Homemade Case Sizing lube

[mtgrs737]

Is anyone making their own spray case sizing luge using Lanolin? If what quanities of lanolin and alcohol are you using? I was planning on using about a tablespoon to the quart of 91% alcohol.

[DLCTEX]

http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm

[Calamity Jake]

Use the 99% alcohol. Works better MO.

[mtgrs737]

Thanks guys! Your posts are very much appreciated! I was about to use 91% alcohol, and now I will not make that mistake.

mtgrs737

[Hang Fire]

Not a spray on, but for sizing brass I have used STP for long as I can remember.

I still have the same old stamp pad from the 1960s with fitted piece of lamb skin and the wool cut close. Work a little STP into the wool, lightly roll 4-5 pieces of brass back and forth, take a cotton swab with a little STP to lube inside of the necks. Have never stuck a case yet.

[Lloyd Smale]

I tried the lanolin in a pump mixed with alchohol. Found it works better just applied straight with your fingers. Just rub some into the hand you pick up cases with and rub on the case. It takes very little to work well.

[Shiloh]

Thanks guys! Your posts are very much appreciated! I was about to use 91% alcohol, and now I will not make that mistake.

mtgrs737

It'll work in a pinch, but the 99% is better. the water separates the lanolin out.
I have also thinned commercial case lube, Frankford Arsenal brand with 99%
Spreads out over the cases thinner and more completely. Works great.

Shiloh

[Moonie]

I use 91%, just have to shake it up when you use it, works great. Did 150 5.56 last week, no issues at all. Was in a hurry so I put them in front of a fan to dry quicker.

[mtgrs737]

I am having trouble locating the 99% alcohol in my area. How much of the liquid lanolin per quart of alcohol do you use?

[Shooter6br]

Beeswax and vegetable shortning 1 to 4, I beleive. Also a good wipe on bullet lube foe BP.Junior Lube

[azrednek]

Not a spray on, but for sizing brass I have used STP for long as I can remember.

I've been using STP since the 70's. Don't know if it is still available in tubes. The STP lube in a tube was sold at bicycle shops in the 70's. I still have the same tube I purchased apx 75.

Years ago an old timer told me the hair tonics that were popular until the late 60's made perfect spray-on case lubes. The hair tonics that my generation called "greasy kid's stuff" was basically lanolin and ethyl (rubbing) alcohol. If I remember correctly it was Vitalis brand that came with a pump sprayer that was popular with reloaders.

[ph4570]

I am having trouble locating the 99% alcohol in my area. How much of the liquid lanolin per quart of alcohol do you use?

My local supermarket has 99%. I would think a drug store would as well. I mix it about 1:6 lanolin to alcohol. The mix proportions are not at all critical.

[oldtoolsniper]

Everclear in the booze isle.

[JeffinNZ]

I just keep a sheep in the loading room and roll my cases in her wool prior to sizing..... Sheep and purple long johns. It's all good.

But seriously, I have made the lanoline/IPA mix and it does work but I find it seperates.

[wistlepig1]

Try Safeway for the 99%, thats were I get mine. Have used 91% when 99 isn't in stock-- just shake well before using.

Jeff, I need a picture, both of the sheep and the purple longjohns, if that wouldn't keep the mice out of the shed== nothing would:kidding:

[Sprue]

I've used 4 parts of Heet (Red Plastic bottle) for a long time now. Never a stuck case. Heet is a fuel additive and can be found anywhere. Make sure it s the Red Bottle ! 1 part Liquid Lanolin to 4 parts Heet/Red is what I use, period.

Just make sure the the plastic spray bottle will sustain the mixture, some won't.

I mix mine up in 4oz plastic spray bottle. Never any separation in the past year as a I haven't been loading much.

Like I say 1 parts liquid Lanolin and 4 parts Heet (Red Bottle). I use to mix it 5 :1 but cut back the mixture.

I think its the same a s Hrdy or Dillon but have had 100% successs with this mixture.

