Alternative method to tumble lubing

[Gundogblue]

Hi all,
I tumble lube my boolits with 45-45-10, and it’s great stuff, I get no leading at all. But yesterday I loaded 100 .44 specials, and I noticed gradually my boolits were getting seated deeper in the case. I unscrewed the seate stem, which was hard to do, and I found my die, and seater plug were really fouled up with lube. I got a tiny screw driver and dug out the lube in the seater plug recess, the part that contacts the boolit, and ran a solvent patch through the die body then cleaned it with dry patches. So I’m thinking maybe it would be easier to just put the 45-45-10 in a shot glass or something similar, and hold the boolit by the nose and just dip the boolit up to the crimp line in the 45-45-10 lube. I could be wrong here but it seems if the lube isn’t on the boolit nose that should eliminate the die getting fouled so quickly. I’d appreciate some thoughts on this.
Thanks,
Paul

[JBinMN]

I use 45/45/10 & pan lube as well & for me it is the pan lube that is what makes me do the same sort of cleaning. It is just from the excess lube on the boolits that gets worked up into that area, IMO, & not just from contact with the "nose" of the boolit. The case is acting like a "scraper" or "wiper" as you push the lubed boolit up to push/seat the boolit into the case & any excess, even a very small amount will continue to gather up in there. It is just accumulating there.

IMO, if you are getting issues like it just by using 45/45/10, then you are over doing the lube when ya tumble. I have little issue with my tumble lubing with the same lube you are using & I am getting -0- leading, so that is why I think it is possible that you are just using too much lube/more than you need.

G'Luck! & maybe someone more eloquent & concise can tell ya better, or another reason, but I am betting it is just using more lube than necessary for the amount of boolits you are lubing.

[ShooterAZ]

I have done the dip lube method with limited success. It works, but it very tedious and puts a heavier coating than I like. I have found that TL with either LLA or 45-45-10 works best with only a VERY light coating. Even so, you will still need to keep an eye on your seating die. It's just the nature of the beast.

[GhostHawk]

I have to agree with JBinMn. Using too much, getting too much on the bullets.

I have been using BLL not 45/45/10 but in 4 years I have cleaned one die, and it did not really need it. But I think it picked up a layer from the early days when I also was using too much.

For some things less is more. IMO this is one of those things.

[TCFAN]

For pistol boolits, if I can see any 45-45-10 lube on my boolits after tumble lubing I have to much and have to watch the over all length of the loaded cartridge.

[mdi]

I don't like the mess of tumble lubing bullets, and they look messy/cheap. Several years ago I got a Ranch Dog mold and while looking at his site I read about dip lubing. Since then I've dip lubed all my T/L bullets. Slower the tumbling? Perhaps but for me, and my dies and fingers, it it well worth it. I warm the bullets and lube, grab a bullet by thee nose, dip it and set it on a piece of wax paper or aluminum foil. Has worked quite well for my cast bullets, both tumble lube and standard desigh...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

When I first started using 45-45-10 for TL, I had some issues with lube build up in the seater die. I would use a Q-tip soaked in MS to clean it out after about 50 rounds loaded.
THEN, I learned I didn't need a thick coating on the boolit and that Heat is your friend when applying a thin layer of 45-45-10.

1. I put about 50 to 100 boolits in a 8" bowl, I heat the boolits and the bowl with a heat gun. Then I put a dollop of 45-45-10 in the bowl (about the size of a boolit), then swirl, add more heat if necessary. The coating thickness should be so thin, that it's difficult to even see when wet, I usually 'feel' if they are fully coated, they will feel slippery and leave a stickiness on your fingers. Then I dump them on wax paper to cool off (and dry).

2. The boolits will be dry to the touch, by the time they cool (about 15 minutes). After they are cool/dry, you will see a slight haze coating (see photo below), then I size them.

3. After sizing, I apply a second coat of TL using the same method. While they seem loadable in that 15 minutes after they cool off and feel dry, I will still wait at least 8 hours (over night)...because there are still some solvents "off gassing". After that, the coating is quite hard and doesn't scratch off easily. I haven't had any measurable (45-45-10) build up in the seating die since I learned this technique, but I still clean all the dies after loading a batch...my batches of pistol ammo are usually 200 to 400 for revolver calibers and 600 to 1000 for semi-auto fodder.

unlubed boolits on right (for comparison)
Boolits sized and TL'd twice on left (on yellow cap).
click on attachment link of photo isn't shown
Attachment 211711

[Walter Laich]

not to take a side road here but powder coating PC helps greatly here

one of the reasons I converted

and now back to our regularly scheduled thread

[Gundogblue]

Well thanks a lot for all the advice, I guess I’m putting too much lube on the boolits befor I tumble them, I just thought if a little is good, more is better. I got 1000 of those suckers casted and lubed, so I guess I’ll be cleaning the seating dies every 50 rnds or so till I cast and TL more, but next time I’ll use a lot less.

[Walter Laich]

reloading can be more of an art than straight out science--we all learn as we go

[mdi]

reloading can be more of an art than straight out science--we all learn as we go

Yep! Started reloading in '69. Started casting in '90. Often still learn sumpin' when I'm having fun with my "hobbies"...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Well thanks a lot for all the advice, I guess I’m putting too much lube on the boolits befor I tumble them, I just thought if a little is good, more is better. I got 1000 of those suckers casted and lubed, so I guess I’ll be cleaning the seating dies every 50 rnds or so till I cast and TL more, but next time I’ll use a lot less.

You could probably re-tumble them using my method with a heatgun. just don't add more lube...and you may have to clean your bowl between batches. Essentially you be moving the excess lube from the boolits to the bowl. If you don't get the desired results, you could add a drop or two of straight MS to the boolits/bowl after you have heated them up.

[gwpercle]

I have tried all the different lube methods...each and every one . The truth is the absolute best most wonderful thing I ever bought was a Lyman 450 sizer lubricator. Best money I ever spent...I love it!
one cycle of the handle...down and up and I get a sized, lubed, clean and gas check crimped in place bullet ready to shoot. No mess , clean bullets with lube in the groove. Fast ...much faster to do than any other method.
Lets see ...fast and clean, no muss , no fuss, no spilled lube , no lube covering the entire surface of a bullet...they come out ready to load....and you don't have to clean dies every 50 rounds.
What's not to like....mine paid for itself 35 or 40 years ago.
I bought mine in 1973 and still using that lovely thing...
Gary

[sierra1911]

Before I started using Hi-Tek, I used 45-45-10 and applied it with heat like Jon_B. I placed 7.5 pounds of 230 gr 45 ACP's in a plastic bowl and heated with a hair dryer (occasionally stirring with my hand) until the boolits were uncomfortable to the touch. I'd add scoop a 1/4 teaspoon of 45-45-10 and tumble until coated and then dump on a foil covered baking sheet. As soon as they were cool, they were ready to size and load.

My "45-45-10" was actually mixed 45-45-6 and I stored it in the original JPW can. Thought it easier to scoop out the pasty lube onto hot boolits than to warm the whole container of lube before applying.

[WRideout]

Being the cheapskate that i am, I have the same problem of lube buildup in the seater die when using my proprietary home-made lube. I pan lube, and cut the boolits out of the cake with a homemade cutter. I have just learned to keep backing off the stem every so often. Eventually I end up cleaning it out, but it's not a big problem. I use my somewhat soft home lube on my 38's. The rifle boolits I customarily lube with Ben's Liquid Lube. It is such a thin coating, I don't ever have build up with it.

Wayne