Pan lubing is the devil

[ThaDoubleJ]

Now that I've got a little better handle on casting my 125gr 38s, I've decided that pan lubing is the devil. Just to be clear, I only cast because I'm being cheap, so I'm looking for the cheapest way to get lube into the groove other than pouring it in a pan, then having most of the boolits come out of the lube with no lube in the groove, so I have to moosh some in there by hand. I'm using Mr. Rat's lube, which works very well in my model 10.

[el34]

Have you thought about trying tumble lube? Way simple, guaranteed coverage.

Or powdercoating.

[Bzcraig]

If cheap is the goal, tumble lubing as suggested by el34 is the way to go. Fast, easy, cheap and effective.

[JASON4X4]

Tumble lube will can only be the fastest and cheapest way. Next would be powder coat. It has no smoke when fired no mess when loading.

[ThaDoubleJ]

I did consider tumble lubing when I decided to cast for centerfire, and for some reason that eludes me this early I decided I wanted regular lube in there. What's the second cheapest option?

[dilly]

Lyman could probably make more money on the lube sizers if they would give away free pan lubing kits. A little index card included would say "If you don't enjoy this, buy our lube sizer." One afternoon pan lubing and most people somehow are able to suddenly find the space/money for a lube sizer.

[Char-Gar]

Now that I've got a little better handle on casting my 125gr 38s, I've decided that pan lubing is the devil. Just to be clear, I only cast because I'm being cheap, so I'm looking for the cheapest way to get lube into the groove other than pouring it in a pan, then having most of the boolits come out of the lube with no lube in the groove, so I have to moosh some in there by hand. I'm using Mr. Rat's lube, which works very well in my model 10.

Pan lubing is slow and somewhat messy but effective. If you are getting most of the bullets with no lube in the groove, something is wrong with either the lube or the temp of the lube when poured into the pan.

[gpidaho]

Try putting pan, lube and boolits in the freezer for three or four minutes before pushing them out. GP

[country gent]

I also found that making my cakecutter from a case helps alot. I use a rifle case with the neck expanded up to a few ( .003-.005 ) over bullet dia and the primer pocket drilled out to accept a wood dowel 3/16"- 1/4". heres the trick after "sharpening the mouth with a deburring tool, lightly bell the case so when cutting it "presses" the lube into the grooves. Its worked for me.

[Beagle333]

Dip lubing works better than pan for me. Get a cake cutter if you are going to keep dipping or panning. There are a couple of folks on here selling em if you can't make your own.
If you ever visit anybody who owns a lubesizer, even an old Ideal #1, and watch it in action..... you'll suddenly find that you have something that you can sell and get you a lubesizer! :wink:

[Ickisrulz]

I never was able to find a combination that let me push bullets from the cake once it cooled the way some guys can. Therefore, I use cake cutters made by Buckshot and am reasonably satisfied with the pan lubing process. I pan lube about 4-5K bullets a year and have it down so I make a minimal mess. It does take time though. I tumble some bullets also and find it much faster.

[TenTea]

Lyman 45

After pan lubing and tumble lubing, I acquired one earlier this year and it is a joy to use!

*If you are a modern fellow, maybe a Lyman 450

[grubbylabs]

I hate pan lubing, I would rather go to the Dentist. I picked up a Lyman, but will have a Star someday.

[bangerjim]

For the cheeeeepest.......use BBDT powder coating! Very inexpensive when using that red powder from Harbor Freight.

I can crank out hundreds an hour with very little effort. All shoot perfectly with absolutely ZERO leading like you will get with grease....pan, tumble, or otherwise.

bangerjim

[mac60]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I wouldn't pan lube another boolit if it harelipped Santa Claus! I'd rather hug my mother in law! A little while pan lubing and I started saving my pennies and went to every gun show I could til I found a used one for $50.00 and never looked back.

[GhostHawk]

I'm with Beagle, I dip lube and I've been happy with the results.

But I don't go through massive numbers of pistol bullets either.

The average month I probably don't make more than 100 boolits, gas check and size, dip lube, let them cool, and size again to remove excess.

Drop the finished boolits into a container marked with the gun they are intended for (And both weight and size)

May load them next week, might be next month, could be next spring.

Currently lubing with a Ben's red variant (using LsStuff's Carnuaba red lube instead of JPW)

Your mileage may vary but time is one thing I have plenty of.

[RoyEllis]

I can turn out several thousand pan lubed boolits in one evening......"Hey boys, you wanna go shoot this weekend then ya better get in here & lube some boolits!". Course it helps to have 7 grandsons that like to shoot & really NEED character building work to do.:evil:

[ThaDoubleJ]

What's this about cake cutters? Are they open on top so the bullets pop out and you can just keep going? The first time I did this, I had a little "pan" made of aluminum, held maybe 20 boolits, and I filled it deep, had a good thick "cake". Took forever. I believe I figured it in at 4 hours to make 112 boolits. This time my casting went much better, and before I knew it I'd filled a serving tray with boolits. I poured my Mr Rat lube in till just the lube grooves were covered, but the stupid "cake" kept breaking apart, or if I could push a boolit out, it'd have just a tiny lube in it, have to smoosh some more in. I suppose if I had a hollow tube and could just stack them right out the top that might not be too bad.

