Reloading EverythingLee PrecisionRepackboxLoad Data
Inline FabricationWidenersMidSouth Shooters SupplyPBcastco
Titan Reloading RotoMetals2
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 21

Thread: Lyman and RCBS lubersizers/ Lube under the bullet

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    874

    Lyman and RCBS lubersizers/ Lube under the bullet

    This drives me crazy. Your lubing/sizing long and the luber deposits lube under the bullet and makes a mess. I don't think there is too much pressure on the lube. What else causes this PIA?
    Leadmelter
    MI

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master

    dragon813gt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Somewhere in SE PA
    Posts
    9,989
    To much pressure and/or to much heat.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master



    retread's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Payson Arizona
    Posts
    1,344
    Can also be the position of the bullet in the die. The bullet may not far enough in the die and missing the lube groove. Put enough pressure and it will find the next easiest point to squirt into (maybe at the junction of the base and the die stem!).

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

    Beagle333's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Back in the woods a piece, just outside Auburn, AL.
    Posts
    5,499
    What dragon813gt said. Exactly. Turn the heat down just a little and if it doesn't stop, lower the pressure and just size/lube slower and see if that does it. It really helps to avoid it also if you have very flat/square bases.

    If you have a bevel base boolit, you have to use the Styrofoam trick. (punch out pieces of styro from an egg carton with an empty case to use as a seal)
    KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy gunarea's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Central Florida
    Posts
    257
    Incorrectly adjusted.
    Roy

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Hartford WI
    Posts
    791
    Under size bases will cause this too. Happens to me a times
    I'm the King of my castle---anytime my wife's not around
    Life NRA member

    "A Government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have"
    Thomas Jefferson

    LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSIUT OF THOSE WHO TREATEN US

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master

    gwpercle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    Posts
    9,254
    A hole in the die too close to the boolit base.
    Lube heated too much , it's thin and runs into places not wanted.

    I wish folks would post more information, what boolit , what lube , heated...details sure help solve problems.
    Certified Cajun
    Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
    " Let's Go Brandon !"

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Northwest Ohio
    Posts
    14,464
    A small ding or low spot in the base can allow lube to flow under, a small radious on the base, to much heat on the lube, to much pressure, I have had gas check bases allow lube to push the punch down causing this. Basically anything that allows the punch to lower away from the bullet. Always thought about a spring on the stem to put some pressure on the dies punch to hold it snug in to the bullets base.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master


    williamwaco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Dallas Texas
    Posts
    4,690
    Lube left on the base punch from prior bullets will insure this continues to happen.
    Be sure your base punch is clean. Lyman calls that the "G" part of the GHI die set.

    You have everything here. It can be caused any one ( or more) of the above.
    Last edited by williamwaco; 06-20-2017 at 12:50 PM.
    First reload: .22 Hornet. 1956.
    More at: http://reloadingtips.com/

    "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the
    government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian."
    - Henry Ford

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy fred2892's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Norfolk, England
    Posts
    397
    Quote Originally Posted by williamwaco View Post
    Lube left on the base punch from prior bullets will insure this continues to happen.
    Be sure your base punch is clean. Lyman calls that the "G" part of the GHI die set.

    You have everything here. It can be caused any one ( or more) of the above.
    Strangely this is the 3rd time in the last couple of days that someone has incorrectly called the centre rod in the die the 'G' part. It is the 'I' part, the die is 'H'. That's why they are always referred to as H&I dies. The 'G' part is actually the top punch.

    Sent from my Galaxy Tab 2 using Tapatalk

  11. #11
    Moderator Emeritus


    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Land of 10,000 Lakes
    Posts
    15,838
    Quote Originally Posted by Leadmelter View Post
    This drives me crazy. Your lubing/sizing long and the luber deposits lube under the bullet and makes a mess. I don't think there is too much pressure on the lube. What else causes this PIA?
    Leadmelter
    MI
    Quote Originally Posted by dragon813gt View Post
    To much pressure and/or to much heat.
    That is the short answer.


    Here is a long answer:
    One thing I was told a long time ago, by Bullshop, when lubesizing troublesome boolits or using troublesome dies or a combination of both. Is to find the spot where there is NO pressure on the Lube, but that a quarter turn or less will pressurize the lubesizer. Then only Pressurize the lubesizer when the Boolit is all the way into the die, back off the pressure before you lift the boolit.

    Since then, I have discovered the older lyman dies, the ones with 14 or 16 large holes, are the worst offenders of this problem. With those, I figure out how far the boolit needs to go into the die to be fully sized, then I plug all the holes that align with the boolit base as well as all the holes in the top of the die that will be above the driving band.

    See post #9 in this link for photos and instructions on plugging Lyman boolit size die holes.
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...p-instructions
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    3,901
    Another reason many of us prefer the Star luber, with it this doesn't happen.

