Why lube lead cores before swaging

[Scootshop]

Am I missing something. I have not been lubeing my cores. Either with cast or lead wire. Before putting em in my Corbin core swage die. If it matters for 224 bullets. Seem to work. I am not opposed to lubing em just seems like a lot of work to then degrease em. Any thoughts?

[303british.com]

This is going from memory, but years ago, I was told a little lube helped reduce pressure in the bleed holes of the die - there was less chance that the lead would shoot out under high pressure if lubed. This can be dangerous. It also helped reduce the chance that lead would become trapped in the bleed holes. The bleed holes for Richard's dies are larger than his brother's. Richard seemed to think that this was an improvement. I believe it had to do with not plugging things up as readily.

[supe47]

I get better consistency with a very small amount of lube. I get a very small bleed-by without lube.

[Scootshop]

My die set was made about 2001 I think they are FJFB-3-S they sure seem to work good without lube. That said I have only made a couple hundred. I want to make the best bullets possible and am only interested if they are on Par with high end store bought ones. Feels like I check this forum every couple hours trying to learn more.

[Zymurgy50]

Would you run your car engine without motor oil???? Yes, it might work for a while, but IMHO you are asking to buy another core swage die.
Lube the cores and de-grease before seating.

[reed1911]

Just like lubing cartridge cases, you might get away with for a while, but not forever. It also aids in consistency

[Lizard333]

Use a small amount of lube. Cleanup is easy. I dump my cores into a mason jar with a small amount of acetone. Close the lid and swish it around. Pour it out and let the acetone evaporate. Done. 2 minutes tops.

[BLASTER62]

Am I missing something. I have not been lubeing my cores. Either with cast or lead wire. Before putting em in my Corbin core swage die. If it matters for 224 bullets. Seem to work. I am not opposed to lubing em just seems like a lot of work to then degrease em. Any thoughts?

In order to get consistant cores the pressure has to be constant, without lube it takes X for pressure, with lube it takes less pressure. You can check this by checking the length of the core, with & without lube the one without will be longer. That being said the alloy you use make's a differance in weight. If your swaging on a hand press you might have to cycle the same core twice to see if your set up is correct, there is dwell time at the end of the stroke to let things flow completley. Freezer bag small dab of lube neede like dough & like BT says Swage ON.

[Lizard333]

In order to get consistant cores the pressure has to be constant, without lube it takes X for pressure, with lube it takes less pressure. You can check this by checking the length of the core, with & without lube the one without will be longer. That being said the alloy you use make's a differance in weight. If your swaging on a hand press you might have to cycle the same core twice to see if your set up is correct, there is dwell time at the end of the stroke to let things flow completley. Freezer bag small dab of lube neede like dough & like BT says Swage ON.

This is how I do it. Everything is better with lube😎

[BLASTER62]

That's what she said!

[Cane_man]

he said it to!

[newcastter]

STOP, before you ruin a very expensive set of dies I suggest you start from the beginning and do some/alot of much needed research. As surprised as I am someone would even debate the subject it is a good thing you asked this here because I am sure you will get numerous answers or advice to persuade you back to using the much needed step of applying lube.

[Scootshop]

Amen. Read you all loud and clear. Lube it is.

[runfiverun]

I think it was a great question.
I didn't know you needed to lube the cores either, but just kinda started doing it after experimenting a little.
I could feel a bit of difference with rather than without and the handle seemed to move a bit more fluid.
the feeling alone told me I needed to use a little bit of lube on the cores.

[BLASTER62]

If any one wants to get detail info go to Dave Corbins site he explains it all,

[xman777]

I have never ruined a core swager, but I have got one stuck without lube. It ain't fun trying to rescue a stuck core swager for the record. I thought the die was going to snap when reversing the press to push the core out. Use lube and be frustration free.

Oh and this only happened after about 750 or so cores.

[Utah Shooter]

Ok so I see that people seem to think lube is a good idea. If it is such a good idea what are you using for lube and why?

[fredj338]

I have only done about 1000 so far, never even thought of swaging the cores w/o some kind of lube. I use swaging lube; lanoline & castor oil, easy to make & comes off pretty easily. I just lay the cores out on an old towel, spray them w/ something like gunscrubber & roll them around well.

[runfiverun]

mix of castor oil and lanolin also.
I have been thinking of adding something like a de-fatted animal oil or a sulpher ester oil to the mix.
both are used in metal drawing fluids and will help the lanolin lay out a thinner more even coat.

[Scootshop]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/17/aru5y3uj.jpg
Put the cast cores in a cup sprayed em with Dillon case lube and away I went. Cleaned in acetone dried em now it's loading time. I use Corbin lube on the jackets but was trying to save a little time. Looking forward to making some lube. My wife looked at Target for some nipple lube for me. No luck. Gonna do a little looking on line for ingredients.

[runfiverun]

no need to go online.
randy rat carries anhydrous lanolin right here [allabees in the vendor section]
castor oil is found at the grocery store in little blue bottles marked castor oil.

[BT Sniper]

Lubed cores do require less pressure and fall from my dies a lot easier. Simply attempt to control the amount of lube you use for consistent results. It will not take very much lube at all.

Good shooting and swage on!

BT

[TonyL]

I am new to these forums and don't know much about casting so I read a lot of posts. I do know a little about jacketed bullet making. I lube cores in a mixture of 1 pint alcohol to 1 oz Benol racing castor oil. Benol is made by Klotz. I dip the cores in this and let them dry on a towel. The alcohol evaporates leaving a light coat of oil. I did use acetone to clean formed cores but its expensive and another chemical. I now boil cores (1000 at a time) for 10 minutes with 1 tablespoon of TSP (trisodium phosphate). Then rinse well and dry on a clean towel. You get some oxidation(white powder on the core) but some believe it helps lock the core in the jacket. It doesn't hurt.

[BT Sniper]

Welcome to the site, the more with info to share the better!

Swage on!

BT

[Smokin7mm]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/17/aru5y3uj.jpg
Put the cast cores in a cup sprayed em with Dillon case lube and away I went. Cleaned in acetone dried em now it's loading time. I use Corbin lube on the jackets but was trying to save a little time. Looking forward to making some lube. My wife looked at Target for some nipple lube for me. No luck. Gonna do a little looking on line for ingredients.

The dillon case lube is basicly lanolin and alcohol. The corbin swage lube is lanolin cut with castor oil to make it softer to apply by hand. Nothing wrong with straight lanolin. The dillon spary lube is a bit more expensive but will work fine.

Bret

[B R Shooter]

The advise I got from a bulletmaker who made the best 30 benchrest bullets, was to use RCBS II case lube. Doesn't take much, and is water soluble. A hot water bath with detergent, rinse and let dry.

Another world class BR guy cleans his cores by boiling with TSP and let dry, the TSP will help the cores oxidize, and are very clean. Helps adhere to the jacket.

[Scootshop]

Agreed on the Dillon lube is spendy. I got a case of it in a deal I made. Gonna brew my own ASAP.

[reed1911]

Hornady One-shot works well on them as well, not so well on the jackets, but great on brass for some reason.