Alox lube

[Cowboybart]

I'm just getting into casting and saw that Midway has Lyman Alox lube sticks on sale.  Is this a good lube to use for magnum handgun and low pressure (30-30, 35 Rem, 7-30) rifle loads?  I have a lube heater mounted under the lubrisizer.

[Graybeard]

It works but I don't really care for it. I've used more RCBS lube than any other and now have what likely is a life time supply of LBT blue I'm converting to. Should I actually run out of it I have at least as much of others on hand as I do of it so for sure I should never again need to buy lube.

Were it me starting over the LBT blue soft and RCBS are the only two I'd ever mess with.

[Sweetwater]

I just sent Veral an order for some of his LBT Blue Soft last week. I've got some bullets all cast waiting for the first batch to go through the lubrasizer. I've used a lot of stuff over the years with so-so results. Were I starting today, I would have saved a lot of headaches by listening to the guys on here. I have an interesing recipe for lube that Dee posted a few weeks ago. It will get played with by and by. For now, I plan to give LBT Blue Soft a chance to show itself.
Send Veral a note. He's a neat guy, though intensly busy.

Regards,
Sweetwater

[haroldclark]

I have used the Javelina or 50/50 mix of Alox and Beeswax for my cast bullets since 1973.  I've tried others.  Never tried the LBT blue.  I might do that one day, but I shoot a lot more rifle cast bullets than Pistols these days.  I just checked my database and I shot over 2,000 cast bullets last year in my rifles and Thompson Contenders. 

Here is the kicker. I shoot medium soft bullets up to 2400 fps and most of the time at 2,004 fps (chrono-graphed velocities).  Bullets are gas checked.

No leading at all and I rarely clean the barrels.  It is a cardinal rule in my shooting group (most of them learned the hard way) that You don't clean a cast bullet barrel until the accuracy fails.

I have cleaned my Rem 742 30-06 barrel twice in the past 3700 rounds and it is still shooting 1" cast bullet groups at 2,000 fps.  The first cleaning was at 1400 rounds.  I know, you all have heard that those rifles don't shoot well.  A dinner plate at 50 yards is the best it will do.  I've heard that too.

My theory is that I'm afraid to change something that works and has worked for 35 years without fail.  I don't want to reinvent the wheel.  I started a database in 2000.  Since that year, I have fired 47,173 cast bullets with 50/50 alox lube.  No leading, boys and girls.  When I first tried cast bullets in rifles, I used bullets from a friend and his suggested load.  It took 8 hours to clean my Sako 308 barrel.  I didn't care much for that idea.

When I size the bullet, I kick it out with a finger into a box in a drawer below with a downward slanting bottom. I keep an old soft cloth containing Motor Mica dusting to cover the box bottom. The bullet rolls down the slant, picks up the motor mica and it is not sticky.  I finish a couple hundred, hold the cloth closed and roll the lubed bullets around in the cloth.  If a loader person is looking for a thing of beauty, this is not it, but they work.

I have used the same method with handgun bullets in gross quantities with my whole family shooting weekly.  I'm glad those kids grew up and left the nest.

I followed the advise of an old reloader that was in the business of ammo manufacturing.  I'm afraid to change.  Do I know if it is the motor mica that helps keep the slick surface from leading.  I don't know and don't want to find out the hard way.

I get to laughing at us old farts.  We all have different experiences and that is what makes it interesting.

 

[Cowboybart]

Thanx for the input.  I think that I am gonna pass on the Lyman Alox lube.  I don't want to do alot of experimenting - that's why I asked you guys .  Thanx for doing the experimenting for me.

[remfan]

 
for me the holy grail is
   1 pound gulf canning wax 1 box
   13 oz tub of generic vaseline
    stp oil treatment  ( dip a tablespoon in it what clings to the spoon is right) stir it in after its melted
    6 crayons (crayola) color so ya can see it

    get a NEW microwave safe bowl (wives get cranky)
    melt in microwave till its all liquid   and put into containers

    recipe FROM DEE  good up to 2100 fps    and CLEAN    i have test fired and its awesome!!!!!!!!

