Pan lube problem

[Four Fingers of Death]

Bucks I've never tried pan lubing, but wouldn't it be easier to just cut the base off the case and let them push the previous ones through? I must be missing something.

PS, There is an old Lee 452 pan and cutter kit for $20 at the gunstore in my hometown. Tempting me.

Whoops, didn't see ben's post.

[Dale53]

I have pan lubed, literally, thousands of BPCR bullets by pan lubing. I have exclusively used Emmert's Home Mix (50% PUre Natural Beeswax, 40% Crisco Shortening, and 10% Canola Oil) but have modified the original formula by using 5% Canola Oil and 5% Anhydrous lanolin). You must NOT overheat the lube. The safest way is to use a double boiler or if your oven is "correct" (use a thermometer and adjust it until it is 200 degrees, NO HIGHER) use the oven. Actually, use the lowest temperature that will melt your lube.

Teflon pans are a big help and recommended. It is actually pretty fast when you get the hang of it. I pan lube all of my Schuetzen bullets, also.

Dale53

[klausg]

abunaitoo- I'm having fairly good luck with Thompson's Blue Angel using methods I already described. It is pretty damn hard, but flexible too. The only difficulty I have is that it sets up so hard that on occassion I have to hit it with a heat gun, particularily true when I'm doing little .32 handgun bullets. The other problem is getting it to let go of the pan; once the lube has set I put the pan upside down in my freezer, it falls out in about 2 minutes; of course now I definitely have to hit it with the heat gun, blow dryer would work too. FWIW, the very top of my "To Buy" list is a Lyman 450/4500; though I am having much better results now than when I made that decision.

-SSG Klaus

[powderburnerr]

reading the whole thread it kinda sounds like your lube is separating and layering in the pan maybe try heating it less than more

break the lube in two and look at the broke edge see if it is layered ....Dean

[Bucks Owin]

I tried it again. Came out the same to worse.
I put the bullets into the holes of the cake. Heated it untill everything was melted. let it cool and pushed out the bullets. Samething. Bottom groove had, at the most, half lube in it. Other grooves were fine.
I'm thinking the lube maybe to soft. I'm going to try again but add more bees wax. Let ya'all know what happends in about an hour.

When you say "pushed out the bullets" what does that mean? You just "push" them out of the solidified lube? If so, that won't work. You need to CUT them out of the lube with something like an old cartridge case....

Just wondered,

Dennis

[Bucks Owin]

Bucks I've never tried pan lubing, but wouldn't it be easier to just cut the base off the case and let them push the previous ones through? I must be missing something.

PS, There is an old Lee 452 pan and cutter kit for $20 at the gunstore in my hometown. Tempting me.

Whoops, didn't see ben's post.

Yeah, you can do that. But it's hard to handle in use. Trust me!

Dennis

[hiram]

put the dish with the melted lube in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 200 degrees. I do it and it works.

[abunaitoo]

You know how sometimes we get so caught up in fallowing the instructions, that we forget to use our common sense.
Montana Charlie suggested "Have you tried pushing a couple out from the base to see if the top groove loses the lube?"
Problem solved. Bullets came out great. Lubed just like in the picture.
I may still have a lube mix problem, but as long as the lube is filling the grooves, all is good. I'll post how it shoots and if any leading.
Thanks for all the help.

[jcadwell]

I pan lube a slightly different way, using a tumble lube idea. Heat the lube until it is soft, but not quite liquid. Then put the alox lube in a tupperware container, add bullets, and shake. The lube will cram into the lube grooves. After the bullets are packed with lube, line a cake pan with some paper towel. Add the lubed bullets and roll them around in the pan. The towel will remove the lube from everywhere but the lube grooves.

This method works great. It may use more lube than needed, but it MUCH faster in bulk that trying to stack a bunch of bullets and then cut them out.

Good luck.

