Smithy
12-01-2014, 09:28 AM
On a thread on this site I read up on how to improve the performance of Lee's six cavity molds and boy does it work. Before just one bullet is cast, the mold is separated and deburred. It's incredible just how much weight, flashing, and overall mess comes with a single burr in the face of the mold. Not to mention just how hard it is to size an out of round bullet due to the burr being on one side of the bullet. After deburring I get out the Flitz paste and some 350 grit wet/dry sand paper, hopefully cloth backed. I the find a nice flat surface and move the open face of the mold in a circular fashion to get the deburring marks taken off. Care taken of course around the alignment pins. Then under the cam area I drill and tap two 10 X 32 blind holes to turn in loctited stainless bolts. After the loctite sets I then cut the bolts and dremel them flush with the surface of the blocks. A good dousing of Brownells drop out mold release as I wait for most of the carrier to evaporate off and the rest burnt off with a propane torch.
So that was done with 158 38's and 240 44's in the six cavity variety and both being tumble lubed types of semi-wadcutter bullets. Now I had to contemplate actually tumble lubing them? Not fun. I read here about the 45/45/10 recipe with liquid alox, paste wax, and mineral spirits respectively. I got the formula down to those exact measurements and yet was not impressed at all with the results. The bullets still seemed sticky and hard to deal with not to mention a PITB to make. I didn't want to go back to the big expense of a lubrisizer and H&I dies and the like so referring to my SASS days, pan lubing was once again chosen as a means to get lube on the bullets (sort of?).
I had an aluminum loading block from years back that I'd drilled clean through and use to use it to count out lots of 50 during reloading of various rounds. I took that piece and cut a circular side to one of the long sides. Now if I place it into an 8" pan and load, I flip it over to fill the other half of the pan. Pans? Why two for six bucks cake pan set all tefloned up. I didn't want to have those directly on the burners though so I found a cast iron crepe maker and ground off the handle so now I have a very flat 10" surface to place my 8" pan. With the heat off, the top solidifies rather quickly to where I can remove the pan and place it into the fridge for further cooling. Why two? One for each caliber of course. I was going to use an 8" skillet to do both, but I'd have to start all over placing bullets after I went to the 38's since the 44's wouldn't fit. This way I'll have a pan for each and only need to melt them out if the lube gets dirty and needs filtering. Actually what I do is melt it out and use that lube in my ribbon extruder to make lube cookies for the same rounds.
I'm going to do something different with the lubing that I learned when I went to 45 200 grain bullets in SASS. The only six cavity Lee mold I could find was made for hard modern lube and not black powder lube (the BP lube is what I prefer in smokeless rounds as well). Well needless to say not enough lube got into and around the bullet and leading and excessive fouling was the result. So I purchased a Corbin HC-2 Knurling tool found here: http://www.corbins.com/hct-2.htm This allowed me to impart a diamond pattern over the entire bearing surface of the bullet and boy did it suck up the lube. The diamonds from the knurling do make the bullet larger than before so a second sizing has to be done most of the time. Well for the 38 I have two Lee size dies. The first is 357 and then it will be fully knurled and pan lubed. Then I have a 358 sizer to ready the bullet for seating during reloading. Same for the 44 with a 429 and then a 430 sizer dies. For lead bullets that one thousandth over is often used and sought after. Now with the tumble lube grooves and the knurling I have a lot of lube and the final size will be that of normal lead projectiles. Without that thousandth over, if sized in the same diameter die, some of the lube would be removed rather than remain for loaded use.
Then as mentioned I'll add a lube cookie to the loads just behind the bullet itself. The tool here is made by the C. Sharps Arms company and is sold at various black powder sites like here: http://www.buffaloarms.com/Lube_Ribbon_Extruder_it-160596.aspx?TERM=lube%20ribbon%20maker With a full reservoir and three 1/3 pulls of the single stage press handle, you'll get anywhere from 4-7 foot + long ribbons. If caught on wax paper it is easy to line up the ribbons and cut the excess wax paper from all the reservoir's production. Then they can be placed in the fridge.
After a bit of Hodgdon's Lil Gun I fill the case with a product called Puf Lon found here: http://pufflon.com/newfront.html Then to keep from spilling the refridgerated lube ribbons are held over the Puf Lon filled cases and thumbed down leaving a nice 1/8" lube cookie inside the case. Then goes in the lubed bullet and obviously some compression occurs here, but most if not all is taken up by the Puf Lon rather than the powder.
