View Full Version : What a revelation! 27 years late!
HammerMTB
10-01-2009, 01:03 AM
I got a Lyman 450 in 1982, I think it was....
Had a helluva time with it at first. It didn't want to flow lube, I hadda make a big honkin' bar to get the screw up to enough pressure to get lube in the grooves of my boolits. Of course, at that pressure the lube-sizer leaked lube all over the place.
Fast forward a lot of years, while I at times bought boolits or sometimes j-word stuff....
So this week I decided to overhaul it. Melted the old lube out with a heat gun, took the seal plate off the bottom, and got some o-rings. Found me a 8X11" aluminum plate to mount it to, so I could have a heater.
got the plate mounted today, everything put back together, and set an old iron on it to heat.
This thing has NEVER worked so well! It puts lube all the way round the boolit now, with VERY low pressure on the screw!
Man, I was way late on this bandwagon! Course, there was no internet back then. Youse guys have opened my eyes to this little tip.
BTW, the lube is Tamarack, which is 50/50 beeswax/alox. Think Javelina.
When I use all of this up, it'll be time to find a harder lube, so's boolits aren't sticky in thier tubs.
crabo
10-01-2009, 01:22 AM
When I use all of this up, it'll be time to find a harder lube, so's boolits aren't sticky in thier tubs.
I switched to Lar's Carnuba Red because of this. The lube stays in the grooves.
XWrench3
10-01-2009, 06:29 AM
the lube should ALL end up in the barrel, otherwise, whats the point? adding a few grains of weight to the boolit?! LOL!
crabo
10-01-2009, 07:59 AM
the lube should ALL end up in the barrel, otherwise, whats the point? adding a few grains of weight to the boolit?! LOL!
The point was the lube staying in the grooves and not being sticky, while in the storage tubs, before you load them. Not after you shoot them. Carnuba Red is a great lube when you shoot it also.
I can't believe that you had trouble squirting 50/50 into a bullet unheated. It's pretty soft stuff.
Shiloh
10-01-2009, 09:29 AM
I can't believe that you had trouble squirting 50/50 into a bullet unheated. It's pretty soft stuff.
Yup.
Unless, like what the upper midwest winters do to my basement. It'll get to the high forties in my basement until I fire up the woodstove. On the coldest days,
-20, I can see my breath down there!!
Shiloh
jdgabbard
10-01-2009, 11:28 AM
He said he is using 50/50 now.... I bet what he was using then was pretty stiff stuff.
sleeper1428
10-01-2009, 01:59 PM
I got a Lyman 450 in 1982, I think it was....
Had a helluva time with it at first. It didn't want to flow lube, I hadda make a big honkin' bar to get the screw up to enough pressure to get lube in the grooves of my boolits. Of course, at that pressure the lube-sizer leaked lube all over the place.
Fast forward a lot of years, while I at times bought boolits or sometimes j-word stuff....
So this week I decided to overhaul it. Melted the old lube out with a heat gun, took the seal plate off the bottom, and got some o-rings. Found me a 8X11" aluminum plate to mount it to, so I could have a heater.
got the plate mounted today, everything put back together, and set an old iron on it to heat.
This thing has NEVER worked so well! It puts lube all the way round the boolit now, with VERY low pressure on the screw!
Man, I was way late on this bandwagon! Course, there was no internet back then. Youse guys have opened my eyes to this little tip.
BTW, the lube is Tamarack, which is 50/50 beeswax/alox. Think Javelina.
When I use all of this up, it'll be time to find a harder lube, so's boolits aren't sticky in thier tubs.
If you get a can of microfine dry Mica lube (Midway stocks it) and simply tumble your 50/50 lubed bullets, 50 or so at a time, with 1/4 ro 1/2 teaspoon of the dry lubricant, you'll find that you will be able to store your boolits for long periods of time without having them stick together. I have boxes of Tamarack lubed boolits that were coated in this manner and have been stored for over 20 years without loss of lube from the grooves and without sticking together. Yeah, I know, I should have shot them up by now but in my defense, I cast boolits for so many different calibers that I just don't have time to shoot all of them in any reasonable period of time, especially when I've cast up a large number of them. So some of them just got shoved to the back of the shelf and essentially forgotten which is what happened with a couple of boxes of 250gr and 300gr 44cal boolits that I cast up to be used in my Ruger Super Redhawk as well as several boxes of 45cal boolits cast up for my 45ACP pistols. It's these boxes of boolits that I'm referring to when I say that when treated as described above, boolits can be stored for many years without becoming stuck together and with the lube remaining in the grooves. Obviously the ambient temperature of the area where you store your boolits will have an effect on how long you can store boolits, even treated ones, so if you plan on storing your boolits in an area subject to extremely high temperatures, you may well want to go to a harder lube, designed for just such conditions.
sleeper1428
HammerMTB
10-01-2009, 04:31 PM
I can't believe that you had trouble squirting 50/50 into a bullet unheated. It's pretty soft stuff.
