Lube Cutter use?

[Charlie Sometimes]

LEE used to make a size kit that included a small pan, a tube of alox, a lube cutter, and a size punch die in various calibers, I think.
You stand the bullet, base down, and then melt the alox around it.
When cool you cut the bullet out with the lube cutter, and then sized them through the punch die.

Works good on small batches of bullets (IMHO).

Does anyone out there lube small batches of bullets in this fashion?

If so, then where can I come up with several lube cutters for 225 and 358 caliber bullets that work in similar fashion?

I have lube cutters for 45, 54, and 58 calibers and use them on maxiballs, etc. for my muzzleloaders.

I want to try this method with the smaller calibers, and different lubes in an experiment I've been working on.

[BCall]

I've been working on collecting a few of the old Lee kits. They are not easy to come by, and if all you want is the lube cutter, you might want to contact the 310 Shop. The website says he will make a Kake Kutter in any caliber you like. Probably easier than finding the old Lee ones. I have seen a few around, but not many, and I imagine the sizer included with them is not much use, buying a Lee push through and a Kake Kutter could probably work. HTH, Billy


The 310 Shop- http://www.cnyauctions.com/the310shop.htm

What kind of lube are you using on the muzzleloader stuff? I have an old Lee 50 lube cutter i was planning on using for my muzzleloader, but I'm not sure which lube to use. Thanks, Billy

[cajun shooter]

I had Buckshot make me one in 458. You could not believe how nice it is. 10 times better than the Lee. I have several Lee Kate Kutters that I have bought from different places. If you want one thats bigger and made of steel contact Buckshot. I'm sure he could make it out of the material you want.

[Charlie Sometimes]

Thanks for the info! I will look at the site ASAP.

I am just looking for the Kake Kutter part- the punch size die is not of any concern, and bigger pans can be had at any housewares store.

I have been using Bore Butter on my BP stuff, but wanted to try some of the SPG lube that the BP cartridge folks use, too. I've got a bunch of Buffalo Bullets, etc. that need relubed too. Picked them up for a song and the old lube was dried up. I also intend to mix me some homemade stuff, but haven't had a chance yet.

I have a lot of 44 Orange that I need to melt from bulk to use on my smokeless cartridge boolits and thought I might try to do it this way, rather than try to pour it into Lyman 450's.
I have never gotten used to using the 450's (PITA) so with this process and using the Lee push through setup the smaller batches will move faster, and be more to my taste in function process. Quality control will be better for me. I got used to this process years ago shooting BP, and I guess I am too comfortable with it.

I will send you a PM or an e-mail about your collection.

[mikenbarb]

Still brand new in .309 diameter. I have a bunch of these and their the old Lee Bullet lubricating and sizing kits. Its a push thru die type and they actualy work great after you get it down. I use them with a small lead hammer so it dont mess up the pusher.
Look on some auction sites because their listed for sale sometimes. Or I have seen guys take an old cartridge and cut the rim end out and sharpen the case mouth. You just need to expand the mouth to the size you want and use a old cookie sheet to pour the lube in around the boolits. Then when its hard you just push the boolit thru the cartridge case.

[Charlie Sometimes]

DUH! I must be brain dead here lately.
I should have thunk it! OLD CARTRIDGE CASE - duh.

Yea, that's the kit I was talking about, but just the cutter.

My mind has already figured out what I need to do now.
I guess it takes a good kick in the head to get things rolling sometimes.

I could be froze up from all of the cold and snow we've been having this winter- going to have to spend more time in front of the blast furnace batching my boolits.

[Dean D.]

Here is a homemade Kake-Kutter made from a 30-30 cartridge and a 16 penny nail. Works pretty good. The nail head is inside the case and acts as a plunger to expel the boolit. Cheap but effective!

[Quality NUt]

Yeah, I went the modified cartridge case route. Only I took a .5 dia carbide cutter and cut an exit port that allows the bullet to fall out when the next bullet comes in.
Easy on the hands and effective.

[Old School Big Bore]

I bought one of the Lee kits in .44 back in the '70s, but it just came with the cutter, die and punch. No pan. Anyway it was a major PITA because the cutter was too close to bullet diameter and I had to make a base and punch to hammer the boolits out of it, then hammer them through the die. The knurling on the cutter and die went useless pretty quickly from the lube caking up on them, and I had to use two pair of vice-grips to twist the punch out of the sizing die after each boolit. This kit was the major factor in my buying a 450! Now, fifty years later, I have a bunch of solid stick and block SPG and it's either try to pierce the sticks so they'll go into the 450, or melt and pour them in, so I'm going to try pan lubing again. I'll probably modify some various junk brass, perhaps soldering little handles onto the cases as shown by Dean Grennell in the original ABCs of Handloading, and then run the boolits through Lee's push-through dies, which is the same concept as their hammered setup, except with leverage.

[country gent]

You can find brass tubing at onlinemetals.com buy Id, od, and wall thickness. I find as close to bullet dia + as I can Id then try for .030 wall thickness. I cut a piece 4-5" long and then slowly and carefully work one end down to size using a press and sizing die. work in slow increments here with good lube. There is no rim to pull the tube out so go a small amount and work out by hand. I work this end down the length of the driving bands. Leaving the top open. Sharpen the end with a deburring tool heavily on the inside and lightly on the outside. Push a 3" length of clear tubing over the top end for a handle.

In use you just keep cutting the bullets from the pan and they push up out the top into your hand. These work very well for me. Also save your pans and lube cakes as once used they have the holes already there for the next batch to set in.

[Minerat]

I just use some fired cases for the size bullet I needed one for. Then drilled out the primer and installed a nail with the biggest head that would fit thru the neck and attached a wooden handle to the end sticking thru primer hole. I used a .30-30 case for all .308 boolits and a .22-250 for all .223 boolits. For the 9mm and 38/357 I use a 357 case, a 45 colt for ACP and Cassul , and for the rest I just use caliber specific cases.

[toallmy]

I ran into one of those aluminum lee cake cutters a couple days ago with a tube of dried up lee 50/50 lube . I had never seen that set up - a buddy had it in a bucket of stuff he picked up years ago .

[Green Frog]

My old buddy Dale53 taught me this method;

1) line bullets up in baking pan (steel, aluminum, or even silicone) at least a bullet width apart.
2) pour in melted lube (I use Emmert’s but SPG works just as well.)
3) allow lube to cool and harden, just until it starts to pull away from the pan, then turn pan upside down and let the whole sheet of lube and bullets fall out onto a pad (I just use multiple layers of newspaper.)
4) while the lube is still slightly soft, push each bullet out of the lube sheet base first, catching them on a soft pad. If your bullet is pointed you may want to use a glove or pad on your thumb.

Large batches of bullets or small, this is all you need... no Kake Kutter or other tool needed (yes I know the thread was about finding the tools, but this is a legitimate suggestion to deal with it.) If I’m doing a really large number of the same diameter bullets, I put the intact lube sheet back in the pan and put the pan back into the oven, set on the lowest setting and let the lube liquify. Carefully remove pan and set on a level pad, then repeat steps 3&4.

Froggie
(With full acknowledgement to Dale53)

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

There was someone making custom made Kakecutters here several years ago. I have a few I bought from him, but they are easy to DIY with a cartridge case and a Nail/spring.

[Conditor22]

45/70 cases make good "cookie cutters"

[toallmy]

I'll check with my buddy , I know he has a .358 aluminum lee cutter and he doesn't cast .