Grease cookie

[Longcarbine]

Would straight beeswax be too stiff to use as a grease cookie.

[bruce moulds]

longcarbine,
you raise a good point.
it is certainly stiffer in winter than summer by a long shot, so some adjustment might be required there.
the brits used it very effectively in their martinis at rourkes drift, shooting dirty until their rifles were glowing in the dark.
however they had special chamber/throat design as well.
also their wads were shaped like a reversed hollow based wadcutter for some reason.
I used to think that bullet bumpup was all you need to get a perfect gas seal, but recent events have suggested that a sealing wad might improve some loads.
possibly beeswax will bump up faster than lead alloy, and if so there is possibly an optimum thickness, say 0.2" ?
not sure how it goes on its own to soften fouling.
most of the old recipes from bullard, ballard, and so on used from pure tallow, 3 tallow to 1 bees, to 2 tallow to 1 bees.
here in oz, those lubes would melt on a hot summers day.
keep safe,
bruce.

[callturner]

The recipe I got from Kirk at Shiloh was 2 parts beeswax to 1 part jojoba oil.

[callturner]

By weight!

[Eric Johanen]

Straight beeswax is a good gas seal but will not lube a bore. When I use my home made lube it is beeswax and bear grease. (I save the oil for patch lube in my muzzle loaders), I adjust the lube for softer in the fall/winter and a bit harder for spring and summer. Bear fat is easy to render in a double boiler but you must watch it carefully so as to not scortch it. It can scortch quickly if not watched. I keep mine in large glass jars and the oil separates and comes to the top where I pour it off for patch lube. Bear oil/grease will keep a very long time if kept in a cool dark place. I'm still using some rendered 30 years ago and it is not rancid. Bear hunter's can be your friend!

[rdnck]

Shooting dirty until the rifles glowed in the dark? I don't think so. Iron has to be in excess of 1000 deg. F before it will glow from heat. Black powder ignites at 325 degrees F, and springs lose their temper at around 475 degrees F. You couldn't load and shoot a BPCR if it was that hot. It would detonate. I HAVE seen a rifle so hot you couldn't hold it by the garrel, but glowing in the dark? No way.

[bruce moulds]

must be another urban myth bill.
just goes to show, don't believe all you read.
whatever, they fired a lot of shots with only a beeswax wad.
the mechanics of this need to be understood.
keep safe,
bruce.

[bobw]

The recipe I got from Kirk at Shiloh was 2 parts beeswax to 1 part jojoba oil.

You'll have better luck with that at 2 parts jojoba oil to 1 part beeswax by weight. bobw

[bruce moulds]

long carbine,
I took some beeswax this frosty morning and tried to cut it with a knife.
too hard.
using a hammer and cold chisel it cracked easily, almost like shattering.
in summer the same stuff is almost malleable, and can be bent by hand.
I mixed 4 parts wax, 1 part tallow, 1 part oil and 1 part lanolin.
this made a very thick grease which may or may not bee too soft for a grease wad.
time will tell whether it can lube the whole bore or lodge in the breech end.
should it need to be hardened either all the time or just in summer, extra wax will make its melting point higher - a good thing.
its main use is an experiment in sealing gas behind the bullet, so there might be a different hardness/softness requirement than a lube.
there is only a 0.030 plastic wad on the powder in the hope the wad will sweep the more only a little, leaving much lube in the barrel.
milk carton or even grease proof paper might wok better at leaving more lube in the bore.
keep safe,
bruce.

[callturner]

I went back and looked at Kirks email and he defiantly said 2lbs bees wax to 1lb jojoba oil by weight. Not saying that I know anything cause I'm just learning myself . I made some and I thought it was awful soft. By doubling the oil to wax ratio I'm not so sure it would set up well without leaking all over your powder. I used SPG on a few just to try before I got this recipe from Kirk. I'll make a tiny batch and experiment Bob.