Colloidal copper anti-seize for sprue cutter lube?

[Haywire Haywood]

I got some of this high temp stuff from work. It's copper based anti-seize and is rated for 1800*F. Anyone used anything like this for sprue cutter/locator button lube?

Ian

[JCherry]

Haywire,

I have used aluminum based anti-seize compound for such uses for about a year. It seems to do a good job to preclude galling of the sprue plate on Lee moulds. I apply a very thin film with a Q-tip. If you get a bit too much it will bubble the base of your bullet a bit but is easy to wipe away the excess. I do find that I need to reapply occasionally. Initially I was afraid the aluminum might cause a problem if it got into my pot but have not seen any problems.

I started using the anti-seize compound after I talked to one of the guys at Lee and I posted the information on this forum. The guy at Lee did comment at the time that he thought copper based compound would also work but said he had not tried it. I have not tried the copper based compound either. Please let us know if it works. I can't see that it would do any harm.

Have Fun,

JCherry

[44man]

I have not seen any aluminum based anti seize, moly and copper, yes. Since each has petroleum oil carriers I would be concerned about oil getting into the cavities.
You can't gall the top of any mold if, 1, the sprue plate is rounded and polished on the edges and 2, if the sprue is left to harden so no lead is built up under the plate or on top of the mold. Cutting and dropping molten boolits just does not work.
Buy some Bullplate lube or mold prep, let the sprue HARDEN by slowing down your casting and protect the mold and get perfect boolits.
Seems as if some guys want to make boolits so fast that the lead is not set. Why not just hold the blocks open and pour through the hole? Maybe, by divine intervention, a boolit will form.
How many of you pour an ingot mold full and turn it over to dump before the lead hardens? Why do it with a boolit?

[GP100man]

44man
im like ya ,i cant get good boolits until the sprue hardens either!!!
& my ingots are cooled when i drop them too!!
GP100man

[JCherry]

The compound I use is aluminum based. I think I got it from Ace Hardware. It probably has a petroleum carrier but it works for me. I've never gotten any inside the cavity.

I do use Bruce B's speed casting method. I'm sure the little galling I get is because of cutting the sprue while it's still soft but I get a good smooth sprue cut with very flat bases. I cut my sprue by hand with a welders glove.

I have minor back trouble and I find I can cast more bullets by speed casting.

My 30 caliber molds give me bullets that are plus or minus a half grain, my 45 caliber molds generally run under 1 grain. My reject rate after the first several bullets is very low.

I shoot a 311284 220 grain bullet at 2000 fps from my Krag rifle and can hold the 10 ring of a SR-1 target with the original 1902 sights. I shoot my Sharps using Lee's 459-500-3R at about 1450 fps and normally win our 600 yard Cowboy shoots. Our target is a 36" square steel. I'm very sorry if my methods don't meet your standards.

I guess that divine intervention really works.

The reports on this forum have been good about Bullplate lube but I just haven't gotten around to getting any yet. I expect I will get some sooner or later.

Have Fun,

JCherry

[libbyman]

Well, I guess that any thing that does not conform to the accepted pratices,
gets stomped upon. This is just the norm everywhere. If someone else thought of
it, it is just not going to work.

I have been useing spray molly for about 15 yrs. to lube the cutter sprues on my
bullet molds. Also for contact points on semi-auto rifles and pistols.

Let the flaming begin.

Ken in nw Mt.

[44man]

No stomping at all and I know a lot of guys use Bruce's method and so do I. I am just saying it is bad on the mold top when you get lead smears stuck to the bottom of the plate. Cool that sprue just a little more.
Maybe I got carried away but I keep reading posts where guys are trying to cut before the sprue even skins over or right at that second. Not good and I don't agree with that at all.
I cast for over 40 years with no lube on the plate or mold before I started to use mold prep. Never had any trouble unless I cut one too soon. In the time it takes to remove the lead from the plate and get it up to temperature again, I could have made five more boolits. It is counter productive, let alone having to worry about galling the blocks.
Bruce's method does work, I have used it and do it when I need a lot of plinking boolits. I just make sure the sprue is set, no more, no less. Whats a few more seconds????
Libbyman, I have a dry moly spray that I have tried. I also have plain dry moly powder and dry graphite spray. I don't think they stay as long as Rapine mold prep, seems to wear off faster.
I have cleaned my ladle and then sprayed the whole thing with the moly. It will be all gone before my pot is half empty.
The stuff works just great on a gun though.
OOPS, sorry, I was supposed to flame you!