BTW 91% alcohol can be found at Drug Emporium as well as Liquid Lanolin

Cheers

[parrott1969]

I see a lot of people saying use a mix of 4 to 1 ( alcohol to lanolin). I found that to be too much and very sticky. 8 to 1 works great and is less sticky but for me the cats meow is mixed 12-1 and works on everything I own. I take a gallon zip lock bag, shoot in three pumps of lube and drop in brass. Then I nead and shake for 30 seconds, pour out onto tray and let dry for a few minutes and then size away. By the way do not try reducing it any farther or you will have stuck cases ( don't ask how I know).

[mtgrs737]

Anyone have any luck using the solid lanolin? Will it mix into the alcohol well? I have a bunch of it already.

[JeffinNZ]

Anyone have any luck using the solid lanolin? Will it mix into the alcohol well? I have a bunch of it already.

I use solid lanoline and the results are just so-so.

WHSITLEPIG1 : GREAT response. Near wet myself.

[xringshutr]

Just found this older thread but though I would share my findings on home-made case lube.

I mix about 1:6-8 liquid lanolin to 99% alcohol in the little 2 oz fingertip spray bottles. No real measurements, I just squirt about 1/4" or so of lanolin into the bottom of the spray bottle and fill it up with the alcohol.

I grab a couple large handfuls of brass and place them in a "Cool Whip" tub. Spray a couple times, shake in circles, spray again.

Here's the best part!! After the body of the brass is lubed, I swirl them and shake them in the cool whip tub quickly. The brass stands up with base down. One more shot with case lube gets just enough lube in the necks to make pulling it back over the expander nice and easy.

This works the best with 5.56 sized cases but also works with others pretty good too. The tub holds about 100 or so 5.56's.

The 2 oz fingertip spray bottle will lube well over 1000 cases. Probably close to 1500 but I never really counted. My lanolin always seems to separate but two quick shakes of the spray bottle and it's dissolved again.

I'll never buy aerosol case lube again as I have enough lanolin and alcohol on hand to lube for 20 years. A little goes a loooonnnngg way.

[roysha]

JeffinNZ:
Why in the world would you use an IPA in a mixture for lubing cases? I have never met an India Pale Ale I didn't like and to waste it on case lube is, in my experienced opinion, pure heresy!!:kidding:

AZrednek:
It definitely wasn't Vitalis (with V7). I don't think I would trust that to lubricate a door hinge. I used that product from the mid 50s until I needed wax and a buffing rag. For sure the "greasy kid's stuff" was Brylcreem. I hated that goo especially when it got smeared all over the mat during wrestling practice in high school. However, I don't recall it being sold in a pump, only in tubes. There were a couple of others but the names escape me at the moment and I believe one did come in a pump for the guys that used it for their DAs.

[woodyubet]

Mink oil works great....it's cheap.....there is no mixing....No storage issues.....look for it in the shoe polish section.

[TonyM]

Is anyone re-tumbling after sizing with these concoctions? I currently use the roll pad.. but I can only do 7-8 at a time. It would be nice to put 100+ brass into a container and just "Spray" them, roll them around, etc...

Just curious if there is much "goo" or residue after sizing that you'd still need to re-tumble... :popcorn:

[I B Jeepin]

I just use wax. Imperial or Hornady. A tiny tub lasts for years. I dap my finger in it and lube every other case or so. I use Lee Carbide dies for the most part. For example I dont even have to lube .38 special cases. Just rip and zip. Sometimes I even use my Lee hand press.

I gave away my lube pad and containers of lube. Dont use it, dont need it. I also load .223, .308, .30-06, .38 super, .45 acp etc. One less thing to buy, set up, take down and store. That gummy stuff just attracts dirt and makes a mess.

I shoot once a week during the spring, summer and fall, and shoot in a Postal League in the winter. I load just about every week. I respect your fav mixtures but have never stuck a case in a die with any lube.

Just put a dab on your finger, spin the case against the waxed finger tip and size it and one more dry, then another dab of wax. Even for .223 which like lots of lube. Best of all no dents if you use too much.

[Shiloh]

I am having trouble locating the 99% alcohol in my area. How much of the liquid lanolin per quart of alcohol do you use?

Walgreen's will have 99% isopropyl alcohol. Most drug stores will have it as well.
Runs $3.00 a pint or so.

