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View Full Version : Hot to clean excessive lube from boolits when pan lubing?



Balta
11-12-2012, 04:44 PM
I pan lube bolits and to be sure that grove gonna be a full of lube i need to put some more lube,way over the grove ..I push them out when lube get coled.But lots of lube stay at boolits and its hard to wipe that lube off.
Any suggestions how to get cleaner boolits??
:castmine:

Bullet Caster
11-12-2012, 06:07 PM
I had a problem last night when reloading some 7.62x39. I ranch dipped them in my rifle lube after sizing and used my fingernail to scratch off the lube around the base. While reloading these I managed to get a few with bulges in the case neck, I guess it was from excessive lube buildup when seating. From now on, after ranch dipping, I'm gonna send 'em through the sizer to get off any excess lube. I wiped the gas checks off with a rag dipped in mineral spirits so as not to induce powder contamination with the lube. BC

mdi
11-13-2012, 01:36 PM
I run my pan lubed bullets through my Lee sizer to get most of the excessive lube off.

dnmccoy
11-13-2012, 03:34 PM
Does that gum the sizer die up?

rhbrink
11-13-2012, 04:07 PM
I have a friend that takes a flat eraser like the kind that kids use in school or did ayway. Drill a hole in it and push the lubed boolit through cleans them right up and leaves the lube in the grease grooves. You have experiment with the drill bit size and have to use a larger drill than you might think because the rubber eraser tends to close up after drilling.

RB

9-toes
11-13-2012, 06:32 PM
I size the bullets first - a little One-Shot helps with sizing. Then pan lube by heating the bullets and the wax together, adding wax as I go and being very careful not to get into the crimp groove. After the lube hardens I just push them out. Bullets without a bevel base give the best results. If there is any lube on the base of the bullet a quick wipe on a rag cleans it right up.

Centaur 1
11-14-2012, 12:35 AM
Does that gum the sizer die up?

Nothing that can't be wiped off with a rag. The sizing die might get messy, but everything else stays cleaner.

mdi
11-14-2012, 01:17 PM
Does that gum the sizer die up?
Well, yes, it does "gum up" the die, but there are no detrimental effects on the bullets' size or ease of sizing. I regularily clean my dies and just soak the sizing die in mineras spirits, Marvel's Mystery Oil, and Kroil (I use this mix to clean guns, dies, tools, any rusted metal). I've been using Caranuba Red on some 125 gr. RNFP for my 357 Mag. and 9mm. C-Red is sticky and gummy and can be tough to get off the die, but a day ot two in my "soak" and a wipe and the dies are clean...

375RUGER
11-16-2012, 01:43 PM
I have a friend that takes a flat eraser like the kind that kids use in school or did ayway. Drill a hole in it and push the lubed boolit through cleans them right up and leaves the lube in the grease grooves. You have experiment with the drill bit size and have to use a larger drill than you might think because the rubber eraser tends to close up after drilling.

RB

Nice idea. or sharpen up the mouth of an empty case and make a cutter to slug out the eraser.

cajun shooter
11-18-2012, 10:25 AM
The best way to pan lube is to order some Kate Cutters from Buckshot. They are the best I have ever used. For many years I used old cases and other such things but they don't even start to be as nice as the work by Buckshot. His are steel and even have knurling to make the holding easy. They are works of art. You don't have lube anywhere but the grooves themselves. They are hollow so that you just keep cutting out bullets with out stopping. Do a search and you will see all about them. I have had many made as others on this forum have also done. My first ones were about 4 years ago. Later David

1Shirt
11-18-2012, 10:33 AM
Probably a bit crude, but I always just wiped the base on my pants leg (always wore old Levies) when I was loading pan lubed cast.
1Shirt!

DRNurse1
11-18-2012, 10:52 AM
I wrapped a towel on my non dominant wrist...but now use a Star.

Balta
11-25-2012, 06:11 AM
Well..gonna see how things gonna work with cake cutter.
Thanks

FergusonTO35
12-04-2012, 10:37 AM
I've found most of my problems with this can be solved by being very careful to only add enough lube to fill the very top of the grease groove. Also, it seems there is a temperature sweet spot most lubes have for when the boolits can be cut out neatly with a minimum of mess. With the 60/40 I've been using it seems that when I can press down with my thumb and make an indentation in the lube without breaking through to liquid is best.

youngda9
12-04-2012, 12:22 PM
Will some additional lube (I use 45/45/10) on the front bore-riding section of a bullet affect accuracy if it isn't put on symmetrical? I dip lube my bullets and then pass through a lee sizer a second time to get off the excess. Some lube ends up on the bore riding section and isn't always symmetrical.

Does this lube stay on the bullet during flight or does it get slung off in the barrel due to acceleration and centrifugal force?

mdi
12-04-2012, 01:05 PM
I doubt there will be enough lube left on the nose of the bullet to throw it off balance and affect accuracy, at least for handgun shooting. Alox, a component of 45-45-10, works best when applied to the bearing surfaces of the bullet, not by filling the lube groove...

youngda9
12-04-2012, 01:57 PM
I'm specifically referring to a gas checked rifle boolit shot at 2000+fps.

fcvan
12-05-2012, 01:27 PM
Back when I pan lubed I tried two things. I had a really small pan about 4" and would lube 50-75 boolits at a time. I'd heat the lube and place the boolits. When cooled the lube and boolits came out of the pan easily and then I'd just push the boolits out of the lube cake. That was too slow for doing a bunch.

I started dipping boolits into hot lube and placing them onto wax paper. They cooled quickly and the excess at the base stayed on the wax paper when I popped the boolit off. The excess lube peeled easily off the wax paper and went back into the pan. Although the lube grooves weren't filled there was enough lube in the Lee 356-125 2R and the 452-228 1R boolits I was casting at the time.

I only pan lubed for about 6 months before I finally got a Lyman 450 but in that time I was casting and lubing about 2k boolits a week. Lead was free and lube was cheap. I traded 500 boolits for a pound of powder and 500 boolits for 1000 primers. Shooting 1000 a week for free, not counting labor. Good times.

MT Chambers
12-06-2012, 06:02 PM
Cake cutters, cookie sheets, lube all over the place, except where you need it, c'mon guys get with the program, look around for a used luber/sizer, esp. RCBS or better still a STAR.

Balta
12-06-2012, 06:15 PM
i coud buy some bullets also :)

stinjie
12-06-2012, 09:52 PM
i coud buy some bullets also :)

NO! Don't tempt yourself!

Balta
12-28-2012, 04:43 PM
Well after some testing with a cake cutters i bought from the guy an this forum ,found the way to have boolits as cleaner as possible.
Using cake cutters .First sizing then pan lubing at to lube grove and cuting with cake cutters ."Push trough" method was leaving a lot of mess because i have to put the boolits more dipper in the lube to have groves full with lube...Diameter of cake cutter also is important,to vide and you will have lube all over the bullet...