BLL.

...........NOT SO ! !..........................I do have a Biological Science degree, but that is a long way away from being a research chemist. That background does introduce you to the " scientific method ". My mind seems to move along those lines when doing activities like this.

I'd say the bulk of my college chemistry background would be closely equated to what I call " Kitchen Chemistry ". I'm certain that I don't know a bit more about making good bullet lube than most any other cast bullet shooter.

I have done an awful lot of reading about successful bullet lubes and attempts that were total failures. I tried to learn from both.

Yes, I've had my own fair share of lube failures in the past 20 years. I've found the failed lube's to be a very expensive way to accumulate flux for your lead pot.

Brad........I remember you saying on more than one occasion , " It is amazing what one can learn from failures if you're paying attention ! "

Ben

 

[Ian]

I remember Mike saying one time that after about $500 into the lube game, he found "good 'nuff" and pretty much shifted his focus back to shooting and his other interests. That's about where I quit, maybe a little more, and no telling how much Bruce F. and others invested in our little project in time, shipping expense, favors called in (to get some sample quantities of difficult to procure items like Lithium 12-hydroxystearate powder, as just one example), etc. I hope in the past few years that at the very least a lot of what DOESN'T work has been demonstrated and will save others the trouble. More than that was accomplished, I suspect, particularly in the most basic technical understanding of what a bullet lube fundamentally must do to be successful. HOW it does that is still very much up for debate, and like so much in this hobby there many ways to score an A and we all seem to have our favorites and personal requirements.

Sad thing is sodium soap lube makes lousy flux, and generally doesn't play well with other metal soap lubes, so if it doesn't work out so well in a gun, then I have like 700 years worth of drawer slide grease in labeled baggies stacked in boxes in my attic.

 

[Ben]

HOW it does that is still very much up for debate, and like so much in this hobby there many ways to score an A and we all seem to have our favorites and personal requirements.

Well spoken Ian ! !

 

[JWFilips]

Well guys, I think I found the last can of Johnson's One step Wax in North East PA yesterday. But I did not buy it!
I was helping a friend who lives out in the country & we had to go to his little local hardware store to pick up some items. I decided to check to see if they may have any Johnson's on their shelves.
Lo and Behold the was 1 can! The price 12.95!!!!
That is triple, the highest price I ever paid for it before! So I left it on the shelf.
I'm looking forward to Ben's new testing
Jim

 

[Brother_Love]

Ben, Any news on the new formula? Thanks Malcolm

 

[300BLK]

Interesting....your LL has far more solvent than mine. I have "heated" mine in hot water to get it to flow better, so will take your lead and add more solvent.

 

[Ben]

Malcolm :

I think I may have it fine tuned ( FINALLY ).
Just takes a lot more solvent than what I'm accustomed to.
Once I got all that regulated, I can't tell that there is any difference in drying time, hardness, etc.

I have some SAECO # 315's with gas checks, lubed and rolled in the " NEW LUBE ". I want to shoot these out of my new Savage 12 BVSS, .308 Win.

These have been rolled in the " New Lube ".

I'll shoot these soon and then I will be able to tell more about the liquid lube's behavior " down range."

Ben

 

[Brother_Love]

Ben,
Thank you. I tried to shoot a little in the backyard today but I could not keep the sweat out of my eyes. It made it to 99 today almost hot enough to melt the bullet lube!
Malcolm

 

[Ben]

Same here Malcolm ! !

99 here today.

Before I go to the range and shoot 2 hours, this heat has to dissipate.

 

[Reed1911]

Any results? I'm running low on my BLL supply and need to make more.

I pretty much coat everything in BLL including the ones I conventionally lube as well. It sure reduces the tackiness of them and prevents them from picking up various fur, dust, etc. It also helps keep my hands a bit cleaner when I'm loading.

 

[Ben]

My alternate mixture on my cast bullets has worked out great.
The appearance, the toughness on the bullet, and the accuracy seem to be on par with my original BLL.

What I've found however is it takes quite a bit more of the solvents in the mixture to get it to work. It was obvious when I uncapped the two containers ( The Lundmark Liquid Wax & The Xlox, Liquid Alox ) that both were quite a bit thicker than I'd anticipated.

It was after making that observation that I kicked the " Solvent Component " up to a full 40 %. Seems to have been a good decision. So , I'm now at :

30% Lundmark liq. wax
30% Xlox
40% solvent ( mineral spirits )

 

[KHornet]

Just glad I have an ample quantity of the original Johnsons!

Paul

 

[Ben]

Just glad I have an ample quantity of the original Johnsons!

Paul

I prefer the Johnson's , but it can be done without it.

Ben