Soy Wax

[Make do]

Any experience with using soy wax for lube with black powder. Thinking of sealing my brass shotgun shells with melted soy wax- thanks

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Dick Dastardly's Snot Lube:
Equal parts by weight soy wax flakes, Crisco, and toilet bowl rings

--Dawg

[Chancy Shot, SASS #67163]

200 grams of each:

   Soy Wax

   Beeswax

   Crisco

Plus 1/2 cup olive oil

 

The list of recipes will go for at least 4 pages.  I have several more if you are interested.

 

Chancy

[John Boy]

Make Do, personally, would use canning paraffin which is an alkine with a melting temperature of 154 degrees vs soy wax that is more expensive that starts to melt at 120 degrees

You also might want to consider using hot glue if you don’t have any over shot wads

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Soy wax proven to be compatible with BP by many BP lube makers.

Paraffin wax is a petroleum distillate - most of which are proven not to be compatible with BP (causing very hard fouling). 

 

Choice would be clear to me - use the soy wax. 

 

good luck, GJ

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

The traditional 1800's method of sealing the over-shot card in the brass hull was to apply a ring of water glass (sodium silicate dissolved in a little water) around the contact between wad and hull.  Shoots right out when fired.

 

Here's a source to order a pail of it if you can't find at a local hardware store:

https://www.lehmans.com/product/water-glass-liquid-sodium-silicate

A pail will make thousands of rounds, I'm sure.

 

good luck, GJ

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

Soy wax 60%  Lard  40%

 

Bees Wax 60%  Lard 40% 

 

All will work good for bullet lube .

 

For shotgun you over thinking it .

Just use a hot glue gun .

 

I have never put any lube in BP Shot Shells and its Never been a issue .

So Saith The Rooster.

[Kid Rich]

15 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

Soy wax proven to be compatible with BP by many BP lube makers.

Paraffin wax is a petroleum distillate - most of which are proven not to be compatible with BP (causing very hard fouling). 

 

Choice would be clear to me - use the soy wax. 

 

good luck, GJ

The paraffin has been refined enough that it is very compatible with BP. It was used as far back as the 1500's.. Gatofeo's formula.

Ive been using it for 40 years.

kR

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

+1 to Kid Rich

I've  used Gatofeo's Lube formula for many years

--Dawg 

[Ramblin Gambler]

1 hour ago, Rooster Ron Wayne said:

Soy wax 60%  Lard  40%

 

Bees Wax 60%  Lard 40% 

 

Can I use bacon grease instead of lard?  I'm looking to make it smell even better. 

 

 

[Prairie Dawg, SASS #50329]

Lotsa salt in bacon grease -- probably don't want that in your guns.

 

Mix in some essential oils like Cinnamon -- makes it smell really good!

 

--Dawg

[Springfield Slim SASS #24733]

In the summer I put Citronella oil in my lube, keeps the skeeters away.  I the winter I put in other things, like Cranberry scent, reminds me of Christmas. Who says bullet sizing  is boring!

    As for sealing a shotgun shell with Soy wax, I have found that it  is more slippery than sticky, not sure it will hold. I think a beeswax/Lanolin mix would work better. That lanolin is sticky stuff, which is why I don't use it in my lube anymore, too messy.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

  Ha!!

 

D).  None of the above.  I don't use ANY lube.  APP dontcha no.

[Three Foot Johnson]

50/50 soy wax and white Crisco.

[John Boy]

Quote

Paraffin wax is a petroleum distillate - most of which are proven not to be compatible with BP (causing very hard fouling). 

Paraffin wax is ...  is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between twenty and forty carbon atoms.

* In chemistry, paraffin is used synonymously with alkane, indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula C_nH_2n+2.

A good hydrocarbon chain ingredient supports an excellent lube for black powder reloads

* Paraffin wax initially suffered from a low melting point; however, this shortcoming was later remedied by the addition of harder stearic acid, another excellent ingredient for BP lubes

*It is often useful to modify the crystal properties of the paraffin wax, typically by adding branching to the existing carbon backbone chain. The modification is usually done with additives, such as EVA copolymers, microcrystalline wax, or forms of polyethylene

Microcrystalline wax is another excellent ingredient for black powder lubes.  So, if your not satisfied with straight paraffin, mix it 50:50 with the  microcrystalline wax to add additional hydrocarbon molecules and raise the melting point of the lube

 

Click on the underlined words for a better understanding of the ingredient ....

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

1 hour ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

50/50 soy wax and white Crisco.

My lube is pretty much the old standard 50/50 beeswax and Crisco with a few bits of this and that thrown in.  Once I was out of beeswax so substituted  the soy chips.  It worked but I didn't like it as much.  I don't recall why right now, maybe just didn't like the consistency.

[Three Foot Johnson]

21 minutes ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

My lube is pretty much the old standard 50/50 beeswax and Crisco with a few bits of this and that thrown in.  Once I was out of beeswax so substituted  the soy chips.  It worked but I didn't like it as much.  I don't recall why right now, maybe just didn't like the consistency.

It's pretty gooey/sticky - ya want to load 'em right away.

[Make do]

Melted some soy wax over an over shot card to try it out. It held just fine at a monthly match temp was about 60 - not sure how it would be with summer temps?

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Soy wax - Supposed to have a softening temp at about 120F.   Would have to keep ammo out of direct sun and out of vehicle during day.  Sounds a little too low temp for general use.

 

Sure you don't want to use hot glue gun?  That's very common now.

 

good luck, GJ

[Make do]

I was hoping to get a seal and lube in one application - but I think you are right I will have to glue it 

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

There's really no benefit from trying to get lube into a shotshell load, IMHO.  And lots of potential to deaden your powder.  No way to force the lube  to the barrel walls, where the lube could soften the fouling.  Using fiber wads rather than plastic shot cups helps reduce barrel fouling some.   But slower to load and harder to make tight patterns (if that matters to you).

 

good luck, GJ

[Abilene, SASS # 27489]

22 minutes ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

There's really no benefit from trying to get lube into a shotshell load, IMHO.  ...

IMHO as well.  I don't know anyone who puts lube in BP shells.