Actually, it ain't bullet lube at all.

[ra_balke]

I read one time that bullet lube was not a lube at all, but rather it is a sealing liquid, that helps to prevent hot gas blow by when the burning powder pushes on the bullet.

Bullet lube is also an anti flux.

What we are doing when we shoot a cast bullet, is we are pushing a piece of hot solder down a hot steel gun barrel.

Why then don't we get solder in the barrel ... well, we do ! It is called leading.

The anti flux property of bullet lube acts to contaminate the solder, barrel steel interface, and prevents leading.

[Ricochet]

I think boolit lubes perform all three of the above functions, with varying degrees of efficiency. Among the three, one or another may be very important or not so much at all in a given application.

[geargnasher]

Funny thing is, nobody seems to really know what it does, but I subscribe to Ricochet's statement. I do know a few examples of what doesn't work, but it's still black magic to me.

Gear

[Shiloh]

The lube also leave a residual layer for the next boolit down the barrel.

Shiloh

[StarMetal]

I don't buy the anti-flux theory. Solder works by melting it, there's no melting of the bullet going on in your barrel and it shouldn't be. I'm not sure how much lube is left in the barrel from the previous bullet. Don't forget the hot powder gases travel the whole length of the barrel and exit with some force and heat. Can't be much lube left in the barrel. The lube ends up as the lube star on the muzzle face because the gas burns/blows most of it out of the barrel. The lube is exactly what it says it is, lube. You have a sliding metal, the bullet, going down the barrel in total contact with the bore/groove walls and with pressure. The lube lets is slide through the barrel with out the bullet galling to the barrel. I use to think it helped seal the gases off should there be a leak try through, but I don't anymore. Under that must gas pressure lube isn't going to stop it. Think of a pinhole in a subs hull at depth. The water sure as heck doesn't seal itself from going through that hull...and I'm talking the inner hull.

Joe

[Ricochet]

A thin film of oil on piston rings and cylinder walls is important for sealing the combustion gas pressure in your car engine.

[StarMetal]

A thin film of oil on piston rings and cylinder walls is important for sealing the combustion gas pressure in your car engine.

Yeah but the engine cylinder doesn't have nearly the pressure of firearms and they blow by some anyways no matter how well the rings fit.

Joe

[Marlin Hunter]

Lead has been used as a lube in glow moving gear boxes. It's not the solid lead, but the liquid type that was used in gasoline, which is why it was used in gasoline (to lube the valves). The liquid lead is no longer used as lube because of environmental concerns. I think the boolit travels to fast out the barrel to act as a lube by itself.

[bruce381]

Lead has been used as a lube in glow moving gear boxes. It's not the solid lead, but the liquid type that was used in gasoline, which is why it was used in gasoline (to lube the valves). The liquid lead is no longer used as lube because of environmental concerns. I think the boolit travels to fast out the barrel to act as a lube by itself.

Lead in gear box oil is NOT same as lead in gasoline. Lead in gear box oil was lead napthante in gasoline was tetra ethyl lead.

But I think that the "lube" only leaves a thin film and is more like a "dry" lube if at all.
Though the lube will deform way easier than lead it may aslo act as a
sealant.
bruce

[StarMetal]

Lead has been used as a lube in glow moving gear boxes. It's not the solid lead, but the liquid type that was used in gasoline, which is why it was used in gasoline (to lube the valves). The liquid lead is no longer used as lube because of environmental concerns. I think the boolit travels to fast out the barrel to act as a lube by itself.

I actually thought lead in engines buffered the valve upon slamming in their seats. The oiling system of the engine lubes the valve stems.

Joe

[Marlin Hunter]

I actually thought lead in engines buffered the valve upon slamming in their seats. The oiling system of the engine lubes the valve stems.

Joe

Yes, but I also read in one of my auto books that it also acted as a lube. Maybe on the exhaust side???? I don't know.

[Ricochet]

Yeah but the engine cylinder doesn't have nearly the pressure of firearms and they blow by some anyways no matter how well the rings fit.

Joe

So do all of your bullets, lead or jacketed.

[StarMetal]

So do all of your bullets, lead or jacketed.

I bet they don't after they obturate to the barrel wall.

Joe

[Ricochet]

Lead was put in gasoline to prevent knocking. Effects on protecting exhaust valves and seats occurred incidentally. They were discovered when they started taking lead back out of gasoline. BTW, in the mid to late '70s lots of small aircraft engines were having problems with exhaust valve deposits and damage from running 100 octane and 100 octane "Low Lead" avgas that contained a lot more lead than engines meant for the old 80/87 octane avgas could handle. Ethylene dichloride and ethylene dibromide were added to leaded gas, so the chlorine and bromine would combine with the lead to make a mixture of lead salts that would readily melt at engine combustion chamber temperatures and blow out the exhaust, preventing a buildup of lead oxide. That's what made exhaust pipes turn white inside when the engine was warmed up and leaned out. The amount of those scavenger chemicals added was normally twice what would theoretically react with all the lead to convert it to salts. The rest formed corrosive acids on burning. Except for exhaust valve faces and seats, engines are a lot better off without the lead. Modern valves and seats last a long time without lead.

