Home made case lubes......

[lead Foot]

I've used Sorbolene cream for years it's cheap and softens your dry hands at the same time.
Lead foot;

[Lead Fred]

WHen I sold my 69 Ranchero, I had a quart of ATF thats been kicking around in the shop for years. A few months ago I tried it on some milsurp cases Im bringing back from thier rusted slumber.

Im using the same ATF for all my cases. you only lube every 4-5 case, and it cleans the dies real nice.

[Sprue]

Iso-HEET (red bottle) found in the auto section of your local mart store. Its used for fuel-line antifreeze & water remover. Costs around $2.00 for 12 oz.

Liquid Lanolin found at Drug Emporium or online in 4 OZ bottle about $7.00 bottle. Is also ingredient that I use in felix lube. 4oz bottle goes a long way.

4 parts Iso-HEET
1 part Liquid Lanolin

I use it in a 4 oz pump spray bottle, but if you use this stuff you had better test the applicator bottle itself first because it can potentially eat it up.

I wipe all my cases off by hand using laquer thinner that I always have on hand.

I never lube pistol cases unless they are bottle necks. As for this lube mixture, I've never had a stuck case however I cannot say that for the One Shot.

[zxcvbob]

WHen I sold my 69 Ranchero, I had a quart of ATF thats been kicking around in the shop for years. A few months ago I tried it on some milsurp cases Im bringing back from thier rusted slumber.

Im using the same ATF for all my cases. you only lube every 4-5 case, and it cleans the dies real nice.

I tried using ATF for case lube and stuck a case in the die on the first one, so be careful. Don't remember if it was a .45 Colt steel die or a .30 Carbine carbide die cuz it was 3 or 4 years ago.

[Dale53]

A case lube demands "film strength". Ordinary oils do NOT get it.

The old classics are Lanolin and STP. Now, THOSE have film strength. The only complaint I have about STP is that it requires a solvent cloth to remove from the cases (or tumble the loaded rounds, after). Lanolin was used for years with draw dies to draw brass. It used to be available from every drug store. Now, you just about have to order it.

STP is readily available and is much cheaper than commercial case lubes. However, a small jar of commercial case lube will last nearly forever.

When I was shooting big bore and IPSC three gun matches, I loaded rifle cartridges by the thousands. I use Lee water soluble case lube diluted into a "dip" and used an old french fry basket to dip the decapped cases. Then I spread them out on newpaper to dry overnight. The dry wax is inert and doesn't have to be removed from the cases after use. The beauty of this is the case necks were lubed for "no drag" from the expander. Still the best way to do large quantities of rifle cases. This tip came from Ed Harris and was/is "spot on".

Dale53

[zxcvbob]

The old classics are Lanolin and STP. Now, THOSE have film strength. The only complaint I have about STP is that it requires a solvent cloth to remove from the cases (or tumble the loaded rounds, after). Lanolin was used for years with draw dies to draw brass. It used to be available from every drug store. Now, you just about have to order it.

Castor oil (from the pharmacy) is an extreme pressure lubricant with a high film strength. It's a pretty good substitute for lanolin. I haven't researched jojoba, but it's a possibility too. One other thing worth a try is any 2-cycle motor oil.

[Lead Fred]

I tried using ATF for case lube and stuck a case in the die on the first one, so be careful.

I only use it on milsurp virgin cases that Im FL sizing before cleaning them.

I trashed some 30-30 cases using ATF, so Im back to the RCBS lube for my civie cases

[carpetman]

I am no chemist so I don't know if this is true. I heard that GB Wire Aide ( Gardner/Bender) which can be bought at Lowe's for one place for about $5 a quart is the same thing as Lee's water soluble case lube which runs about same price for a small 4 oz tube. I put it on my hands and handling the cases lubes them. I have heard you can dilute it with either alcohol or water and use it in a spray bottle. I especially like the sounds of doing as Dale53 mentioned,
diluting it and submerging the cases to get rid of the expander ball friction. Maven you mentioned making 6x55 cases. I heard someplace that you can't shoot cast bullets in a 6x55 at high velocity???

[Maven]

Ray, I use the wire pulling lube you mentioned, but usually for FL resizing rather than case forming, although I suppose you could use it for that as well. It's also good for lubing CB's before shoving them through a Lee sizing die IF you lube them normally afterwards as I do. As for the 6.5 x 55mm, occasionally I'll use .30-06 brass and reform them into 6.5 x 55mm cases, but it is labororious. However, at least with CB loads, performance has been indistinguishable from actual 6.5 brass. Speaking of performance, many years ago I questioned the assertion of one of our members about accuracy at higher velocity in the Swede. I said it was possible, but considered ~1,800fps the upper limit, and I had targets and chrono. data to back it up. If you have a well-fitted CB in a VG+ bbl., use the "right" powder*, and are an adept shooter, I don't think the fast twist will preclude accuracy, but it will surely test your patience.


