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Thread: DIY Tumble lube

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy Kentucky146's Avatar
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    DIY Tumble lube

    I know LEE Alox I am curious if anyone has a DIY for tumble lube.

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy


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    https://www.ebay.com/itm/32611993651...Bk9SR8a-ha3TZw

    I know your looking for a DIY recipe, however the White Label 45/45/10 lube is a real bargain and this jug will lube a lot of bullets. Dries nicer than LLA.

    Tom

  3. #3
    Boolit Master Delkal's Avatar
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    Tumble lube? You mean the stuff we used to use before there was powder coating?

    Here is the recipe I came up with and used to use. It is based on the dozens of Johnson's paste wax recipes before it was discontinued but uses a lot of Carnuba Wax so it is very hard and not sticky. You still need Lee Liquid Alox though.

    3 oz Lee Alox
    1.5 oz Beeswax
    1.5 oz Carnuba wax flakes (Ebay /Amazon)
    Mineral spirits/paint thinner. Dilute to 8 oz

    Melt beeswax and Carnuba. Remove from heat and add Alox. Stir. Reheat and add 1/2 of the mineral spirits (outdoors and away from any flame). Stir and heat slightly then add the rest of the mineral spirits. Stir till starts to cool.

    This will give a hard paste and you will need to heat your bullets to get it to melt while shaking. Dump and let it sit overnight to evaporate the mineral spirits.

  4. #4
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    Alox is the secret ingredient. If you are looking for something that doesn't have alox in it, it probably ain't gonna work.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
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  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Delkal View Post
    Tumble lube? You mean the stuff we used to use before there was powder coating?
    I still keep a jar of DIY 45-45-10 on my bench to test against powder coated loads.

    The TL is often more accurate.

  6. #6
    Boolit Man
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    Quote Originally Posted by Charlie Horse View Post
    I still keep a jar of DIY 45-45-10 on my bench to test against powder coated loads.

    The TL is often more accurate.
    Yep! Lee 309-170FP over H4895 tumble lubed with 45-45-10 has been scary accurate for me in my 308 win compared to my powder coated version.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy Polymath's Avatar
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    I use Red Dragon or Goblins Snot. My recipes do NOT contain Alox.

  8. #8
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    roister jacket is ok..easy to use..non messy.. but.. i dont push it very hard either... quite a thin residue..even with multiple dunk n cures.

  9. #9
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    I got some Xlox from White Label and used it to make my own 45-45-10. You can skip the mad scientist home laboratory and just order 45-45-10 straight from White Label. A very small amount will swirl lube a lot of boolits, and it dries to a much better consistency than ordinary Alox lubes.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master

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    Grumpy Old Man With A Gun....... Do Not Touch !!

  11. #11
    Boolit Master brassrat's Avatar
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    I said it before. Havent loaded anything lately but I used Alox mixed with a shot of the, yellow can, One step. I use 2 Solo cups and pour back and forth then spread them out on a tray and use a fan on them. Very dry in less than half hour or so. Load.

  12. #12
    Boolit Mold
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    Will adding a little Lard or rendered pork fat hurt???

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy steveu's Avatar
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    BLL works for me!

  14. #14
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    White Label's 45-45-10 is hard to beat. The cost of separate ingredients to 'roll your own' would probably exceed the amount for WL's lube.
    NRA Life 1992
    My avatar is almost a dead ringer for my little buddy Chico. Six pounds of mean that thought he was a Pit Bull. Miss that little guy.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    I did some research into a DIY tumble lube a few years back. The result was working with hazardous chemicals that I did not want in my home, so I forgot about it. IIRC, it was dissolving calcium soap in benzene… something like that.
    *
    Making your own wax paste isn’t too bad though. Old fashioned woodworkers do it.

  16. #16
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    Half a century ago QuakerState had an undercoating product that remained intact until the metal it was on broke from repeated bending. I have wondered how that would work.
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    He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

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    I may be discharged and retired but I'm sure I did not renounce the oath that I solemnly swore!

  17. #17
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by Delkal View Post
    Tumble lube? You mean the stuff we used to use before there was powder coating?

    Here is the recipe I came up with and used to use. It is based on the dozens of Johnson's paste wax recipes before it was discontinued but uses a lot of Carnuba Wax so it is very hard and not sticky. You still need Lee Liquid Alox though.

    3 oz Lee Alox
    1.5 oz Beeswax
    1.5 oz Carnuba wax flakes (Ebay /Amazon)
    Mineral spirits/paint thinner. Dilute to 8 oz

    Melt beeswax and Carnuba. Remove from heat and add Alox. Stir. Reheat and add 1/2 of the mineral spirits (outdoors and away from any flame). Stir and heat slightly then add the rest of the mineral spirits. Stir till starts to cool.

    This will give a hard paste and you will need to heat your bullets to get it to melt while shaking. Dump and let it sit overnight to evaporate the mineral spirits.
    The advantage of a good tumble lube, and another vote for White Label 45-45-10, is speed. If you want to make a pile of handgun bullets and your mold casts to diameter so you don't need to size, nothing is faster than a 6-8 cavity mold lubed with tumble lube.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
    Ed_Shot's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 405grain View Post
    I got some Xlox from White Label and used it to make my own 45-45-10. You can skip the mad scientist home laboratory and just order 45-45-10 straight from White Label. A very small amount will swirl lube a lot of boolits, and it dries to a much better consistency than ordinary Alox lubes.
    +1 for WL 45-45-10
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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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