Cap'n'Ball revolver lube

Hulbert · May 21, 2006, 02:48 PM

Anyone got a recipe for 'over the ball' lube for a cap and ball revolver to help stop flashovers and keep the fouling soft ? I've heard about beeswax and olive oil, but I'm not sure of the ratios or mixing/melting etc.

mete · May 21, 2006, 07:49 PM

Crisco has been used for many years if you have it in the UK.

Smokin_Gun · May 22, 2006, 12:11 AM

8-10 tablespoons of Olive oil
1 stick(comes in a brick of 4)Parafin Wax
1/4 of a Bolwax Ring(toilet seal ring)
or subsbitute Bolwax with
1/2 amount of beeswax (compared to the parafin above)
boil water in a large pan and place the mix in a smaller pan, place smaller pan in boiling water to melt and mix.
pour contents into a heavy duty pie pan or pizza pan...(butter pan if you like) abot 1/8" thick. A little goes a long way...makes about 800lube pills. Have fired even Colts all day with out having to clean them in between loads. About 8 clyinders with various Revs.(that's each)
I make .44 and .36 cal lube pills with them hace cutters with tubes soldered to them. Any questions just ask.
Best thing I have ever used.

Steve499 · May 22, 2006, 09:22 AM

I make mine out of beeswax and olive oil at about a 50-50 ratio by volume.
I use a metal 3 pound coffee can with two marks scratched on the inside. The lowest mark is an inch from the bottom and the top mark is an inch above that.

I pour olive oil in the can up to the lowest mark, then drop chunks of beeswax in there until the level reaches the second mark. After that's heated and melted together, I pour it out either into a styrofoam coffee cup or onto a styrofoam tray. As it cools it contracts slightly and won't adhere to the styrofoam. You can alter the ratio of beeswax to olive oil if you want a little more stiffness for hot weather use or more softness for cold weather. The flat sheets can be cut into cookies like Smoke described. I use dental floss to cut the lube cast in the cup by taking a turn around the block of lube and pulling on the loose ends of the floss. You can cut it into either discs or sticks that way. I put my lube sticks in zip lock sandwich bags for storage. I use those to lube minie balls by rubbing the stick on the grease grooves of the bullet at the time of loading. I use the discs for rubbing on boots and as a finish for wooden bows and arrows. The lube cookies for revolvers can be stored in an Altoids tin or something of that nature until they are needed.

There are other formulae for lube which probably work very well. They vary in complexity. I settled on this one because of it's simplicity and because it works as well as any of the others. I have shot 50 consecutive rounds from my 1861 Springfield rifled musket without any cleaning of any kind between shots. The lube kept the fouling soft enough that the 50th minie seated only slightly harder than the first. With a thin, steel ramrod, that's a real blessing.

Steve

Low Key · May 26, 2006, 07:27 AM

Another variant is beeswax and regular old lard. I mix mine at about a 50/50 ratio and you can vary that to get the consistency you want...more beeswax for a stiffer mix and more lard for a softer stickier mix. The 50/50 mix gives me a good stiff mix that I can cut into "pills" that I load under the ball, they keep the fouling soft and keep everything lubed up and running during shooting.

Steve499 · May 26, 2006, 09:09 PM

Yeah, Low Key, I've used lard too. Also deer and beef tallow, as well as goose grease. They all work pretty well as far as I'm concerned. The only reason I switched over to the olive oil was that the other mixtures would get rancid smelling after a time if I made too big a batch. It still worked fine, just was stinky.

Steve

Duncaninfrance · May 28, 2006, 05:16 PM

Hi Hulbert.
I used Bore Butter the first time I shot my Reminghton 58 and NEVER AGAIN! What a mess!!!

I now load powder and then a felt wad soaked in a lube mix. 40% Beeswax, 40% Preseving Paraffin and 20% Mutton Tallow. I use a .457 ball which shaves a ring. After every cylinder I pull through the barrel with a rag soaked in Screenwasher liquid. This keeps everything clean and makes life easy when I get it home.
Duncan

gmatov · May 28, 2006, 11:10 PM

Duncan,

You're talking to a lot of 'Murricans, here. A "screen" is as new to many as a "boot", or a "bonnet".

