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Thread: more on Lee tumble lube

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    more on Lee tumble lube

    Has anyone ever tried to reflow the lube, once on the boolits?

    I know you can melt and remelt Lee's alox pan lube, but I've never tried it with the tumble lube.

    I'm doing an experiment as we speak, with about 5 sticky ones, to see if warming them up to about 250 will reflow the lube for a more even coating.

    film at 11......

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    I would bet that it would work.. but, how ya gonna keep it from 'flowin'" off to the bottom o the pan??? MV

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by racepres View Post
    I would bet that it would work.. but, how ya gonna keep it from 'flowin'" off to the bottom o the pan??? MV
    I was hoping to find the "magic" temp that would get it to start to flow, but not get it too thin.
    Kind of the way it does when you first put it on.

    Gravity IS a pain, sometimes.

  4. #4
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    I kinda know what yer up to... I went to the "tool store" and got one of those "grabbers" for small parts on a rigid stem [they are made on a flexible stem also] the one w/ retractable fingers for retrieving small parts. I use it to "grab" the end of boolits in order to dip them in the LLA up to the front band , and then set them on a wax paper to dry..... I don't like the lube "all over".. Just on the band! Slow for sure .. but effective for me when I use LLA. MV

  5. #5
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    I don't think it will achieve what you are hoping for. If it flows at all it will pull from the lube in the grooves more than it will pull lube from the body on the bullet body. Don't set them on Momma's cookie tray for the experiment! I lube a bunch of bullets but no longer work with traditional lube grooved bullets as I only shoot those with the Micro-Bands. Most of my rifle bullets are dipped base first and then set on their base on a sheet of wax paper. If I can't grab the bullet nose with my fingers, I use a "grabber" like racepres mentioned above. After the setup time and the bullets are off the wax paper, I use a putty knife to remove the remaining lube off the paper and store it for reuse.

    Running the bullets through a Lee Lube & Size Kit die will really leave them clean. All of the bullets I cast have L&SK dies associated with the mold and pretty much just seat the gas check without really sizing the bullet. If there is much resistance from the die with a particular batch of dropped bullets, I simple pre-lube the die with a little bit of Alox on a bore mop. The Alox really, really hangs in there and I usually don't need to re-lube the die with the mop.

    Sometimes I will tumble a batch of "fat" bullets before sizing. I simply thin the Alox and it won't create a mess. One of the attached photos will show that. The bullet had a light coat of tumbled Alox for the sizing operation and then was dipped base first as described above. I always complete my lubing before the pass through the sizing die as that will clean the bullets up real nice! In fact this method is probably about the best for a quick fill of the lube bands and would be worthy of a trial with traditional lube grooves. The Alox definitely attracts and attaches to itself with subsequent applications and it might fill those grooves faster.

    Melting a bunch of bullets in a casting pot will teach you a lot about Alox. I've melted bullets with just about every kind of lube and one way or another the lube will boil or burn off. Not Alox or at least now with a Lee pot on max. What a mess! The lube will flow to the sides of the pot and pretty much never go away.

    The little bands of sticky stuff really impress me with all the shooting I do but the bullet I'm working on for my Marlin 375 really tops them all. This bullet has two lube grooves and is only exiting the barrel at 2000 FPS. But its doing it with 54.5K PSI behind it! This is a WW mix that approximates Lyman #2 with #8 shot added and then water quenched for a BHN of 21. There is no leading and a beautiful lube star at the muzzle. I've attached images of that bullet. Lots of lead up front with only two Micro-Bands at the base. The forward bands are crimp grooves at various locations on this trial bullet mold and all but one or two will go away on the inventory molds.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails actual_bullet_photo.jpg   TLC379235RF_Bullet_Large.jpg   Lubed_Bullet.jpg  
    Michael

  6. #6
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    The little I've used LLA was kind of a pain as it kept gumming up my dies. What am I doin wrong?

    I wound up using the micro band boolits in my Lyman 45 sizing die with what ever lube I had on hand, and it shot well. At least for my 45acp.

    Havn't tried my Ranch Dogs yet..

  7. #7
    Boolit Master Ricochet's Avatar
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    Smile

    My seating dies gum up with ANY kind of lube on the boolit's ogive. Have to stop and scrape it out now and then if I don't want the boolits to seat deeper and deeper, or else progressively back out the die. A very light coat of LLA prolongs the clogging process greatly, but there's still transfer of the lube to the seating punch.

    If you want to reflow LLA, you'll have to do it with solvent. Forget heat, it won't flow till the boolits sag.
    "A cheerful heart is good medicine."

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ricochet View Post
    My seating dies gum up with ANY kind of lube on the boolit's ogive. Have to stop and scrape it out now and then if I don't want the boolits to seat deeper and deeper, or else progressively back out the die. A very light coat of LLA prolongs the clogging process greatly, but there's still transfer of the lube to the seating punch.

    If you want to reflow LLA, you'll have to do it with solvent. Forget heat, it won't flow till the boolits sag.
    so, the solvent of choice would be mineral spirits? Or is there something better?

  9. #9
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    Smile

    Yes, mineral spirits is the stuff it comes dissolved in.
    "A cheerful heart is good medicine."

