wads for cap and ball

[robertnmjr]

Is there a substitute for the wool wads that are used for bp revolvers. I am looking to start to make my own and would like to know what would work the best and something thats easy to find. I was thinking of waxed cardboard but would like some input before trying.

 

[crockett]

I made some. Used a variety of lubes. I hear some folks use felt rolls intended for weather stripping.In any event I now used store bought, pre-lubed.

 

[scobrien]

A friend of mine uses a wad punch to make them out of leather. He then soaks the leather wads in warmed/melted lube.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

There's a guy here on the forum that makes them out of old felt hats.

I use the pre-lubed ones myself.

Dave

 

[fyrfyter43]

I don't use old felt hats, but I do make my own wool felt wads with felt from DuraFelt. Here's an old post about the felt and lube I use.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/842327/

 

[majg1234]

I use left over woolfelt unnderlayment from a laminate flooring project,soak them in beeswax and olive oil melted and let 'um dry,use this stuff and mixture for all my felt wads,works good and the price is right :thumbsup:,my punches are made from various things,hole saws with the teeth ground off,iron pipe ground and sharpend and even a few brass cartridges empty of course :grin:

 

[cowpoke1955]

Use Duro Felt off white 1/8" hard F-1 felt. Here's the link: http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html .

 

[MSW]

I haven't gotten around to trying the leather idea yet (been too busy at the Mill and running the farm), but i did get some felt from the Durafelt folks and you can use whatever lube you like and cut them to any size you want.

Works great for my purposes, and they're super nice folks as well.

For the sake of consistency, I'll stick with the Durafelt, but you should try a few different variations and see what your particular gun likes best.

 

[Poor Private]

I am the feller that makes em out of old felt hats. My last batch was made from my wore out civ war black union slouch hat. I frequent places like "Salvation Army" "Goodwill", always in search of a bargain of some sort and when I run into a felt hat(I don't care what color) for a couple of dollars I pick it up. I picked up a whole punch set from a local deep discount store for $7. I can get about 900 felt wads( a mix of.36 and .44)from a cowboy hat, and then I soak them in "Bore Butter" then let them dry. I figured it out one time the cost runs about a $1 a hundred, as compared to $6 a hundred at a local gun store (when I can find them).

 

[himem777]

I found good thick felt at wal-mart of all places. It seems thick enough. I will test greasing them tomorrow. Ill tell you how it went.

 

[robertnmjr]

Thanks for all the information. i made a hole punch and am using scrap pieces of leather to make some wads. Around where i live there is not a whole lot of places to get anything without driving a long way and with gas prices now i don't want to drive much.

 

[himem777]

Making Bacon tonight as I am reading this.....So just wondering if you could use bacon grease? For felt wads.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Lubes from animal fats eventually go rancid. Use a vegetable fat such as Crisco

 

[himem777]

Thanks you saved from a nasty smell. :thumbsup:

 

[R.M.]

Gee, I have a tin of rendered bear fat that's over 3 years old. Hasn't gone rancid yet.
I'd be worried about the salt in the bacon grease. Rendered properly, and the salt will be gone.

 

[phoenix511]

I'll second that idea on Durafelt. Cutting wads from old hats, belts, etc, might be fun but the results are not uniform, so if you are trying for accuracy, get some wool felt from the link above.

As for the lube, I agree with many that say avoid petroleum products as they get gummy: like vaseline and canning (parafin) wax.

I'm not sure of an exact lube recipe, but I've found 50% beeswax, along with Crisco, veg oil, maybe neatsfoot oil or Canola work good.

I cut the wads, put 50 in a small glass (like an old 8 oz Poupan mustard jar, with the lid off, slobber in some lube, microwave on high for 30 sec, and see how the wads absorbed the lube. I like the wads to be free to shake about, rather clung together by the lube.

BP shooting is not an exact science, for which I am thankful. It allows for individual experiments to determine what is best for them.

 

[Jean-Luc]

Here people don't use wads but "couscous" behind round balls in C&B revolvers. I don't think you can get that type of food in America less you have some muslim store around.
I use "Polenta" (corn semolina) and that works very well, the wads I use for bullets only.

 

[Mike 56]

I don't use felt any more i just the lube. I pour it a 1/8 inch and cut it after it cools with a 45 caliber case. I put the grease wads over the powder just like felt wads. Keeps the cylinder lubed and keeps the barrel clean and lubed you can shoot as long as you want with out cleaning. In fact after shooting i can push two patches though the barrel and it is clean no hard fouling.

 

[paulmarcone]

Has anyone tried soaking the felt in Moosemilk (50% Ballistol and 50% water)??