Ethylene dibromide is what the tinfoil hat crazies think is being sprayed out in jet contrails to weaken the populace so the New World Order can take over. I guess they had to since folks switched to bottled water and aren't getting the fluoride anymore. (Except they probably are, since the bottled water companies fill their water bottles from the tap.)

[mooman76]

The lead in gas did help lube but that was just a after affect. I saw on one of those educational channels it was put in there to help in the proccessing part of making refined gas. I don't remember exactly why but I think it was the proccess to help raise the octain level.

[StarMetal]

The lead in gas did help lube but that was just a after affect. I saw on one of those educational channels it was put in there to help in the proccessing part of making refined gas. I don't remember exactly why but I think it was the proccess to help raise the octain level.

They claim the lead lubes, makes the gas burn better, and keep parts from scuffing. They say it lubricates close fitting engine parts. The only parts it is going to come into contact with are the valves, pistons, and rings. I don't see it lubing lifters, timing chain, crank and rod bearings, etc.

Joe

[felix]

Lead slows the ignition rate of gasoline and is/was cheap compared to making the equivalent deterrent from crude itself. Back in the 50's there were major studies to figure the most economical ignition rate and compression ratio in terms of milage for the majority of cars on the road throughout the driving countries. Thus 87 octane (ignition speed) was stamped as the golden fleece. Upon the elimination of lead, more crude was required to obtain the additional substances to take the place of lead. Up to 20 percent more crude than the equivalent deterrent using lead is required to make the 87. ... felix

[StarMetal]

Lead slows the ignition rate of gasoline and is/was cheap compared to making the equivalent deterrent from crude itself. Back in the 50's there were major studies to figure the most economical ignition rate and compression ratio in terms of milage for the majority of cars on the road throughout the driving countries. Thus 87 octane (ignition speed) was stamped as the golden fleece. Upon the elimination of lead, more crude was required to obtain the additional substances to take the place of lead. Up to 20 percent more crude than the equivalent deterrent using lead is required to make the 87. ... felix

Felix,

I didn't work at the gasoline production part of the refinery, but the engineers told us that unleaded gas had to be rifined to a higher quality or degree to help make up for the lead being taken out. Someone asked them a question of why unleaded gas costs more if they took something out of it. They said the petrochem furnaces had to be run at a higher temperature, which cost more in natural gas, plus some other refining that cost more.

I use to think that leaded gasoline went way back but it didn't. The first gasolines didn't have any lead in them. This was brought up why some engine builders had hardened valve seats put in their 50's, 60's, and 70's engine when they were rebuilt to run the unleaded without battering the seats because the lead wasn't there to buffer them. Some old timer there, who had an old Franklin air cooled engine, said "Sonny, those old cars ran unleaded and didn't have hardened seats. Then the light went on in my head. He was right.

Joe

[felix]

Yeah, Joe, "white" gas has been around since day One. They added dyes to indicate the leaded stuff. Maybe the dyes are still there to some extent where color would be an indicator to what the gasoline is. There are three types as you know today. One compounded such that an alcohol can be added as a further deterrent, another which won't allow a water based deterrent, and another which has been formulated having a super amount of oxygen. The latter was the tough one to engineer because of the balancing act required to keep the ignition speed at 87. I do not know if the latter will allow alcohol as a further deterrent. ... felix

[357maximum]

I pondered the "anti-flux" theory myself quite awhile back.

I simply took a dozen rounds of 357max and some gaschecked 180grainers and loaded them without lube. I pushed a "lightly" vaseline soaked patch though the bore before each shot. I got no leading but my accuracy was not quite as per usual for my "pistol" with this particular "warm" load.

I then took the same vaseline and loaded it into the grooves by hand on a dozen rounds (messy indeed). Same result..still no leading but accuracy was less than my usual lube at the time, but better than the patched bore.

When I took the vaseline and mixed it with a bit of beeswax to stiffen "the lube" up a bit my accuracy started going back to the right direction.

When I lubed the boolits with my regular lube at the time (orange magic softened with vaseline) my accuracy came back to where it normally was.

My personal lube recipe has changed quite a bit since then, but I still say the antiflux is only part of the equation, as the stiffer lubes ( I did not say HARDER) will shoot more accurately if well balanced and flexible.

Our bullet lubes are both a lubricant and a gasket and some lubes are far superior at bringing both traits to the table than others. Some lubes (oils) leave a consistant trace behind and others do not. Some waxes we use as bases are more consistant than others in sealing the bore. When you get both friction and seal to act consistantly all the time accuracy is improved. When you can get it to do this across a large spectrum of temp and humidities you basically have it licked. Consistancy in the bore is as important as consistancy in the boolits and the loaded rounds. Consistancy at all stages makes for accuracy on the targets.

Lube is pretty simple and basic when you think about it logically and throw away the "witchcraft" we all like to think "our" lubes posess.