  10. #10
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    Ricochet... You using a Lee seating die? If so and if it adjusted right... steel against lead displaces Alox every time. The Lee bullet seating die should bottom out (ram fully raised) and there is plenty of room inside of the die barrel for any wax to move out of the way.

    I load thousands of bullets a year in all these lever calibers and I haven't cleaned my dies in several years. Actually, the largest buildup of Alox I see is with the Lee Factory Crimp Die. There is always a big wad of dried Alox sitting on top of it. Kind'a like a bugger! Pick it and throw it away!
    Michael

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by PatMarlin View Post
    The little I've used LLA was kind of a pain as it kept gumming up my dies. What am I doin wrong?
    You must be using too much. Look at the image above, the bullet on the left. That bullet has been tumbled once with a very, very light coat of Alox. I let it dry and dip as explained above. The excess wax is removed by the L&SK die.
    Michael

  12. #12
    Boolit Master Ricochet's Avatar
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    Yes, RD, I use mainly Lee dies. The problem comes with wax or Alox getting trapped in the hollow cavity in the end of the seating plug, filling it and pressing the boolit in progressively deeper in the cases as it builds up. It definitely won't flow around the boolit! It just has to be cleaned out. I unscrew the die and dig it out with a little screwdriver.

    The buildup on the Factory Crimp Dies looks nasty, but affects nothing functionally.
    "A cheerful heart is good medicine."

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy calsite's Avatar
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    are you letting it completely dry before resizing? I think I let mine dry 2-3 hours before I resized I think I going to try thinning mine abit with Mineral spirits for resizing , that outta speed up drying time and then try dipping them a second time like RanchDog, those are some purdy boolits

  14. #14
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    CALSITE Well you made me do it. I took out a bottle of LLA and READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. I hate to admit that in public. So put on wax paper and let dry over nite. If 3 hours is over nite to you you must be suffering from a bad case of sleep deprovation. I find that 6-8 hours works much better providing it is not a hot stickey nite in the Liberal Republik of Richard Dailey. BWB

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    ranch dog i just ordered one of your molds for the first time and reading this i have a few questions. First i got the sizer too. Do you find that you usually get better accuracy with the ranch dog bullets sizing the bullet to true it up or unsized or is it just pot luck depending on the gun or are you just using the sizer to seat the gas check and spec out a sizer that doesnt size your bullets much.]. Second do i understand correctly that you lube then size and then just shoot them. Ive allways lubed sized then lubed again when using tumble lube. Is this a waste of time. I guess i allways did it becasuse i never had that good of luck with tumble lube and figured a little more would be better. Also i see you dip your bullets. Any advantage to that over shaking them in a bowl other then keeping the lube off then noses to keep the mess down. The only thing i tumble lube anymore is 38 special bullets and sure wouldnt want to hastle with dipping them. I shot just to many of them but i guess I could do it with the 4570s if theres any advantage to it.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ranch Dog View Post
    You must be using too much. Look at the image above, the bullet on the left. That bullet has been tumbled once with a very, very light coat of Alox. I let it dry and dip as explained above. The excess wax is removed by the L&SK die.

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy calsite's Avatar
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    I think the bottle says let dry and then apply abit more when resizing (correct) I've actually resized mine right after I lubed them and then let them dry, and lubed them again. I think the way the bottle says probably works the best. I run a .44 cal. bore brush with a little Hoppes on it through my sizer die when I'm done to keep her clean. I had a buddy tell me that adding Mineral Spirits to the L. Alox would speed the drying time. Thanks for the shout.

  17. #17
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    I warmed the 5 boolits up to about 250 for maybe 10 minutes. It didn't affect the lube much, but they do feel slightly less sticky now.. could just be my imagination.

    I'm thinking that when I get to casting for the 45-70, I'll maybe just do the dip thing. I think that getting the sequence right will be the key...

    maybe, dip, let dry, put gc on, push thru sizer, see how the boolit looks after that.

    I really don't like lube on the gc.... maybe it won't affect the powder, but I just have visions of loaded cartridges sitting there, with the lube soaking into the powder...

    maybe I think too much.

  18. #18
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    ive had tumblelube contaminate powder in my 38s so dont think it cant happen.
    Quote Originally Posted by hornetguy View Post
    I warmed the 5 boolits up to about 250 for maybe 10 minutes. It didn't affect the lube much, but they do feel slightly less sticky now.. could just be my imagination.

    I'm thinking that when I get to casting for the 45-70, I'll maybe just do the dip thing. I think that getting the sequence right will be the key...

    maybe, dip, let dry, put gc on, push thru sizer, see how the boolit looks after that.

    I really don't like lube on the gc.... maybe it won't affect the powder, but I just have visions of loaded cartridges sitting there, with the lube soaking into the powder...

    maybe I think too much.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master Ricochet's Avatar
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    Oh yeah, you can size 'em months later and stuff will transfer off the boolit noses to the cavity in the seating punch. It's true of any hard waxy lube as well, not just LLA. If it's on the nose, it'll clog the die. I think you guys that haven't seen it just haven't been paying attention.
    "A cheerful heart is good medicine."

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy USARO4's Avatar
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    PatMarlin, try cleaning out the seating die with a Q-tip soaked in Ronsonol lighter fluid, it dissolves the lube very quickley.

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