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Home made bullet lube
codenamepaul
Member Posts: 2,931 ✭
Just getting into the casting thing. Learning tons the more I talk/ask. I am using a 70/30 mix of parafin wax and johnsons paste wax on the advice of a VERY experienced caster. Any thoughts on this? My first batch was pretty good using 100% linotype alloy and using the pan method of lubing. Same guy said to cut the linotype quite a bit to soften the alloy some as he said "they're tough as moose teeth" Didn't seem to have any leading issues in both .38 and .357mag.
Comments
First off, for either of those calibers, that's a waste of good linotype. MUCH harder than you need, especially for the .38. But if you have it on hand it won't hurt anything either.
Paraffin and Johnson's paste wax... hmm. The paraffin here is mainly a hardener and the carnuba in the paste wax is what's doing the work. As such it isn't really that much; the paste wax is roughly 70% solvent, 10% carnuba, and 20% paraffin already. Most experienced casters stay away from high paraffin contents, it just doesn't work as well as beeswax. Might be ok for handguns but I bet you'd invite disaster in rifles.
50/50 alox/beeswax is good. If you are making it yourself a mix of synthetic grease and beeswax is good too, or google 'felix lube.'
The link is to the Mecca of cast projectiles.
I have used both Lee Liquid Alox and JPW alone with satisfaction, but a much better lube is a mix of LLA, JPW and mineral spirits. I melt JPW and LLA in a small can (on a candle-warmer so as not to exceed 170F) and then stir in a small amount of mineral spirits. The final mix is probably about 40/40/20 or 45/45/10. It isn't critical.
I swirl cast bullets in a VERY small amount of this mix and then allow them to dry overnight spread on waxed paper. Rifle loads to 2000 fps show no leading.