Questions about Lee sizing die & lube

[Kermit2]

I'm just getting into casting bullets for my .357 and .41 magnum revolvers. I'm starting on a small budget for now. I'll be using Lee moulds for both calibers, and they will produce the tumble lube type bullets. I plan to size them using Lee sizing dies and then lube them with Lee Liquid Allox. Now the questions...

Should I lube the bullets before I run them through the Lee sizing die or after? Should I lube them both before and after sizing? All information will be appreciated. Thank you.

[Maven]

Kermit2, Lee tumble lube bullet designs are to be lubed, seated and fired as cast. I.e., you don't have to size them unless they're grossly oversized for your guns. All you'll need is liquid alox (see Lar45's LsStuff at the bottom left of your screen) and a margarine tub to swish them around in.

[Shiloh]

I size for consistency. Otherwise I get boolits that are difficult to chamber. Running trough a chamber gauge, the oversize boolits inevitably fail to pass the test.

SHiloh

[fourdollarbill]

If your going to size then yes you must do a very light pre lube first. Then after you size you need to lube again. Very easy business.

For the first pre size lube I thin out a bottle of the LLA with about 3 table spoons or so of mineral spirits to make it almost water like. Shake it up and drip a little in the bowl. This can be such a lite coating that you cannot see the LLA color on the bullet. Tumble and dry. Use a hair dryer if you want to size right away.

After you size then determine how your going to shoot the bullet. If it is a med to light load then just tumble lube them in the same thinned out mix and let them dry you don't need much. If your going to load a bit warmer for magnum velocities then use another bottle of the uncut thick LLA, tumble lube and dry.

NOTE the only LEE cast bullet I run through the sizer is a gas checked bullet. The normal TL bullets are typically sized well enough out of the mold to just lube and shoot. Try running your first batch through the sizer and if you are hardly touching the bullet then forget the sizing and just load em. If you can tell your sizer is working to put your bullet through and you can see the bullet has a lot of shiny surface then keep on sizing.

[Recluse]

There are already enough variables to contend with in reloading and casting. I eliminate as many of them as I can, which means I size every boolit I cast. No exceptions.

This way, I know for certain that every boolit I load is consistent with the last boolit I loaded and the one before it, and the ones I loaded last week, last month, last year, last decade, etc.

I tumble-lube all my boolits twice. One light coat before sizing, then one light coat after sizing.

And, for what it's worth, tumble-lubing works on non-TL boolits as well. So don't think that you have to restrict yourself to Lee TL boolit mould designs.

[454PB]

Lee and others say to give the boolits a coating before and after sizing. I don't like using the Lee Alox much, so I only lube them once......AFTER sizing.

Instead, I use my normal brass resizing lube, which is Mink oil boot dressing. I put a light smear on every fourth boolit or so, no need to lube every one.

[docone31]

For a prelube, when I am paper patching for example, I use dish soap. It rinses off with hot water.