Felix Lube Formula – one of the all time great Cast Bullet lubes

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  • #488815
    Wiljen
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          2 Tablespoons mineral oil  (Found in the laxative aisle or baby oil)
          1 Tablespoon castor oil  (Right down the aisle from the mineral oil)
          1 Tablespoon Ivory, or homemade soap (grated)  (this can be substituted with sodium stearate as that is what the soap provides)
          1 Tablespoon Anhydrous Lanolin  (Available in baby aisle at walmart as nipple cream be sure to get 100% anhydrous lanolin as several mixtures exist).
          Beeswax – Piece approximately 3 1/2″ X 3 1/2″ X 1 “

      Sliver the soap into small flakes.  The smaller the better as it takes some time to dissolve.

          Heat mineral oil until it starts to smoke, reduce heat slightly.

          Add castor oil, and stir continuously for 1/2 hour.

          Stir the soap into the mixture a little at a time, until melted.

          Add the beeswax and then reduce the heat. 

          Once you can touch the tip of your finger to the surface of the liquid (just barely above the solidification point) add the lanolin.  If you add the lanolin before the mix cools it will scorch and ruin the lube.

          1 teaspoon of carnauba wax can be added to give a shiny bore.  (McGuires or Mothers Car wax are a good source)

          Once made, let cool. This can be re-melted in a microwave, and poured into the lubrisizer.

      This has been my go to lube for years and works very well with everything from reduced pistol loads through full house 45-70s.  If you are looking for 1 lube to do everything, this should be on your short list of things to try. 

      Wiljen

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    • #504430
      AlvinYork
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        I’m going to give this a try.
        The recipe I ‘m currently using doesn’t seem to be optimal (beeswax, vaseline, stp oil treatment and a splash alox).
        The only thing I’m worried about is the stirring continuously for 30 minutes. I may find a way to shorten that (hand mixer set on low?).

        #504431
        adamsutherland
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          When it is made right it is indeed a fine lube.

          However since White Label lubes came on the market I don’t make smokeless lube any more, 2400 is cheap and works for all my applications.

          I still make my own black powder lube since White Label stopped doing theirs but I have been using Randyrats TAC Black and it is showing some promise so maybe I can give up making my own lube altogether. At my time of life life is just to short to be making my own lube anymore.

          The stirring for half an hour with the Felix lube is a pain but is necessary from my experience, when I did it I made a biggish batch that lasted me a couple of years.

          #504432
          AlvinYork
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            My plan is to make a 2 to 5 year batch as well.

            I know what you mean about spending time on things. That’s why I try to do all my shopping online so I’m not wasting life driving to a bunch of stores on my precious weekends when I could be home casting/reloading/milling or some other enjoyable activity while an army of people execute the transportation of the goods I purchased from the seller to my home.

            Dromia, and please feel free to ignore the following, I believe you’ve mentioned here and there that you’re in the UK (or is it just K now  ;). I was under the impression citizens there were not allowed to possess firearms. Would you mind telling us how it’s possible without some equivalent “constitutional amendment”? And where do you shoot? Are there enough armed citizens that there is a market for a commercial gun range? Apologies if I’m prying. As I said, feel free to ignore.

            #504433
            brigettecuneo
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              I have never made any lube period but have this recipe from the poster saved. I had a hard time getting the carnauba wax as I did not want to use the auto paste version but found what I was looking for from a bulk supplier. In a few days I should have carnauba flakes for the recipe.
              We have honey bees on our property and thanks to them already gathered the amount needed of bees wax from some old nasty frames I had. Did not even have to use the good new wax.
              I hope Mr. York when you make your batch it comes out great. I think this weekend while pre heating some new NOE molds, my hot plate may just have a fresh batch going. My girl already gave me the word, ” outside only”, due to the Stink. Lol

              #504434
              AlvinYork
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                I hope my batch comes out good too. It’s pretty cool that you’ve got bees from which you can harvest wax. I still have blocks of beeswax from my last buy that I’ll throw in.

                For the 30 minute continuous stir I’m thinking of two electric hand mixers where nothing of the mixer touches to pot that’s being used to heat the oil. The blades of the mixers will be in the oil but not touching the bottom of the pot. Set them on low, or medium, and come back 30 minutes later to continue the recipe. Of course the fixture to hold the mixers is what will make or break this approach.
                That and possibly the heat may transfer up the batters and melt, or somehow otherwise interfere with, the guts of the mixer. . .

