I read the thread. In fact I read the thread three times and am still lost in the substitutions, digressions, and changes.

Felix, would you be so kind as to post the current version with proportions?

Leftoverdj - I do believe there is more than a little Zen involved. I don't remember if you need to be swinging a dead cat over the head, while standing naked in a pentagram, or if that is just for casting boolits.

I think you only have to swing the dead "cat sized animal" if you use jojuba oil from below the equator. Otherwise it's just dancing naked. <GGG>
AKA elbStJoeMO

Waksupi, one cup of Zen or two?

One day it's only one cup, the next day it's 2 cups. Trying to duplicate a specific mix chemically would be no fun. Half of the fun is seeing what this "new" and "improved" batch will do in various applications. Just about every batch has to be tricked into doing a very specific job where that job is at the an extremity of some real application. Ideally, any batch should work good for 95 percent, if not 99 percent, of the realistic applications. Shooting a 22 at 2700 at a bunch of charging dimes at a hunnert is completely different than shooting a buff with a cold barrel at 800 yards with a 35 (thru 45) in a zero degree ambient.

The batch that was sent out to everyone has the chemistry set as follows:

All super-refined cosmetic grade.

1. 110 pounds of beeswax.
2. 20 pounds of anhydrous lanolin.
3. 3.5 gallons of mineral oil.
4. 0.5 gallon of jojoba oil.
5. 0.5 gallon of castor oil.
6. 3 pounds of carnauba.
7. 2 pounds of (180F degree) micro wax.
8. 3 bars of Ivory, washing hands size.
9. 1 pound of Vibar 103.
10. 1 pound of A-C-100.

Leftoverdj - You may want to reduce those amounts a bit for personal use!

"Super refined Cosmetic grade"--'Spose I'll get better looking if I use it for my facials?--Shuz

Leftoverdj, here is the recipe I used a few years ago to make my first batch. Exact measurements don't seem to be all that critical, at least in my experience. I have bastardized my original concoction several times, and it has all worked well. 2tbsp baby oil, heated until it begins to smoke a little. Turn down the heat and add 1 tbsp castor oil, keep just below smoking temp and stir for 30 minutes. This will stink and is best done with no females in the house. Then add slivers of Ivory soap - it won't want to melt, and smaller slivers are better. I added about 1 tbsp before I got bored trying to get it to melt and went to the next step, which is adding 1 tbsp lanolin. I turned the heat off and let the mixture cool, then added about 1 cup of beeswax (real guess here, 'cause I just cut it from the block) and brought it back up to temp for the beeswax to melt. I also added some red wax from a bottle of Maker's Mark for color, and the bourbon also gave me someting to do while I was stirring for thirty minutes. I didn't add any paraffin, but that is an option if you want a harder lube. Since then I have added Lyman Super Moly and later some Magma hard lube to the original mix and all worked well. I am about to make another batch using the Magma hard lube instead of beeswax, with all others being the same. Bottom line is that this isn't rocket science, and just about anything you make will be useful for most applications. I shoot more pistol and revolver than rifle, so someone looking for the last bit of accuracy might disagree, but I have managed a few 1 inch groups at 100 with my 45-70 and this lube. Tony

[ 11-28-2003, 21:32: Message edited by: AnthonyB ]

As far as dancing naked and swinging a dead cat.
I don't even have a dead cat yet and some of my neighbors are already starting to complain.
But one neighbor asked if she could dance with me.

No dead cat!!? Post your address! I'm sure Carpetman will mail you one!

If you're like me and have no idea what "micro wax" is, you can replace items 6,7,9 and 10 with the red wax seal from the neck of a bottle of Maker's Mark as Tony does. I'm thinking that it may be the Maker's Mark more than anything which facilitates dancing neckid whilst swinging the dead cat over your head. BD

BD, you are correct indeed, sir! The cheese and wiskey plastic caps are a mixture microwax and carnauba. ... felix

felix...when I worked for a Sunoco oil refinery I was in the Deoiling/Dewaxing unit. One product we made was what Sun called Micro-crystaline was. I knew I should have stockpiled some of that stuff!

Joe

Yeah, Joe, hindsight is always 20/20. ... felix