Lee lube and sizing kit

[DCP]

Are the Lee lube and sizing kit any good or Lee Liquid Alox

[kyle623]

they work just fine for me.

[snaggdit]

I have been using them with good results. I eventually plan to get a lube/sizer but have been hesitant due to cost. If they don't have the size you need, they can always be opened up by lapping. Many threads discuss this, use the search. It is best if you slug your barrel first before ordering so you know your groove size then order the sizer .001-.002 over groove size.

[putteral]

Both the sizing die and the lube have been great for me!!

[Jumping Frog]

Well, I looked at it this way. I could spend $250 for a good quality lube-sizer or I could spend $15 for the Lee size/lube kit.

I figured I'd try the $15 first and see if I like it. If I didn't, I could always sell it for $10, take the $5 loss, and go spend the $250 to buy the lube-sizer later.

Thousands of boolits later, I have 4 of the Lee kits for various calibers and still going strong.

[Nate1778]

Only thing I have noticed about all three I own is they are all .001 smaller than listed, i.e .358 swags them to .357 and so on. Maybe others have had this experience or not, but its been mine.

[bedwards]

I just bought a .429 that is putting out .4285 :-(

be

[bcp477]

My Lee sizer is spot on - the bullets come out exactly as they should.

It is possible that differences in casting alloy used cause the undersize bullets from the Lee sizer die. Different alloys will have different amounts of "snap back", so to speak. I can't know, of course, if this is the case with your dies, but it is possible.

Just something to consider.

[Bret4207]

I have 3 lubersizers and several Lee set ups. Both types work fine. The Lee just requires a different lube method. The Mule Snot (LLA) seems to work good in most of the guns I've tried in in to 14-1500 fps at least. I don't think it's the best lube, but it's not junk IMO.

[Cloudpeak]

I had a Lyman lube/sizer 40 years ago. Sold it. Kind of gave up shooting for quite a few years. I got back into casting/handgun shooting 6 or 7 years ago and started with the Lee 6 cavity molds and their sizer kits with LLA. I've loaded around 30,000 rounds in the past few years and had good luck with the sizer's and LLA.

I now use XLOX available from an advertiser on this forum. Same stuff as near as I can tell and lower in cost. Works just as well for me. Of course, if you buy the sizer kit from Lee, it comes with LLA and a little bottle will last a long time.

XLOX- http://www.lsstuff.com/lube/index.html

[randyrat]

They are the "Cats Meow" for the price. Like stated before all you need is $15-$20 and shazzam you can size your boolits.
There are many lubes you can experiment Tumble lubing/dipping/pan lubing. ie....... LLA, JPW, Beeswax, Mixing them in different combos.
The greatest is, you can put these Lee size dies on almost any press you have handy and size boolits(cast bullets) like a king.
If you do get one that is .0005 off it's no big deal to open it up a touch.

[Down South]

Never used the mule snot (LLA) but I have used the Lee sizing dies a lot in several calibers when I was pan lubing. The sizing dies do very well. If they size too small, just hone them out with some emery paper till you get the diameter that you need. The Lee push through sizers are first class for the price. Actually they do just a good of a job as a high dollar sizer as far as sizing goes. And they are a nose first sizer too which is a plus.

[shotman]

That is why you see so many on feebay. The only people that use the old mans stuff is the the over the hill guys. They dont know how the new things work . If it wasnt for the kids they couldnt get on line

[mdi]

That is why you see so many on feebay. The only people that use the old mans stuff is the the over the hill guys. They dont know how the new things work . If it wasnt for the kids they couldnt get on line

Wha you talkin' 'bout Willace?

[Down South]

That is why you see so many on feebay. The only people that use the old mans stuff is the the over the hill guys. They dont know how the new things work . If it wasnt for the kids they couldnt get on line
:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused::confused::confused: I don't really know where you were going with this one Shotman. If it was a slam againgst Lee push through sizers or those who use them then you are way over to the left. If it was a joke then I wish that you would had made it clearer.

[Shiloh]

Are the Lee lube and sizing kit any good or Lee Liquid Alox

I hope so, I have five of them.

Shiloh

[qajaq59]

That is why you see so many on feebay. The only people that use the old mans stuff is the the over the hill guys. They dont know how the new things work . If it wasnt for the kids they couldnt get on line Hey listen, it's tough being a dottering old fool. But remember, if you keep breathing long enough you're going to be one some day. :kidding:

[Wayne Smith]

I use them for relatively low volumn shooting in revolvers. Lube sizers are so much more convienent in lubing than pan lubing. I got tired of that quick.

Yeah, they work fine. They just don't do what they were never designed to do - wait, that's true of most things, isn't it?!!

