Trouble with pan lube

[RobsTV]

Another important part of lube is where are you located? If like me, you are in an area where temperatures rarely drop below 70, and are in the 80's and 90's+ most of the time, you need a lube that is hard enough to stay put. My BP lube seems hard and brittle, but after being outdoors a couple hours, it starts to get sloppy, and nearly melts away in the cylinders when used in 1858 Remington after a few rounds.

[somdgunner]

apply corn starch to the boolits before you pour the batter in the pan.

[GSRacer]

1st time I pan lubed my boolits I got about 25% of them that had wax in the groove. The next time I used a fired case without primer and sized the Inside Diameter so the cast boolit slipped into the case. I press the case over the boolit with my thumb, and press the boolit out of the case with a nail. Takes a little longer but only messed up 1 boolit out of 100 last time I did it.

[sthwestvictoria]

as for tack beeswax has some tackiness all it's own and a bit of lanolin would add more , my best results with pan lubing is around 60-75% wax to the remainder grease/vaseline ,

Absolutely.
I use 70% bee wax, 26% vaseline, 2% lanolin (sold at pharmacy's) and 2% crayon for colour (by weight), works perfectly. The bullets are stood up in a silicone pan cold, molted lube poured around them. Allowed to cool to a plastic consistency then the cake of lube with bullets in is lifted out and bullets pushed out base first. I think this was from Char-Gar here on the forum and Australian writer Nick Harvey.

What recipe is the the 50:50 BW:lithium grease? Where did you get it from? Perhaps that person is using it in a lubesizer, not panlubing.

[MT Chambers]

Get yourself a good lube/sizer, life's too short to be playing around in the mud.

[Lead Fred]

Put yer boolits in the pan, with no wax, heat them for 30 minutes @ 200 degrees. <---- heats the boolits, wax adheres to them better
Then pour the wax into your heated pan.
Ive always used 1lb bees wax, 1lb lard, 1 bottle STP.
Gets good and hard, and sticks like glue

MT Id rather waste my money on other things. A lubrasizer is a fancy machine that does not do any better than pan lubing.

[gmich]

So, I added a bit of candle wax to the mix, maybe it helps. For sure what seems to work though is taking a 45-70 and cutting them out. I still end up with a sticky coating on the ogive and the base from the pan and sort of settled on dragging the bullet base across a scotch-brite pad to scrape of the wax there and after loaded I use 91% alcohol on a rag and wipe off the remaining wax above the case mouth and bullet itself. They look good and seem to shoot okay. For sure, if it was not so much fun ( I know, how twisted is that) all the extra work would not be worth it but even if the market was flush with cast bullets to buy, I don't think I ever will again. Just one more thing that brings me closer to 100%. I assume you all know what I mean even if I cant find the correct phraseology. Thanks everybody, if you have cleaner and less messy methods, bring them on.

[mac60]

Get yourself a good lube/sizer, life's too short to be playing around in the mud.

As I went through the thread looking at the replies I wondered when I'd see it. When I started casting I pan lubed. I very quickly realized why some call it "pain lubing". I saved my pennies and when I saw a Lyman 450 at a gun show for $50.00 I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough. It is my sincere hope that I never have to "pain lube" another boolit.

[Js-Shot]

we must have been watching same video, I went 50/50 white lithum grease and beezwax, didnt work well for me either, and yeah I saw him just push them out as well, I ended up with about 90/10 the 10 being the white lithum grease, sets up more solid now, I am trying to get like the waxmiester punch right now, even if I have to make my own, like you I have only recently started casting my own (bout 6 months) it is fun, just to dang hot in my garage right now!

[gundownunder]

I use 1/3 beeswax, 1/3 high pressure lithium grease, and 1/3 liquid Alox. First melt the beeswax, but don't burn it. Second, add the Alox and mix it in while maintaining heat. Then add the lithium grease, lithium grease has a very high melting point so don't even try to melt it. Turn off the heat and stir till all the lumps of grease are mixed in, you may need to warm the mix up once or twice during mixing to get all the grease mixed in. Once all three ingredients are thoroughly blended you will find it all melts into a liquid form without any problems.

Stand the bullets in a tray, add lube till the right height is reached then warm everything back up with a hot air gun. Once everything is nice and warm I leave it to set and then use a cutter to remove bullets from pan. Refill the holes where the bullets came out of and then use heat gun to reheat pan till all the lube is melted again and the bullets are hot. If you want to increase production use two pans and put one pan in the fridge to set while you cut, refill, and heat, the other.

I use this lube in a 357 rifle to drive a 175gr bullet at 1750 fps. I have used it at temperatures ranging from 37deg in winter, up to 110 deg in summer and it has worked perfectly at all temperatures. No leading, and barrel cleaning is achieved with just a few cotton patches.

[tyeo098]

1 lb Gulf Paraffin wax (sold at walmart near the jello, 1lb box)
1 Jar vaseline (solt at walmart near the pharmacy)
2 TBSP STP Oil treatment (Sold at walmart in auto parts)

Melt, at a crayon or 2 for color, pour around boolets in a cookie sheet, and pull out with pliers.

