Pan Lubes

[dhom]

I need an education on how to pan lube and what lube or lubes I can use. I plan on shooting cast bullets unsized in a 45-70 with speeds up to 1500 fps tops. Also, I will be using smokeless powders, probably IMR4198 or AA5744. My goal is to find an accuracy load in the 1300-1500fps range.

[Fernando]

I started a couple years ago so take this as beginners advice.
I made a batch of simple lube - from the sticky above.
Pour in a pie tin and let harden - then take a drill bit the size of bullet and twist holes
for the number you want to do - place bullets in them and then put the pie tin in an old
electric frypan with water in it - crank it up and when melted shut it off.
Let it cool - I put it in the freezer for a bit - a little wiggle and pull straight up and they
come out perfect - I don't need any cookie cutter or pushing from the bottom.
I am doing 30cal though so there is some nose to grab.
Put new bullets in the holes and do another batch.
I think heating the bullets and lube together lets the lube stick to the bullets better.
I don't know?? but it works for me. I really love this lube though.

Oh and I put something in the pan for the tin to rest on off the bottom so water
is allowed to circulate around the tin - I use some metal rods.

[redhawk0]

I pan lube with Felix World Famous Lube. (do a search)...I then stand up my boolits in a cast iron skillet on top of an old coleman stove. Add just enough FWFL to cover the grooves and let everything cool down. Once cooled, I use an old 45/70 case (unsized) that I converted with a nail inside as a plunger. I press it down over the boolits and plunge them out onto waxed paper so they don't stick to each other. Then I run them through my Lee push through sizing die. Because FWFL is a little sticky I store them in a jar with a little mica powder.

That's about all there is to it.

One last thing...I have push mine to 1600-1700fps without any leading in the barrel. But I backed off on that velocity to 1350fps for my hunting load. It just wasn't necessary to be that high for a 100 yard shot in the NH woods.

redhawk

[Dan Cash]

My pan lube is 50/50% bee wax/neatsfoot oil by weight with a small amount of lanolin added to lmake the stuff sticky. Proportions are not critical; hot weather, a bit less oil perhaps.

I stack bullets in a cartridge block of suitable caliber for the castings to align them, place the assembly in a pan so the bullets sit on their base and remove the cartridge block. Pour molten lube into pan until bullet grease grooves are covered then let cool to room temp. Knock pan on bench top to remove the encaked bullets, place cake on some closed cell foam and press bullets out. No need for cake cutters, just press the bullets and the lube shears from the cake leaving the grease grooves full. Bullets can now be sized or loaded as cast.

This lube is superlative for either black powder or smokeless propellant and works up to the 1700 fps range with relatively soft castings.

[country gent]

I pan lube and shoot as cast bullets though over charges of BP in the 1150-1200fps range. I use SPG or emmerts improved. my set up is as follows. One 12x14 cake pan 2" deep. 2 3/4 x 3/4 x 13" aluminum angle strips one brownie pan 9 x 12 x 1" or so. set the bigger pan on the stove or hot plate. lay the angles in wide side down these keep the top pan above allowing for water to be all around the pan. This saves the risk of scorching the lube. melt lube to desired thickness and punch holes in it when cooled, I use a cookie cutter to do this. set bullets in the holes and remelt the lube I like to give it 10 mins or so after the lubes melted to warm the bullets good and give lube time to release any trapped air. let cool. cut out with cutter and save the pan and lube sheet with the holes as this saves the first few steps next time. Be prepared my pans full of bullets and lube are heavy 200 or so 550 grn bullets and the lube. I prefer the cake cutter for removing the bullets.

My cake cutters are made from seamless brass tubing Look I used 4" .015 wall 1/2" od for 45 cal sizing it down a little to .465 ID on one end. this end was sharpened with a vld chamfer tool to a sharp edge and angle on the inside. this makes sliding over bullet easier and pushes the lube into the grooves when cutting. I then glued a piece of clear tygon tubing 2" long on the other end for a cushioned handle. Bullets push thru and come out the top my sized down area is only about 3/8" to 1/2" long after that bullets are free moving. This works good for me. I currently have one outer pan and set of rails. inner pans for 38 cal, 40 cal and 45 cal both spg and emmerts.

With wax based lubes I recommend the double boiler set up as it greatly lowers the risk of a fire or scorching. The first time set up reqires more lube but after the pan is set up you only need to add what the bullets take.

[GregLaROCHE]

I tried pan lubing. Then I discovered powder coating. I haven’t looked back since for my .45-70 boolits. For my 6.5mm and 30 cal boolits I due sometimes lube them or mostly use Liquid Alox. It all seems to work well. Just the way I’ve ended up doing it, at least for the present time.

[dhom]

Thanks for the replies. GregLaROCHE,,,you have got my interest with the powder coating idea. I am guessing it is simplier to powder coat than to pan lube? What advise can you give me on powder coating? I am all for the most foolproof way of doing this bullet preparation.

[GregLaROCHE]

Thanks for the replies. GregLaROCHE,,,you have got my interest with the powder coating idea. I am guessing it is simplier to powder coat than to pan lube? What advise can you give me on powder coating? I am all for the most foolproof way of doing this bullet preparation.

Most important is get good powder and keep it dry! I keep it simple and it works for me. Everyone seems to like Smoke’s powder. I haven’t tried it yet, but probably will when I run out. You can send him a PM to get info and advice too.

Static electricity from a plastic container makes the powder stick to the boolits when shaking. Most people use a dream (cool) whip plastic container with a 3 in a triangle on the bottom and add plastic air soft BBs, the black ones. Smoke sells them too.

After coating, bake in an oven on non-stick aluminum foil at 450* for approximately 30 minutes. Let cool and size if needed.

That’s about all there is to it. I may have forgotten something, but there is a lot published about it on this forum and YouTube. Just don’t forget to keep your powder dry!

[lar45]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-6VknyUHcFI

Carnauba Blue is very easy to pan lube with. I heat it up to 200F ,stand my bullets up in a Teflon bread pan, then pour the lube in until it covers the lube grooves, then leave it alone for an hour. The lube block should pop right out. Then push the bullets out from the top down. The bullets should be lubed and ready to load.
If you use a larger pan, then you might have to let it cool longer.
I've used Carnauba Blue in my 32" 45-70 sharps with good results. Im out of town for a wedding, so I don't have my load notes handy.

[slide]

Good video! I like your rifle. I am still using up the blue I ordered from you. Good stuff!