I've considered your statement for a while before responding.
When you say "you can't believe" are you making this a matter of faith? It was a statement of my experience, not a test of faith.
Might you mean that has not been your experience? There's plenty of ways to say that and keep away from matters of belief.
All my size/lube work is done in a cool location. It's not cold, but cool, and temp is definitely a factor in lube flow.
My original post was to say it is SO much easier with a bit of heat. It's not impossible without, just much more troublesome.
HammerMTB
10-01-2009, 04:33 PM
Great idea! May have to try it if my castings start to hang around on the shelf a while!
If you get a can of microfine dry Mica lube (Midway stocks it) and simply tumble your 50/50 lubed bullets, 50 or so at a time, with 1/4 ro 1/2 teaspoon of the dry lubricant, you'll find that you will be able to store your boolits for long periods of time without having them stick together. I have boxes of Tamarack lubed boolits that were coated in this manner and have been stored for over 20 years without loss of lube from the grooves and without sticking together. Yeah, I know, I should have shot them up by now but in my defense, I cast boolits for so many different calibers that I just don't have time to shoot all of them in any reasonable period of time, especially when I've cast up a large number of them. So some of them just got shoved to the back of the shelf and essentially forgotten which is what happened with a couple of boxes of 250gr and 300gr 44cal boolits that I cast up to be used in my Ruger Super Redhawk as well as several boxes of 45cal boolits cast up for my 45ACP pistols. It's these boxes of boolits that I'm referring to when I say that when treated as described above, boolits can be stored for many years without becoming stuck together and with the lube remaining in the grooves. Obviously the ambient temperature of the area where you store your boolits will have an effect on how long you can store boolits, even treated ones, so if you plan on storing your boolits in an area subject to extremely high temperatures, you may well want to go to a harder lube, designed for just such conditions.
sleeper1428
AZ-Stew
10-01-2009, 06:17 PM
Might you mean that has not been your experience? There's plenty of ways to say that and keep away from matters of belief.
He didn't say or imply he was having a religious experience.
That's the great thing about our country. We can believe anything we want.
I believe I'll have another beer. :drinks:
Regards,
Stew
HammerMTB
10-01-2009, 07:17 PM
He didn't say or imply he was having a religious experience.
Neither did I.
What was said was "I don't believe" which is an indication of faith, or lack thereof.
You attached it to religion.
Whoooeee. Let's don't get so semantic! 'Believe' is used interchangeably with 'Think', or 'Guess', and has NOTHING to do with FAITH! CARRUMBA!
In any case, I'm glad you found warmth for your 450 - I have used 50/50 exclusively fo decades - but living in the desert I don't have much of a problem with cold!
NoDakJak
10-02-2009, 09:26 AM
Ihave used 50/50 since the early seventies, mainly in cold climates and it can and does get stiff. Stiff enough that I sheared off the feed screw in my first Lyman 450. After that I started heating them with a hair drier. PITA! I now have a thick aluminum plate mouted between the base of my sizers and the wood. I am able to set a small travel iron on the plate and the problem is solved. Cheap! I bought the aluminum as scrap at a salvage yard and gave two dollars for the iron at a thrift shop. Works great! Neil
HammerMTB
10-02-2009, 10:55 AM
Yeah! You get me!
And I did exactly the same thing, tho the plate I used was only 3/8"
I find I can turn the iron off after a while, and residual heat will work for some time.
Ihave used 50/50 since the early seventies, mainly in cold climates and it can and does get stiff. Stiff enough that I sheared off the feed screw in my first Lyman 450. After that I started heating them with a hair drier. PITA! I now have a thick aluminum plate mounted between the base of my sizers and the wood. I am able to set a small travel iron on the plate and the problem is solved. Cheap! I bought the aluminum as scrap at a salvage yard and gave two dollars for the iron at a thrift shop. Works great! Neil
MT Gianni
10-03-2009, 01:50 PM
I use a trouble light next to the lube-sizer. I did stock up on incandescent bulbs for it while I still could/can.
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