[Dale53]

BucksOwin;
>>>If so, that won't work. You need to CUT them out of the lube with something like an old cartridge case....<<<

Actually, that is exactly what you do. With the lube cake full of bullets and at the correct temperature, you literally push the bullets from the cake. They will be perfectly lubed and ready to go. I've done thousands this way.

Dale53

[Bucks Owin]

BucksOwin;
>>>If so, that won't work. You need to CUT them out of the lube with something like an old cartridge case....<<<

Actually, that is exactly what you do. With the lube cake full of bullets and at the correct temperature, you literally push the bullets from the cake. They will be perfectly lubed and ready to go. I've done thousands this way.

Dale53

Hmmmm.....Guess I'm still not quite tracking with ya but if you can skip the "cutting out" process it sounds like a winner!

Dennis

[steveb]

Im using the homemade Felix lube and added a blue crayon for a nice green color.I am having the same type of problems. If I push the bullet out to fast one lube groove will be perfect and the other will not have lube in half of it and looks rolled over some. If I push the bullet through the cake very slowly the bullet comes out perfect. Its a learning process but if I can get this pan lubing down pat it seems like a good way to lube bullets. Also I have tried getting the bullets the same temp as the cake, now when I have lube already made up I just remelt it in the microwave.

[drinks]

I shoot up to 2800fps 158 SWC, GC's in a .35 Whelen with no leading, I use LBT soft blue, FWFL and White Label red with carnuaba.
The point of the electric hotplate with thermostatic control is to get the lube hot and keep it at a constant temperature, while not smoking or scorching the lube.
I have been doing it this way for a number of years and have never had any lube go bad.
The fellow who makes the White Label says he lets a pot of it simmer on a hotplate all day while he is making it.

[The Cod Father]

I am just getting into casting and will be casting first for .45acp , are the lubes described here good for smokeless powder or just BP ?
Will Felix'x lube work for smokeless as well ?

Thanks newbie questions
TCF

[Four Fingers of Death]

Yeah, you can do that. But it's hard to handle in use. Trust me!

Dennis

Like trying to pick up a glass of beer when you've been eating greasy pig's trotters. A match made in heaven, but awkward. Point taken, I'll get the dremel out.

[Four Fingers of Death]

For my wife's birthday she wanted one of those Magic Bullets from Danoz, the food procssor thingo.

It came today and they threw in a Chocolate Xpress (double boiler for melting and moulding chocolate). As we hardly ever eat chocolate, certainly not enough to ever melt it, I announcd that it would make a great Boolit lube melter. She did not agree. Strange, I thought it would be perfect for the job, go figure?

[montana_charlie]

I announcd that it would make a great Boolit lube melter. She did not agree. Strange, I thought it would be perfect for the job, go figure?

I, too, have looked at those chocolate melters with 'beeswax and tallow' in mind. To hear that your wife (one of those people who savvy kitchen appliances) can see no correlation makes me think I'm missing something.

Please ask her to post a comment or two which explains why our suppositions are wrong.
CM

[powderburnerr]

I got me a fry daddy to make lube in the temp is great and you cannot burn it if you set it on warm also the finish wipes clean with a paper towel ...Dean

[doc25]

Just going out on a limb here but can the lube be too hot. When the lube hardens and you flip the cake over is the lube covering the bottom groove? Is it possible as it hardens that it lifts away from the sides and bottom of pan clinging to the boolits and leaves an airspace underneath?

[ben1025]

This past week my wife gave me a fingernail wax melter (?). It's a revlon product. It has a 2 7/8 diameter by 7/8 deep flat bottom pan. It has a switch and a lite on it. I haven't tried it yet but it looks just right for experimenting with different lubes. It even has a a cippered? case. About a year ago I burnt my house down melting lube. My wife is scared I would do it again. On shooters I was ben.. When we moved to aimoo it was changed to ben1025. It is ben1025 on cast bullets. I mention this cause there is a Ben on this forum. ben1025