Lee improved minie

Dnepr 750 · February 6, 2007, 01:13 PM

Hello. Today i did by the Lee improved Minie cal 45 mold ,What kind of lube should i use?

Steve499 · February 6, 2007, 01:55 PM

I make my own by mixing equal parts of beeswax, olive oil and some other stuff, sometimes. The beeswax/olive oil alone works well enough, though. I just have a cake of hardened lube which I rub into the grease grooves on the minie when I'm loading.I think any vegetable oil or animal fat will make a servicable lube if it can be given the proper consistency, which is what the beeswax does. Regular canning paraffin wax you can buy at any grocery store can be melted with the oil to make the right consistency, too.

I've not personally tried the commercial black powder lubes. Two I know of are SPG and Bore Butter.

Steve

Dnepr 750 · February 6, 2007, 02:29 PM

Hello Stewe. You say regular canning paraffin wax? You see, i am from Sweden,and i dont know the Swedish word for that.Could you explain a little more what it is?.

Steve499 · February 6, 2007, 04:13 PM

I didn't guess from your English you weren't from Texas or something!

This wax is available in grocery stores in the section where home canning supplies, the items used when preserving your home grown fruits and vegetables, are located. I use this wax to seal the top on glass jars of home made fruit jam and jelly. It's melted and poured in the jar after the jam has cooled some, and makes a layer of wax which seals the jar.

Real beeswax is usually given preference in bullet lubricants but can be more difficult to buy and is quite a bit more expensive. I have beeswax of my own from my bee-keeping days, but if I didn't, I'd use paraffin without any qualms at all.

If you have any more questions about lubricants, there has been a lot of discussion on the subject on a sister forum to this one. You'll find a lot of the same people posting both here and there.

http://thehighroad.org/forumdisplay.php?f=12

marcseatac · February 6, 2007, 04:15 PM

That's the wax that is sold for jellies and jam and preserves. Usually the fruit is put into a glass bottle and the parrafin is poured on top and allowed to harden to seal the bottle. Widely available in the US and called canning wax. I think it is just normal parrafin wax.

Dnepr 750 · February 7, 2007, 01:12 AM

Hello again. What is crisco? Newer heard of it.

arcticap · February 7, 2007, 02:12 AM

Crisco is pure vegetable shortening. It is a white, semi-solid that has a consistency similar to margarine and is a cooking replacement for lard. It's used to grease cooking pans for baking and in some recipes too, like pie crust.

The most popular commercial muzzle loading lube here in the U.S. is known as either Traditions Wonderlube or Thompson Center Bore Butter. Both of these are basically identical mixtures of mineral oil and bees wax, are sold in a tube and have a soft, creamy consistency.

I've also heard of people using saddle soap as a bullet lubricant, which is a leather cleaner and preservative. It has wax and lanolin in it which are similar to common bullet lubricant ingredients.

edit: Today I also read again about using "Snow Seal" leather waterproofer as a lube for the same reason.

Dnepr 750 · February 7, 2007, 03:13 AM

Thanks a lot.

February 6, 2007, 01:13 PM	#1
Dnepr 750 Junior Member Join Date: February 6, 2007 Posts: 11	Lee improved minie Hello. Today i did by the Lee improved Minie cal 45 mold ,What kind of lube should i use?

February 7, 2007, 02:12 AM	#7
arcticap Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2005 Location: Central Connecticut Posts: 2,961	Crisco is pure vegetable shortening. It is a white, semi-solid that has a consistency similar to margarine and is a cooking replacement for lard. It's used to grease cooking pans for baking and in some recipes too, like pie crust. The most popular commercial muzzle loading lube here in the U.S. is known as either Traditions Wonderlube or Thompson Center Bore Butter. Both of these are basically identical mixtures of mineral oil and bees wax, are sold in a tube and have a soft, creamy consistency. I've also heard of people using saddle soap as a bullet lubricant, which is a leather cleaner and preservative. It has wax and lanolin in it which are similar to common bullet lubricant ingredients. edit: Today I also read again about using "Snow Seal" leather waterproofer as a lube for the same reason. Last edited by arcticap; February 8, 2007 at 12:01 AM.

February 6, 2007, 01:55 PM	#2
Steve499 Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Central Missouri Posts: 531	I make my own by mixing equal parts of beeswax, olive oil and some other stuff, sometimes. The beeswax/olive oil alone works well enough, though. I just have a cake of hardened lube which I rub into the grease grooves on the minie when I'm loading.I think any vegetable oil or animal fat will make a servicable lube if it can be given the proper consistency, which is what the beeswax does. Regular canning paraffin wax you can buy at any grocery store can be melted with the oil to make the right consistency, too. I've not personally tried the commercial black powder lubes. Two I know of are SPG and Bore Butter. Steve

February 6, 2007, 02:29 PM	#3
Dnepr 750 Junior Member Join Date: February 6, 2007 Posts: 11	Hello Stewe. You say regular canning paraffin wax? You see, i am from Sweden,and i dont know the Swedish word for that.Could you explain a little more what it is?.

February 6, 2007, 04:15 PM	#5
marcseatac Senior Member Join Date: October 7, 2006 Posts: 225	That's the wax that is sold for jellies and jam and preserves. Usually the fruit is put into a glass bottle and the parrafin is poured on top and allowed to harden to seal the bottle. Widely available in the US and called canning wax. I think it is just normal parrafin wax.

February 7, 2007, 01:12 AM	#6
Dnepr 750 Junior Member Join Date: February 6, 2007 Posts: 11	Hello again. What is crisco? Newer heard of it.

February 7, 2007, 03:13 AM	#8
Dnepr 750 Junior Member Join Date: February 6, 2007 Posts: 11	Thanks a lot.