I've tried a number of home made lubes.

For quite a while I was using a mixture of 25% bees wax, 25% Crisco, and 50% olive oil (by either weight or volume - it's not that critical) for both patch lube and conicals. Justput all three components in a glass container (I use a Pyrex measuringcup) and pop it in the microwave until everything turns to liquid. Stir it up a little then pour it into a container of your choice to solidify. I use old bullet boxes and musket cap tins and just rub the patch across the lube before I load. If you want asofter mixture, just add a little more olive oil and put it back in the microwave.



Currently, I'm using the above lube only for conicals, and it's a great conical lube.

For patch lube I've switched to plain old straight olive oil and find I like it much better. I grab the approximate number of patches I figure I'll be using in arange session anddabsome oil on each one using an old Butch's Bore Shine bottle with one of those little fold out spouts witha 1/16" hole.Then I put the patches in a stack, wrap the stack in a paper towel, and squeeze the heck out of it with my fingers. This distributes the oil evenly and the towel absorbs the excess oil. I find that patches with very littleoil are giving me the best accuracy. (If I'm preparing a large number of patches the day before a shoot, I just put a heavy weight on the paper towel wrapped stack and let it sit over night.)

As far as cutting round patches, I don't do that any more. I've satisfied myself that there isn't a hair's difference in accuracy between square or round patches. I cut one-and-a-quarter inch patches and use them in both my .54 and .58. I really like pre-cut patches and have no difficulty getting them centered when loading.