[Lloyd Smale]

ill put it this way. Ive used just about every lube that was ever made and about every recipe for lube that ive ever read. For the most part i make my own. the only two lubes ill even buy anymore are boughten here http://www.lsstuff.com/index.html  One is his alox lube and the other my favorite if im to lazy to make lube is his mix of 5050 alox and corduba lube. this lube works great at any velocity and is half the price of anyone elses. Its cheap enough that its almost a waste to make your own. Buy the time you buy beeswax you have almost as much in it. I will probably still make my own. I guess its for the same reason i make my own ammo and cast my own bullets. theres some pride in doing it yourself. but if you dont Lars lubes are hands down the best bang for the buck on the market. dont be afraid to buy that alox though. Its a darned good lube, the only drawback is its a bit smokey and messy. But most lubes that really work are.

[Lloyd Smale]

here is the lube recipe i use for felix lube. its hands down the best of the home made lubes in my opinion. Its a little time consuming to make and ends up looking like alox and shares the smokiness but seems to lube a bit better at high velocity and is a little less tempurture sensitive. I make it like the recipe and then mix in about 1/4 by volume magma hard blue to firm it up. its not nessisary but if you live where its hot and store alot of bullets alox and felix can actually melt off of your bullets in storage. adding the hard lube helps.
this is  a copy of the email i was sent years ago when i started making it so you have to kind of read between the lines




Whats up there "great northern chef" I can get it for $3 per pound if I buy alot at a time which is usually 10 or more pounds. The Ivory soap amounts are after they are in Slivers. I use a razor blade to make a tablespoons worth and let it fall on wax paper as it will stick to counter tops. Just be sure the soap slivers are small and THIN. I would try to make a 4 stick batch on the first go around to keep from wasting other ingredients if something goes wrong. I only make 8 stick batches at a time. Which is double the amount of ingredients that I gave you. I just re read your question and I still did not answer you correctly. Shave enough slivers from end of "Ivory Brand" bar of soap to equal a level tablespoon. No more than heaping Max!! To much and the lube wont set up correctly. To little and the oils will seperate upon cooling. The best way to tell how you done on soap is when you pour it into something to make a stick (empty prescription bottle or 35mm film canister will work good for trial sizes) after its done cooling and setting up after an hour or two at room temp or a little cooler remove from canister and take a knife and cut a portion off end of stick of lube and look closely for swirls or different looking streaks. If none appear you are set. If they appear remelt and add a small amount more of soap slivers. If the lube does not set up firm there is to much soap. re melt and add more beeswax in small amounts about 1/4 cup worth. Happy Cookin!! Just holler if you need more help. Did you get a chance to cast with that 454424 Keith yet? Sorry about the light spots on block faces. I always reblue my steel blocks and sprue plates when they get dull looking but that mold I never let it cool down much in the time I had it and it needed some polishing here and there when I bought it. Maybe when summer gets here send it this way and I will reblue it for ya. Talk at ya later bud.
Jim


went and bought the ingrediants and a couple lbs of beeswax at $4 a pound is this a good price or can you get it cheaper. I could use about 10 more lbs to get going at this if you can get it. One question though the ivory soap slivers you said to use one tablespoon per batch is that after they are flaked or a chunk the size of a tablespoon and then shave it. Thanks pal