                #504435
                adamsutherland
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                  In the UK owning firearms is still a right albeit a qualified right as you must meet three conditions. a) Be a fit person (no mental illness or criminal history), b) show good reason (eg. target shooting, game shooting, vermin control, collecting etc) and c) have security commensurate with the risk (number of guns, how they are secured, location etc.) meet those qualifications and you are certified to have a specific number of firearms of designated calibres of your choice (which can be varied as needed) which are entered on your Firearms Certificate (FAC), shotguns are different as there is no limit on your shotgun certificate (SGC). I have room for 100 firearms on my FAC (this not typical, most people will have one or two dozen). Firearms transactions are recorded on your FAC and the firearms certification authority notified.

                  On top of this specific types of firearms are restricted and cannot be possessed under normal circumstances these have been banned due to politicians seeking political capital when murderers have committed atrocities. Semi auto rifles are restricted except for rim fire, pistols are banned except for muzzle loaders and cap and ball, shotguns of mare than 2+1 capacity have to held on an FAC not the SGC.

                  I have no problem with the qualifications to the right, fit person (no mental illness or criminal history), show good reason (eg. target shooting, game shooting, vermin control, collecting etc) and having security commensurate with the risk (number of guns, nature of storage, location etc.). What is wrong with the system is that the firearms are certificated as well as the person and there is no need for this. Just certify the person and remove the bureaucratic nonsense of listing specific firearms on an FAC when a total is all that is needed. Secondly the crass, vested interest, political interference that does nothing to ensure public safety but is a consequence of low quality politicians responding to the braying of the mob and consequently delivering bad legislation.

                  There are over 1 million certificate holders in England and Wales.

                  There are many private or club ranges across the country mostly 25 – 50 yard ranges, I am chairman of one such club. I am also a member of another club that has a 100 yard outdoor range and there are others that go out to over a thousand. For most of our longer range shooting we book access to military ranges which usually go out to 600 but some like Bisley go out to 1200 yards. Most clubs will book 12-24 military range days a year as it is expensive now.

                  There are also many clay pigeon grounds across the country.

                  In addition to my personal firearms collection I became a Registered Firearms Dealer when I retired six years ago, that means I can trade in firearms with out the restriction of numbers and calibre I just have to keep a register of transactions which is inspected every three years upon renewal of my certificate.

                  I shoot three times week on the 25 yard range, once or twice a week on the 100 yard range and twice a month on the 600 yard military ranges. On top of that I have game and vermin shooting on my land in Scotland and permissions for further acreages.

                  #504436
                  AlvinYork
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                    Wow! I didn’t know there was such a robust community there.  It doesn’t sound too draconian  except for, as you mentioned, having to have the caliber certified.
                    Thank you very much,  Dromia, for giving myself, and I would guess several others in the audience, a glimpse into how the UK handles gun ownership.

                    #504437
                    brigettecuneo
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                      I had no idea, and even more hoops to go through then here in California. Glad he is able to enjoy the shooting sports. I was under the impression that all firearms were banned in that region of the world so I learned something today. Thank you for sharing.

                      #504438
                      brigettecuneo
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                        Made my first batch today. Came out great. Followed the instructions and done. I will say though, I thought stirring,heating and melting the soap portion to be the most time consuming. Really took a while for the little shavings to eventually melt completely. I also added a couple red crayons during the bees wax portion for some coloring. I used just about 1 teaspoon of pure carnauba wax flakes for the last part.dumped in a microwaveable container and life is good.
                        Thank you for posting the recipe.  Definitely worth making your own

                        #504439
                        AlvinYork
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                          Made a batch yesterday morning. Here’s my observations.

                          :D My “two hand mixers suspended above the pot for 30 minutes to perform the continuous stir” worked like a charm! Made the fixture out of the hood of an old microwave and put a piece of 3/4″ plywood on top of that. Drill four holes at the appropriate locations and I was done. I ended up just putting it on the pot itself. I figured the plywood would act as an insulator to most of the heat.

                          :D When I got to the stearic acid part, I used one of the hand mixers to stir the powder into it. It was either the hand mixer or the fact I was using actual Stearic acid but the powder dissolved very quickly.

                          ::) I didn’t have any crayons (one kid’s out of college, the other’s there now; haven’t had crayons in the house for a while) so I added a teaspoon of annatto powder. The lube has what I guess you would call a “creamsicle” color; whitish orange tinge.

                          😮 I didn’t have an actual teaspoon/tablespoon to measure with so I converted the ingredient dimensions to either fluid ounces or cc’s. Don’t know if that put the kai-bosh on the usability of the mix or not.

                          ;D All in all the lube seems to have come out fine. Once you get everything measured and ready to go the actual “runtime” of the pot to mix the batch was pretty quick. Haven’t shot it yet (went out on Saturday, day before I made the batch). I’ll do that on the next range visit which is probably in two weeks.

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