pan lubing question

[jballs918]

ok guys i have read about pan lubing one thing i need to know do you have to put it in the oven. the wife is not to keen on that idea. i made the lube cake now can i just cut them out or should it be put in the oven

[SharpsShooter]

I just stand the bulllets in a pan and pour the melted lube in until it reaches the desired depth. It seems to work ok for me. I know some folks pre-heat their boolits, but I never have.


SS

[txbirdman]

You don't have to put them in the oven. Once the cake is formed around the bullets you can use a "cookie cutter" made from an old golf club handle or piece of large enough brass to remove the lubed bullets. Just shove the cutter, which must be just barely large enough to accept the bullet, over the nose of the bullet. Keep doing this until the bullets start coming out the other end of the cutter.

[jballs918]

ok guys update on this lol. im at home for lunch i took a old 30-06 shell and drilled out the back of it for a dowel rod. and cut off the front of it. well needless to say it works really well. im using 50/50 right now. so that works pretty well i think i will be pretty happy with this. now i have to make a bit more of 50/50.

[UweJ]

Hello jballs
Have you checked ou the thread from goatlips? He´s got some great instructions incl. pics.
http://goatlipstips.cas-town.com/index.html
Uwe

[jballs918]

yes that is why i was wondering if it was really importent to put them in the oven. it seems to be ok if i just melt the lube and pour it in the pan

[powderburnerr]

I just did a couple hundred 50' s and the temp in my loading room was cool to say the least. warmed up the lube poured it into the bullet pan and in 10 min they were hardened and cooled to where I lifted out the block and pushed out the bullets..... about as fast as talkin about it..............Dean

[threett1]

I just use a microwavable container. Just heat the lube until liquid and put the boolits in. Let it cool til solid, lift out and push them out. Guess the kicker is tom have the right amount of lube in, but you get the hang of it.:mrgreen:

[Dale53]

Whether you use a double boiler (preferred), an oven, or a microwave oven you must NOT overheat the lube as many, if not most, lubes are damaged by excess heat (damage meaning "cease to work well").

The reason the double boiler is preferred is that the lube cannot be heated hotter than 212 degrees at sea level as long as there is water in it. You can heat and reheat without damage.

If the oven has a good and accurate thermostat, you can safely use that. Keep in mind that oven heat varies depending on "where " it is in the oven. Check with a separate oven thermometer. Set it on the lowest setting in YOUR oven that will completely melt the lube (err on the LOW side).

Microwaves CAN work well, but you must be careful (there are LOTS of microwave fires from people that fail to "take care". Ideally, the microwave should be used only until the lube is barely melted (having a small amount of unmelted lube in the container assures you that it didn't overheat).

I prefer Pyrex pitchers for my lubing. I put the lube in the PYrex (come in cup size on up to at least a quart). They are clearly marked so you can use it for the measurements when mixing lube, are heat resistant so you can use them as the container part of the double boiler, and can also be used in an oven or micro wave.

I use a large Pyrex pitcher (four cup size) and use a common sauce pan with a couple of "jar rings" to sit the Pyrex container on with a few inches of water in the pan. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and let the lube melt slowly. When melted, the "pitcher lip" allows you to safely pour the hot, melted, lube into your cake pans full of bullets.

A double boiler can be nothing more than a Pyrex cup sitting in a 2 lb coffee can.

After I finish, I bag the Pyrex, cake pans, and all utensils in large plastic zip lock bags to keep dust and dirt from my lube.

You do NOT need a "cookie cutter". Better results are had by waiting until the lube is just pulling away from the pan (from cooling), then invert the pan and the whole cake will drop out in your hands. Then, I support the cake (bullet point up) by resting on a newspaper covered bench or table with a row of bullets "hanging in the breeze". Then using your thumb, just punch the bullet out of the lube cake. Done properly, the bullets will be perfectly and cleanly lubed.

Dale53

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Dale,

I've been looking a double boiler for the little woman for the better part of four years now. Obviuosly, I have no clue where to find one. Where can you find one of those things?

Thanks you,

Dave

[jballs918]

hey guys i made one from a small pan and a ss bowl. now the problem i ran into last night was that for some reason the wax was not melting well i had to turn my hotplate all the way up. im just wondering if it was to cold in my garage

[13Echo]

Pan lubing is easy, particularly for the larger bullets. Stand the bullets on their bases in a pie or cake pan. Melt the lube in a double boiler and pour into the pan until the lube grooves are covered. Allow the cake of lube to harden until it pulls slightly away from the sides of the pan. Invert the pan over a thick, folded towel and carefully dump out the cake of lube. Turn the cake over and place it bullet base down on the towel. Push on the nose of each bullet to break it free in the cake, then pick the cake up and push the bullets all the way out onto the towel. I find this less messy than using a "cookie cutter" and, for the large bullets I use for BPCR it is actually faster than using a lube sizer and it will lube bullets that have two diameter or tapered bodies.

Problems: If the lube cake is too cool or cold before pushing out the bullets it may crack and the lube may not stay in the lube grooves. Very small or short bullets that will result in a very shallow lube cake should be done in a rather small diameter pan, other wise the lube cake may not have enough strength to resist cracking when dumped out or handled. If the bullets are colder than usual room temperature the lube may not stick well in the grooves. In that case warm the bullets and pan with a hair dryer before adding the lube.

[ARKANSAS PACKRAT]

I have several 35mm bulk film cans, melt the lube, cut out the boolits and put the lid on. Next time out just set a new batch of boolits in the holes in the lube, set the can in a skillet with water (AR double boiler) as soon as the lube melts around the boolits let them cool and cut. The cans are about 7" across, hold a bunch.:mrgreen:
nick

[Dale53]

You can find a double boiler in a kitchen supply area of a department or hardware store. For bullet lube, however, I use my "dedicated" (use for no other purpose) Pyrex cup (one quart size) in a common sauce pan from the kitchen. Since nothing touches the inside of the pan but boiling water, it is safe to use a cooking utensil.

