The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

The lyman burton balls are pretty similar to the ammunition used during the American civil war, different to the British Pritchett design in that they have deep grease grooves rather than paper patching. Yes, tallow is just rendered and purified animal fat, a block of salt free beef dripping from asda is a quid or so. I have an old mess tin in my garage that I melt it in over a low heat on a camping stove and mix in the beeswax, when it cools it just goes solid and I remelt it as and when in the same tin. When it's melted I just dip the bullets in holding them at the nose with pliers, set the aside to solidify, then push them through a homemade sizing die, it doesn't actually size the lymans, just acts to strip all the excess lube of and fill the grooves. I try to just lube the right amount for the session but they will keep for a while in a Tupperware type box without hardening. The mould was found on eBay and once up to temp casts really nice.

The British equivalent to crisco is either Trex or Crisp & Dry readily available from your supermarket as is lard which also works well. I would look on ebay for beeswax, cheaper than Kranks. Suggest about a 4:1 fat to beeswax but I find I need to vary that for winter or summer and as said above you can melt in the microwave.


And well done that man for correctly describing the bullet as a Burton ball, it irritates me when I hear people talking of "mini balls".

ok, looks like i'm off shopping tomorrow then! is dripping or lard likely to go rancid? I assume trex / crisp and dry won't??

lubing wise, I was thinking of taking a block of metal, boring out a hole same dia of bullet (maybe undercutting centre slightly to allow more lube to press on bullet, then the shoulder which is bullet diameter scrapes lube off), then drilling through it longitudinally, and tapping a tread at one end, stuff lube in this hole, put in a screw and tighten onto lube, this should force the lube out into the hole the bullet is sat in, then around the bullet and out the other side. back off screw and pull bullet out.

what you think?

Well I've knocked a quick something up... as much a chance to play with the new lathe and get my self reacquainted with turning as much as anything else.
Bought some crisp and dry. Beeswax was delivered yday. So later today will be time to make some lube and see if it works

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ok, looks like i'm off shopping tomorrow then! is dripping or lard likely to go rancid? I assume trex / crisp and dry won't?

All fats will eventually oxidise ie go rancid and this why commercial lubes add oil of wintergreen, it's to hide the rancid smell

bradaz11 wrote:Well I've knocked a quick something up... as much a chance to play with the new lathe and get my self reacquainted with turning as much as anything else.
Bought some crisp and dry. Beeswax was delivered yday. So later today will be time to make some lube and see if it works

Sent from my mobile using "An application"

That's a bit over engineered, usual technique is to hold the nose of the bullet in a pair of needle nosed pliers and dip into hot melted lube. The excess lube tends to get removed by the barrel as you insert them into muzzle, just saying.

Lol. Yeah i may go that route. But like i say. I wanted to play on the lathe too.
Simple will probably be best

Nothing new under the sun.

I got sent a few of these to try: https://www.patmarlins.com/introducing- ... let-luber/ when they first came out. Work well but the lube needs to softish or the weather warmish.

Tallow doesn't go off, I have some left from the last 2 stone block I bought over 10 years ago and it has no smell as it did when purchased. I get my tallow from ships chandlers.