Dip Lubing Boolits

[Super Sneaky Steve]

After years of powder coating everything in large batches I decided to go back in time and try an old method.

I was looking for a 45 auto boolit with a shoulder as I was having to seat my standard round nosed bullets too deep for reliable feeding in my Kahr PM45. After looking at my now very large collection of moulds I pulled out one of my older Lee tumble lube designs. It was the old style with the V notches cut instead of the pins. It still cast good bullets and they fell right out of the mould.

The micro groves are just about ideal for dip lubing. It's something I've been doing with my conicals for my 1860 Army and 1858 Remington, but never tried it with smokeless.

Using this method of heating the bullets on a hot plate then giving them a quick dip was actually faster than pan lubing because I didn't have to wait for the lube to cool after the pan was full. I could just keep on chugging. Another benefit over pan lubing is they each come out perfect so you'll never have to squish lube in there with your thumb if one doesn't take.

It's not as fast as my Star sizer but easy enough for a few hundred.

Powder coating works well in most situations, but it does tend to round sharp surfaces. In this case I wanted to keep the sharp shoulder for precise head spacing.

I never had good luck with Lee Liquid Alox. In fact I quit using the mould after I experienced the worst leading in all my days shooting using this particular boolit and LLA. I think it will do better with lard/beeswax. We'll see. :Fire:

[mehavey]

...`never had good luck with Lee Liquid Alox....How are you applying/drying it ?
I ask because LLA -- applied as below -- has been as dependable as clockwork for some pretty tough/high-speed applications for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- Put (very) small dab of Liq ALOX on thumb forefinger -- just "greasy"
- Rotate sized bullet between fingers to grease it up. (you don't need excess/fill groove... just "greased")
- Place on dinner plate upright as you grease each one
- Throw in oven at 225 for 90 mins -- allow to cool overnight.
Load/Shoot next day
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?368459-223-cast-bullets-w-ar15&p=4472544&viewfull=1#post4472544

[schutzen-jager]

i have been using LLA since it came out with never even any hint of a problem - tried all them all + now only use alox for all my rifle = pistol lube needs - -

[Super Sneaky Steve]

I never tried baking it on. Maybe it's worth another shot, but if I want fast ugly boolits powder coating seems to be king of the hill.

[schutzen-jager]

I never tried baking it on. Maybe it's worth another shot, but if I want fast ugly boolits powder coating seems to be king of the hill.

jmho - after much experience i can not even begin to think of powder coating being faster then alox tumble lubing - it is also much more economical + more efficient then any powder coating i know of -

[Cap'n Morgan]

I've taken the tumble lube one step further and just dropped the sized boolits in a bowl of Chestnut wood wax, thinned with mineral spirits to a thin liquid, then dropping them into a sieve. Once the excess wax had run off I placed the boolits - base down - on a piece of cardboard to dry.

The process leaves a very thin, non-sticky coat of wax - it may not be enough to prevent leading, but time will tell... (this for a 1200 fps smokeless load for my 45-70)

[mehavey]

if I want fast ....Then PC is it, as it can be shot near immediately upon oven cure.
(It also protects bare/plain base well)

But bore rider?
ALOX is king.

[gnostic]

I've had mixed results with LLA, my CZ75B had leading near the muzzle with two coats of lube. That same batch of bullets left zero lead in the barrels of three different S&W .357's. When these bullets were lubed in a conventional Lube-A Matic, the CZ didn't lead the barrel at all...

[mdi]

I've been dip lubing for quite some time. I started mainly because I didn't like the brown noses from tumble lubing. Normally I use 45-45-10 (sometimes warmed a bit) and hold bullets with large tweezers. Set on aluminum foil. Never in a hurry so I let them sit over night (or whenever I remember they are ready to load). This method has worked quite well for regular lube groove bullets and "tumble lube" bullets in everything from 32 ACP to 44 Magnum hefty loads. Even tried some dip lubing on 22 cal.,60 gr. LRN loads for my 223 Handi Rifle...

[mdi]

i have been using LLA since it came out with never even any hint of a problem - tried all them all + now only use alox for all my rifle = pistol lube needs - -

Just my curiosity; when was alox first used as a bullet lube? Wikipedia has nuttin'...

[schutzen-jager]

Just my curiosity; when was alox first used as a bullet lube? Wikipedia has nuttin'...

not 100% sure, but LEE first showed it in their 1993 catalog that i have + my old loading records show me using it back then -

[stubshaft]

The old NRA lube was 50/50 Beeswax and Alox 2138f. I was using it in the 60's and it definitely predates that!

[Soundguy]

i have been using LLA since it came out with never even any hint of a problem - tried all them all + now only use alox for all my rifle = pistol lube needs - -

Agreed.. I've never had leading using LLA. I've even used it on regular grease groove designs... 1 coat then size, then 2 light coats. I've even used it on gas check rifle like 35 rem and 45-70. Not screamers.. But the 3 light coats of lla filled the grooves and gave -0- leading. I prefer LLA to some of that super hard waxes that some commercial sellers use. Back when I was buying commercial cast bullets.. I noticed they cast them hard and used rock hard wax to minimise cosmetic or other damage in shipping. The 22bhn bullets and hard wax DID survive shipping..but I was never happy with their terminal performance.. I started enhancing the pre lubed commercial with a light lla coat. That actually worked good. In the end.. I just cast for everything I shoot now..handgun to rifle. About 3 5g buckets of molds to care for and feed.. But worth it.

[Rockindaddy]

I dip lube all my Smith Carbine 50 cal bullets and the Minie bullets for my Colt 58 cal Civil War rifle. A mix of Moly Disulphide automotive grease, and beeswax from the local bee keeper melted in a sardine can with a small can of Sterno. A medium size set of hemostats to grip the boolit into the hot lube and set it on wax paper. They load and shoot great! Used to dip lube many years ago when I was a kid loading for my 45-70 $35.00 Trapdoor Springfield. Didn't know what a luber sizer was.

[BamaNapper]

This is my dip setup. The wife gave me the little crock pot. It came as a set with a full size model on Amazon. It only heats to maybe 180 degrees, so perfect for lube. There is a weight and a fender washer in the crock, with the top of the washer at the right distance from the lube depth. I can dip the boolit to the washer and get just the lube grooves. The soldering iron over the pot has a couple pieces of metal strap attached for wiping the excess lube off the base of the boolit. Just scrape the base of the boolit across it, the excess melts and drips back into the crock. Just dip, scrape, and set aside on a piece of waxed paper til the lube hardens. When I'm done I unplug, let it cool, put the lid on it, and set it back on the shelf with the lube still in it. The lube is White Label BAC. I like the lube for pistols, but wish it was more friendly with the muzzleloader.

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