  13. #13
    In Remembrance / Boolit Grand Master
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Northeastern Pennsylvania
    Posts
    77
    New response to an old thread, but the push rod inside the sizer die has a sort-of-flat end with a slight bevel. The other end has a concave/convex end to it. I never knew what end goes up. I always used the flat end down, working against the ejector rod on the bottom of the machine. Instructions from Lyman do not mention up or down for this part. Anyone have knowledge of this ?

  14. #14
    DOR RED BEAR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    1 mile from chickahominy river ( swamp) central va
    Posts
    2,162
    Mine only does it when using to much heat.

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Cecilia, Kentucky
    Posts
    6,718
    Quote Originally Posted by MN91311 View Post
    New response to an old thread, but the push rod inside the sizer die has a sort-of-flat end with a slight bevel. The other end has a concave/convex end to it. I never knew what end goes up. I always used the flat end down, working against the ejector rod on the bottom of the machine. Instructions from Lyman do not mention up or down for this part. Anyone have knowledge of this ?
    Some of the older H&I dies have the I piece actually round on one end. I always figured that the flat end was the correct end to be against the base of the bullet.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master Toymaker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Winterville, Georgia
    Posts
    576
    Interesting thread, because I'm having the same issue with four different bullets. The lubrisizers are a Lyman 450 and a RCBS, both bought new within the last 5 years. The sizing dies are Lyman, also bought new within the last 5 years. The bullets are cast from Lyman 457-193, Hoch 459-500, Lyman 378-674 and BACO 380-360 M4 molds. When setting up to lube and size I'll fiddle with the depth until I get all the lube rings filled and a minimum amount of "squeeze" under the bullet. But I can't stop it. I made a little "tool" out of a popsicle stick to clean it out when it accumulates and I keep a shop towel on my lap to wipe the bullet base before putting it in a holder for storage. I use Ben's Red for smokeless loads and a formula given to me by a BPCR shooter for black powder loads. It is close to the same consistency as Ben's Red. Bullets for smokeless loads are made from Lyman #2 alloy and from 20:1 for black powder loads. After casting all bullets are checked for smooth bottoms and sharp edges. Nicks, wrinkles, round edges, dents, flat bottoms and weight are reject factors. I use a PID when casting but get frosting sometimes at the beginning of a session. As long as the other factors are good I figure the frosting just lets the lube stick better. I do not use a heater with these lubes. My loading bench is in the basement were I have a pretty consistent temperature between 70-75 degrees F year around. I try to apply only enough pressure to fill the lube grooves on one bullet. I check this in the setup by putting another bullet in and letting it sit a bit before raising it to see if there's lube in the grooves. Some is ok, but not a lot.
    Next month I need to have a couple of casting sessions and when I lube and size I'm going to try the Styrofoam trick mentioned in the thread.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Canada, Ontario, Durham region
    Posts
    549
    Quote Originally Posted by MN91311 View Post
    New response to an old thread, but the push rod inside the sizer die has a sort-of-flat end with a slight bevel. The other end has a concave/convex end to it. I never knew what end goes up. I always used the flat end down, working against the ejector rod on the bottom of the machine. Instructions from Lyman do not mention up or down for this part. Anyone have knowledge of this ?
    I believe you’ve got the I part (the elevator rod) installed correctly that is the rod end with the shallow dimple goes against the bullet base. Sometimes I don’t get the sprue cut off perfectly flush leaving a small bump. I figure the dimple is to help with that small defect and still have a usable bullet.
    If the bevel end was against the bullet base lots of lube would get squirted under the bullet.

  18. #18
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Casa Grande, AZ
    Posts
    5,526
    Quote Originally Posted by MT Chambers View Post
    Another reason many of us prefer the Star luber, with it this doesn't happen.
    Amen to that

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    772
    Another thing you might try especially with soft lubes is to pressurize the lube before you size the boolit. Allow the residual pressure to force the lube into the grooves. You can probably lube two or maybe three boolits before you need to re-pressurize the die.
    Some times it's the pot,
    Some times it's the pan,
    It might even be the skillet,
    But, most of the time, it's the cook.

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Cecilia, Kentucky
    Posts
    6,718
    I have found that if there is already lube on the push rod before I try to size and lube, there is a much greater chance that more lube will push between the rod and bullet base. I keep it clean with a small flat tip screwdriver, and also sometimes raise the I part out of the die enough to wipe it clean. I do this by inserting a small slave pin between the bottom of the I part and the plunger that pushes it back in the die, then I can raise the I part out of the die if I want to clean the face. Obviously you don't want to raise it enough that any of the lube holes are exposed or there will be a mess if there is pressure on the lube.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check