Lee alox/ drying

[medic44]

Never used Alox before. Do I need to stand the boolits after I lube them or can I just spread them on the wax paper?

[jhalcott]

personally, I like to stand them on their base in neat rows. I THINK the alox covers them better that way, instead of running down one side.

[44woody]

the best way I have found is get a old cookie sheet to put the bullets on then get one of those plastic bullet trays and take the bottom off with a belt sander lube the bullets put in the tray till full take off the tray on my cookie sheets I can put 500 bullets on then sit in the sun for 1or 2 hr they are dry then :castmine: 44Woody

[imashooter2]

The whole point of LLA is fast and easy. I never stand them up. Just turn them out of the lubing container onto wax paper in a single layer.

[redneckdan]

....rumor has it that an oven will speed drying time to less than 30 minutes...but you didn't hear that from me....[smilie=1:

[Bret4207]

I lube them and dump them onto a cookie sheet, one of my wifes old ones I ruined by cleaning with a 3M Scotchbrite pad. Woops! I spread them out a bit with a stick and let them sit a while, 2-48 hours depending on things. When dry enough t handles I dust them either with graphite or talcum/cornstarch type pwder. I like the idea of the graphite adding to the lubricity of the Mule Snot, but I think the cornstarch does as well and isn't as messy as graphite/mica. Some say corn starch will act as an abrasive. Well, maybe. Most of my barrels could use a bit of polishing anyway, so at this point it's not a huge concern for me. Some one else may consider such thinking true madness. Use your own judgement.

I have sized, using the Lee system, both prior to and after applying Mule Snot. A light coating on Break-Free on my fingers seemed enough to get the bare boolit through the die and gas check seated without harm. I find the only real difference is that the lube gooves are less likely to distort if the Mule Snot is applied first.

[rr4406pak]

Why would you size the bullets again after applying the ALOX lube???

[redbear705]

Why would you size the bullets again after applying the ALOX lube???

Because the sides of the bullet are being wiped off when going thru the die. :)

JR

[armoredman]

Boolits being sized must be lubed to avoid getting stuck in the sizer. Then relube the boolits with another light coat of LLA. I did discover these guys were right about a great many things, one being if you stand your bottle of LLA in a coffee cup half full of hot water, and wait a few minutes, it will come out thin and quick, even easier to use and not overuse.

[rr4406pak]

Oh, didn't realize the bullets could get stuck in the sizer. Never had that problem.
I just sized through my LEE cheapo sizer screwed on my RCBS press then applied the ALOX lube after that. Is this wrong?

PS: I like the heating up of the ALOX bottle idea. Must try that one...

[Bob Jones]

I hit mine with a light spray of Hornady One Shot case lube before sizing, the Alox afterwards. A little quicker and less messy, works fine for me.

[armoredman]

That's what I am going to try next. No casting until the roofers next door are done, don't want any of them to get goofy ideas watching me handcast boolits on my back porch.:evil:

[DanM]

What's up with the wax paper? Use heavy duty aluminum foil to dump your boolits on! Then you can pick them up all at once and dump them into the wife's tupperware for storage. Reuse the foil several times. Hair dryer for drying the LA. Warm the lubed boolits for 15 min or so, then turn off the heat in the drier and cool them down with room temp air. Depending on thickness of coating, alox will be dry in less than an hour. I then tumble with a little Midway Mica for the final touch.

[rr4406pak]

Sounds like we're baking cookies! Ha! Ha!

[Maineboy]

I hit mine with a light spray of Hornady One Shot case lube before sizing, the Alox afterwards. A little quicker and less messy, works fine for me.

I've been using WD40. I't doesn't take much and it's cheaper than One Shot.

[jonk]

WD40 can contaminate powder and primers. If you remove it somehow then I'd say that's fine.

Personally I thin with mineral spirits; I sometimes size with alox, sometimes with Hornady one shot; a fan will dry it out pretty quickly as will the sun on a hot day. Otherwise in a damp basement it can take 2 days to dry.

[Cloudpeak]

It takes very little "One Shot" to lube the bullets enough to easily pass through the Lee push through sizer. I use the LLA after sizing.

