best lube for pan lubing

[carbon_15]

I made my first batch of cast bullets today! It took me a few trys to get the temp and my ladle technique down, but I turned out a double handfull of good bullets once I got it down. I can see, this is going to become an adiction :)
anyway, I tried panlubing with Lyman super-moly lube and ended up with a sticky mess and bullets with no lube in the groves. I melted the lube and pored around the bullets. When it cooled, the bullets came out and left the lube behind. I think its too soft for pan lubing. The only other lube my local store has is NRA 50/50. Would this be a better choice or should I order something else all together. Not really interested in makeing lube at this point.
thanks,
Jason

[docone31]

Jason, I make my own lube.
I use 55% beeswax, 45% Vaseline Petroleum Jelly.
I heat that and blend it.
I toss in some synthetic Castrol Wax Stick.
I let it cook for some time, on real low heat. I love the smell. Once it has cooked for a bit, I toss in about 1/2 cup Marvel Mystery Oil.
I make enough to fill a large coffee can completely.
On your lube not filling the lube lands, were your castings also up to temperature?
I ask this as my first junket into pan lubing, I had the same issue. I heated the lube, poured it onto the castings. It solidified, and I had a mess.
I put my castings on a sheet of wax paper, put it into the oven at 175*, and let it come to temp. I then pour my lube in the middle of the pan. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention I put my wax paper on a shallow baking pan.
I then put the mix into the oven let it sit for five minutes, then turn it off and let it cool down completely. I take the pan out and put it with one edge down, and one edge up about three inches. I have a folded towel under it. When it completely cools and sits for a bit, it seperates from the pan. I then push the castings from the base, pushing them nose first out of the cake.
I like my formula. I get no leading. The wax paper keeps the bases from getting lube and sticking to the powder in the case.
I size using the Lee Push Thru System. Excess lube gathers at the bottom of the die. I stick the excess lube on castings that have small voids. I always get a few.
After loading my cases, I wipe each reload to clean off most of the excess lube over the crimp groove.
Makes some nice shooting castings. My 1911s, wheel guns, like them. My rifles are more particular to paper patching so I have only shot a few castings through them.
No leading, lousey accuracy, sized too small with too large a load.
Gotta get the castings the same temp as the lube.

[John Boy]

When it cooled, the bullets came out and left the lube behind.
Carbon - sit back and watch this video ... How to Pan Lube Cast Bullets (http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=5919.0)

[Goatlips]

Just watched the video, wow, didn't know they made silicone trays, gotta get me some silicone pie pans for my pan lubing method, :Fire: which I shamelessly post here:

http://goatlipstips.cas-town.com/panlubing.html

Goatlips

[adam38654]

Is it safe to cook food in an oven that u have used to lube or harden lead bullets?

[joeb33050]

A perfectly satisfactory pan lube is Barry Darr's Darr lube.
Get a 1 pound container of parrafin from the supermarket in the canning department. It is generally "GULF", in a box like a butter box, four pieces.
Get a 12 or so ounce container of vaseline.
Put 3 of the parrafin pieces and the vaseline in the lube pan. Melt, stir for 11 seconds, you're done.
Put the lube pan in a fry pan with water in it, makes kind of a double boiler. Don't put any lube in a pan over direct heat.
Done.
joe b.


I made my first batch of cast bullets today! It took me a few trys to get the temp and my ladle technique down, but I turned out a double handfull of good bullets once I got it down. I can see, this is going to become an adiction :)
anyway, I tried panlubing with Lyman super-moly lube and ended up with a sticky mess and bullets with no lube in the groves. I melted the lube and pored around the bullets. When it cooled, the bullets came out and left the lube behind. I think its too soft for pan lubing. The only other lube my local store has is NRA 50/50. Would this be a better choice or should I order something else all together. Not really interested in makeing lube at this point.
thanks,
Jason

[carbon_15]

thanks guys.
I had actually already watched that video and seen Goatlips tutorial...I have been reading and researching for a few monthes before I got started. I preheated the bullets, poured in the lube and reheated everything again. No dice. I think i'm using the wrong stuff.

[MT Gianni]

Is it safe to cook food in an oven that u have used to lube or harden lead bullets?

As long as they stayed in a solid state and we not vaporized no vapor could contact the oven walls.

[Dale53]

carbon 15;
Your problem is the lube. You have to use a lube that is designed for pan lubing.

I have pan lubed thousands of bullets (including Black Powder Cartridge Rifle, Black Powder Cartridge Pistol, and Schuetzen rifle with both smokeless and black powder). My lube of choice for pan lubing is Emmert's Home mix (50% pure natural beeswax, 40% Crisco, and 10% Canola oil by melted volume). It works well for smokeless and black. It is very similar to SPG lube. I do hundreds of bullets at a time in 9" cake pans.

It is important to not overheat. I suggest the use of a double boiler to melt the lube to insure that you do not overheat.