Windshield washer fluid, and how much cheaper can you get? 79 cents a gallon on sale. Contains alcohol, should work as well as window cleaner.

Hell, plain water will keep you shooting.

Cheers,

George

Duncaninfrance · May 29, 2006, 05:12 PM

Sorry George, forgot I was talking to the colonies

It IS windshield washer fluid OK?!
Duncan

manyirons · May 29, 2006, 06:37 PM

Its ok tha MANN knew what ya was sayin! Cause HE uses Windscreen, windcheater, wellies, bonnet, boot etc.

Now tehn, did I know what tha !*^%#* ya was sayin? COURSE i did Otherwise it woulda meant another tolchok to me gulliver!

gmatov · May 29, 2006, 10:48 PM

Duncan,

No problem. I read lots of English literature. Like Dick Francis. Never would have believed some of the stuff I read there, had even you told me it was so. Like one book where he kind of takes over the care of a juvenile, orders 50 frozen roast beef sandwiches, so the boy can defrost and have a nosh.

That must be another reason you left for France, eh? Boiled beef must get tiresome.

Bought a spray bottle of window cleaner for BP use, haven't used it, yet, keep forgetting it, but always have a soft drink bottle of clear water in the car when I shoot, use just that, plain water.

Also, I drive an Audi, they print the manuals in English, as spoken in England, bonnet, boot, windscreen, tyres, spanners, etc. I can understand the book, I love the cars.

Chers,

George

May 21, 2006, 02:48 PM	#1
Hulbert Member Join Date: April 15, 2005 Location: UK Posts: 34	Cap'n'Ball revolver lube Anyone got a recipe for 'over the ball' lube for a cap and ball revolver to help stop flashovers and keep the fouling soft ? I've heard about beeswax and olive oil, but I'm not sure of the ratios or mixing/melting etc.

May 22, 2006, 12:11 AM	#3
Smokin_Gun Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2005 Location: Mojave Desert, CA Posts: 1,195	Lube Recipe 8-10 tablespoons of Olive oil 1 stick(comes in a brick of 4)Parafin Wax 1/4 of a Bolwax Ring(toilet seal ring) or subsbitute Bolwax with 1/2 amount of beeswax (compared to the parafin above) boil water in a large pan and place the mix in a smaller pan, place smaller pan in boiling water to melt and mix. pour contents into a heavy duty pie pan or pizza pan...(butter pan if you like) abot 1/8" thick. A little goes a long way...makes about 800lube pills. Have fired even Colts all day with out having to clean them in between loads. About 8 clyinders with various Revs.(that's each) I make .44 and .36 cal lube pills with them hace cutters with tubes soldered to them. Any questions just ask. Best thing I have ever used. __________________ "I Smoke Black Powder" "Favor an 1858 Remington" SGT. Smokin' Gun, Mosby's Rangers 43rd Virginia Cavalry C.S.A. SASS# 19634, ... Admin:http://blackpowdersmoke.com/oldcoots/index.php Last edited by Smokin_Gun; May 22, 2006 at 10:37 AM.

May 26, 2006, 07:27 AM	#5
Low Key Senior Member Join Date: September 4, 2005 Location: In the woods of TN Posts: 298	Another variant is beeswax and regular old lard. I mix mine at about a 50/50 ratio and you can vary that to get the consistency you want...more beeswax for a stiffer mix and more lard for a softer stickier mix. The 50/50 mix gives me a good stiff mix that I can cut into "pills" that I load under the ball, they keep the fouling soft and keep everything lubed up and running during shooting. __________________

May 28, 2006, 05:16 PM	#7
Duncaninfrance Junior Member Join Date: December 24, 2005 Posts: 9	Don't use anything over the ball Hi Hulbert. I used Bore Butter the first time I shot my Reminghton 58 and NEVER AGAIN! What a mess!!! I now load powder and then a felt wad soaked in a lube mix. 40% Beeswax, 40% Preseving Paraffin and 20% Mutton Tallow. I use a .457 ball which shaves a ring. After every cylinder I pull through the barrel with a rag soaked in Screenwasher liquid. This keeps everything clean and makes life easy when I get it home. Duncan

May 21, 2006, 07:49 PM	#2
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	Crisco has been used for many years if you have it in the UK.

