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FINALLY ... a substitute for sperm whale oil

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:20 pm
by Plenty_Guns
I'm sure some of you are by now running out of sperm whale oil for making that secret bullet lube. And buying oil off the internet will now cost you a $2,000 fine.
http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/relea ... -r150.html
.. .
Fortunately, Jojoba oil - available at your local health foods store - is the next best thing, and easier to get now that the Japanese are no longer harpooning sperm whales.

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:11 pm
by pete
I'm sure the whales are happy about that.

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:09 am
by LH
I think Obama is sending Hitlery to Jojobastan to discuss peace talks with the whales over this. :shock:

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 10:01 am
by montana charlie
To keep the terminology clear, whale oil is (was) made from cooking down whale blubber. Spermaceti (the stuff we are talking about) is found inside the head of the sperm whale.

In addition to jojoba...
Meadowfoam oil can be chemically transformed into a liquid wax ester that is a substitute for sperm whale oil and jojoba oil. Meadowfoam oil can also be converted to a light colored premium grade solid wax, a sulfur polymer factice potentially valuable to the rubber industry, or used as a lubricant, detergent or plasticizer.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/meadowfoam.html

This is the spermaceti substitute that Dan T recommends.

CM

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 3:29 pm
by montana charlie
Dan,
Do you still feel that none of the commonly used waxes are particularly useful as bullet lube components?

CM

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 6:01 pm
by boge
hpguy420 wrote:...Some of you might remember the lube development posts I made on the old Shooters.com forum back in the summers of 02 and 03...
I remember it well. It was interesting.

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:40 pm
by zrifleman
I just wanted to add to what Dan said about lowly peanut oil performing better than other oils. I found that when I added it to my lube batch instead of jojoba oil I got a better lube. Two positive things about peanut oil---It is nearly impossible to burn and doesn't turn rancid over time.

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:02 pm
by boge
Dan, what do you know about tall oil? It's a by product of paper man'fg. and was the magic ingredient in Lehigh Valley Patch Lube invented by two chemists and which took the BP ML'er world by storm before the co. shut down.

http://www.chemicalland21.com/arokorhi/ ... %20OIL.htm

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:59 pm
by boge
hpguy420 wrote:
boge wrote:Dan, what do you know about tall oil? It's a by product of paper man'fg. and was the magic ingredient in Lehigh Valley Patch Lube invented by two chemists and which took the BP ML'er world by storm before the co. shut down.

http://www.chemicalland21.com/arokorhi/ ... %20OIL.htm
Boge,

Tall Oil (pine oil) was tested and shown to not work well as a BPCR lube component. The residue from Tall Oil is butt ugly...
According to the "Mad Monk" Lehigh used tall oil within a certain Ph spectrum. That is probably why.

Whale Oil Substitutes

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:13 am
by Uncle Miltie
I have used sperm whale oil, bear oil, synthetic motor oil (horrible results) and various other compounds in slug picket and BPC rifles, and found bear, sperm and neatsfoot oil to produce the same results in terms of accuracy and fouling. I have used neatsfoot oil exclusively for the past 14 years, and probably shoot as well as the next guy, even winning some medals at Friendship and Camp Perry with it. I use neatsfoot oil and beeswax to make my own bullet lube, tempered according to the weather in which it will be used, with most satisfactory results.

A long time ago a writer said to use pure neatsfoot oil only, never anything labeled "neatsfoot compund". One day I travelled to a shoot far away, left some of my things at home, and could only find an oil labeled "Neatsfoot Compound". It worked vey well, and I won the match; again my rifle could not tell the difference.

I am pretty much a hard-line traditionalist, and don't like to use anything that wasn't used back in the olden days. Please forget my mention of synthetic motor oil, which I have used in all my cars since 1986; I just HAD to try it!

I think a lot of folks search for the holy grail when it comes to lubes and such; it either works, or it doesn't. A fellow named John Gammutto did an article in Precision Shooting 10 or so years back where he tested all forms of compounds to lube bullets with for shooting BP and concluded beeswax and tallow (in whatever form you choose) was the best lubricant.

Hope this helps.

Good enough

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:26 am
by Plenty_Guns
Uncle Miltie... if Neatsfoot oil and beeswax can win at Friendship and Camp Perry, not only is the shooter on target, but the lube as well. I happen to have a can of Neatsfoot on the shelf in thethe garage where my boots get cleaned and greased up. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

Neatsfoot Oil

Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:05 am
by Uncle Miltie
Plenty Guns:

Please remember to use Neatsfoot oil in liquid form, not the paste. I have never tried the paste, but the oil works well for me. Good luck!

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:24 am
by loophole
I've been using a mixture of beeswax and neatsfoot oil for years to lube BP bullets and muzzle loader patches.
Has anyone tried it with smokeless in handgun and rifle loads?
What is the max FPS it will work? I'd like to fill my lub sizer with one lube and use it for everything I shoot.
Thanks
Steve K

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:51 am
by Ray Newman
Uncle Miltie! How have you been?

Haven't seen you post around the boards in ages. Hope all is well w/ you. Don't be such a stranger. Stay awhile. It is good to hear from you.

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:58 am
by boge
Ray Newman wrote:Uncle Miltie! How have you been?

Haven't seen you post around the boards in ages. Hope all is well w/ you. Don't be such a stranger. Stay awhile. It is good to hear from you.
Double ditto on that!! :wink: