Cas City Forum Hall & CAS-L
CAS TOPICS => The Darksider's Den => Topic started by: Little Dalton on September 03, 2022, 01:46:29 PM
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Probably a can of worms, but I’m looking for recommendations on the best lubing and sizing system for pistol bullets lubed with soft black powder lube. I’ve been using my dad’s very old and worn Lyman 450, and while I replaced all the seals, it is annoying to use. Even with incredibly soft lube, I have to stroke the bullet up and down a couple times to get the boolit fully lubed- and then it leaks lube under the base of the boolit making a big mess. I don’t mind the slowness of the 450, just wish it did a better job on the lubing. I wouldn’t mind a push-through system if I could rig it up to fill tubes for my Lee Loadmaster boolit feeder. Don’t really want to pop the boolits into a pile or jar, as I don’t want to mess up the soft lube. Anyways, curious as to what methods others use that are a mix of fast, effective, and clean-ish.
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I have an RCBS. I don't shoot black powder, but I lube ALL of my bullets with SPG lube. I am happy with it but then I've never owned or used anything else.
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Greetings!
I have Dad's and Gdad's Lyman Luber/Sizers, and they can be messy, but properly adjusted, they work well. If You have to move your cast bullet up & down to fill all of the lube grooves, I would pull out the sizing die and check to see if any of the feed holes are plugged with old hard lube. If so, clean out the die, and try again.
Keep Us Posted!
M.T.M.
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:) Well ;)
I have the most effective and efficient lubing system ever devised. It's called an iPhone. I simply pick it up and call in an order for bullets from Springfield Slim ::)
I realize this probably doesn't really hep the OP, but Hey!! It's Saturday, after a three hour drive (each way) to shoot a Match and I'm really tired. So There! 8)
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:) Well ;)
I have the most effective and efficient lubing system ever devised. It's called an iPhone. I simply pick it up and call in an order for bullets from Springfield Slim ::)
I realize this probably doesn't really hep the OP, but Hey!! It's Saturday, after a three hour drive (each way) to shoot a Match and I'm really tired. So There! 8)
Buying the bullets ready to go is usually less costly than buying the lead and doing it yourself, but then I wouldn't have anything to occupy my time.
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I'm a pan luber. easy peasy
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I'm a pan luber. easy peasy
I tried the pan lubing thing. Never could get it to be 100%. Some bullets came out just perfect, but quite a few came out with NO lube on them. Gave it several tries with differing techniques but pretty much the same results, so I bought the RCBS lubri-sizer.
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Little Dalton, you might also check to see that , on the downstroke, the bullet goes down far enough that lower lube holes are letting lube get to the bullet.
Lucky ;D
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I tried the pan lubing thing. Never could get it to be 100%. Some bullets came out just perfect, but quite a few came out with NO lube on them. Gave it several tries with differing techniques but pretty much the same results, so I bought the RCBS lubri-sizer.
Pushing the bullets out backwards?
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Pushing the bullets out backwards?
Yep!! Pushed them out backwards. Even tried the cookie cutter approach. Same results.
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I tried the pan lubing thing. Never could get it to be 100%. Some bullets came out just perfect, but quite a few came out with NO lube on them. Gave it several tries with differing techniques but pretty much the same results, so I bought the RCBS lubri-sizer.
I wonder if it has to do with the consistency of your lube. I rarely have that problem. I'm glad that the lubri-sizer is working for you. Using either method, lubing is by far my least favorite part of the loading process. It's the only part that I tend to dread and put off until I'm desperate for bullets...
Griff
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I wonder if it has to do with the consistency of your lube. I rarely have that problem. I'm glad that the lubri-sizer is working for you. Using either method, lubing is by far my least favorite part of the loading process. It's the only part that I tend to dread and put off until I'm desperate for bullets...
Griff
First attempts were with some homemade lube. Beeswax and something else, maybe candle wax? But then I splurged for some SPG. Pretty much the same results when pan lubing, but the SPG works absolutely great in the lubri-sizer.
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I started to powder coat my bullets with eastwood powder coat.
no need for lube then.
I have used the luber sizer lyman brand with spg lube.
also tried the pan lube method. learned you need to put bullets in the pan lube and let everything heat up to certain temp(cant remember what the temp needs to be). then let cool by putting in fridge for an hour.
To me powder coating is the easiest way to lube. also makes the bullets pretty
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:) leatherjunke ;)
Powder Coat works quite well with Smokeless. Not so Bueno with Black Powder. BP requires lube.
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I use the RCBS lubrisizer as well with SPG that I buy in bulk and pour the melted lube into the charging tube to refill. Although it is tedious, it works very well and fills all the grooves perfectly. I too use SPG to lube all my bullets, with BP or Smokeless powders.
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I use the RCBS lubrisizer as well with SPG that I buy in bulk and pour the melted lube into the charging tube to refill. Although it is tedious, it works very well and fills all the grooves perfectly. I too use SPG to lube all my bullets, with BP or Smokeless powders.