Dale53

[RU shooter]

+1 on Goatlips methods its how I started and how I still do it Although I dont drop the cake from the pan as I am lubing 30 cal rifle boolits I just wait till the lube and pan cools but still luke warm and wiggle and pull the boolit up and out of the cake. The trick to keeping the lube in the grooves is to dont rush things let the boolit and lube get up to the same temp maybe20-30 min. in a small toaster oven works for me at 175 deg.
My lube is similar to others BW and vasoline and Lars C red or 2500+ lube mix The C red is very sticky used straight and couldnt get the boolit out of the cake without the use of pliers(Very sticky stuff But a great lube)

Tim

[Deadeye]

I solved that problem by using a 6" piece of 1/2" CPVC pipe to push bullets out of lube. I just push the bullets up thru the pipe to force the lube into the groves.

[wmitty]

carbon 15:

I hope I'm not out of line for jumping in with this, but I tried pan lubing and am convinced tumble lubing is easier. The trick is to cut the alox with mineral spirits (about 9 parts alox to 1 part mineral spirits) and place the mixture in a plastic peanut butter bottle. Put the boolets in a second empty plastic peanut butter bottle (I like JIF, but some prefer Peter Pan) and pour a small amount of the alox mixture over the boolets and replace plastic lid and turn the bottle upside down and back upright several times until the boolets are coated, then remove the slick boogers and set them upright on a flat surface to dry overnight. Now the problem with LLA coated boolets is the fact that the lube builds up in the nose of the boolet seater, causing the boolets to be seated progressively deeper in the case if the seater die isn't cleaned ( dropped in mineral spirits and shaken vigorously)
or the lube cleaned off the projectile's nose before it is seated. A piece of cotton cloth from that tee shirt with holes in the armpits you should'a thrown away a year ago works great if you dip it (you guessed it) in mineral spirits. Hold boolet in left hand by its bearing area and twist the lube bearing nose in the wet piece of tee shirt until it shines. Now it can be seated without causing a buildup in the seater die.

[randyrat]

Simply put.... for Tumble lubing.. Buy a jar of Johnson's paste wax. Put a small blob in a round bottom pan heat until melted, throw your boolits in there and roll them around in it, let cool load and shoot. I'm talking 45 acp loads target loads. Lets say you need more velocity and higher pressure, mix Beeswax and Lee Alox (NRA 50/50) and do the same as above. Of course you could use just Alox. I've never tested the limits of these mixes and i don't know what the limit is for Alox either.
There are ways to Pan lube with Alox

[DonH]

Pan lubing with a lube such as Darr lube, Emmert's, SPG, etc is just not a hard thing. I don't fret about heating the bullets prior to lubing as long as they are at least at room temp. On a very few occasions I have warmed them un the pan with a hair dryer. I let the lube set long enough to harden but still have a bit of warmth in it and the bullets push out easily and cleanly.
I would agree that tumble lubing is faster than pan lubing but the pan method puts lube only where I want it so I am not handling sticky bullets.

[zampilot]

Recently I did my first pan lubing: used 1 lb Beeswax, 1 lb Crisco and about 3 0z Canola oil (aka Emmerts'). They melted and mixed well, I had about 30 545 grn Creedmore bullets in a pie pan heated for about 10 minutes at 200 degrees in the oven, poured the lube and let sit, turned it over after an hour, the lube pie fell out, I pushed the bullets out and all is good! I then refilled the holes in the pan with new bullets and set atop the wood stove, the lube filled the grooves well.
Now to see how they shoot!

[mdi]

I take a slightly different approach. I have my lube in a pan (Beeswax/Paraffin/Vaseline) and place in warm oven, 175 - 200 degrees or so. When melted I stand up the bullets in the lube and leave in the oven for a few minutes, about 15. Take out and cool to room temp. Since I usually cast/lube pistol bullets I use a "cutter" to remove bullets from lube 'cause I had a little trouble punching them out. I driled/reamed a piece of stainless tubing to about .434" and sharpened the business end, and cut 'em out. Just put the cutter over a bullet and push, I get about 4 or 5 in the tube before I have to empty it out. Next batch I put bullets in the holes and place in oven to melt and heat the bullets at the same time. Works with my lube.:bigsmyl2:

And of course this is ALWAYS done when She Who Must Be Obeyed is not at home!

[DragoonDrake]

I do the same thing that mdi does, but save the cake for latter and mark the diameter and gr wt
that i was using the cake for

Adam

[Naphtali]

I have never used a lubrisizer, and I'm considering a Saeco-Redding. Can pan lubes be loaded into a lubrisizer and used without issues?

[Seafarer12]

Is it safe to cook food in an oven that u have used to lube or harden lead bullets?

Some people say yes some say no. I personally would rather be safe than sorry. All my casting and lubing stuff never comes close to the kitchen. I am sure I get some lead in me from casting but I wouldn't want to live with myself if I got my wife or kids sick from casting. Especially when I could have just bought a 20 dollar toaster oven to heat up bullets.