Lube/Applicator

[Cowboy2]

Northeast Trade Company used to sell an applicator for conicals, but I don't see it on their site anymore. Anyone know of a similar product? Also, what factory production lube would you suggest? It'll be for a .50, if that makes any difference.

 

[Maven]

Thompson/Center used to sell a plastic "lubricator" for Maxi-Balls* which you screwed onto a tube of Bore Butter. They came in several different calibers, including .50, and were color coded to identify those differences. Check out the auction sites for one, but buy several if you can, as they are prone to embrittlement and breakage.

*will also lube REAL's and probably Minie's too.

 

[Billnpatti]

I made one for my .50 cal Maxiballs. Well, actually a friend did some of the machine work for me. He took a piece of stainless bar stock and machined a hole through it of the perfect size for sizing my Maxiballs. I would use a dowell rod to press the Maxi's through the hole to size them. I was new to muzzleloading and thought that you needed to size the Maxi's that you cast.....wrong! So, anyway, I had this "sizer" that he made for me and it seemed to be worthless at this point. Then I decided to enlarge the hole so that it didn't reduce the Maxis in diameter. I used a dowell wrapped in emery cloth. I put it though the hole and rolled the sizer across a table so that the emery cloth was evenly removing metal from inside the hole. I kept measuring the hole with an inside micrometer until it was large enough. Then I drilled and tapped a hole at right angles to the sizing hole and put a zerk fitting in it. I had an old grease gun that didn't use cartridges. You just filled it with grease and used it to grease your car, truck or whatever. I filled it with a lube mixture that I made up from lard and bees wax and would push a Maxi iinto the device and give the grease gun a squeeze. The Maxi's have two grease rings so I had to mark my pushing dowell with two marks, I'd push the Maxi in until the first mark was even with the top of the lube device and give the grease gun a little squeeze. Then I'd press the Maxi to the second mark and give the gun a second squeeze. Then, I would push the freshly lubed Maxi out of the lubricator and go to the next Maxi. It worked like a dream. I loaned it to a friend.....he moved away.......it's gone. Oh well, I rarely shoot Maxis anyway. I prefer patched roundballs.