1st attempt at pan lubing not quite right.

[nixpap]

If this is rehashing old ground, I apologize in advance. Tonight i tried giving pan lubing a shot. Not quite what i wanted. the lube isn't adhering to the boolit they way I anticipated.:violin: My mix was..

1 lb filtered beeswax
1/2 lb lithium
little ball of lanolin
1 tbsp JPW
a drop or 2 of STP
a thumb size piece of paraffin
and about a 1/4 of a toilet bowl ring

I'm wondering if for 1 i didn't get it hot enough as it started to cool as soon as i added it. i really made a pretty good mess. lol All thoughts are very welcome. should i get it all off the rest of the bullets and start completely over , or is there a fix i can use to improve the stew? what would you do? I really like shootin lead. I want to enjoy shootin my lead more.

[Beagle333]

Was your boolits warm? I have trouble sometimes getting it to stick well if the boolits aren't hot when I add the lube.

[nixpap]

No,they werent warm. Now that i think
Of it,i too read somewhere that its better to heat them up. Wonder if my mix and technique need tweaked.

[VictimNoMore]

I just started pan lubing, too. Take the boolits from your first attempt, put them in a pan, and apply low heat. This will melt off the lube that is on them. In another pan, heat up your lube, and then pour into the hot pan of bullets.
Let it cool slowly. When the bottom of the pan is close to room temperature, then you can pop out your boolits.
If you haven't seen the Simple Lube recipe, I highly recommend it. Use the exact ingredients listed, and it will work just fine.
Here is the thread: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?168373-simple-lube

[runfiverun]

i'd try just re-heating what you have, the boolits included.
and trying again.
if that don't work you could try adding a little vasoline. the vasoline will plasticize the parrafin and soften the b-wax.
or make the lube linked above, it seems to be a good pan lube.

[nixpap]

thanks everyone for taking the time to respond.

['74 sharps]

In keeping it simple, my recipe for dipping the bullets in warmed liquid lube:

1) beeswax @ 50% - the carrier, and not a lube

2) Crisco @ 40% - have never found the salt on the ingredient label folks refer to

3) 10% liquid vegetable oil such as olive, corn, canola etc.

Proportions are not critical, just estimate.

[texassako]

In keeping it simple, my recipe for dipping the bullets in warmed liquid lube:

1) beeswax @ 50% - the carrier, and not a lube

2) Crisco @ 40% - have never found the salt on the ingredient label folks refer to

3) 10% liquid vegetable oil such as olive, corn, canola etc.

Proportions are not critical, just estimate.

That is pretty much the recipe I have been using lately. I found it when looking for something simple to use in a BP revolver. Dipping seemed much less messy than pan lubing. I have subbed in LLA for the veggie oil in some of it.

[John Allen]

I just put the bullets in a pan and heat the pan on low heat. When the lube melts I just take it off and let it air cool.

[Faret]

In keeping it simple, my recipe for dipping the bullets in warmed liquid lube:

1) beeswax @ 50% - the carrier, and not a lube

2) Crisco @ 40% - have never found the salt on the ingredient label folks refer to

3) 10% liquid vegetable oil such as olive, corn, canola etc.

Proportions are not critical, just estimate.

Just do not drop the bullet!:eek: Do not ask me how I know!

[1Shirt]

I quit trying to make my own formulas for lube a long time ago. I now use accepted (on this forum at least), White Lable (LARS), or Felix lubes, or LLA. Cheaper, easier (at least for me) and work for pan lub or lube sizer as applicable.
1Shirt!

[mdi]

I'd suggest you cut your recipe down to just Beeswax and lithium and ferget the toilet bowl seal ring. Some folks use equal parts but you may have to adjust the proportions to get the consistancy you need. Follow the advise above about heating the bullets and lube together and you should be ok...

[runfiverun]

bees wax is a lube.
it's referred to as a carrier,but it flows and melts.

[357maximum]

I'd suggest you cut your recipe down to just Beeswax and lithium and ferget the toilet bowl seal ring. Some folks use equal parts but you may have to adjust the proportions to get the consistancy you need. Follow the advise above about heating the bullets and lube together and you should be ok...

DING DING we have a winner. Lithi-Bee tweaked to your liking can and will do 95% of what the average boolit caster needs. Not till you get mean with velocity (2400+), shoot subarctic, or have special bore (rough/ really long) conditions does it need a further tweak. A 65/35 - BW/Grease mix can and will do most of what we want, and it is cheap and damn easy to make.

[runfiverun]

i dunno mike.
melting grease at 350-500-f, lowering the temp to about 200-f, and adding beeswax sounds pretty difficult,there is some stirring involved.

[Beagle333]

'Forgot to put in my .02 on the lube itself..... While I do a lot of work with beeswax based stuff on my own.... my fave and most used is TAC#1 from RandyRat. It's cheap, it's pre-mixed and ready to use, it sticks well to any boolit, and it's good for any speed I can shoot something. (and it smells good!) *'very handy if you use the kitchen stove to lube while the wife is in the house*
I dip-lube mine and then punch em out with my homemade cake cutter.
63313
63314
63315

[357maximum]

i dunno mike.
melting grease at 350-500-f, lowering the temp to about 200-f, and adding beeswax sounds pretty difficult,there is some stirring involved.

I actually just melt the beeswax and keep the heat just low enough not to scorch it. I add the grease and let the beeswax slowly dissolve the grease while whisking it....it slowly melts like an ice cube in warm water. High heat is not required to make standard lithi-bee if you are not adding anything weird to it or super soaping it. It still requires some stirring though. :mrgreen: I have a funky stainless wisk with steel balls at the end of the wires....works real good for making lube.

[A pause for the COZ]

Thats what started my Love affair with my $1.50 toaster oven. it brings the temp of the bullet up and allows the lube to completely fill the groove.
I tried the kitchen oven and that works too, but my wife did not like that idea at all.
Heat guns work too as long as your heating the bullets too.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/100_8048.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/100_8047.jpg

[mdi]

My wife got a toaster oven in '98 (wasn't from me!!) and I decided I needed it more than she did and it is slightly bigger than COZ's and has processed a few thousand bullets. Bullets and lube same temp = stick-to-it lubing...:mrgreen:

[gwpercle]

The absolute best money I ever spent was on a Lyman lube/sizer. That God-awful mess I would make pan lubing boolits was not missed in the least. I would get melted lube on everything , Me , the dog, the floor, my clothes and probably wasted more lube spilled than I got in the boolit grooves. I love the lube/sizer and will never go back....try one someday. Puts that lube right where it belongs.
Gary

[A pause for the COZ]

I dont find it messy at all.
Kake cutter makes it simple.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/100_8655.jpg

After they are cut out just force the base out a bit. Wipe the lube off and install a Gas check wile still in the cutter.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/100_8656.jpg

Then just run them through the sizer.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/100_8658.jpg

Pack em and stack em.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/100_8659.jpg

Dont get me wrong. I have a LAM and a Star sizer. But I like to pan the ones I dont have top punches for or low volume.