Carnauba Red arrived - first lube-job

[101VooDoo]

Well the Carnauba Red arrived just before I got home from work. Told myself I'd read up on the process again and hit it this weekend. Of course, an hour later I was out in the garage putting everything together.

Learned a good lesson right off the bat. Never get over anxious and run the first boolit through dry. Learned the next lesson a few seconds later. A slightly lubed boolit pushed down on top of another stuck boolit does not help things. Third lesson was on pounding a couple boolits out of a die. Might still need some advice on that one.

Things could only get better at that point, and all the TTPs on star lube-sizers kicked in and I put a couple boolits with a bit of Hornady spray case lube through, and once I got the pressure up a bit they were coming out lubed and sized nicely.

KYCaster, if you read this post, thanks much. Your description of setting up the sizer by removing the brass plug to check the viscosity and then looking into the sizer to gauge the lube coming in through the die was spot on. First boolit was a bit over half lubed and after a couple of turns on the handle, two and three were almost there. Thanks again.

I appreciate everyone's help with the whole boolit casting/lubing/sizing learning curve, can't imagine having to figure all this out on my own. This site is a truly amazing resource.

Jim

[Rock]

Why not run the bullets thru dry?

I size my 45ACP bullets just as they drop out of the mold. The only lube is the Carnuba Red that goes in the lube groove.

[cheese1566]

They get stuck in the Star die in a heart beat!

I did the same thing when I got my Star a few weeks ago. Never would have figured!

I pressed it out with a punch, socket, and my vise.

[101VooDoo]

They get stuck in the Star die in a heart beat!

I did the same thing when I got my Star a few weeks ago. Never would have figured!

I pressed it out with a punch, socket, and my vise.

Cheese, I used a 3" 1/4 socket extension; drilled a hole in a block of scrap hardwood, set the die over that and pounded them out- thought for sure I was going to bugger up the die.

Jim

[white eagle]

got some today as well can't pan lube with the stuff though

[dragonrider]

Rock, Voodoo was refering to running the first boolits through a new die that has seen no lube. Boolits will get stuck. Prelube a couple of boolit for new dies and you will have no trouble after that.

[cbrick]

I run several hundred at a time through my Star without lubing the boolits, they are sized and GC'd only so they can be oven heat treated and lubed later in a .001" larger die. Doing this completely dry probably would stick them in the die.

I use Hornady Unique Case Lube, just a very small amount on the fingers that handle the boolit and drop it into the die is all it takes.

Rick

[Dale53]

101VooDoo;
Looks like you are getting things dialed in VERY well.

Good show!

Dale53

[101VooDoo]

Thanks for the encouragement Dale -

Dialed in the dies for the .452-270-SAA w/9.5 gns of Power Pistol last night; will load up the rest today and hopefully get out to try them out this weekend.

Jim

[jsizemore]

First boolits through a new die get Imperial sizing die wax.

[cajun shooter]

Spray with a sizing spray lube like one shot. As far as a stuck bullet,remove die and put in vise and light your propane torch for no hassle removal.

[stephen perry]

I use a Lyman 450 and a Ideal 45 since they both leak some there is never a chance for a dry bullet. 101 you could roll a few bullets on a sheet of wax paper with a smear of lanolin spread thin, I use anhydrous lanolin for some bullet purposes, any lanolin would work. A dab of Brylcream would work fine.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

[101VooDoo]

Thanks Steve - I've kept some of the caranuba red seepage (? not sure of the right term, extra that oozed out in the die during setup) in a container to smear on bullets going into new dies. I'm down to just the .314 die which needs to be broken in. Still waiting on a mould for that one.

I did shoot the first couple groups in two dies with some hornady one shot, seemed to fix the problem.

Jim