[XWrench3]

i use them also, decent results. if you have the money, and you are certain you are going to do this 4 a while, buy a lubriser, and never look back. but, if like most of america, money is tight, the lee sizers work fine, the lee liquid alox works fabulous for pistol rounds, and i am haveing mixed results with rifle rounds. the one thing i wish lee did differently, was sell one sizer kit for starting out, containing the plastic boolit catcher, and a base die. then sell screw in inserts of various sizes for $3-5.00 each. it would be financialy benificial for those of us just starting out, where you need to experiment on what size sizer is needed for a particular gun (buying a .309, then .310, then.311 etc until you finally get the sizing right. PLUS you really only need one of the boolit catchers. i am getting so many they are starting to plug up my reloading cabinette! LOL!

[armyrat1970]

Lee bashing always seems to rub me wrong. I use Lee lube sizers for every caliber I cast and handload for. 45ACP, 357MAG, 30Carbine and 8MM. They work fine for me. I also use LLA and have never had a problem. I just don't understand the bashing. If Lee made such poor quality handloading products they should have been out of business yrs. ago. Maybe some of you that have used their tools didn't have a full understanding of how to use them. I have made mistakes with some myself but it was my mistake. Not the tools.

[Bret4207]

AR70 says it right, it ain't the arrow, it's the indian shooting it that matters. Lee stuff is mostly pretty good.

I started out pan lubing and hand smearing lube on. Then I got an RCBS sizer someplace. Got 2 Lymans after that . Used them for years. Then for kicks I tried a Lee set up when everyone was bragging on them. The Lee is sure faster and I like it better. Just wish I had more choice in lubes or a way to use regular lube in a Lee without resorting to pan lubing.

I know some of the other guys have worked on a way to pressure lube in a Lee. If anyone ever figures it out I'll be a happy camper!

[Junior1942]

When I discovered Lee sizers and LLA I unbolted my Lyman 450 from my bench and stuck it in a closet. The key to higher, 1800 - 1950 fps velocities with LLA is simple: use two coats. The key to LLA in humid weather when it doesn't want to dry is also simple: spread the bullets out in front of a small fan.

[roarindan]

I bought a Lee off ebay for my 40 S&W CB. works absolutly fine, but I dont like the extra step of lubin, then wait a day or two before sizing. Got an old lyman 45 sizer, an although the dies are "DEAR" in price, I can cast, lube size; reload and shoot all in the same day.

[oregonshooter]

I'm just starting and sized 1200 9mm boolits through the Lee die. Did 600 with ALOX, 600 pan lube and will not be using ALOX again. What a nasty mess that stuff is!

My pan lube wax was a little too good though and made a mess also when I removed them from the cakes. Need to cut it with some Vaseline I think and it should work out fine.

I was looking at a Star when I first came here, but quickly decided the Lee dies were good enough for me. I doubt I'll ever use anything else.

[snaggdit]

Well, to each his own. I have done some pan lubing but it is time consuming (strictly rifle rounds only now). To me, drip some alox onto boolits in a pail, swirl and dump onto wax paper then spread slightly with a few fingertips and walk away is way easier and not that messy. I keep the pail as is for the next time. I also re-use the wax paper...

[WILCO]

they work just fine for me.

Ditto 4 me!!!!

[geargnasher]

Lee bashing always seems to rub me wrong. I use Lee lube sizers for every caliber I cast and handload for. 45ACP, 357MAG, 30Carbine and 8MM. They work fine for me. I also use LLA and have never had a problem. I just don't understand the bashing. If Lee made such poor quality handloading products they should have been out of business yrs. ago. Maybe some of you that have used their tools didn't have a full understanding of how to use them. I have made mistakes with some myself but it was my mistake. Not the tools.

I'll second all of that, but I've never owned one of Lee's presses.

LLA works for MOST things I've tried it on. The things it doesn't work for that it should probably don't fail due to the lube being no good, but the ammo engineer getting tired of playing CSI to get it to work when he can just zip 'em through the 450 full of Felix or Lar's BAC and they work fine.

The Lee sizers are a bargain at twice the price. They are unbelievably handy for experimentation, cylinder slugging, for when you don't have the right !@#$!%ing top punch at that moment, or when you're sizing long, skinny boolits that get bent in the base-first sizer.

Try this: Mix your LLA or Lar's XLox 50% by volume with warmed Johnson's Paste Wax, then add 10% paint thinner to that, warm and mix together and use exactly per Lee's instructions for plain LLA. It will dry in 2 hours, leave your barrel shiny, and not clog up your dies or guns with excess gunk. Swirl, dry, size, swirl, dry, load, shoot, smile!

Gear

[Pat I.]