[DrCaveman]

DoubleJ

Dip lube, man, dip lube. So easy. When your lube is warmed to full liquid (careful not to burn it) the dipped coating will be nearly perfect. After drying, Running boolit back through a lee push-thru size then smoothes everything and fills in the grooves to perfection. Very little mess, barely a chance for anything to go awry

[ThaDoubleJ]

So you dip the base in the lube, then just use that Lee gadget after they're cooled to make it all look pretty?

[Beagle333]

I suppose if I had a hollow tube and could just stack them right out the top that might not be too bad.

You can get a $2 putter at the Thrift store, cut the handle off at the right diameter (perhaps a little careful trial and error here) and sharpen the edges just a bit and make a cheap kake kutter. Then, as you said, the boolits will stack right out the top as you punch them out. :mrgreen:

Or.... buy em from this fellow:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?250909-For-sale-Pan-lubing-Check-out-this-lube-cutter&highlight=cutter

[GhostHawk]

Yep

I have several small cheap containers with lids, I set the dipped bullet on the lid in nice even lines.
Once they have cooled it is simple to sit in front of the TV or a Utube video with my lee hand press and run them through the sizer again which removes excess off the lube grooves. The excess builds up on the hand press but it is no sweat every 5 bullets or so to wipe it onto my finger and put it back in my lube bowl.

BTW my lube bowl is one of those stainless dried flower things with a snap on lid. 5.5" across 3" high. Goes right on my gas stove to heat the lube, lid snaps on for carrying down to the man cave.

Some guys use pliers, I just use my fingers, grab the nose dunk, wipe the base, set it. Takes longer to describe it than it does to do it.

Finished boolits go into a container labeled for which gun they are intended, weight, and size. IE Mosin 185 gr .314, SKS 155gr, .312.

I tried pan lubing and made a cutter but there was nothing about that operation that went well. Hands get totally slimed with lube, cutter had sharp edges, would bite your hand, bullets would get cockeyed and stuck, etc.

I started dipping when I just wanted 10 rounds with no fuss.

[twc1964]

I tumble lube most of my plinking loads in 38spl and 45 auto with homeade 45-45-10 . One coat and size in a lee sizer and coat again. No mess or sticky fingers when dry. I am getting a lube sizer though for high velocity rounds though.

[John Boy]

I'm looking for the cheapest way to get lube into the groove other than pouring it in a pan, then having most of the boolits come out of the lube with no lube in the groove, so I have to moosh some in there by hand. If one pan lubes correctly, it is easy and fast!
http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=8612.msg61811

[dlbarr]

I pan lube all my stuff and don't mind. But I really don't know any better cause it's all I've ever done.

What's a decent used lube sizer cost, usually?

[gwpercle]

After doing the pan lube, getting melted lube on me , the dog, the floor, my clothes, just about everywhere except the boolit.... I got totally disgusted with it, drove to local dealer and bought a Lyman 450...best money I ever spent. Lube , size and seat gas check with a pull of the handle, I'm in love with it, never going back to the pan. That was 30 years ago. Still using that 450.
Just get one ...you wont be sorry.

[DrCaveman]

Pretty much, yes

My more detailed method is to pinch the boolit in the crimp groove with the fingernails of my thumb and first finger. I dip til the boolit is submerged to the point of almost touching my fingers.
Hold for about a second (this heats the boolit a tad, and i find i get a lighter coating), pull the boolit out, give the base a quick wipe on the shop rag sitting next to the pan. Set boolit on a flat surface to dry for a while, maybe 30 minutes

I then run it through a gadget like this http://leeprecision.com/new-lube-size-kit-430.html

Which i mount on my single stage press. This takes care of boolit sizing (if needed) and also removes the excess lube, so your loading equipment stays cleaner. If you dont want to size down the boolit at all, the sizing dies are easy to open up with sandpaper and a dowel (as i recently learned)

This works for me, but im sure others do it different. Hope this helps!

[Beagle333]

I pan lube all my stuff and don't mind. But I really don't know any better cause it's all I've ever done.

What's a decent used lube sizer cost, usually?

You should be able to pick up an old Lyman 45 for $50-60 + ship. They work really well as long as you aren't trying to crunch your boolits down too much. Use it as a luber instead of a sizer and it'll last forever. I size my boolits with a pass through the Lee push thru dies first and the luber doesn't have to strain at all. If you want something that will size harder alloys and lube all in one pass, you'll have to spend more. If you spend enough, you can dump the boolits into a tub on one end of the bench, flip on the air compressor, sit back and watch the show and it'll dump them into a bucket on the other end of the bench, all sized and lubed. ;-)