ssn vet
07-30-2008, 04:12 PM
Well I finally got around to making my second attempt at "baking" a "lube cake", having high hopes since I snuck a 9" Teflon coated pie pan into the grocery cart a couple weeks back (another reloading expense deftly disguised under the grocery category in Quicken )...:wink:
This time I did things a little differently....
After casting WDWW in a Lee 312-155 mold.... I snapped on Hornady .30 cal gas checks by hand, put a smear of Imperial sizing die wax on the bullets and sized them to .311" with the handy dandy Lee sizing die.
I put (my only) two sticks of 50/50 beeswax/alox into a coffee can (the older type without the flange on the top) and dropped the can into a sauce pan (while wife was working in basement office). Filled sauce pan with water until coffee can was afloat and bobbing. Torched off the stove under my "double boiler" and said to self "now I'm cookin' with gas" . :-D
Whilst the wax was melting, I carefully lined my little soldiers up in the pie pan, while hoping the 50/50 wouldn't stink up the kitchen to much and get me busted.
carefully put pie pan onto newspapers on the kitchen island and poured the molten wax in.........
UH OH!
Not enough wax to cover the lube rings.... :groner:
commence kicking self....I knew, I knew, I knew I should have ordered a box of Laars red........
But wait....Hmmmmm....I did get two tubes of Speed Green from the Bull Shop to fill the one price USPS envelope, when I ordered sprue plate lube..... :idea:
Think, Think, Think........:confused:
should I pull the bullets out, break up 50/50 lube cake, re-melt, mix in Speed green, realign the regiment and pour.......and.......I'll be up to 1 a.m.
or.....
melt speed green and pour it right over the 50/50 for a "double decker" lube cake :shock:
Heresy is an easy decision when it's 11:45 and you don't want to wait a week+ to get more lube delivered. [smilie=1:
Melted both sticks of speed green and poured them on top.......bringing the wax just up to the crimp groove. Wallah!
then comes the minor complication......the lube cake won't drop! [smilie=b:
O.K. , toss it in the freezer for 10 min.,
Darn! still won't drop. O.K. looks like I'll have to cookie cutter them out with my home made tool (slightly belled case with head cut off).
But not tonight.......wife comes up stairs ..... "what stinks" ... darn ... BUSTED!!! :cry:
Lessons learned....
1. w/ 75 bullets in a 9" pie pan, it takes four sticks of melted lube to cover the lube grooves.
2. speed green smells a lot better than 50/50
3. speed green doesn't contract as much as 50/50 when it cools, which is likely why the lube cake wouldn't drop.
4. Time to put an order in to Laars
5. Once again, I've proved to myself....... I really, really want a lube sizer.
__________________
This time I did things a little differently....
After casting WDWW in a Lee 312-155 mold.... I snapped on Hornady .30 cal gas checks by hand, put a smear of Imperial sizing die wax on the bullets and sized them to .311" with the handy dandy Lee sizing die.
I put (my only) two sticks of 50/50 beeswax/alox into a coffee can (the older type without the flange on the top) and dropped the can into a sauce pan (while wife was working in basement office). Filled sauce pan with water until coffee can was afloat and bobbing. Torched off the stove under my "double boiler" and said to self "now I'm cookin' with gas" . :-D
Whilst the wax was melting, I carefully lined my little soldiers up in the pie pan, while hoping the 50/50 wouldn't stink up the kitchen to much and get me busted.
carefully put pie pan onto newspapers on the kitchen island and poured the molten wax in.........
UH OH!
Not enough wax to cover the lube rings.... :groner:
commence kicking self....I knew, I knew, I knew I should have ordered a box of Laars red........
But wait....Hmmmmm....I did get two tubes of Speed Green from the Bull Shop to fill the one price USPS envelope, when I ordered sprue plate lube..... :idea:
Think, Think, Think........:confused:
should I pull the bullets out, break up 50/50 lube cake, re-melt, mix in Speed green, realign the regiment and pour.......and.......I'll be up to 1 a.m.
or.....
melt speed green and pour it right over the 50/50 for a "double decker" lube cake :shock:
Heresy is an easy decision when it's 11:45 and you don't want to wait a week+ to get more lube delivered. [smilie=1:
Melted both sticks of speed green and poured them on top.......bringing the wax just up to the crimp groove. Wallah!
then comes the minor complication......the lube cake won't drop! [smilie=b:
O.K. , toss it in the freezer for 10 min.,
Darn! still won't drop. O.K. looks like I'll have to cookie cutter them out with my home made tool (slightly belled case with head cut off).
But not tonight.......wife comes up stairs ..... "what stinks" ... darn ... BUSTED!!! :cry:
Lessons learned....
1. w/ 75 bullets in a 9" pie pan, it takes four sticks of melted lube to cover the lube grooves.
2. speed green smells a lot better than 50/50
3. speed green doesn't contract as much as 50/50 when it cools, which is likely why the lube cake wouldn't drop.
4. Time to put an order in to Laars
5. Once again, I've proved to myself....... I really, really want a lube sizer.
__________________