Dale53

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Thanks Dale, that seems like a simple enough solution. I'll copy what you're doing.

I suspect I'm of a different generation than a lot of folks here. Makes me feel young. (grin)

Double boilers weren't used in my mother's kitchen and I've never seen one in any store I've been to and I've been looking. Sound like it's just a pot with water in it with another pot inside.

Dave

[Dale53]

Dave;
That is exactly correct. Larger pan on the stove. Another, slightly smaller pan that is contoured to slip into the first pan but stopped from going all the way to the bottom by the shape. This leaves room for boiling water to be in the bottom pan. It is just the ticket to use to hold boiling water temperature (212 degrees at sea level).

Look here for some pictures:

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=289817

There are a couple of advantages to being "older than dirt":-D ( and MORE than a couple disadvantages[smilie=1: ).

Dale53

[montana_charlie]

Dave, look at this page (http://http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=double+boiler&category0=&submitSearch=Search)...
CM

[13Echo]

When you are next in Wally World or a grocery store, look in the housewares dept. You'll find all kinds of cheap pots and pans. Get a small one for the lube, preferably with a lid, and a larger one that the small one can sit in and use it for the water. When it is time to lube bullets, put water in the larger pan and lube in the smaller and put them on the stove. You now have a double boiler. You'll soon learn that it is possible to have too much water in the larger pan as it may tend to boil over, on the other hand too little may boil away before the lube is melted and overheat the lube. If you are feeling flush then go to some high end cooking store and ask for a double boiler. There are some really nice stainless steel ones out there, just like the one my wife gave me for my birthday last year.

Jerry Liles

[ben1025]

Jan. 30 2005 burnt my house down heating lube on a hot plate. Highly reccomend heating lube container in water. (Lube container broke) My wife bought me a revlon wax melter used by beauticians. I think for fingernails. Has a switch and lite. Pan is about 2 1/2 dia X3/4 inch deep. Holds about 10 45 cal bullets. Melts lube in about a minute. Don't do much pan lubing so it's working out fine. ben1025

[Ricochet]

Oh man, a purpose made wax melter! How cool is that?

I may have to wander over to the Sally Beauty Supply store and see what they've got.

[Dale53]

ben1025;
Sorry to hear about your house fire. Gives me the "willys" just thinking about that.

People sometimes think I am an "ol' stick in the mud" when I give my cautions about safety issues. Your example should show all of us that it is necessary to be "always vigilant".

A dry chemical extinguisher should be near at hand for any kitchen, basement, or shop (or two or three).

In fact, tomorrow (today I am snowed in) I am going to renew my dry chemical
fire extinguisher for the kitchen and basement and buy a new one for my shop.
Can't be too safe...

Dale53

[montana_charlie]

Waage has a good reputation among BPCR shooters for building lead melting pots. If you look into it, you'll find they also make a number of units specifically designed for wax.

Then, there are the various 'chocolate melter' kits.

And, a drip-type coffee maker has a heat setting that keeps the brew hot, but always stays well below boiling. They are available at every thrift store I have ever been in...
CM

[hornetguy]

I guess I'm just too big a believer in K.I.S.S....
I have a little flatbottom pan (from Lee, I think) that I put bullets in, base down, then set on the stove top, with the burner on low... watch the lube till it melts, then pull it off, let it cool down. I have a fired cartridge case for each caliber I mold for, and I have drilled out the primer pocket where a 1/4" or maybe 3/16" rod will fit through. Use the case as a cookie cutter, poke out the bullet with the rod. Place new bullets in the holes left in the cooled lube, and repeat....

[Scrounger]

I guess I'm just too big a believer in K.I.S.S....
I have a little flatbottom pan (from Lee, I think) that I put bullets in, base down, then set on the stove top, with the burner on low... watch the lube till it melts, then pull it off, let it cool down. I have a fired cartridge case for each caliber I mold for, and I have drilled out the primer pocket where a 1/4" or maybe 3/16" rod will fit through. Use the case as a cookie cutter, poke out the bullet with the rod. Place new bullets in the holes left in the cooled lube, and repeat....

I am going to do something like that. I was thinking a spring inside the fired case might work well as a bullet ejector. I then plan on running the lubed bullet trough the Lee sizing die. No Liquid Allox mess.

[Dale53]

I really don't understand the "need" for a "cookie cutter". When shooting BPCR or Schuetzen (my main competitive sport today) I use cake pans (they have tapered sides that allow the wax cake to pop out after slight cooling) and do hundreds of bullets at a sitting. After the lube cools, I pop the lube cake out of the pan, place on a table edge (with a row of bullets hanging over) then just push out the bullets with my thumb. It is so much faster and cleaner (giving perfectly lubed bullets), that after trying no one I know has ever gone back to using a "cookie cutter".

Dale53

[Goatlips]

Oh man, a purpose made wax melter! How cool is that?

I may have to wander over to the Sally Beauty Supply store and see what they've got.

Ricochet, how about this one? :-D

http://cgi.ebay.com/Remington-200-SpaTherapy-Paraffin-Spa-Citrus-Wax-Used_W0QQitemZ300078128376QQihZ020QQcategoryZ33163 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Goatlips

[Ricochet]

Pretty cool! I doubt I need one that big for my lube. My mom had something like that years ago, and I tried it. You dip your hand in and out of the wax quickly, building up a "glove" of wax that warms your hands. Great for arthritis.