I simply cut off chunks of the SPG and stuff them down into the tube. Takes a little finagling to get everything back in place, but then I'm good to go.
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My Lyman Lubesizer works great with SPG or home made tallow beeswax 50/50. Just got to remember to back off the tension on the lube if it's going to sit a long time or the soft lube will ooze out around the die.
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"I have the most effective and efficient lubing system ever devised. It's called an iPhone. I simply pick it up and call in an order for bullets from Springfield Slim ::)
I realize this probably doesn't really hep the OP, but Hey!! It's Saturday, after a three hour drive (each way) to shoot a Match and I'm really tired. So There! 8)"
Bad news. Slim is getting out of the bullet casting business. I just placed what will probably be my last order with him. If you go to his website he has removed the page about Big Lube bullets.
If you want some of Slim's Big Lube bullets, I suggest you give him a holler before he hangs up his lade for good.
http://www.whyteleatherworks.com/ (http://www.whyteleatherworks.com/)
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Getting back to the original question, when I was still casting my own bullets, I gave up on my old Lyman lube sizer years ago.
I bought what is probably the best system there is for sizing and lubing bullets, the Star Lube-Sizer made by Magma. It is not cheap, more expensive than a Lyman or RCBS lubesizer, but in my humble opinion it is much better. With the RCBS or the Lyman, you need a top punch fitted to the ogive of the bullet. Instead, the Star runs the bullets through the die upside down. You don't raise the bullet up to remove it, you let the next bullet shove the first one out of the bottom of the die while each new bullet is run through.
It used to take me a long time to size and lube with my old RCBS lubesizer because of having to raise each bullet up to remove it. As my old pard Lou Graham used to say, the Star just poops them out one after the next. You just catch each one as it poops out the bottom of the die.
The Star is expensive, and so are the dies for it. But when I was casting my own bullets I could size and lube a few hundred bullets in an hour or so.
As you can see in this photo I use sticks of SPG lube with my Star Lube-Sizer
(https://imageshack.com/i/pn8EaWFYj)
Regarding pan lubing, I did that many years ago with regular hard cast bullets for Smokeless powder. Never did it again once I discovered the Big Lube bullets and my Star Lube-Sizer.
https://www.magmaengineering.com/magma-star-lube-sizer/ (https://www.magmaengineering.com/magma-star-lube-sizer/)
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Driftwood has it right.
Spend the money now & save time for the rest of your life.
If you think they are too much money, sell something else you have or change your lifestyle enough to save up & buy one.
Wouldn't you rather be doing anything else than sizing bullets slowly when there is a faster way?
Yes, a Lyman is fine if you just want to lube a few bullets for long range rifle or some other small batch, but for for action shooting , a Star is the one that will carry you far & fast.
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I pan lube with my own mix of Crisco and bees wax, then size with a Lee sizing die. Very cheap, the dies is less than $15. And you don’t have to remove the bullets, just keep feeding them in from the bottom and they pop out into the container on top.
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+1 what Driftwood said. I have the Star Lubrisizer and the pneumatic cylinder to provide continuous and consistent pressure to the lube reservoir. Nothing else comes close to the speed and simplicity. I've also switched to the "tropical" blend of SPG, which is a little harder.
To fill the lube reservoir, I have a tiny heating pot my wife bought for me at Target - like a miniature crock pot that holds about a pint. I put the SPG in there and melt it, then pour into the reservoir with a small ladle. Works great. I read an article a number of years ago that Dave Gullo (maker of SPG) used the method of melting SPG to fill lube reservoirs, and found it worked much better than cutting up chunks to drop in.
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+1 what Driftwood said. I have the Star Lubrisizer and the pneumatic cylinder to provide continuous and consistent pressure to the lube reservoir. Nothing else comes close to the speed and simplicity. I've also switched to the "tropical" blend of SPG, which is a little harder.
To fill the lube reservoir, I have a tiny heating pot my wife bought for me at Target - like a miniature crock pot that holds about a pint. I put the SPG in there and melt it, then pour into the reservoir with a small ladle. Works great. I read an article a number of years ago that Dave Gullo (maker of SPG) used the method of melting SPG to fill lube reservoirs, and found it worked much better than cutting up chunks to drop in.
I'm wondering if dropping in the chunks and then hitting it with a hair dryer would work, also?
I've only used my old leaky Lyman 45 system. But the OP asked, what is the "most efficient". I decided that meant to buy my BP bullets already lubed (I don't cast), so that is what I'm doing now and haven't needed to lube any bullets in a couple years. :)
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I'm wondering if dropping in the chunks and then hitting it with a hair dryer would work, also?
I've only used my old leaky Lyman 45 system. But the OP asked, what is the "most efficient". I decided that meant to buy my BP bullets already lubed (I don't cast), so that is what I'm doing now and haven't needed to lube any bullets in a couple years. :)
I get along fairly well with just dropping chunks into my RCBS lubri-sizer. It can be a bit of a challenge getting everything threaded back together again, but it works.
I think I saw recently that the SPG is now available in tubes?