[Haywire Haywood]

Thought I'd update this. I cast some up this evening and the copper stuff does work, but convenience is not it's strong point. It needed to be reapplied to the locater buttons halfway through the session. Instead of messing with it and the plastic, meltable syringe I have it in, I just reached over and used a stick of the colloidal graphite/beeswax that Veral sells for the purpose. That worked like a charm like it always does.

Ian

[shooting on a shoestring]

I do, I use Dri-Slide. Its leftover from our machine shop in the 70's. Its a molydium disulfide lube with a petroleum carrier that evaporates overnight. I think it was originally made for locksmiths, but I've used it on 2 Lees and it seems to work well. I do spend a little time with any new mould and dehorn, deburr the sprue plate, and wait like 44man till the spure hardens well, and my world is a happy place filled with lots of beautiful boolits.

[dubber123]

I'm interested in trying some of these other lubing methods, but I will say that Verals lube in the little sticks is pretty darn convenient. Easy to re-apply in a hurry without stuff cooling down too much.

[cabezaverde]

I am trying the copper stuff on the hinge pin of my Browning O/U.

[Lloyd Smale]

I use it on molds and have had good luck with it.

[dnepr]

I used this style of antiseize on a lee mold a couple years ago when I did a marathon casting binge . I had to live out of town for 2 months and needed something to occupy my time in the evenings so I brought my casting stuff I had a lee 430 -310 mold and I came home with about 2800 boolits , with getting the mold up to temp and bullet hot enough for water quenching and culls I probably cast 3000 to 3200 bullets and the molds definetly look a little rougher but the still work fine .

[mainiac]

As a high-jack, possible side track,,, posted a while ago about something i stubbled upon,,, plain ol soap stone you write on metal with. Works exellent for me. I never read where anybody tried it though, so maybe it isnt worth writing about to others?

[cabezaverde]

Mainiac,

I read it and remembered it. Just haven't had a chance to track any down yet.

[Frank46]

I have two cans of high temp anti seize. One of copper and the other is a nickle type. Molykote which I seem to remember as a brand name also puts out a moly never sieze. When reassembling the steam cylinders on double acting steam pumps we always used the copper or moly. This was to prevent the cylinder studs from becoming frozen in place. Was also used to lubricate packing on the packing glands that saw steam. Haven't tried any of these on bullet molds. Frank

[Newtire]

I used the Permatex-loctite brand of anti-seize that you put on spark plug threads to keep them from sticking in aluminum heads to lube up the innards of a Win 94 and it worked like magic. Wipe it off until it is just a shine left and won't gather dust. That was the idea behind dri-slide I think also. Any auto parts store has it. It is the nickle-type that I used.

[Sundogg1911]

i've tried so many different sprue plate lubes in the past. I was using a ballisti-cast spray, and Midways drop out for the longest time, untill I got a bottle of Bull plate lube. I see no need to ever use anything else. I've never found anything around Pittsburgh that works even close. It's from Alaska, so i'm convinced that it's made from some magical Walrus tusk oil or something. Try it and you'll never look back! :-)

[Sundogg1911]

Hey dnepr,
What's the bike in your Avatar? My eyes arn't strong enough to make it out.
Is that an old Beemer? Very cool! :-)

[John Boy]

Permatex® Anti-Seize Lubricant

A highly refined blend of aluminum, copper and graphite lubricants. Use during assembly to prevent galling, corrosion and seizing and to assure easier disassembly. Temperature range: -60°F to 1600°F (-51°Cto 871°C). Salt, corrosion and moisture resistant – ideal for marine use. Non-aerosol version meets Mil Spec #907E. Aerosol - Level 3*

Works Great!