bpught my first sizer and lube and it is really sticky is this normal?

[JASONBURNSDUNDEE]

been casting for years but I finally bought a lubrisizer and I bought nra formulae 50 50 from dragonlube, a canadian supplier. This stuff has the consistancy of a toilet bowl wax ring and is really messy to work with. Is this what lubesizing is about or is there another lube that might work a bit better with less mess.

I am using an old model 45 lubesizer with no heat casting for 9mm.

thanks

[runfiverun]

usually lube that will flow without heat will be softer, the sticky/tacky is up to the makers ingredients.
most 50-50 i have seen has been pretty solid.
you can change the lubes viscosity however.
if you want it firmer adding some ivory soap flakes to a melted lube will firm it up as will some carnuba flakes.
you can generally soften up a lube by adding vaseline, white lith grease, or a.t.f.
or make it tackier by adding lanolin.

[RobS]

Sounds like your lube is really soft as to most of the 50/50 I've seen and worked with.

[gray wolf]

No it does not have to be messy and sticky. Also you don't have to use a soft lube if you don't want to---not that all soft lubes are messy, many are not, just a little softer because of how they are made. I think it is Lars a vender here that sells some very nice lubes that are also very goodly priced. A hair dryer, or a 100 Watt bulb can warm your sizer if you need it for a little firmer lube. The harder lubes tend to be less sticky and a little more friendly in the bullet handling department.
You can also mount your sizer on an Aluminum plate so that about 8" of plate exstends in back of the sizer, then you can place a $2.00 flea market used cloths Iron on the plat and adjust the temp. to however warm you need it.
There is no reason to put up with messy, sticky.
Ask for help if you need it.

Sam

[That'll Do]

As a few others have said, lube does not need to be a sticky, tacky mess.

I use Lars Carnauba Red in my RCBS LAM2, and it isn't stick in the slightest. I need to heat it, but only in the colder months (November thru March, I live in Pennsylvania, and my lube area is in an unheated garage).

When the ambient temperature is 60 degrees F or warmer, I find that it flows quite well.

[prickett]

You might want to try Lar's BAC. Its half NRA 50/50 and half Carnauba Red. If it needs any heat, its slight. I started using 50/50 and when it was gone bought BAC. I've never looked back.

[Dale53]

I have been using Lars Carnauba Red for some time, now. I really appreciate the "less sticky" compared with NRA 50/50 and what is more important, the CR shoots just as well. A further benefit is it has a higher melting point (165 degrees, I believe) and won't melt in your trunk when ammo is left in the car.

Carnauba Red DOES require heat in your luber for best results.

Dale53

[bpratl]

What is the best temperature to size .452" in a star lubersizer using CR?

[btroj]

Not very hot. I haven't measured it but I would call it warm, maybe 90 to 100 degrees. A change of even 5 degrees can make a HUGE difference in lube flow. You can quickly go from from great lube flow to a soft, gooey mess.
CR is a good lube. Used it exclusively for years. Am currently trying something else but would go back to CR in an instant if the new lube doesn't work out.

[Doby45]

I can normally start lubing with my Star and Carnuba Red once it reaches 90*, but I allow the temp to spike around 100* and it flows nice at that temp also. So yes I would say between 90*-100*.

[JASONBURNSDUNDEE]

A bit off of my own topic but I tried my bullets with 50/50. They were more accurate than those that I lube with alox, and leading was much much less.

I am a convert.

[RobS]

50/50? Carnauba lube to 50/50 beeswax-alox lube??? Did you recieve my care package yet?

[JASONBURNSDUNDEE]

no, nra formula 50/50 from dragon, the messy lube that i started with. And no no care package yet.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

My son's pet toad died, the reptile heat lamp on the sizer luber overnight makes lubing sizing a breeze. I use Alox. Also from the pet store Lizard Litter is a great medium to tumble brass in.

[Land Owner]

I too used NRA lube and confirm it is tacky and can be messy, real messy when a lot of boolits are lubed, particularly pan lubed. I was pointed to RandyRat on this site for Carnuba Wax. I was poised to purchase 2 lbs. from him. He talked me out of it. He suggested Stearic Acid instead, just a little, 1-teaspoonful to 2-pounds of melted NRA lube to start, stir vigorously, let it thicken, and try it again.

Now, getting the "untreated" NRA lube out of the LAM2 is going to be problematic, but I suspect taking it apart and off of the bench, hanging it upside down in the garage, applying copious amounts of directed heat, a wide drip pan, and some cleanup of the inadvertent mess at the end will be the rule versus the exception.

Then boiling out the two lube filled dies (that I have) and starting over by pouring the melted and modified NRA lube into the sizer. The final proof will be two-fold: how tacky is the new lube and how well does it perform?

Quoting Randy now, other stiffeners are paraffin wax, if you are in a hurry, ivory soap flakes (as indicated above), which are slow to melt I am told, and the more expensive by comparison carnuba wax.

[randyrat]

I suggested a teaspoon of stearic acid, because you can't take it back out if you use too much.
I may have left out another option. Use more beeswax.

As others have stated before. Make small batches of lubes and document every ingredient or you will never be able to duplicate that recipe.

[Dale53]

Landowner;
The method I use to remove lube from a Lyman OR RCBS luber/sizer is to remove it from the bench. Then, suspend it over a throwaway aluminum pan. Remove the die from the sizer. I then use either a hair dryer or a heat gun. Then, heat up the body with the heat gun and the lube will all run out into the pan. You can hold a die with a padded jaw vise grip and it will melt out the lube in seconds.

I so suggest watching carefully to not get it too hot (when using a heat gun).

I have boiled and used other methods and this is BY FAR the fastest and easiest method with MUCH less muss and fuss.

FWIW
Dale53

[DaveS]

I guess this must sound like a stupid question but as this thread is about sizing and mentions a Lyman 450 I thought I would pose it. I have been casting pure lead for muzzle stuffers for years but am now embarking on bullets for my 7mm Mauser.
I have a Lyman 450 sizer and have cast 168 gn bullets I intend to gas check.
If I harden the bullets in an oven before sizing and putting on the gas check will this cause me a problem? Logic tells me that I sure can't lubricate prior to hardening and I have been unable to find a thread that answers this question, probably because it is too simple to have been asked before!
If someone would let me know or point me towards the relevant thread I would appreciate it.

[canyon-ghost]

Lubersizers, I have two 4500s. I cast up some 135 grain 7mms for 7mmTCU. The hardening really didn't hurt much. I water quenched them straight out of the mold and I think it shrinks them just a little. I still ran them through the sizer.

Short answer: If you size after hardening, do it sooner so the hardening effect is lesser. It'll take 2 weeks for it to 'set' and make them really hard.

I do use Rem Oil and dry mica to lube the dies with. Have a little glass with a handful of Q-tips so I can wipe the top of the size die and oil. Spray oil does help.

As to the original question: I'm using a heating element and Carnuba Red. It's only slightly tacky after lubing. If you want to dry up the stickiness, try some Frankford Arsenal mica. Powdered mica you can drop a teaspoon in on top of your lubed bullets goes a long way toward keeping them from sticking together.

[DaveS]

Thanks for this, makes a lot of sense!