Cloudpeak

[tomf52]

The Hornady One Shot before sizing and LLA after is the fastest and neatest way to go. HAve tried many different methods too.

[texas tenring]

I also use the Hornady One Shot lube before sizing and then I give them a quick tumble wash in laquer thinner then air dry. I heat my Lee LA in a hot cup of water dribble it over boolits and tumble. I then stand them up on ends on wax paper to dry, I think this lets the lube flow evenly and keeps the base of the boolit flat and clean for better accuracy, any excess is removed when boolit is seated. After boolit is seated give it a quick wipe with a rag to remove any excess. Works good for me but I'm always learning.

[Castaway]

I put my bullets in a plastic container, dribble Alox on them, shake, let stand until I get up in the morning, shake again, and then again when I get home from work. I used to stand them on end atop of wax paper but I can't tell the difference in what I did and what I do now and it's sure a whole lot easier.

[Cayoot]

I put my bullets in a plastic container, dribble Alox on them, shake, let stand

So you don't take them out of the plastic container? You allow them to dry inside of it?

And yet you are happy with the accuracy and lack of leading?


Interesting.......

[Linstrum]

I use Lee Liquid Alox (LLA) by putting about a pound of boolits at a time into a Ziploc sandwich size baggie and then dribbling in enough LLA to coat them. After doing this a few times I got so I could tell how much LLA to put in. I zip the top almost all the way closed then blow into the baggie to inflate it a bit before securing the top all the way. I tumble the bag in my hands being careful not to do it so hard as to puncture the bag. If the boolits look like they need a bit more LLA I add more and tumble them again to distribute the stuff evenly.

What I like about doing it this way is that the exact right amount of Alox is applied and the excess simply stays inside the baggie to go on the next batch of boolits I put in.

When I’m done tumbling them I simply dump the boolits out onto a clean 9” paper plate and put them out in the sun or inside a warm oven for 45 minutes or so to dry. I re-use the baggie until it gets a hole in it and won’t inflate anymore in order to conserve the LLA that is plastered around the inside. Since the solvent used in LLA will permeate or slowly pass through the plastic bag and the LLA dries out eventually even with the bag closed tightly, I use a drop or two of petroleum distillate paint thinner to thin the LLA that remains inside the baggie. I have never had any trouble whatsoever from the LLA being a bit uneven where the boolits contact the paper plate while drying since it does not affect the amount of LLA that is in the lube grooves. If I think there will be a problem with the lubrication distribution I take the completed cartridge and CAREFULLY apply LLA to the projectile with a finger tip, cotton swab, or by dipping just up to the case mouth. This also seals that end of the cartridge but I would think it could cause trouble if applied to seal the primer area since enough solvent could conceivably get inside through the annular crack between the primer and the primer pocket to weaken or kill the primer.

I have been doing it this way now since 1984 when I got my first little bottle of Lee Liquid Alox that came with a Lee push through 0.310 sizing die I got for reloading my 91/30 Mosin-Nagant.

[Cayoot]

[COLOR=#000000]I have been doing it this way now since 1984 when I got my first little bottle of Lee Liquid Alox that came with a Lee push through 0.310 sizing die I got for reloading my 91/30 Mosin-Nagant.

So you are satified with sizing to .310 for your Mosin? I'm loading for a Mosin M-39 and a M-44, I'm just now trying to figgure what to size my boolits to.

As an aside, I don't think putting the alox in the lube groves is alot of help. I may be wrong (usually am), but I think (based on the boolits designed for alox) the key is to provide lots of contact area for the alox to adhear to. I don't think alox flows out of the lube grooves like convential lube. I believe that it bonds to the surface and maintains a seal between the bearing surface and barrel in that way.

Just my $.02 (actually $.00178 after inflation)

[Ricochet]

.310" will work fine for some Mosins, particularly Finnish ones. It's undersized for many. .314" works perfectly in mine. YMMV. Drive a slug into the throat of the barrel and back out, measure it right in front of the case and in the early part of the rifling to judge by, not a slug that's been all the way down the bore.

[Cayoot]

[COLOR=#000000][QUOTE=Ricochet;225968].not a slug that's been all the way down the bore.


