Sizing and lubing

Ive made my second batch of bullets and they are greatly improved over the first batch, I added tin and they cast much cleaner and had almost no wrinkles. Now it is time to size and lube them, and i want see the same improvement with this step as i did with the casting. I have a lee sizer, and i read the instructions and as I understood them I was to lube the bullets then run them through the sizing die then lube them again. This didn't make sense to me so the first try I sized them dry then lubed with alox after they were sized. This left me with a bunch of sticky gooey bullets and and sticky gooey loaded ammo. Is there a better way to do this using the lee sizing die I already have? I read here that I could make a good bullet lube with alox, johnsons paste wax and mineral spirits, and I have bought those ingredients to make that lube. Will this lube need to be applied 2 times and be as messy as my last go round? I think i am looking for a result that looks like it came out of a lube sizer die but i don't have a lube sizer. Ive read about pan lubing but it just seems like a whole lot of extra work.

Have very limited experience with LLA but what you have may be from excess lube. It takes a light coat, just enough to see it on the bullets. Know this from experience, had a similar problem to yours, because I put way too much lube on the bullets. Seeing what other on here did realized the lubed bullets did NOT need to look like they were chocolate coated.

Sounds like you're doing too much of a good thing.

Some of that is unavoidable.
Even using a heated sizer/lubricator, I find my self sometimes wiping the top of finished rounds with a towel.

I generally spray a little lanolin based lube in a ziplock bag and shake the boolits. then run them thru the lee sizer. Next step is to use just a little of that mixture you mentioned on the sized boolits. Let them dry overnight then load. There are many threads about that mixture here.


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I have heard of folks tossing the tumble lubed boolits in a bag with some baby powder to keep them from being as sticky but I have never tried it.

I would say thin the alox with alcohol or mineral spirits.

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Originally Posted by Thumbcocker

I have heard of folks tossing the tumble lubed boolits in a bag with some baby powder to keep them from being as sticky but I have never tried it.

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I do that with a jar of powdered mica I got before the price of it went stupid.
The last time I bought some, it was $5-6 bucks or so, and that seemed normal and OK for a new one.
However; I didn't look to see the size. When it came, it was in a bag about the size of a postage stamp.
At first I thought it was a 'dime' bag of crack cocaine.

I'd wonder if baby powder wouldn't be too abrasive over time though.

Here is a link to tumble lube application that might be beneficial to read through. There are photos that might help you determine that you do not want the bullets swimming in lube, just a very light application that will dry over night. Often members will use mineral spirits to thin the lube for an easy and even light coating.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...0-Newbie-Lubie

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...left me with a bunch of sticky gooey bullets and and sticky gooey loaded ammo.
Is there a better way to do this using the lee sizing die I already have?

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Unless you have cast your bullets waaaay oversize, simply (Lee) size without lube -- leaving a clean bullet for next steps.

- Use full-strength Lee ALOX -- a dab on thumb/forefinger ("greasy fingers")

- "Grease-up" the bullets as you pick the up one at a time/place vertical/base down on a plate. Thin film.
...Do not attempt to "fill the grooves." ALOX is a surface lubricant.

- (Renew the ALOX on your fingers every 4-5 bullets to keep things greasy)

- Bake (yes bake) at 225 for 40-45 minutes/allow final cool/dry overnight.
..Thin-film/ALOX'd bullets will not be tacky at all at that point

Shoot them.

Many of us use 45-45-10 (45% LLA, 45% Johnson's paste wax, 10% mineral spirits) or Ben's Liquid Lube (50-50 LLA and Lundmark Liquid floor wax).

Note both posts above. Baking is a good idea to speed drying time.

PS if it looks like you don't have enough lube on the bullet, then you probably have too much :)

PPS before putting mine on a tray to dry I put them on a paper towel. That soaks up the stuff that runs off the sides (if any)

If i made that 45-45-10 lube up and instead of rolling the bullets in it could I just fill a cup with the lube and set them in it point up and only allow the full diameter of the bullet to get lubed not the point?

Don't dunk the bullets in ALOX in any form.
You will never get enough off to dry.

Just grease them with your thumb/forefinger using full-up Lee ALOX
and bake the solvent off in a warm/225 oven.

Back when Ranchdog still had his website up, he used an electric slow cooker and a set of channel lock pliers to hold the bullet by the nose and dip the grooves in the warm LLA, then set base down on a piece of wax paper. I experienced the same issues as you, made a huge mess. I went to a traditional sizer with carnauba red.

why not try a 4-5:1 ratio of mineral spirits and LLA? It makes a nice fast drying cast bullet lube, and twice around the block just make it better. I'd bet that a single tumble in that mix would work great for sizing purposes


jd

Do you eat takeout Chinese food? Take one of the soup containers, add your boolits, a drop or two of Alox or the Johnson's Paste was combination, cap it and shake well. Pour them out and you will find you have a very thin coat on all the boolits - this is all you need for shooting. For pre-lubing prior to sizing in the Lee die even water will work, you just need a little something to ease the boolit through the die.

"sticky, gooey" means you put way too much LLA on them. Follow the Lee directions. I use a medium size plastic, empty, clean peanut butter jar. Fill about halfway with bullets. Put just a couple drops of LLA in the jar and roll the jar around. You want just a slight reddish or golden hue oof LLA on the bullets.. If not enough LLA add a couple more drops until the bullets just have that hue on them. Pour the bullets out onto a sheet of wax paper and spread them out or set them on their base.

Let them thoroughly dry. In colder weather or a humid place like Florida that can take a couple three days. Do not get in a hurry and procede until they are dry. It can be speeded up by placing them in the sun, in an oven on "warm" or with a hair dryer. If the bullets do not need sizing then you can load them and shoot them after they thoroughly dry....did I mention after they thorough dry? If they need sizing then size them and give them another very light coat and, again, let them thoroughly dry before loading.

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Originally Posted by Larry Gibson

"sticky, gooey" means you put way too much LLA on them. Follow the Lee directions. I use a medium size plastic, empty, clean peanut butter jar. Fill about halfway with bullets. Put just a couple drops of LLA in the jar and roll the jar around. You want just a slight reddish or golden hue oof LLA on the bullets.. If not enough LLA add a couple more drops until the bullets just have that hue on them. Pour the bullets out onto a sheet of wax paper and spread them out or set them on their base.

Let them thoroughly dry. In colder weather or a humid place like Florida that can take a couple three days. Do not get in a hurry and procede until they are dry. It can be speeded up by placing them in the sun, in an oven on "warm" or with a hair dryer. If the bullets do not need sizing then you can load them and shoot them after they thoroughly dry....did I mention after they thorough dry? If they need sizing then size them and give them another very light coat and, again, let them thoroughly dry before loading.

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Larry summed it up nicly. Just remember a little goes a long long ways. Take your time and welcome aboard:bigsmyl2:

Yea I am hooked, I got a 6 cavity 9mm mold about a year ago from a nice guy that is a member here. So when i cast my second batch i cast 2 of the plastic coffee cans of .357 158grain bullets, and almost 2 of the old bigger metal cans of 9mm bullets. The 6 gang mold goes way faster!!! I have a .452 mold for my 45 pistols, but could not find a 6 gang and had to settle for a 2 gang. A friend gave me a huge paper drum of red dot and a bunch of win 231. So I am a caster from here on out. I really want to thank all of you all for all the help, I was kinda disappointed with my first try.

Good on you ebb. Keep at it and over time you will perfect things!