Homemade case lube

[slackerisme]

I know this has been around, but I thought I would write up a how to for homemade case lube.

I found out that Dillons lube is lanolin and alcohol. I found a website that reported that the mix ratio is 1 part lanolin to 12 parts alcohol. So I went here and ordered this lanolin. I already had a large bottle of alcohol ( I use it in my computer business so I buy the large jugs whenever I see them cheap).

I went to the dollar store and got a spray bottle that has ratios marked on the side. It did not have a 12 part marking but I guesstimated. I melted about a third of the tub of lanolin in a double boiler (I read that lanolin gives off nastiness at around 300 degrees F., so be careful) and poured it into the bottle.

I then poured the alcohol in and started shaking. The lanolin did not mix well with the alcohol at this point. I then put the entire bottle full of the mixture into the lower water filled portion of the double boiler. I set the heat very low (way below boiling) and left it in the water for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then I gave it a vigorous shaking and voila! it mixed.

I checked it this morning and it did separate some, but a quick shake mixes it right back up. Last night I finished up some test loads for today's day at the range, and it worked great. I cut the top off of a box and layed the cases on the bottom. Gave them a quick spray and waited 5 minutes or so for the alcohol to dry. My favorite part is that lanolin is used in a ton of soaps and lotions, it doesn't hurt your hands, or stink, and quickly gets absorbed into your skin. Leaving your hand silky smooth


I figure the whole huge windex sized bottle cost me about $20. I have enough lanolin for 2 more bottles.

 

[standeford]

Lanolin is great. An optional ingredient in Ed's Red bite cleaner, and it works the same trick on your hands in it.

 

[2ridgebacks]

The recipe that I read indicated that very pure alcohol needed to be used. Something like 95% or higher. I was also thinking the ration was 4:1. If 12:1 worked, good on ya!

 

[slackerisme]

The recipe that I read indicated that very pure alcohol needed to be used. Something like 95% or higher. I was also thinking the ration was 4:1. If 12:1 worked, good on ya!

12:1 is pretty slick, I havent had a case stick yet or even hint at sticking really. I imagine 4:1 would be very, very wet. I used walmart isopropyl (sp?) it worked well. Maybe with the pure alcohol you dont need to shake it before use.

 

[Marc]

that seems like a good thing to add to the SHTF stock pile

 

[Robert Richardson]

I have also used Saddle Soap.

 

[Old Syko]

I have also used Saddle Soap.

I wonder if lanolin isn't the main ingredient in saddle soap?

I buy lanolin at the local drugstore. 5# tub.

Slackerisme, next time try using denatured aclohol instead of isopropyl. Makes a big difference. Guess you could always distill your own and possibly even find a use for the leftovers.

 

[slackerisme]

Will do , Thanks for the tip.

 

[mettle]

So, do you get 'dish pan hands' when loading now? !! Thanks for the research and write up. I'll file it away as 'usable and tried' alternatives.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I'll add my experiences with this.

First of all, rather than the solid lanolin, there is also liquid lanolin, it dissolves much better. There is also hydrous lanolin and anhydrous lanolin (hydrous means it contains water, anhydrous means it doesn't). Ideally you want anhydrous liquid lanolin. So far the only place I've found that sells it as hydrous or anhydrous is a place called Texas Natural Supply (google it). Most other places that sell it for cosmetic use don't specify between the two.

Mixing, the #1 thing I found that contradicts what other's have said is it does not easily dissolve in denatured alcohol. When you look up the solubility of lanolin in denatured alcohol it isn't soluble until it reaches 76 celcius, which is only 2.4 degrees below alcohol's boiling point. This is bad, because the reaction of the lanolin dissolving is exothermic (it gives off heat). So basically you heat the mix up close to boiling point and once it begins to dissolve (normally on the bottom mixture where the most heat is) it heats up the surrounding mixture, setting off a chain reaction. This actually sends the alcohol over its boiling point creates a huge mess of boiling alcohol (not fun). If you happen to be using a glass container, the rapid temperature change may just break the container. Don't ask me how I know this; I was just lucky that I was in a real chemistry lab with a fume hood doing this and not my home kitchen.

So anyways, with my remaining lanolin that hadn't been mopped up (btw, don't spill any because it really is impossible to mop up) I started over and tried again.

This time I did a trial of several different "carriers" in test tubes and then I chilled them to see if I could get it to come back out of solution or gel up. The thing that I found to be the best (with the carriers I had on hand) was a mix of hexane, and butyl alcohol. No matter how cold I chilled this solution (down to -10 or so) it wouldn't come out of solution. Now these are very nasty chemicals that you definitely don't want to use indoors, so what I do is I step outside and spray the case lube and let it dry for about 10 minutes outside, then bring it back in. I know its not the preferred method, but I just wanted some lube that worked, not necesarily safe to breath the vapors. I've been happy, and next time I'll try to have some 95% isopropyl on hand, I couldn't find any at the time without special ordering it.

 

[Old Syko]

It's always good to have the experts claim that what has worked for so many for 40 or more years was actually a figment of their imagination, but so be it. For a small list of other recipes that probably don't actually work either, click the link.

Replacement for case sizing lube - Cast Boolits