revolver: wad vs crisco

G'day,

Some years ago I used solid cooking oil (Crisco, No Frills Type). Worked ok but it did melt and run and most of the other things mentioned in this thread. What caused me to give it up was when we were shooting into the wind on a target range. Before long I had disappeared in a swarm of flies. I couldn't work out why I had more flies than the others. I was the only dumb one using food type lubricants. :barf: I don't now.

I use Castrol PH (zinc based) grease. Cheap and washes out with soap and water. For you blokes with a girl let me say they will be pleased and you can spend more money on shooting instead of cleaning bills or new clothes. :D

Cheers from down under
Aussie Bob
 
Steve:
I often seen this recipe offered but are the olive oil and beeswax measured by volume or weight?
What is the consistency? I'd like to find a grease a little thinner than Crisco, made from natural ingredients, for the cylinder pin and rear area of the cylinder.
Presently, I use CVA Grease Patch and found it very good. But it's often difficult to find. To me, it appears to be little more than a mix of beeswax and some kind of vegetable oil.
Thanks.
 
Gatofeo, I mix mine by volume. I put two marks on the inside of whatever container I'm melting the mixture in. Both are spaced an equal distance apart (the first one inch from the bottom, the second two inches from the bottom.) I add olive oil until it reaches the first mark. I put chunks of beeswax in the olive oil until the level reaches the second mark. When heated, the wax melts and mixes well with the olive oil with very little stirring.
After the mixture has cooled some but is still liquid, I pour it into styrofoam cups. When it has cooled and solidified it contracts enough that it pulls away from the sides of the cup and can be dumped out of the cup. A little time in the freezer speeds things up. I use dental floss to cut the cup-shaped cake into smaller slices (make a loop around the cake and pull both ends of the floss, like a garrotte.)
The consistency is stiff enough to adhere well to the lube rings of a minie ball or fill a revolver chamber over the ball. I just rub the cake over the edge of the chamber mouth so some is shaved off, then use my finger to push it equally around so the ball is totally covered. During extremely hot weather the cake gets a little soft but I have never had it get even a little runny.
This mixture seems to keep powder fouling soft. I can shoot 40 to 50 rounds through a .58 rifled musket without experiencing loading difficulties. I suppose one could alter the ratio ( more oil, less wax ) to make it softer for use as a patch lube, but I use it at 50-50 and it works for me.
Another use, though unrelated to firearms, is that it makes an excellent wood finish for my osage orange self bows and tomahawk handles. It'll also fix your chapped hands. Heck, it probably could be used as survival food!
 
Um .. don't eat that olive oil and beeswax mix or you may find yourself sleeping in the bathtub with the drain open! :eek:
 
seating the wad

Thanks to all who answered this thread I started a few months ago. It is now a little cold for BP shooting, but when the weather gets warmer ....
One more question: How doe you guys seat the wad??? Do you use the build in rod or something else? What works best and how do you know it is placed "correctly" ??

Thanks,

drdirk
 
I press the wad in with my fingertip, then tamp it down with the loading lever. Every so often one goes in crooked enough that it may not seal properly. It takes just a second to reposition it with the tip of a small screwdriver before seating it with the lever. A quick glance down the chamber will ensure that it's positioned properly.
 
I know this is an old thread but the subject has come up several times at one time or another so I just thoiught I would ad a little for the new guy's.
I like to load the powder and wad in the cylinder's when it's out of the gun and sitting on my bench. I fill one chamber with powder and tap the side of the cylinder a little. Then I slide a wonder wad over the hole with my thumb and press down on the wad evenly to start it. The i use a 6" 3/8" doll rod to run the wad on down and seat it shugly on the powder. After each one is done I smear a little grease on the star end of the cylinder and also place some on the cylinder rod. My favorite grease is Wonder lub mixed with equal amounts of melted bees wax to "stickey" it up a little .This really helps to keep the fouling of the cylinder to a minimum. load the cylinder in the gun with the hammer on half cock and run the cylinder rod through the cylinder hole. While holding the gun standing upright on the bench, Lay a ball on the chamber hole and turn the cylinder until it's lined up (First click) with the ram rod . Run the ball down snugly over the wad seating it really well. After loading all six balls I will use a popcicle stick to fill each chamber with grease and smooth off the grease even with the top of the chamber.Now I place a cap by hand on one nipple at a time and seat the cap on the nipple with a 3/8" doll rod with a piece of leather on the end of it ( Just glue on a piece of leather and when it drys trim it to match the rod) I just use the same doll rod I used for the wad .
When your done with the caps carefully pull back the hammer and then turn the cylinder so that that you can gently let the hammer down on one of the open slots, not on a nipple!. Wipe the gun down well with a clean rag and your ready to go. Mike
 
I make my own "wads" out of mutton tallow, a little liquid alox and a little beeswax. They dissolve with the charge and keep the gun real clean and lubed. I melt the ingredients in a pan so they are about 1/8" thick, let the pan cool and cut them using a 45 casing like a cookie cutter. They work great. One of these days I'm going to switch to APP and just use the felt wads as a filler.
 
Overall, a very interesting thread.
That's one of the things I like about shooting cap and ball sixguns, the diversity of opinion and experience. What works here in the remote Utah desert may not work as well in a hot, humid place such as Florida.
There are only a few hard-and-fast rules to loading a cap and ball sixgun:

1. Never smoke or have any open flame or spark near you while loading.
2. Use some kind of lubricant over or under the ball.
3. Use only black powder or a propellant approved for such use.
4. Never let bystanders stand to the side of your revolver while firing, or they may be injured by hot gases, particles or lead shavings.
5. Practice firearms safety at all times, to include yelling, "Cease Fire!" if you see a dangerous situation downrange or from a fellow shooter. Watch that muzzle!
6. Ensure your revolver is in good, firing condition before stoking it. If it's an old original, or a suspect reproduction, have a gunsmith check it.
7. Never shoot glass items, or anything that will leave a mess. Clean up after yourself, to include taking down paper targets and collecting tins cans for proper disposal.
8. Have fun. This isn't the Olympics with the entire world watching. If you miss a can just turn to your friends and say, "Didya see how that can jumped aside just as I fired?"
9. At home, store your gunpowder and caps properly, away from children and immature adults.
 
another tip: Name search Gatofeo or else read the stickies he has here and on the High Road. They will answer just about any question you might have-as well as the questions themselves CAN be answered.

As he says, there are many variables that go into how a given procedure will work.
 
......Generally mutton tallow & beeswax, about 2 to one in favor of the tallow....At one time or another, I've used about any combo of organic fats & oils & this seems to work best for me...I've also been known to load 'dry' (with a tight fitting ball) if the gun is to be carried for extended periods...Ostensibly to prevent contamination of the powder.....Yes, I've experienced chain fires but am pretty much convinced that they are a product of sloppy fitting caps in most cases...................
 
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