Is this right???

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

I just got a new RCBS Lube A Matic 2, I put a couple of small "chunks" (1/4"X1/2") of Emmerts in the bottom, then dumped some melted Emmerts it to about 2/3's full, I then let it sit, and went and cast some of my new mold from MiHec (359-140) I then made a base for the LAM, and got it secured to my table/bench. I honed out the .358 die to .3587. After lunch I decided to size and lube up some boolits to see how this all works!

I actually read the directions, and followed them too!

It was 82 degrees inside my house while doing this.

I found that I need to turn the presure handle one half turn for every boolit, or else it does not fill the single groove, but . . . it also leaves a bit of lube on the base of the boolit.

If I only turn the presure handle a quarter of a turn, the base is almost lube free, but . . . the groove is not full of lube!

Do you think that because I opened up the die that is why I'm getting lube on the bottom?

Should I have to turn the handle half a turn for each boolit?

Quarter turn:


Half turn:


Half turn:


3/8 Turn:

[semtav]

thats the way mine works too on some sizer dies and lubes. others don't.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

So, if I had a harder lube, do you think it might not get on the bottom? Or if it was cooler in here?

[sagacious]

...
If I only turn the presure handle a quarter of a turn, the base is almost lube free, but . . . the groove is not full of lube!

DB,
The lube void is of course from trapped air. More pressure on the reservoir will usually expel it (the half-turn), but you can also turn 1/4, raise the handle, down again, and back up. That usually fills the void. You may or may not have to 1/4 turn when you lower the handle the second time on the bullet. Hope that makes sense.

A 1/2 turn may work perfect when the temp is lower, or with a harder lube. Good luck.

[fryboy]

umm i'm not sure what the base of the boolit looks like plain ( a slight bevel will collect lube ) sometimes adjusting the die deeper or shallower will help ( it varies per boolit design ),my old lyman the correct pressure seems to be a lil over 1/8 turn but the 4500 is closer to a 1/4 and the old rcbs is about the same , for me it's more by feel ,a few times i held the boolit down hard and cranked to get lube ( sorta priming the thing and squishing out air ) if ur boolit has a bevel u mite try the styrofoam disc trick under the boolit ,once u clean a few bases it'll teach ya the hang of it lolz

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

This is a plain base boolit.

I fiddled around with it, for about a dozen boolits, then I lubed about another dozen . . . figured it would have settled in by then . . . maybe I just need to use it some more! (to get the air pocked out)

[garandsrus]

Make sure that the base of the boolit is bearing against the base of the plunger at the bottom of the stroke. This will help keep lube off the bottom, but will not eliminate it completely. In other words, adjust the threaded nut up until it hits the bottom of the boolit.

John

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

John,

It was going in too far on this boolit, so I adjusted it up (it was putting lube up in the nose area), so now it does not go down so far. I think it maybe due to the fact that I opened it up a tad . . . and this is a fairly soft lube:

50% Beeswax
40% Crisco
10% Canola oil

[sagacious]

I fiddled around with it, for about a dozen boolits, then I lubed about another dozen . . . figured it would have settled in by then . . . maybe I just need to use it some more! (to get the air pocked out)

What you describe is common with the LAM2 and some lubes. A new air pocket goes in with each bullet-- it's the air trapped by the lube groove, not air in the reservoir. It won't change after a 'break-in' period, or 'settle' after adjustment. Try the fix I suggested above.

This topic has come up before with new LAM2 owners. Bullets with a large lube groove, such as the ones in your photos, often trap air. Running them into the die twice solves the problem, and keeps lube off the bullet base. The RCBS techs recommend this solution, when need be, as preferable to cranking-up the reservoir pressure. Some of my 44Mag and 45Colt bullets hold a lot of lube, and I use soft lube, and it's not uncommon to have this happen. Good luck.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

I just tried it again, the house is only 75 this morning, so I tried 1/4 turn, run it in twice, no joy!

Ran it in and then gave it a 1/4 turn, then put it in the 2nd time and gave it another 1/8 turn, still no joy!

