Gatofeo's wad lube

[simonkenton]

Jeb Stuart, forgive me, and you too, Gatofeo. I mixed up a batch of Gatofeo's wad lube, but not with boiling water over an honest blue flame of the gas stove. I used the microwave! It worked pretty  well. I mixed the stuff in a little ceramic cereal bowl. I put 100 Wonder Wads in the liquid, I like the way it smells.
Now I have to lap the bore with my JB paste. I have to get some more tung oil, I am redoing the wood with tung oil and the bottle I have is real old, it must be no good because I let the second coat set for 3 days and it is still a little tacky. I just removed that coat with mineral spirits and will try again today with some fresh tung oil.

[Gatofeo]

Um ... just between you and me, Simonkenton ...
That home-brew lubricant is wondrous stuff.
A paste smeared on the head will cure baldness. Smeared on poker chips, it will encourage drawing to an inside straight. A 90-year-old man ate some, and now Planned Parenthood has him on its Hit-List.
Used as a salve, it removes wrinkles and cellulite. Cheap hamburger cooked in it tastes like Lobster Thermador. A mere pea-sized piece added to your gas tank will increase gas mileage to 300 miles per gallon.
In the presence of anthrax spores, it turns a brilliant, glowing blue. Poured into a paper-thin sheet, it may be viewed through to convert Metric to American Standard sizes. It is said that Seattle Slew and Man O' War were both fed this lubricant and became legends of horse racing.
The Nazis used it to fuel their V2 rockets. Tomato seedlings planted with a pea-sized amount should be planted at least 25 yards from the house, so their fruit doesn't later push the house off the foundation.
Every Fish & Game agency on Earth --- and most in Rigel 7 --- ban its use as fish bait, so effective is it. An M1 Abrams tank painted with the lubricant will resist even the most powerful anti-tank rounds. A bit behind each ear will entrance any woman you desire.
Yep ... it's powerful stuff ... just don't tell anyone. It's that good!

[simonkenton]

I lapped the bore with the JB. I was surprised at how much crud came out, for a new gun. Some rust was on the first three patches. I guess Pietta test fires them and doesn't clean them too well. That bore is sparkling now, though.
I will soon have a range report.

[The Shrink]

Simon

You're not using Tung Oil raw and unthinned, are you?  Remember that if not mixed with thinner it will never set up.  I've not yet had any raw tung oil go bad on me, unless it got so hard it wouldn't accept any thinner at all.  That part of a bottle I threw out!

[Buckshotliam]

Gatofeo, your last post is a CLASSIC!  I use my home brew patch lube for a wide variety of cosmetic and cleaning/lubing purposes.  My kids and my wife are always teasing me. I just read your post to her and she slid off her chair laughing!  Keep up the good work.....
By the way what does your nickname mean?

Buckshot Liam

[simonkenton]

Are you serious about thinning the Tung oil? It didn't say anything on the bottle about thinning it. What ratio do you thin it to?

[Gatofeo]

My name means "ugly cat" in Spanish.
Actually, I'm an incredibly handsome ol' desert cat but I took that name to discourage the ladies from clamoring to have me at least ONE day of the week.
A cat's gotta have his rest, you know ... heh.

[The Shrink]

Simon

Absolutely serious, raw Tung Oil will not set up unless thinned.  For a first few coats, for penetration, I thin to about 25% Tung oil, wash this on until the wood stops absorbing it, wipe it down and let it dry.  This is your sealer coat.

Now is when you wet sand to fill the pores with sawdust , while you are washing on the sealer.  If you do this use a relatively hard sanding block that will force the sawdust into the pores.  You might do this two or three times until the pores are filled.  This is necessary with open pored woods such as Walnut and Oak, unnecessary with closed pore woods such as Maple or Birch.  Of course, you can use a comercial filler to do the same thing.

Then I gradually work up to about a 60% Tung Oil mix as final coats, some go to 75%, my method is far from precise.  Actually, this takes several days, and around here the thinner gasses off the open container at about the right pace.  Sometimes when it's humid I have to add some Tung Oil, or when it's dry I have to add some thinner.  I do it by feel.  

This final mix you can use until you get the finish you want.  You can stop at a soft, oil like finish, or you can continue and polish until you get almost a lacquer like finish.  This shiny finish may take 10 coats or more, though.  Most who want this will use poly, it's a quicker and more water resistant finish.  

If you get shiny splotches, this is oil that came back out of pores you didn't get filled, spread around the pore, and hardened.  You will have to sand these out and start your final finish again, but do fill those pores.  The other solution is to continue to wipe the surface until there is no liquid oil on it, and that can take a while, believe me.  

I also try to wear surgical gloves when I do this, it keeps my hands from cracking as the dryers in the thinner work on the skin.

[Dan Chamberlain]

Simon;

The preservative the Italians use to store and ship their firearms thickens with time and leaves a red chunky residue.  it's not rust.

Dan C

[Charlie Detroit]

Yep...I remember that stuff from my Lyman GPR when it was brand-new...kinda scared me until I found that organic solvents would take it out, then I knew it wasn't rust.

[clodbuster]

Gato;   I'm typing this request from a kneeling position to show my humble worthiness for your secret recipe.  I will not sleep until there is a batch cooking over the old campfire here at "Hunters Rest"
with due respect
Clodbuster

[Gatofeo]

Okay ... here's the old-time recipe for black powder bullet lubricant. This was taken from a 1943 American Rifleman magazine, and the recipe was old then.
It was used by factories for lubricating heeled bullets, such as the .22 rimfires and the .32, .38 and .41 Long Colt.
I use it to lubricate felt wads for my cap and ball revolvers, patches for my .50-caliber muzzleloader and lead bullets for my .44-40 and .45-70 with smokeless or black powder.
The recipe is:
1 part paraffin (I use the canning paraffin sold in grocery stores)
1 part mutton tallow (sold by Dixie Gun Works)
1/2 part beeswax.
All measurements are by weight, NOT volume.
I use a kitchen scale to measure 200/200/100 grams of the ingredients, which nearly fills a quart Mason jar.
Melt the ingredients together in the jar, by placing the jar into three or four inches of boiling water for a double-boiler effect.
When all ingredients are thoroughly melted, stir together with a clean stick or disposable chopstick. Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature. Hastening the cooling by placing in the refrigerator may cause the ingredients to separate.
I store the jar, tightly capped, in a cool, ry place. It's soft enough to use a sturdy spoon to take out what you need.
It's good stuff.
My eight wives and 13 mistresses think so too ... heh.