doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com ring waxed fiber wads

Does anyone here know how to ring wax felt and fiber wads?

Its been a lot of years ago, but at one time I used both tallow as well as paraffin [like used for canning]. Melted a quantity in a shallow pan to a depth of about 1/16"~1/8" and then set the wads in it for a short time and then set them out like cookies on a sheet to dry. I used a large pair of 12" tweezers that I'd acquired from the Northwestern School of Taxidermy when they used to advertise mail order taxidermy lessons in the back of Boys Life and other outdoor magazines. I sourced the tallow from a rendering plant and it was a real PITA at the time finding an operation that would sell me a small quantity. I ended up with a couple of small aluminum tins filled with tallow by someone who took pity on me at one of the many places that I called at the time. Paraffin OTOH, is quite easily found.

You need to use care that you do not get aggressive with the heat & set the wax on fire. I also think you could as easily use a good quality of old time fiberous cup grease like Esso 'Estan 3'. I was going to try that as well, but never got around to doing it.

Use a double boiler please

Marfax (Texaco) and beeswax is what I have used

Mike

Are you fellas lubing the whole wad, or just the edges? I thought ring waxed wads just had lube on the edge.

HighWall, what are you wanting to do with the wads?
Mike

Way back when I used to get ring waxed wads from the old Alcan company. They were indeed waxed only on the edges. I believe they were waxed by a process which slowly rolled them through a shallow layer of molten wax. The wax was of course only needed where the wad contacted the bore & the Ring Waxing saved a considerable amount of weight over those totally saturated with wax.

Make card and fiber loads. In reading old material, they say, to try to use best quality, ring waxed wads.

You may want to check w/either Ballistic Products or Circle Fly, both have card & filler wads.

I've got the wads from them. Don't seem to be waxed at all.

The old ring-waxed fiber wads (Alcan, Remchester) were pretty skimpy with the wax, and cost was likely one factor. Too, the wax was hard.

Blackpowder shooters commonly use a mixture of Crisco and olive oil, or a variation thereof, and just lightly dip the whole thing. Compression upon firing should squeeze out any excess, which I think would be a good thing. If you use a plastic base wad or don't leave them on the shelf a long time, bleeding into the powder should not be a problem.

As noted above, a double boiler is a must.