Shiloh

[lmcollins]

Go to the paint isle of your supercenter. Buy a can of shellac thinner. It is pure alcohol. I can't remember which kind, but I bet it works.

[Lloyd Smale]

the reason i went back to just applying it with my fingers over spraying it on is with bottle neck cartridges you need to wipe the necks clean of lube or your going to get to much lube build up and dented cases. Its no harder to just wipe on the lube where you want it then to have to wipe off the neck anyway.
Is anyone re-tumbling after sizing with these concoctions? I currently use the roll pad.. but I can only do 7-8 at a time. It would be nice to put 100+ brass into a container and just "Spray" them, roll them around, etc...

Just curious if there is much "goo" or residue after sizing that you'd still need to re-tumble... :popcorn:

[HORNET]

Tony, if you want to lube your cases in bulk, you might try a method that Dale53 mentioned using when he did very high volume shooting. He filled an ammo can with a watered-down batch of Lee Case Lube (about 10% Lee lube) and used the wire basket from a deep fryer to dunk lube cases. It's water-soluble so you can just wash the cases after sizing to remove it. You could also do the same with something like Gardner-Bender wire-pulling lube (I think it's also water-soluble but check first).

[buyobuyo]

I use the Lee case lube to make my own spray lube. I mix a 2oz tube with a 16oz bottle of 97% (I think) alcohol. I haven't been able to find 99% alcohol locally, but the 97% works fine for me. Just have to shake it up before use.

[wistlepig1]

I am having trouble locating the 99% alcohol in my area. How much of the liquid lanolin per quart of alcohol do you use?

In my area, Safeway carries it sometimes.

[frkelly74]

I have been using castor oil right out of the bottle. I dip the mouth of the case in a very shallow tub and work it down the case with my fingers. It is slick and cheap but a little messy. I am starting to wonder about thinning it with alcohol. Too much kills the primer dead I found out. i usually let the cases drain a day or so before loading and if they are still damp then I clean them up with a paper towel.

[geargnasher]

Alberto VO5 hair dressing, the kind that comes in a tube. Use it with an RCBS or similar lube pad and touch the mouth of the case to the pad for simultaneous inside/outside neck lubing on bottleneck rifle brass.

Gear

[Linstrum]

If you like to experiment with different things that are obtainable at the supermarket in the health and beauty department or cleaning products sections, then by all means have at it! A good part of the fun with casting and reloading is experimenting and making your own stuff, and being self-reliant is pretty darned important nowadays when our supplies are getting more and more limited.

I've experimented with case sizing lubes for about 30 years and I keep going back to just a few.

For large cases that take a lot of force to run into a sizing die, plain old anhydrous lanolin works the best for me. If lanolin were water soluble I'd use it for everything because it is one of the best high pressure lubes there is for the application and a lot is not needed to do the job. But lanolin isn't water soluble and that makes it a bit difficult to clean up. Just a slight residue of lanolin is sticky enough for cartridges to pick up dirt and grit, which could eventually damage chambers and bores. I've got cartridges I loaded up 10 years ago that are still sticky enough from the slight lanolin residue to pick up grit. Lanolin's stickiness will diminish with time, though, it slowly hardens from oxidation and polymerization like boiled linseed oil does, except A LOT slower. What would be really great is if somebody comes up with a homemade case lube that works as good as lanolin but is water soluble and doesn't leave a tacky residue.

For cases that don't take a lot of force to resize, I normally use IDEAL Yellow 77® Wire Pulling Lubricant, product #31-358. About four years ago I got a quart from Home Depot or Lowe's in the electrical wiring supplies section and I still have most of it left, so it is economical to use. It is water soluble, non-toxic, and dries to a non-sticky slightly waxy residue that is easy to clean off with a rag or paper towel. I apply it with my fingers or an ink stamp pad, and then run the cartridge into the sizing die before or after it dries. It works better before it dries, so I don't lube a lot of cartridges in advance. Residue on my fingers acts like hand lotion and I just wipe it off with a paper towel, then wash up later when I'm done sizing.

rl871