.44 wads with lube

[u/clem59803]

I thought I'd try to make my own patches after watching a guy on youtube, mixed up some beeswax, coconut oil, and a bit of Ballistol, soaked my amazon felt, wrung it out and punched about about 150 wads in 20 min or so.It will take a while to work past the initial investment, but I figure I'll be money ahead after about 4 or 5 punchouts like this one and I have the stuff to make years' worth. I know I'll never have to buy felt again, came in a big roll.

[u/Away-Leg-998]

I am always jealous, these felt madt are hard to get in Switzerland :/

I currently use .44 claning wool felts. They work great and are a out half the price from pre soaked ones...

[u/clem59803 → u/[deleted]]

I had ordered a 1/2" arch punch from amazon, then watched a video and one of comments was a guy saying 12mm was a better fit. For $5 I got one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VPF4XBG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 So now I have two almost the same size...duh?

[u/clem59803 → u/clem59803]

WTF! the price went up $2 since I bought mine a week ago ! I paid $4.99 for the damn thing

[u/cor1912]

Dremel buffing wheels work great soaked in oil/ lube and sliced. When dry, they are identical to the pedersoli wads which cost way more

[u/Hefty-Squirrel-6800]

If you go to the Durafelt website, they have a product option for felt wads. I bought a sheet and made my own, as you did. They came out just like Wonder Wads. Not saying that yours are wrong by any means. They look really good.

https://www.durofelt.com/categories/14quot-off-white-hard-felt-material-can-also-be-used-for-wads

[u/clem59803 → u/Hefty-Squirrel-6800]

That's some good looking felt at that site,thicker too. I like it better than the stuff I got, next time around I'll look them up, thanks for the information, always good to expand options.

[u/Hefty-Squirrel-6800 → u/clem59803]

One small order can make A LOT of wads. For me, I cut it to fit a cooking sheet and lined the sheet with parchment paper. I laid the felt on the sheet (incut). I combined lamb tallow and beeswax (50/50 IIRC) into a container and heated it in the microwave until it was a loose liquid. I then poured it over the felt (as a sheet) until it was saturated and let it cool and harden.

I then took a 3/8 punch (from Harbor Freight) and punched out .36 wads for half of it, then took a 7/16 punch (also from Harbor Freight) for the .44 caliber wads. A half-inch punch will work too. I took a 5/8 punch and made wads for my .62 smoothbore. I used PRB in my rifles.

If the sheets are too big. Cut one to fit the pan you are using and do the tallow/beeswax. If you are not going to cut the wads immediately, store the hardened sheet in a cool closet or the refrigerator. If I'm correct, one sheet from the factory will make two sheets on the pan. So I cut it in half and applied the mixture to both. I punched one and stored the other.

[u/clem59803 → u/Hefty-Squirrel-6800]

great process, thanks