Tips for lube/swage process speed

[Mwsenoj]

So I'm new into casting my own and I have a lineman 4500 and is going pretty slow. I am hoping there are some tips or tricks that people used to speed up the process of popping in, lubing, and pulling out pistol bullets. I am currently using 175gr flat nose .40 boolits and getting them out is sometimes a pain. Can you experienced guys share any tips to speed things up?

[jsheyn]

I think it would be cool if we could post some videos of members???? I got a mess of 45's im working now


It takes some getting used to the motion and creating a rhythm. I keep un-loobed boolits in a tub on the left and the lubed ones go on the right. I pull the lever with my right hand and...at the top stroke with the right hand I let go of the handle and use my right hand to pull the lubed and sized boolit out while that's happening I use my left hand to get a new boolit and start positioning it in my hand to put on the die. I get into a rhythm and just keep rolling until I pinch my finger or get tired


forgot to mention I like stiffer not so tacky lubes and thus I use a heater under 80F in the shop.

[Mwsenoj]

You inspired me to show my process and the specific trouble I was having.

http://youtu.be/q9yYGAwmPYI

The aluminum foil is to shield the light from the 70watt bulb that is heating things up a bit :)

[fcvan]

A lot depends on various factors involved. For one, boolit hardness and as cast diameter. If you're sizing a super hard .403 down to .401 you will have more resistance than a softer boolit. The type of lube is also a factor. Harder lubes vs softer lubes.

I have a Lyman 450 and for years I used Javalina or NRA 50/50 equivalent which is pretty soft. On a cold day even soft lube is hard to use. In recent years I started trying harder lubes and purchased a Lyman lube heater. With hard lubes it worked great. With softer lube, like my new favorite White Label BAC (made by member Glenn Larson) a lube heater isn't required. In fact, I once plugged it in and waited too long. The lube liquified. I should probably get a rheostat controller of some sort so I can adjust the temp.

If the lube is cold and hard it will increase the effort required to cycle the sizer. I believe the heater element for the Lyman 4500 fits into the sizer body. As I have the older unit the heater is a separate base made of aluminum. The sizer is bolted to the heater plate and that plat is bolted to the bench. I hope this has been helpful

[Mwsenoj]

I'm still not sure if I understand why it is so hard to remove the boolits most of the time. Anyone else want to watch the video and see what that think?

[PbHurler]

I may be way off base here, but it looks like the internal punch for the die is pretty deep in the die when raised to the top position. I recall with my dies in my Lyman 450, the internal punch is only about 0.050" to 0.1" below the top of the die at it's high (eject) position. ??

[alfloyd]

You need to adjust the bottom punch so it pushes the slug up more.
This is done with the round nut and the hollow bolt at the bottom.

Lafaun

[runfiverun]

if you want to really speed things up get a star then the boolits just fall out the bottom and fill the drawer up.
one boolit on a lyman is three or four on the star with the accessory's.

[Old Caster]

Like said above, the bottom part is out of adjustment on your 4500.

While a Star is faster, if you work with several bullets in a given caliber that are different lengths and consequently have a different number of lube grooves the Star can be a pain unless you get different dies for each bullet. Short of doing that, you will have to install and remove lead shot in a row of holes so the lube won't squirt out where it isn't wanted each time you change bullets. It is much faster to change calibers and set up in a 4500 type of sizer than a Star. If you are pretty sure you will only shoot the one caliber and the one bullet, the Star is a much better choice.

[454PB]

I agree, the sized boolit is not being raised enough. I don't think it's an adjustment problem, I think the punch is too short.

[Mike W1]

I have the RCBS and looking at the 4500 online the mechanism on the bottom looks entirely different. Mine looks like I COULD adjust the bottom that lifts the punch. Your unit I'd think has to be adjusted with the nut assembly for the push rod somehow and if it's lubing properly and not too much I don't quite grasp it. I'd be tempted to put some sort of spacer below the push rod and see what happens.

Or call Lyman. I've always had good luck with their service.