seating tumble lubed bullets

[MrNick]

I have noticed that when seating my tumble lubed bullets that I have to clean out the seating die every 20 to 30 rounds. The lube starts building up in the seating die causing the bullet to seat deeper. Is this normal?

[Ben]

Not when you use Ben's Liquid Lube..........

[Sticky]

I don't have any issues using BLL and having to clean my seating die...

[MrNick]

I have been using Alox with Johnson paste wax.

[Ben]

Obviously creating a build up in your seating die.

[fecmech]

You're using too much lube!

[rancher1913]

try powder coating

[roypete007]

Alox always did the same to my seating dies. I like Rooster Jacket..i read good reviews on midway usa and tried it. Drys hard and is soo much easier to seat bullets. I do powder coat too but get better accuracy with the tumble lube Rooster Jacket.

[MrNick]

Do you use Ben's Red before tumble lubing with BLL? I'm loading handgun ammo with velocities below 1000 fps. I get no leading with the alox/paste wax lube, just build up in the seating die. I cast wheel wts with 2% tin added.

[35 shooter]

Mr.Nick, BLL should solve your problems with the build up. It dries much better than any tumble lube i've tried so far and just a little goes a long way. I've shot it in my rifle with no leading around 2400 fps.

[Jonesy]

Alox will definitely gum up your die eventually, 20-30 rounds sounds like you are using too much. Even with a light coat it will do the same thing after a good while. I gave up LLA for pan lubing because of that, eventually you'll end up seating them deeper because of the buildup and you may not catch it unless you measure as you go. Not worth it considering what overpressure can potentially do to your firearm/you.

LLA needs a very light, nearly invisible, coating. If it looks brown, you've got too much applied. Gunky nasty stuff that Alox is, it does work though for it's credit!

[gunoil]

Machine your seat die to seat only, ( no pre-crimp/no taking flare out) that helps, then you can crimp and then drop in cartridge gage. Maybe get a lubesizer. I use hitec and iam learning pc'ing. I gas check anything and everything.

[runfiverun]

the issue you have is how much you have on the boolit.
cut the alox with mineral spirits 50-50 this will help you apply much less to begin with.
when the second coat is applied [after sizing] use just a few drops to re-coat.

heating up the boolits before applying the alox [cut 50-50 and heated up also] will also let you use much less to cover more and it will dry much faster.
the thick coat you are applying isn't really drying and it's able to cause your problem.
you just want a gold colored coat no more.

[WRideout]

I used to think that I needed to put the boolits in a bath of LLA. Now I use a couple of drops of thinned Alox, on about a hundred boolits, and that is plenty. Never had seating die buildup with Alox, but I do when I use my home-brew wax lube, which I probably apply too much.

Wayne

[Ben]

Do you use Ben's Red before tumble lubing with BLL? I'm loading handgun ammo with velocities below 1000 fps. I get no leading with the alox/paste wax lube, just build up in the seating die. I cast wheel wts with 2% tin added.

These are rifle bullets that you see below, yes....the Ben's Red is applied 1st , then followed with a roll in BLL.



Ben

[MrNick]

Thanks guys. Yes, I have been using too much lube. Last night I loaded some 45 bullets with far less lube on them. Worked a lot better. I will be thining my lube and using less. I think I'll try BLL.

[myg30]

I use a zip lock baggy. I put a small amount, maybe 1/2 a teaspoon? Put it in a cup of very warm water so it's watery like. Then drop a small hand full of boolits in the bag and roll them around in my hands till they all slide around and get coated. Dump em on a wax paper sheet and let dry in the sun or outside heat or outside anyplace but inside.
You might need to thin down your mix too, but apply it as warm as possible and or you can warm those boolits too.

Enjoy and be safe.

Mike

[gloob]

You might need to thin down your mix too, but apply it as warm as possible and or you can warm those boolits too.

An alternative to thinning and heating the Alox is to use heat, alone, to make the Alox flow. You can tumble your bullets in a baking pan/pot over a heat source - maybe a range. Or what I use is a heat gun. Better, yet, is when the bullets are still hot from being freshly cast.

You can melt solid, dried out, pure Alox with no solvents in it. But it's far easier to do this with a mix of Alox and wax, like 45/45/10 without the "10." The wax reduces the melting point of the mixture.

Once the lube has melted, it spreads out like any other oil - like wildfire. And once the bullets are cool, they are dry and ready to load.

With regular liquid Alox, heat can help things along when the ambient temp is cool or then the lube is starting to dry out or otherwise doesn't flow. And it will help the bullets to dry faster than if you had added water or mineral spirits.

[Maximumbob54]

I didn't even know Rooster Jacket is back in production. That used to be good stuff if you applied it right.

[gwpercle]

The lube coating is just a bit too thick. If using Lee Liquid Alox, thin it with mineral spirits, you want an almost invisiable, thin , film on the boolits. Using any more does no good...it just mucks up your dies.
Sometimes less is better, I did the same thing with LLA also .
Give Ben's Liquid lube a try, bet that will work just fine for you. He's got a link posted .

Gary