This makes the absolute best and easiest fully lubed bullets I've ever done and it's fun (at least for this ol codger that likes doing this sort of thing). And I don't have to mess with the expense and hassle of a lubrisizer or the use of liquid alox no matter what 45/45/10 formula I happen to be trying. Smithy.
So that was done with 158 38's and 240 44's in the six cavity variety and both being tumble lubed types of semi-wadcutter bullets. Now I had to contemplate actually tumble lubing them? Not fun. I read here about the 45/45/10 recipe with liquid alox, paste wax, and mineral spirits respectively. I got the formula down to those exact measurements and yet was not impressed at all with the results. The bullets still seemed sticky and hard to deal with not to mention a PITB to make. I didn't want to go back to the big expense of a lubrisizer and H&I dies and the like so referring to my SASS days, pan lubing was once again chosen as a means to get lube on the bullets (sort of?).
I had an aluminum loading block from years back that I'd drilled clean through and use to use it to count out lots of 50 during reloading of various rounds. I took that piece and cut a circular side to one of the long sides. Now if I place it into an 8" pan and load, I flip it over to fill the other half of the pan. Pans? Why two for six bucks cake pan set all tefloned up. I didn't want to have those directly on the burners though so I found a cast iron crepe maker and ground off the handle so now I have a very flat 10" surface to place my 8" pan. With the heat off, the top solidifies rather quickly to where I can remove the pan and place it into the fridge for further cooling. Why two? One for each caliber of course. I was going to use an 8" skillet to do both, but I'd have to start all over placing bullets after I went to the 38's since the 44's wouldn't fit. This way I'll have a pan for each and only need to melt them out if the lube gets dirty and needs filtering. Actually what I do is melt it out and use that lube in my ribbon extruder to make lube cookies for the same rounds.
I'm going to do something different with the lubing that I learned when I went to 45 200 grain bullets in SASS. The only six cavity Lee mold I could find was made for hard modern lube and not black powder lube (the BP lube is what I prefer in smokeless rounds as well). Well needless to say not enough lube got into and around the bullet and leading and excessive fouling was the result. So I purchased a Corbin HC-2 Knurling tool found here: http://www.corbins.com/hct-2.htm This allowed me to impart a diamond pattern over the entire bearing surface of the bullet and boy did it suck up the lube. The diamonds from the knurling do make the bullet larger than before so a second sizing has to be done most of the time. Well for the 38 I have two Lee size dies. The first is 357 and then it will be fully knurled and pan lubed. Then I have a 358 sizer to ready the bullet for seating during reloading. Same for the 44 with a 429 and then a 430 sizer dies. For lead bullets that one thousandth over is often used and sought after. Now with the tumble lube grooves and the knurling I have a lot of lube and the final size will be that of normal lead projectiles. Without that thousandth over, if sized in the same diameter die, some of the lube would be removed rather than remain for loaded use.
Then as mentioned I'll add a lube cookie to the loads just behind the bullet itself. The tool here is made by the C. Sharps Arms company and is sold at various black powder sites like here: http://www.buffaloarms.com/Lube_Ribbon_Extruder_it-160596.aspx?TERM=lube%20ribbon%20maker With a full reservoir and three 1/3 pulls of the single stage press handle, you'll get anywhere from 4-7 foot + long ribbons. If caught on wax paper it is easy to line up the ribbons and cut the excess wax paper from all the reservoir's production. Then they can be placed in the fridge.
After a bit of Hodgdon's Lil Gun I fill the case with a product called Puf Lon found here: http://pufflon.com/newfront.html Then to keep from spilling the refridgerated lube ribbons are held over the Puf Lon filled cases and thumbed down leaving a nice 1/8" lube cookie inside the case. Then goes in the lubed bullet and obviously some compression occurs here, but most if not all is taken up by the Puf Lon rather than the powder.
This makes the absolute best and easiest fully lubed bullets I've ever done and it's fun (at least for this ol codger that likes doing this sort of thing). And I don't have to mess with the expense and hassle of a lubrisizer or the use of liquid alox no matter what 45/45/10 formula I happen to be trying. Smithy.