[gundownunder]

If you are getting lube everywhere I would suggest your lube is still too soft I twist mine out of the lube and only have to wipe the base of about 1 in 10. If you use a cutter don't use the easy push through type as they will spread lube the length of the pipe and then wipe it along the full length of the bullet. If you use a plunger type cutter the lube will stay where it belongs and you will have almost no lube above the crimp groove.

[Jim..47]

I've been working on a pan lube formula also without the luck I need, but its too late tonight to go into detail. I'll follow up in a day or so. I wouldn't give up on the pan lubing, just try another formula as others here have suggested, but using very small amounts until you know it works for you. I'll be doing the same thing.

The good thing is, once you're figured it out you will be able to help others. Also, I've used the lube sizer for 30 years or so, and it can be very messy and cause the bullets to be messy alsos, if not done right.

[fixit156]

Hey Gmich

I had the same problem that you had when I started pan lubing. Here how I solve it. Put the boolits in a pan then use a heat gun to heat them up to 140 degrees. Then I pour Flex lube in the pan. I found when it cools to 70 degrees. I can push them out from the base of the bullet.
Hope this helps.
I also own a RCBS Lube-A-Matic. I use it mostly for seating gas checks.
Fixit

[Jim..47]

Hey Gmich

I had the same problem that you had when I started pan lubing. Here how I solve it. Put the boolits in a pan then use a heat gun to heat them up to 140 degrees. Then I pour Flex lube in the pan. I found when it cools to 70 degrees. I can push them out from the base of the bullet.
Hope this helps.
I also own a RCBS Lube-A-Matic. I use it mostly for seating gas checks.
Fixit

Sounds good, but would you care to share your formula for "Flex Lube"?

[fixit156]

Felix Lube formula

2 Tablespoons mineral oil- (ATF Dexron 3) -
1 Tablespoon castor oil
1 Tablespoon Ivory, or homemade soap (grated)
1 Tablespoon Lanolin - add when temp is below 125deg
1 Teaspoon carnauba wax
Beeswax - Piece approximately 3 1/2" X 3 1/2" X 1 " weighs 7.0oz 200grams
(small piece of paraffin, about the size of 2 sugar cubes) to stiffen it (harder pan lube)

Heat mineral (baby) oil until it starts to smoke. 250 deg.

Add castor oil, and stir continuously for 1/2 hour.

Sliver the soap, and stir into the mixture a little at a time, until melted.

Add the beeswax before the lanolin, and then when that is melted, reduce or remove the heat and add the lanolin, thus not running any risk of burning or scorching the lanolin.

1 teaspoon of carnauba wax can be added to give a shiny bore. This can be found on the seal of Makers Mark whiskey, or the red wax on cheese from the supermarket.

Once made, let cool. This can be re-melted in a microwave, and poured into the lubricator.

[Jim..47]

Thanks a bunch for your formula and instructions.
If I get lucky I might have a chance to use it this week or next!

[dmclark523]

I'm not sure about your recipe, I just use 50/50 Beeswax/Xlox from LSStuff. I've never had success making my own lube.

This may or may not help, but I line up my boolits in the pan upright, and hit them with a hair-dryer on high for a minute or two until
they are almost to hot to pick up.

Once I pour the lube and let it cool, I never have a problem.

[zidave]

1 lb Gulf Paraffin wax (sold at walmart near the jello, 1lb box)
1 Jar vaseline (solt at walmart near the pharmacy)
2 TBSP STP Oil treatment (Sold at walmart in auto parts)

Melt, at a crayon or 2 for color, pour around boolets in a cookie sheet

This is the exact recipe I use. Haven't had a single problem with it not sticking in the grooves as long as the hardened cake doesn't break in the process of pushing out the boolits. No leading either

[Jim..47]

Felix Lube formula

2 Tablespoons mineral oil- (ATF Dexron 3) -
1 Tablespoon castor oil
1 Tablespoon Ivory, or homemade soap (grated)
1 Tablespoon Lanolin - add when temp is below 125deg
1 Teaspoon carnauba wax
Beeswax - Piece approximately 3 1/2" X 3 1/2" X 1 " weighs 7.0oz 200grams
(small piece of paraffin, about the size of 2 sugar cubes) to stiffen it (harder pan lube)

Heat mineral (baby) oil until it starts to smoke. 250 deg.

Add castor oil, and stir continuously for 1/2 hour.

Sliver the soap, and stir into the mixture a little at a time, until melted.

Add the beeswax before the lanolin, and then when that is melted, reduce or remove the heat and add the lanolin, thus not running any risk of burning or scorching the lanolin.

1 teaspoon of carnauba wax can be added to give a shiny bore. This can be found on the seal of Makers Mark whiskey, or the red wax on cheese from the supermarket.

Once made, let cool. This can be re-melted in a microwave, and poured into the lubricator.

_{I forgot to ask, can this formula also be used as a "pan lube"?}