Ran it in and then gave it a 1/4 turn, then put it in the 2nd time and gave it another 1/4 turn, and it worked!

I then ran it in and gave it 1/2 turn, and . . . it still worked, no lube on the bottom!

I think the lube was too warm, but if it is warm when I do it, I just need to do the 1/4 & 1/4 which will be slow! (Or use a harder lube)

[mdi]

Wow! And they say pan lubing is a pain...

[sagacious]

Very good! Worked as described in post #4. Next time you may wish to use a slightly harder lube. The lube I use is soft enough to flow without heat..... but not quite as soft as yours. Good luck!

[RayinNH]

Keep a little pressure on the handle that raises and lowers the boolit. That helps keep lube off of the bottoms. The soft lube probably contributes most though to the problem...Ray

[gray wolf]

Your lube is almost 50 % oil to Bees wax, that's a soft lube.
Glad you worked it out.
Just a note--
some RCBS dies have been found to not have a concavity on top of the pin that pushes the bullet up. So if there is a little bump from the sprue on the base of the bullet then the bullet will not seat flat on top of the pin. This allows lube to get under the bullet.
Also a rounded edge on the base of the bullet will contribute to this.
You opened up the die almost .001 --that in most cases is OK, but if your pin was a little undersized to start--well then that would also get a little lube under your bullets.
But as I said--glad you worked it out.

Sam

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Thanks Everybody!

Once my Emmerts is gone (which is quite alot!) or maybe once this get more used up (I just got a 6 cavity that I showed the results of above) I can crank through some of that lube.

Once I get my 270 up and going, I'm gonna try Speed Green I think, and just stick with that for all my stuff!

[geargnasher]

I guess I'm alone in only moving the plunger ratchet five degrees (one click of my 1/4" Gearwrench after I've bottomed the boolit against the adjustment stop and held it there. I only apply enough pressure to lube that boolit while holding the handle firmly to keep the boolit tight against the plunger and prevent lube migration. Never been one for the "half turn and lube five boolits" thing. I also plug one bank of holes on the lube die if it is a Lyman with eight lube holes. RCBS only has one layer with four holes in it IIRC so just adjust the bottom stop to align the lube groove with the holes and tighten the jamb ring to keep it from walking downward with each handle stroke.

Gear

[sagacious]

I guess I'm alone in only moving the plunger ratchet five degrees (one click of my 1/4" Gearwrench after I've bottomed the boolit against the adjustment stop and held it there. I only apply enough pressure to lube that boolit while holding the handle firmly to keep the boolit tight against the plunger and prevent lube migration. Never been one for the "half turn and lube five boolits" thing.
...
Gear

Nope, not alone. I do the same thing for much of my lubing. It's a little slower, but turns out a quality product, which is what I'm after.

I do have a few flat-base molds with very shallow and low-volume lube grooves that work fine with the "half-turn, lube five" routine.

[geargnasher]

Nope, not alone. I do the same thing for much of my lubing. It's a little slower, but turns out a quality product, which is what I'm after.

I do have a few flat-base molds with very shallow and low-volume lube grooves that work fine with the "half-turn, lube five" routine.

I have some Lee two-groove pb moulds in .45 and .38 that get engraved beyond the depth of the lube grooves when fired in my pistols, not to my liking, but they work just fine. They work even better with Recluse Juice!

Gear

[Echo]

Brother Zonie, the boolits in the pictures LOOK like BB boolits. I trust you, but they LOOK LIKE BB boolits!
And I generally give about a 1/4 turn and lube a couple boolits, with my 50/50 NRA lube, in my LAMs. A learned talent, to put just the right amount of pressure on the lube to get the job done. And my LAM's are old models that have the 'automatic' feature for pressurizing the lube. Probably took me at least, Oh, Say, three minutes to figure out it was a bad idea!

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Here is another picture or two:




These are PB boolits . . . just cast up a pile of them today, almost didn't need the propane, as the sun was working fine!