lubricant - The Firearms Forum

Viking · 09-09-2003, 04:55 PM

I use biological lubricant with my uberti 1860 army, since I`ve heard that its better than petrolium based lub. Why?
I allso wonder what size of ball would be the better one in it? I dont recall the exact chamber diameter.

Reg. Viking

09-09-2003, 06:06 PM

I would stick with any lube that is specifically made for BP revolvers.

I had two cylinders go off at once on me and the only thing we could figure is that my lube did not complete the seal around the cylinder??????

It has been several years but my 1860 Army by Lyman uses a .454 I think.

Better wait for one of the BP guys to show up before you take my word for it though.

armedandsafe · 09-09-2003, 08:14 PM

The 1860 army cap-n-ball comes in 36 and 44. The 36 is .375 ball and the 44 might be any one of several. If you can get an ACCURATE measurement of the cylinder mouth, that plus a thou or three is your ball. Because the revolver doesn't use patching on the ball, the ball must press fit into the cylinder.

There are three reliable ways to prevent chain fire:

1. Lube over the ball with a thick grease, which won't start to run under its own weight until it reaches above a temperature of ~150F. That said, know the temps you will be shooting in and add 30F. Naturalube and Wonderlube work fine most of the time. August in Death Valley are not friendly to them.

2. Use a lubricated overpowder wad of the right dimension. This works very well, but only if you are going to shoot right away (24 hours.) I prefer this, although it raises the cost of each shot slightly. I've had trouble with the lube from previous shots capturing a few grains of the new load and building up a chain around the cylinder mouth. This is the real cause of most, if not all, chain fires.

3. Both

The reason bio lubes are recommended over petrol lubes is because they will penetrate the pores of your cylinder and barrel and form a super-hard coating of carbon. This is called seasoning. If you do any cast iron cooking, you know what I'm talking about. This seasoning is just about impervious to sulpheric acid and protects your bore much better than all the base sprays on the market. You still have to clean a black powder weapon to the old "once for" rule, but you will be better protected when you have hours between you and boiling water.

ONCE FOR rule:
After firing a black powder weapon, clean it with boiling water with just a drop of soap until patches come out clean. Then, using a good non-petrol cleaner/lubricant:
Clean it once a day for a week
Clean it once a week for a month
Clean it once a month for a year
Clean it once a year forever.
With any luck at all, you'll never reach the once a month, because you took it out and got dirty, again.

Test on Friday.

Pops

RobW · 09-10-2003, 02:04 PM

I learned that petrol-based lubricants produce a tar-like compound with blackpowder/pyrodex that is very hard to clean.

The last Uberti instructions (Aug. 03) recommends .454 balls in the .44 sootburners albeit I had no problems (up to now)using .451 balls.

Viking · 09-10-2003, 04:00 PM

Thanks for the feedback folks.

armedandsafe · 09-10-2003, 08:00 PM

Hey, RobW,
Where in Southern Nevada? I was born in Las Vegas and raised in Boulder City. (That was a little while ago.

)

Pops

RobW · 09-11-2003, 02:43 PM

Hi, Pops, I'm in Henderson, NV and by the way a member of the Boulder City Rifle an Pistol Club.

You know, in this temperature conditions, you just can't use grease over the BP revolver chambers. The stuff drips out in a New York minute. So I go with the wads, and they work fine.

Rob

edited for spelling

armedandsafe · 09-11-2003, 09:08 PM

Henderson, aka Basic. Know the place well. Dad had the first printing press in Boulder City, printed the first real newspaper there. Good memories.

09-09-2003, 04:55 PM	#1
Viking Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Oslo- Norway Posts: 2	lubricant I use biological lubricant with my uberti 1860 army, since I`ve heard that its better than petrolium based lub. Why? I allso wonder what size of ball would be the better one in it? I dont recall the exact chamber diameter. Reg. Viking -->

09-10-2003, 02:04 PM	#4
RobW V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southern Nevada Posts: 115	I learned that petrol-based lubricants produce a tar-like compound with blackpowder/pyrodex that is very hard to clean. The last Uberti instructions (Aug. 03) recommends .454 balls in the .44 sootburners albeit I had no problems (up to now)using .451 balls. __________________ We learn from our experience that we don't learn from our experience.

09-10-2003, 08:00 PM	#6
armedandsafe Former Guest Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Moses Lake, WA Posts: 10,344	Hey, RobW, Where in Southern Nevada? I was born in Las Vegas and raised in Boulder City. (That was a little while ago. ) Pops Last edited by armedandsafe; 09-10-2003 at 08:00 PM..

09-11-2003, 02:43 PM	#7
RobW V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southern Nevada Posts: 115	Hi, Pops, I'm in Henderson, NV and by the way a member of the Boulder City Rifle an Pistol Club. You know, in this temperature conditions, you just can't use grease over the BP revolver chambers. The stuff drips out in a New York minute. So I go with the wads, and they work fine. Rob edited for spelling __________________ We learn from our experience that we don't learn from our experience. Last edited by RobW; 09-11-2003 at 02:44 PM..

09-09-2003, 06:06 PM	#2
warpig Adnanced Senior Member Posts: n/a	I would stick with any lube that is specifically made for BP revolvers. I had two cylinders go off at once on me and the only thing we could figure is that my lube did not complete the seal around the cylinder?????? It has been several years but my 1860 Army by Lyman uses a .454 I think. Better wait for one of the BP guys to show up before you take my word for it though.

09-09-2003, 08:14 PM	#3
armedandsafe Former Guest Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Moses Lake, WA Posts: 10,344	The 1860 army cap-n-ball comes in 36 and 44. The 36 is .375 ball and the 44 might be any one of several. If you can get an ACCURATE measurement of the cylinder mouth, that plus a thou or three is your ball. Because the revolver doesn't use patching on the ball, the ball must press fit into the cylinder. There are three reliable ways to prevent chain fire: 1. Lube over the ball with a thick grease, which won't start to run under its own weight until it reaches above a temperature of ~150F. That said, know the temps you will be shooting in and add 30F. Naturalube and Wonderlube work fine most of the time. August in Death Valley are not friendly to them. 2. Use a lubricated overpowder wad of the right dimension. This works very well, but only if you are going to shoot right away (24 hours.) I prefer this, although it raises the cost of each shot slightly. I've had trouble with the lube from previous shots capturing a few grains of the new load and building up a chain around the cylinder mouth. This is the real cause of most, if not all, chain fires. 3. Both The reason bio lubes are recommended over petrol lubes is because they will penetrate the pores of your cylinder and barrel and form a super-hard coating of carbon. This is called seasoning. If you do any cast iron cooking, you know what I'm talking about. This seasoning is just about impervious to sulpheric acid and protects your bore much better than all the base sprays on the market. You still have to clean a black powder weapon to the old "once for" rule, but you will be better protected when you have hours between you and boiling water. ONCE FOR rule: After firing a black powder weapon, clean it with boiling water with just a drop of soap until patches come out clean. Then, using a good non-petrol cleaner/lubricant: Clean it once a day for a week Clean it once a week for a month Clean it once a month for a year Clean it once a year forever. With any luck at all, you'll never reach the once a month, because you took it out and got dirty, again. Test on Friday. Pops

09-10-2003, 04:00 PM	#5
Viking Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Oslo- Norway Posts: 2	Thanks for the feedback folks.

09-11-2003, 09:08 PM	#8
armedandsafe Former Guest Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Moses Lake, WA Posts: 10,344	Henderson, aka Basic. Know the place well. Dad had the first printing press in Boulder City, printed the first real newspaper there. Good memories.