May 22, 2006, 09:22 AM	#4
Steve499 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Central Missouri Posts: 533	I make mine out of beeswax and olive oil at about a 50-50 ratio by volume. I use a metal 3 pound coffee can with two marks scratched on the inside. The lowest mark is an inch from the bottom and the top mark is an inch above that. I pour olive oil in the can up to the lowest mark, then drop chunks of beeswax in there until the level reaches the second mark. After that's heated and melted together, I pour it out either into a styrofoam coffee cup or onto a styrofoam tray. As it cools it contracts slightly and won't adhere to the styrofoam. You can alter the ratio of beeswax to olive oil if you want a little more stiffness for hot weather use or more softness for cold weather. The flat sheets can be cut into cookies like Smoke described. I use dental floss to cut the lube cast in the cup by taking a turn around the block of lube and pulling on the loose ends of the floss. You can cut it into either discs or sticks that way. I put my lube sticks in zip lock sandwich bags for storage. I use those to lube minie balls by rubbing the stick on the grease grooves of the bullet at the time of loading. I use the discs for rubbing on boots and as a finish for wooden bows and arrows. The lube cookies for revolvers can be stored in an Altoids tin or something of that nature until they are needed. There are other formulae for lube which probably work very well. They vary in complexity. I settled on this one because of it's simplicity and because it works as well as any of the others. I have shot 50 consecutive rounds from my 1861 Springfield rifled musket without any cleaning of any kind between shots. The lube kept the fouling soft enough that the 50th minie seated only slightly harder than the first. With a thin, steel ramrod, that's a real blessing. Steve

May 26, 2006, 09:09 PM	#6
Steve499 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Central Missouri Posts: 533	Yeah, Low Key, I've used lard too. Also deer and beef tallow, as well as goose grease. They all work pretty well as far as I'm concerned. The only reason I switched over to the olive oil was that the other mixtures would get rancid smelling after a time if I made too big a batch. It still worked fine, just was stinky. Steve

May 28, 2006, 11:10 PM	#8
gmatov Junior member Join Date: September 20, 2005 Posts: 346	Duncan, You're talking to a lot of 'Murricans, here. A "screen" is as new to many as a "boot", or a "bonnet". Windshield washer fluid, and how much cheaper can you get? 79 cents a gallon on sale. Contains alcohol, should work as well as window cleaner. Hell, plain water will keep you shooting. Cheers, George

May 29, 2006, 05:12 PM	#9
Duncaninfrance Junior Member Join Date: December 24, 2005 Posts: 9	Sorry George, forgot I was talking to the colonies It IS windshield washer fluid OK?! Duncan

May 29, 2006, 06:37 PM	#10
manyirons Junior Member Join Date: April 1, 2006 Posts: 13	Its ok tha MANN knew what ya was sayin! Cause HE uses Windscreen, windcheater, wellies, bonnet, boot etc. Now tehn, did I know what tha !^%# ya was sayin? COURSE i did Otherwise it woulda meant another tolchok to me gulliver!

May 29, 2006, 10:48 PM	#11
gmatov Junior member Join Date: September 20, 2005 Posts: 346	Duncan, No problem. I read lots of English literature. Like Dick Francis. Never would have believed some of the stuff I read there, had even you told me it was so. Like one book where he kind of takes over the care of a juvenile, orders 50 frozen roast beef sandwiches, so the boy can defrost and have a nosh. That must be another reason you left for France, eh? Boiled beef must get tiresome. Bought a spray bottle of window cleaner for BP use, haven't used it, yet, keep forgetting it, but always have a soft drink bottle of clear water in the car when I shoot, use just that, plain water. Also, I drive an Audi, they print the manuals in English, as spoken in England, bonnet, boot, windscreen, tyres, spanners, etc. I can understand the book, I love the cars. Chers, George