Big dipper or master caster kit

[vtwhelen]

HI, I would like to get in to casting for my 35 whelen i got gift certifactes to my local gun shop and I would like to get a lyman casting kit my question is the lyman lube sizer press worth the extra expence could i go with the lee sizer or would it limit.what bullet lube i could use?

[Master_Mechanic]

It would limit you to tuble lubing or pan lubing. I bought the master caster kit and I pleased with my purchase.

[plmitch]

Both work good just depends on what your looking for.

[C. Latch]

I've been casting for a year now, until a month ago I hand-lubed everything. Now I powder-coat some things and hand-lube others. As I learn my way around powder-coating I would like to get away from hand-lubing completely, however, I have found that hand-lubing doesn't have to be all bad. Let me explain what I do:

I started with a mixture of olive oil, beeswax, and minor parts of the various lubes that came with my kit (lyman moly, lyman orange, etc) and then added alox to the mix as I began to buy Lee push-sizers that came with alox.

If mixed to where it is the proper thickness, that lube works well. I tried putting hot bullets in it, I tried pouring it over bullets, I tried standing bullets up and pouring it over them then freezing the whole thing so I could pluck out a bullet with a clean ring of lube in the grooves....all worked, to some degree; after lubing thusly I could just size them and wipe off the excess lube.

Eventually I figured out that there's an easier, simpler way: start with a pile of bullets and a pan of lube that is warm enough to be somewhat soft, yet still firm enough to stay on a bullet. Take a dab of lube, smear it into the grooves on the bullet, turn the bullet to get an even coat all the way around, push it through the sizer, and wipe off the excess. The end result is the same, but this method seems to produce the most lubed bullets with the least amount of fuss.

Keep PLENTY of paper towels and be sure the base of each bullet is wiped off before loading or storing it.

I have since experimented with a different lube consisting of one mini-tube of blue lithium grease (wal-mart will probably have a 3-pack of these mini-tubes, they're easier to work with than a large tube and a 3-pack will last you for a WHOLE LOT of .35 whelen shooting) and a hunk of beeswax, roughly mixed 1 part grease to 1 part beeswax, then melted (be careful you don't get the beeswax hot enough to combust!) and mixed thoroughly. When it sets up you have a mixture that works very well for hand-lubing if at room temperature. It's stiff, but workable.


If you try to size this way, you'll soon find that the sizer wipes the excess off the bullet in the groove area, leaving you to clean the nose and base - not really a big deal. You'll find that the excess lube will build up around the base of your sizer, every now and then you can put a dry bullet in the sizer and squeeze this buildup of lube onto the bullet and then size it; this keeps the excess from falling on your press and making a mess.

Is the process I just described somewhat messy? Yes. That's why I've started using powder-coat, and if I find success with it I'll stop using lubes completely. But it's not really all that bad now that I've figured out that the easiest way to hand-lube is to simply smear lube onto the bullet right before sizing it.

[vtwhelen]

Thanks guys.I think I will go with the big dipper kit. They dont give you much of a break on the luber. I was looking on ebay any reason not to get the 450 or the 45 ?

[stephenj]

If you want a lubrisizer and dont have the casting basics get the master casting kit

For not a whole lot more then what just the sizer costs you get the pot
Ladle. Ingot mold and some lube as well as the best thing in the kit ... the cast bullet handbook

Add everything up individualy and you will see it is quite a bit cheaper