*I don't know what the right powder is, but I've had more success than failure with faster powders: WC 820; VV N133; AA 5744; IMR 4198. For higher speeds, I think I'd try IMR 3031 or 4064, but I've never needed to do so.

[twotoescharlie]

If no one has mentioned it, ( haven't read all the pages on this subject) "KIWI outdoor mink oil" at wally world, as good or better than Imperial and you get 3 times as much for less than half the price. been using it for a long time and it works for myself, cleanup with a paper towel.

TTC

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I usually use lanolin. I once bought a one pound jar many years ago and used it to refill a couple of small tins once sold by Lyman under the name "Easylube". They lasted the better part of 10 years; I'm still refilling them as they are handier on the loading bench than the one pound jar. The jar is not even 1/4 gone. I had it packed away when I last moved and could not locate it for a while...so in the interim I bought a small tube of white lithium grease...about 2-3 ounces for a buck and a half and tried it, figuring that if it didn't woek I could always use it on my presses. It worked great and of course needs to be wiped off with a solvent, and I did 15,000--9 mil cases lubing every fifth case with carbide dies plus another 1500--06 cases and theres still about 1/3 of the tube left. I wish that I had known about mink oil, GB wire pulling lube, STP, and some of the other formulas mentioned here, but it sometimes takes time to hear about and learn some things. LLS

[Echo]

I posted on this thread earlier, but should have mentioned my present method. I sold my rock polisher some time back, and now my procedure is thus:
>
I use a large ziplock bag, squeeze a small amount (squeeze about 2 kidney-bean-size blobs of CD-2), zip it shut, and massage the bag to spread the lube out. Unzip, dump in clean brass, zip, and hand-tumble for a couple minutes. Unzip and dump into a Cool-Whip container, and have at it. Dump the sized cases onto an old towel and rub off as much as possible. Continue with the reloading effort, and after bullets/boolits are seated, dump back on towel that has had some mineral spirits splashed on. Grab ends, see-saw for a couple minutes, and Voila!
>
Tried some spray-on lube, and stuck my first case. Tried again some time later, and did the same thing. Something about spray-on and me don't match...

[Char-Gar]

Film Strength huh! I had to look that up. Seems like it is the ability of a lubricant to keep an unbroken film on what it is placed on. I guess that is why Vactra 2 Way Oil works so well for me. Way oil is designed to go on machine ways which are often "V" in shape and stay put.

It also works well for raceways of auto pistols. I put a thin coat on the bolt of my Ruger Mk II race coat and it stays in place through several thousand rounds. Great case lube as well.

[two dogs]

i have been using bear grease for years.5 pound coffee can full will last a long time.

[thebigmac]

i am using a can of "amoco super gear lube" from 1971. Still some left, maybe another 10-12 years. I'm on my third lube pad. Does a great job!!!!!

[canyon-ghost]

Just tried Alberto VO-5, like Skipper recommended. It does work, is handy at the store. Got this idea from Ed Harris on CBA forum. It's incredibly slick and goes quite a ways.

[StarMetal]

Usually plains oils aren't going to work. Some members have found that out with ATF. One of the abilities of ATF is that it not only is a lubricant, it's designed so those clutches can grab...if they didn't you'd burn up your transmission. Problem with the gear oils is that they stink. I remember back in my chevy days that SAE90 smelled like it had onions in it. If you got it on your clothes you couldn't wash the smell of it out. STP doesn't stink but it's hard to get off. If you like STP for case sizing you might want to try Wynn's Friction proofer or Lucas oil treatment.

About the dry lubes like the Lee that leave a dry film in the case necks. Yup, that's all well and find for your expander ball not dragging but it ruins the neck tension grip. In fact you can feel your bullet go in such a lubed case neck much easier. I just brush my necks with a dry bronze brush. The expander pulls through them just fine and I have good neck tension grip on the bullet.

I use imperial wax for my sizing lube, but most everything I just neck size.

Joe

[Newtire]

I use the NOW brand lanolin they sell at health food stores around here in it's liquid form. Just use a little daub on a paper towel and lightly touch it to your fingertip and thumb. Do not lube the case neck outside or you will get dents.

I use a capful or 2 of laquer thinner in my vibrating case polisher and it gets the stuff off the cases.

To get the lanolin off my fingers, I use GO-JO orange hand cleaner.

[thebigmac]

stp has been good to me for over 20 years. Same can. Used very lightly on the pad.

[Dale53]

STP is a SUPERIOR case lube having VERY high film strength. I used it for years. The ONLY complaint I ever had was that you really needed a bit of solvent on a rag to remove it from the cases (or tumble loaded ammo for a maximum time of fifteen minutes to perfectly remove all lube from the cases). It doesn't wipe off easily with a rag without the solvent.

Dale53