Why not may I ask?

[Castaway]

Been doing it that way for over 10 years now. The frequent shaking distributes the alox evenly and when they're dry or almost dry I put them in a box awaiting loading. I don't see any difference in accuracy. I can get 10 shots in 2 inches at 50 yards with my Trapper (45 Colt) if I do my part. That's with a plinking load at 820 f/s and the same with hunting loads at 1525. Leading isn't an issue with either load. Bullet is Lee's 255 RNFP.

[jack19512]

I put mine in a zip lock bag then squirt a little alox into the bag and work the bullets around until I feel they are coated, then stand them on their base until dry.

[Cayoot]

then stand them on their base until dry.

That's the way that I think most people do it. However, Castaway leaves them inside the container. I really like the idea of doing it this way....I'm just surprised that they dry well while inside the container.

[Ricochet]

Why not may I ask?Because the throat is the important part to fit with the bullet, not the part of the barrel near the muzzle, which quite commonly is tapered smaller than at the throat end. There also may be constrictions and reopening of a bore, which you'll feel as you push a slug on down. But the best slug to use for bullet sizing is from the throat, not a push-through.

[Cayoot]

So how far in do you usually drive the boolit before you push it back out?

Here I've been driving it all the way through...I can't get over how much I learn on here!

[Ricochet]

What I really want to see is the throat of the chamber and first inch of the rifling. May take two slugs to do that. Or do an impact "casting" of the chamber throat, as has been recommended.

[Castaway]

I guess I didn't say the container doesn't have a lid on it.

[Cayoot]

I guess I didn't say the container doesn't have a lid on it.

Ahhhhh.... now that makes a bit more sense! Think I'll try it!

[mrloring]

I dump mine into a plastic container, about the size of a cigar box, and let them dry. It does have a hinged lid but I leave it open.

[jhrosier]

It takes very little "One Shot" to lube the bullets enough to easily pass through the Lee push through sizer. I use the LLA after sizing.

Cloudpeak

Do you need to remove the One Shot before tumble lubing?

[Cloudpeak]

Do you need to remove the One Shot before tumble lubing?

I don't on my bullets. The one shot, if put on correctly, dries very quickly. Don't want to use too much. I've not noticed any negative traits from tumble lubing LLA on top of the one shot.

Cloudpeak

[leftiye]

All that's left on the boolits with one shot and simlar sizing lubes is lanolin- makes good boolit lube!

[medicstimpy]

I'm beginning to rethink the whole Lee experience. I can't cast their molds with beans. And I scraped the goo out of my barrels and it's ALOX. My 45's never had a problem leading with good band lubed bullets but now the goo is starting to get leading. My 9mm is so gunked up I have to put a few hundred rounds of FMJ's to get it out.

And my buddy swears by Lee products.

Even my Turret Press. It's so slow because the cases wobble and then don't line up properly. 9mm's keep getting stuck in the Carbide dies.

I don't know anymore.... :(

[kellyj00]

medicstimpy: I've been loading on a lee 4 hole turret in 9mm and 45acp. sometimes it gets out of time, and you have to adjust it... that will fix your lining up issue. Case wobble may be due to a .380 (if you're doing 9mm) or a 40cal (if you're doing 45acp) that you pick up out of your pile of brass and the shellholder just can't hold it.

Getting stuck in carbide dies is a new one to me for straight cases like 9mm. How clean are your cases?

[Kid Curry]

I am happy with some of Lee's products, such as their carbide dies but sorry I bought their moulds. I usually alternate different moulds as I cast. My Lyman 45 Colt mould starts out very nice but I have a hard time getting the wrinkles out with the Lee moulds for my 9mm and 38 cal. Just dawned on me... Maybe if I don't clean the aluminum moulds they would cast better starting out.

I just started using Lee Liquid Alox. Also used it on 45 Colt loaded with black powder and some with Tripple 7. Haven't shot them yet so don't know the effect. Hope they don't gum up.

[Ricochet]

No, if you don't clean them they have an oil film on the surface that will make your bullets wrinkly and bubbly till you've cast several dozen. Don't ask how I know...