Graphite powder in lube?

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  • Last Post 03 March 2009
Webleyke posted this 18 November 2007

An older shooter, who used to cast his own bullets back in the 60's told me to add a spoonfull of graphite powder to any kind of bullet lube. This should reduce leading drastically. Does anyone has experience with this?

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CB posted this 18 November 2007

I don't think that is necessary with today's modern mostly synthetic lubes. Back in the 60's that was probably fine. Lyman still makes a graphite bullet lube that I've heard works good from anyone who has used it, but the only thing is the graphite lube is so messy to handle and work with.

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Mike H posted this 21 November 2007

I have used powdered graphite in my home-made lube for many years. The local lubrisizer, came with two sticks of lube containing graphite. When that ran out, I made my own. Mostly Bees wax, parafin, and roughly half of Caltex Multi-purpose grease with a spoonfull of micro-fine powdered graphite. Worked very well in revolver cast bullets, Lyman 358495 and Hensley and Gibbs 50bb, in .38 special target loads. I dont shoot pistols any longer, but still use the same lube in rifles. Have wondered whether the graphite is necessary,but have not checked it out.

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Lloyd Smale posted this 25 November 2007

Ive done some experimenting with it in lubes and really dont know how much it helps but i know that it sure makes a mess even when at the range with your gun.

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JeffinNZ posted this 25 November 2007

.....and in addition to the mess of graphite it is known to cause cancer (along with just about everything else in day to day life if you listen to the 'experts').

I figure the lead is enough a risk without making things worse.

Cheers from New Zealand

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AzRednek posted this 29 July 2008

Motor Mica will do almost anything graphite will do without the black mess.

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DonH posted this 29 July 2008

Back in the dark ages (or maybe it was the Golden Age of lead bullet shooting) many lube recipes called for graphite. It was often called plumbago. Harry Pope's lube contained graphite; those who have tried it concur with the messy report.

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jhalcott posted this 01 August 2008

  I got a lube recipe from another caster way back when. One of the ingredients was “PLUMBAGO"??? It took me 3 weeks to find out what that was. We kept a 50 gallon drum of it at work for various uses. I got a gallon jug of it before I left. I often wonder what IF ANY benifit adding a spoon full to FELIX lube there would be.

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giorgio de galleani posted this 01 August 2008

Please tell me if the graphite dissolve itself uniformly  in the hot lube,like salt in water or precipitates on the bottom of the pan when you prepare the lube.

If it gives no problems I would like to try it.It seems a clever idea to me.

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CB posted this 01 August 2008

I've messed with lubes some, but never tried adding graphite. I've used a graphite grease before to make a lube and it works fine. I consider solid particles in a cb lube to help carry the lube to the muzzle, if the lube is failing without it.

One should consider what quality graphite or any solid particle he is adding. Solid lubricating powders can very in particle size, with the highest and most uniform quality measured in microns in laboratory grade products. Solid lubricants are minerals and have a certain hardness, some harder than steel. If the quality isn't fine enough, it could act as a grinding compound damaging or embedding in your barrel.

Whichever, it is best not to add by say a spoonful, but add by weight ratio, say 5% or 10% as a fair start. Keeps records and try another small batch with something like 20% by weight to see if that is better. I usually make test batches by 100gr or 200gr and smear it in the grooves by hand for shooting test purposes.

When making cb lubes which contain solids such as graphite, disulfides, or mica; the mix will need to be stirred until it starts to cool to keep the particles suspended evenly. These are things I've found in experimenting and studying the issue.............Dan

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jhalcott posted this 01 August 2008

  As I recall it was simply added to the hot wax and stirred in while adding the STP. It was a fantastic pistol lube. It also worked for some rifle loads,mostly in sub 1500 fps loads. The guy that gave me the recipe would use a different color crayon to confuse his Buddy. Green for the 38's, red for the 44's &  brown for ....etc.

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CB posted this 02 August 2008

Graphite is one of the softest minerals, so more than likely it won't harm the barrel. But still it only enhances the mix, so not much is needed, too much can make the lube fail. If mixed in at 10% by weight, I'd think that is probably all that may be needed. Good luck...............Dan

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Molly posted this 02 August 2008

Hi Georgio,

> Please tell me if the graphite dissolve itself uniformly  in the hot lube, like salt in water or precipitates on the bottom of the pan when you prepare the lube.

Graphite simply will not dissolve in either water or hydrocarbons like waxes and such.  If added to a wax solution, it will remain as particles even after the waxes have cooled to a solid.  While in the molten state, the particles will tend to separate and settle, much like sand in water.  However, there IS an exception to this:  There is a especially fine grade called 'Colloidial graphite'.  Although it will still be in the form of particles, it is too fine to settle at any noticable rate.  It's about as close to a solution as you will get with graphite.  However, fair warning:  It is INCREDIBLY messy stuff to work with.  It seems like everything in the vicinity will get covered by a thin film of graphite - including you.  And being water insoluble, it can be a bear to clean up.  That said, perhaps I should also mention that although many like graphite in bullet lubes, and it was an ingredient in some famous lubes, Col. Harrison's work showed no advantage for graphite, teflon or other particulate lube ingredients.

Molly

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barney posted this 03 March 2009

I realize this thread is a bit old, but I was strolling through the forum and found it. After reading through the entirety of it, I have something to add.

I use a camping type 7 qt. enameled pot to tumble lube my CBs with JPW. I drop the pre-sized bullets in, add a bit of JPW and swirl them in the pot until all the lube grooves are filled. Go slow on the JPW. It don't take much. After the bullets are thouroughly coated and all the grooves are filled, I add a LEVEL teaspoon of graphite to the pot and swirl again 'till all the bullets are completely coated. I pour them out on a plastic top from a tote bin and leave to dry overnight. I must admit i do get a little black on my fingers when I handle them, but the JPW is dry by the next day and very little of the graphite comes off. After seating, I wipe the bullet with a shop towel and there ya' go. I get good results and best of all, NO LEADING! The JPW leaves the bore bright, but you do need to run a good patch through to get the graphite out of the barrel.

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