Trouble with Saeco Lube and Sizer

[Feather]

In sizing and lubing using a Saeco L& S (.452 die for a .45 LC cast bullet) I have an annoying problem. Adjusted to pressure fill the grouves, all goes well for 5 or 6 bullets, then the lube begins to ooz beneath the bullet. This requires that I stop and clean the die and wipe off the base of the bullet.

What's happening? I am missing something but don't know what. Bullets are cast in a Saeco mould (.452) using wws as a main source. The bullets are well formed and bases are sharp. The adjusting screw does not migrate. There appears to be no shrinkage of the bullets.

Have any of you experienced this problem?

Feather

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Hi, I'm running a couple of Saeco's and once upon a time had the same problem. I don't know which lube you are using; I have been using NRA 50/50 formula which can and does become softer in warmer ambient temperatures. Also I have played with a mix of beeswax & vasoline which is even softer. The problem with soft/er lubes is that the sizer is sensitive to even a little too much pressure and as such it will start to force an "ooze" out at the bottom of the bullets even with sharp bases. If the lube is not soft..or is cold, it won't happen as bad. In some of my dies-the the die beneath the bullet is not dead flat....it has a small "dish" to it and lube accumulates in the hollow so I have to wipe the bottom of my bullets anyway as I like clean bullet bases. I would try using less pressure or just enough so that it is minimal or doesn't happen. Add pressure only when a "void" appears in the lubed ring of the bullet....just enough to make the void fill in. It (the lube) will also,.... even with the correct pressure maintained, start to come out in a very fine ribbon between the knurled lock ring and the base of the sizer. this is normal and what I do is use a small (1/8") screwdriver to, after a while, gently scrape/collect it into a small pile and keep it off to one side until I have to refill the reservoir...and then toss whatever is accumulated... in before I have to add another stick. One can only tighten the lock ring so much and then no more. The instructions say finger tight is enough/sufficient. At one point I had a machiinist friend make me a large nut with the right threads and I made that pretty tight and that still didn't stop the ribbon so I just use the clean it up as it occurs method. They're great sizers;thats why I have two. Good shooting LLS

[Calamity Jake]

Keep downward pressure on the handel, it helps a little. You need to wipe any lube off the bases anyway so a little lube won't hurt.
Lyman and RCBS do the same thing. You just have to live with it.

[Feather]

My thanks to Le Loup Solitaire and Calamity Jake for responding to my problem. The problem of lube oozing under the base of the bullet, regardless of adjustment, has long plagued me. Guess I will have to accept it as a part of the deal.

Feather

[REDTAIL]

question i have cast bullets that i done years ago that were resized and lubed, now i noticed that most of the lube rubbed off the bullets and was thinking of appling more lube by hand onto these bullets does this sound like a good idea, or should i not worry about appling more lube on them please advise thanks

[August]

I've had the same issue. I found that cleaning the top of the die completely helps. Holding the handle down firmly while adding pressure helps. Adjusting the amount of pressure for each bullet helps. Adjusting the height of the bullet in the die helped the most. Nothing , however, has completely eliminated this issue in my process. On critical, long range bullets, I wipe the base and use a wad of waxed paper between the bullet and card wad to make sure the bullet releases from the wad during flight. On cowboy bullets, I don't pay as much attention to the little bit of residual lube that shows up.

[Calamity Jake]

question i have cast bullets that i done years ago that were resized and lubed, now i noticed that most of the lube rubbed off the bullets and was thinking of appling more lube by hand onto these bullets does this sound like a good idea, or should i not worry about appling more lube on them please advise thanks

You can reapply by hand or run them thru your lube sizer again, the grooves need to be full of lube.

[Jimlakeside]

Excess lube can become a problem. It happened to me and took weeks to figure out the problem. After loading a couple of thousand rounds with a little excess lube on the bullet my seating die gradually filled up with lube. It happened over several weeks so I didn't notice it. Eventually there was so much lube in the die that it took more and more presure to seat the bullet which produce a slight buldge in the case. The loaded round then would not feed properly. This happened only intermitently (I am assuming it happened to older weaker brass) so it was a gaint problem to solve. I simply cleaned my die and that solved the problem. Now I check my seating die frequently.