Don't care much for the tumble lube part but the Lee sizer is without a doubt the very best way to get a concentrically sized bullet. If I'm shooting for accuracy in a rifle all my bullets go through a Lee die and then get lubed and checked in a lube sizer with a die .001 over bullet diameter.

[Ole]

They are all i've ever used, so I guess ignorance is bliss. I love mine. :mrgreen:

I honed out a .457" one to .460" for using the Ranch Dog boolits.

[mdi]

Regarding the Lee bashing; I've worked in a heavy construction equipment repair shop for the last 23 years. I see what I call "tool snobbery". It's when some one buys tools or equipment simply for the name on the side or the color and not how good it does it's intended job. "If it ain't Snap-on (or MAC, or Matco, etc) it ain't no good". Some guys buy tools by what their favorite NASCAR pit crew uses or what the motorcycle builders on TV use. Many of these guys use their tools as status symbols ("I gots expensive tools so I'm cool" or "Look at me I got a $9000.00 Snap-on tool box"). I see the same thing regarding reloading tools. The "If it ain't RCBS (or Forster, or Dillon, etc) it ain't no good" attitude is seen a lot. My Lee equipment works as well as any I've tried (and in some cases better) and I don't need a specific color to make good, accurate ammo.

[qajaq59]

Not everything said about Lee is bashing. Lee sends out a lot of things that will be fine once you work on them. Which is why there are stickies that describe how to get your Lee products up to par. But there are plenty of people that don't want to buy what is essentially an unfinished product, even if it is cheap. If I bought a 3/4 inch wrench from Sears and it came in 1/128" too small, I'd return it, not file it to the correct size.

[rkrcpa]

Ok, here's the deal...I have a bunch of 215 gr. 41 SWC sized to .411 that I can't use in my revolver. I need to size them to .410. These have already been lubed in the conventional manner as well as some kind of slippery as owl snot powder substance to keep them from sticking together.

I'm thinking I can use the Lee Sizer Die to get to .410 without much trouble. According to the Lee instructions the bullet will lead up the die if not lubed (presumably with the LLA). I'm hoping I can just run them through as is.

Opinions?

BTW, anybody have a .410 sizer they don't need? This is a one shot deal (no pun intended) as I have about 450 bullets that need to be sized. After that I'm buying them sized .410 to begin with.

[Leftoverdj]

I got more time than money. Doesn't bother me a bit to do a little work on Lee stuff. Bothers me a lot more to pay Lyman prices and still have to work on their stuff.

I also have both a collection of push through sizers and a couple of conventional lubrisizers. Which I use depends on what I'm doing. The pushthroughs can't be beat for plain base bullets. At plain base velocities, LLA works fine. If you don't like LLA, then use Rooster Jacket or Johnson's Paste Wax. They work fine, too, at plain base velocities,

btw, you can tumble lube with normal stick lubes such as NRA formula. Just heat your bullets first, then tumble, let cool, and run them through your Lee sizer. The sizer will wipe the surplus lube into the lube grooves.

[Just Call Me...G]

Howdy All,

I am still a newby as I have only been casting for a couple of years and I agree with Leftoverdj...I have more time than money.

When I first started casting I looked at all of the options I had regarding lube/sizing and was not ready to commit to Lyman, Star et al.

I purchased a Lee sizer in the .309 size for all of my .308s, .30-06s and my .300 Whisper.
I found out three things immediately:

1. Works GREAT!!!
2. Easy to get my gaschecks on while I am sizing
3. LLA was not for me...I now use "Goatlips" method for pan lubing & have developed my own lube using moly-lith grease/JPW & Beeswax.

With this success in mind, I went ahead and purchased a Lee sizing kit for my .45ACP boolits, my 9mm boolits and my .40/10mm boolits. These are the rounds I primarily cast for, later on down the line I will buy some moulds for .38/.357 and .44Spl/Mag...I will also be buying the Lee sizing kits for those calibers as well.

I know that Lee says that their pistol bullets drop to size (or close enough), but my preference is to size all of my boolits.

At the end of the day everyone has different ways to skin their own particular cat...I am quite satisfied with all of the Lee products I have purchased.

Firm believer of "if ain't broke, don't fix it!"

my $.02, YMMV


Keep The High Ground,

G

[Slogg76]

Several years ago I bought two Lyman lube/sizers and all the dies, lube sticks, punches, etc. that go with them for my 38 and 45 pistols when I first started casting. I picked up a cheap Lee kit for a buddy's 45-70 Marlin because of the cheap costs. I have not used my Lymans since and that has been a few years now. The Lee's are less hassle, and work better for me regardless of price.