Hi Lloyd, Glad they arrived ok!! Dont like molds to get warm and cold in transit and cause condensation. I oiled them and put in zip locks but you never know when rust will try to set in. As to the storage containers those are the UB boxes from midway usa. I just buy them in bulk every now and then and they make great mold storage boxes. I just label all mine with a black perm marker for easy reference. The ones I sent you are the UB36 and UB10. Work great also for bulk cast bullets before lubing. That Lube is the best I have used yet by FAR. I have used LBT soft for a few years now and have used around 30 sticks of it and will never go back to it. This homebrew is the Ticket to small groups and ZERO leading in all my cast guns. Plain base bullets with a bhn of 18-20 will handle 1800fps from the 454 and a mirror bright barrel after 100rds in hot weather. Nver seen a lube work so well. Its melts low and get where it needs to be fast. No more lube Boogers on the target either. Good sign that the lube is not working if there is lube on the target. Here is the recipe I use and its very close to the book.
1. Get a small metal container. (large soup can is what I use)
2. Add two table spoons of Mineral oil. When starting to smoke on the stove (300deg) Add (1) table spoon of castor oil.
3. keeping the heat about 300deg at low or now smoking this needs stirred for 30 minutes (very important) if not the two oils will seperate from each other. Longer is better I usually go at least 40 min. You will see when the oils combine with each other as there will be no streaking.
4. After the 30 min plus of stirring you need to make a level table spoon (max) of ivory soap slivers using a razor blade. Make sure they are as thin as paper or they wont melt into the oils but rather make little white clumps. (not good) This is a important ingredient as the stearate from the soap is what glues all the components together so they wont seperate upon cooling. Add small amounts of the soap slivers while oil is still on the heat and if they are slivered right when you add them it will Foam up in the can a little. only add a little at a time when one desolves stir a minute or two and add more till the hole table spoon of soap slivers is gone.
5. Now you want to add a table spoon of Anhydrous Lanolin. (order it from wal mart drug store) it will cost approx $27 per pound but this will make a ton of lube as only 1 table spoon is need per 4 sticks of lube. The lanolin will melt rather quick if the heat is still above 150 deg or so. Stir the hole mix for a few minutes to make sure they are all blended well.
6. Now you are ready to add the bees wax. Melt in a double broiler. I use a small coffee can inside one of the large ones with a few cups of water in big one and bring it to boil to melt beeswax in small one (no scorching and certainly dont want wax to catch fire) and burn it will if tried to melt over a single container with red hot heat under it. When you get your beeswax into a liquid get a measuring cup and add 1 1/4 cups of beeswax to your other ingredients. Stir well and serve!!.
7. this recipe will make 4 sticks at 1x4 which is most common size.
8. I can make enough lube in 4 hours to last me a year plus give several sticks away. Total cost for ingredients will be around $40 to make a bunch of lube and all can be bought from wal-mart except beeswax.
9. Get a 1" ID. x 5" galvanized pipe nipple and scrub inside well and debur inside on edges from threading procedure with a file or round grinding stone on a drill and you can make perfect sticks of lube. Place pipe on wax paper hold down with firm pressure and with a gloved hand pour melted lube in and hold it for about 2 or so minutes until thickened as it cools quick when entering the cool pipe. place it then in the freezer for about 8-10 minutes and it will shrink some and can be pushed out with little to no effort and KA ZAM you are set.
10. making lube is very addictive.
11. The castor oil and mineral oil cooking does have a stinch when cooking. So it would be best not to do when the BOSS is at home or send her shopping.
If you dont have a source for beeswax just holler. I have a local bee keeper only five miles away and buy it in 5 or 8lb ingots at a time. (flux with it also mixed with saw dust) I have plenty right now and will send some if you need it. this lube can be hardened some by adding a very small cube or two (sugar cube size) of parrifin wax. I prefer it soft. More castor can be added but no more than 3 table spoons as the castor oil will bleed from final ingredient when it gets warm.
12. The ingredients are, castor oil (this is what does the trick in the barrel. mineral oil is a carrier for the castor.Ivory brand soap has the sterate to glue it all together, Lanolin is what makes it sticky to hold to bullet groove and such, beeswax is the final carrier of them all. The 30 min cooking and stirring is Vital and the very fine slivers of soap are also to get them to melt. Have fun if you try it. If not and you like it holler and I will send more.
thanks again for the use of molds. Will get that 420lfn gc on the way in next few days. Already had yours boxed and sealed when we discussed that one. You can pay me when you can after your other toys are taken care of. Have a good one Pal.

[HL]

GB is on the right track, IMO.

I've been using the LBT Blue Lube since back in the mid 80's with virtually no leading in my 44mag, with heavy loads of 315gr. cast bullets.

If you go to Veral's web site and read about each of his lubes, they do exactly what he says they do.

The only other lube I tried prior to LBT was the RCBS Lube, there I had no problems either.

[Cowboybart]

WOW!! Information overload.