Lee Tumble Lube buildup in seater die

[NuJudge]

I've only recently started to experiment with this stuff.

How do people control Tumble Lube buildup in the seater? Using a progressive press, this can really change seating depth quickly. In .38/.357 I have a Dillon seater die, which makes cleaning out the die and keeping seating depth quicker, but that's the complete solution I'm looking for.

I'm looking at just dipping the driving band/lube groove areas on bullets. For bore-riding rifle bullets only, I'm trying dipping the exposed portion of the bullet after it has been seated in the primed & powder charged case, then let it dry nose down.

Christopher Dingell

[Buckshot]

................Are you mixing your LA with a solvent? If you mix it about 50/50 with paint thinner the coat will be thinner, but it also seems to stick to the boolit better. It's a bit tedious but after dumping them out on wax paper if you stand them up the LA will have a tendancy to slowly run down off the nose and get trapped in the crimp and lube grooves where it will do the most good.

But to honestly answer your question, yes the LA can get built up in the seater punch and requires the occasional cleanout.

.................Buckshot

[Ranch Dog]

I use the LLA full strength but heated. I take a little more time (not much) at the application step. With the bullets in my tumble bucket, I let a drop of the alox drop on the Micro-Bands of each bullet and then I swirl.

http://home.awesomenet.net/~ranch-dog/Casting/Tumble%20Lubing/031906_002.jpg

It seems to cut down on the amount collected on the nose of the bullet. I'm using Lee dies so if it becomes a problem I pull the seating plug and flush the die with Birchwood Caseys Gun Scrubber. I'm really not having much of a problem with this as I just clean the die when I'm finished with the loading session. I wonder if some "vent" holes drilled into the die body would help the problem you are having?

[redneckdan]

i get the build up too. I pull the seater plug every 100 rds or so and give it a couple passes with a nylon bore brush and then a loop jag and piece of cloth. If I had sizer, I wouldn't bother with alox, but a sizer ain't in this students budget at the moment.

[Junior1942]

Prior to seating, I wipe the bullet noses with a rag. It cuts down on seater plug build up a bunch.

[versifier]

I made a clean out tool from a yard sale screwdriver by regrinding the tip a little bit. Cleaning the seater is just a fact of life with liquid alox. I set up a dial caliper when loading a lot of handgun cases and check every fifty rounds or so.

[Vegas Vince]

I made a clean out tool out of a wooden coffee stir stick. Cut it to fit your seating die. I have a Lee loadmaster with boolit feeder. I put 25 boolits in each tube, and I check every 25 th loaded round. About every three to four hundred rounds thru the press. Then I remove the center of the seating die and clean it out real good. I took a file and scratched a mark on the seating die. This allows you to keep track of the seating depth. I screw the seating die in all the way and count the number of turns backing it out to your desired depth. I do the same or the crimp die. I then record that info in my load manual. I have settings for each boolit. I hope this will help!


Vince