[Shooter30-06]

I agree with roarindan above - all three calibers which I cast I also use the Lee sizer and tumble lube with Alox. I do it like the book says and lube before and after the sizing. I am getting accurate bullets and no leading. The down side is that the process is time consuming and labor intensive. I might note that I have found it necessary to wipe off the nose of each bullet before seating in order not to gum up the seating die. I am now pondering the purchase of a Lyman sizer just to speed things up.

[azrednek]

Lee bashing always seems to rub me wrong.

I feel exactly the same way. As far as I'm concerned Richard Lee is a genius. Even if one never buys or uses any Lee product. All reloaders can thank Mr Lee for breaking up the good'ol boys network and creating some real competition among the manufactures. In the 70's carbide dies were priced way beyond my reach. 1970's RCBS, Lyman, C-H carbide die sets cost near a hundred bux. After Lee introduced carbide dies for about the same cost the others were getting for their steel dies. Carbide pistol dies are now the norm and steel is old fashion.

If Lee hadn't made casting affordable I'd still be shooting jacketed bullets. As recently a a few weeks ago I used my old Lee hand bullet sizer. It is slow and tedious and I've worn out a couple of plastic hammers using it over the years but my sized 44's still come out a perfect .429.

[KCSO]

They have another advantage in that if you are carefulll you can size a bullet way down in one and still have a good shooting bullet. I had to size some 8mm bullets down to 317 for a 303 and was able to go from 326 to 317 in steps of 323/320 to 317.

[dromia]

Push through dies work great and are made by a few manufacturers besides Lee. Our very own Buckshot here makes them for one at a friendly price and to your specification so your not stuck to Lee's limited range of diameters.

Glen Larsen at White Label lubes, another stalwart here, sells liquid alox for tumble lubing at an unbeatable price.

Link to his web site at the bottom of the page Lar45s LsStuff.

[armexman]

Forget about re-using the wax paper over and over again!!!!! Go into the inner sanctum of SWMBO and take the whole roll and do not admit to anything when questioned!!
I have had two Lyman 450's, gave one to a friend from work who THOUGHT he was going to cast boolits (until he listened to the old wise guys at Boulder Rifle Club). I did not want it back, as I use Lee sizers almost exclusively and have my 450 underneath the loading bench and can't for the life of me remember what sizing die is in it!
Buckshots dies are the BEST, if they are still available give him a PM ring. I got my Carcano in 7.35 shooting due to his die.

[Marlin Hunter]

I bought a Lee off ebay for my 40 S&W CB. works absolutly fine, but I dont like the extra step of lubin, then wait a day or two before sizing. Got an old lyman 45 sizer, an although the dies are "DEAR" in price, I can cast, lube size; reload and shoot all in the same day.

AS Junior said, put it in front of a fan. Or you can put it on a cookie tray and put it in the oven on warm for 30 minutes.

[VintageRifle]

I lube and size my bullets the same day with the LLA. I warm up the LLA and tumble lube my bullets. I have been taking the time to stand them up on end. May times, I can size them within the hour. Once sized and checked, if needed, I lube them again and allow to dry, which I do allow to set overnight.

If I am not using gas checks and using as cast, they get lubed and allowed to dry for an hour or so. Once dry, I load them up and shoot.

[JIMinPHX]

There are two down sides to using a Lee sizer if you ask me. First, I don't like the smell of the alox, but that's just me. Second, you have to wait for the lube to dry. You can't just lube them & load them. Aside from that, there is nothing wrong with them & for the price, you can't go wrong. I find it hard to believe that they produce a tool like that for such a modest price.

[Nora]

Buckshots dies are the BEST, if they are still available give him a PM ring. I got my Carcano in 7.35 shooting due to his die.

I just put a check in the post today that's headed his way for another push threw. I've used nothing but Lee's and his and have no intention of spending the big coin for anything else even if I could afford it.

As for drying time with mule snot, thin it with mineral spirits. It not only cuts the time but they seem to be less prone to remain sticky when done. I lube both before and after, cut by 1/3 and only takes a couple of hours each to dry.

If you feel you may one day be in a hurry, cast, lube and size a bunch to have on hand. Then when the mood hits you that you need to load "X" they're all ready to go, no wait time for it to dry. Personally I start to feel under supplied when I'm below 1.5K of any given size or type I shoot. But then I just like to cast, and will, even if I won't be shooting all of what's on hand anytime soon.

Nora

[StarMetal]

Unless you're shooting pure lead, you mixed an alloy for a reason. If you don't let that alloy age you defeated the purpose of it. You really shouldn't your bullets just after casting and lubing them. This is especially true of rifle bullets. Handguns are a little more forgiving. You will definitely see a difference in aged and un-aged bullets in a rifle. :Fire:

Joe