bullet lube?

[SW CQB 45]

a young officer called me to his apt to help him with a bunch of reloading stuff he inherited from his grandpa.

alot of the stuff was old school but in very workable condition.

I noticed he had a large quantity of home cast slugs (158 looking 38s and 185 looking 45s) with no lube.

the bullets are in excellant casting quality and were sized but not lubed?

shouldnt the lubing process go with the sizing?

how important is lube to target loadings?

I did find this Lubricating Cast Bullets. Bullet lube does more than you thought

so it appears lube aids in sealing gas, but will there be harm to the bore if these slugs are loaded with no lube?

I dont know how hard they are, but they did peg a hardness scale with no mark on the top (but I dont know how to use that scale either)

thanks in advance

 

[john traveler]

ABSOLUTELY do NOT even THINK about loading and firing those unlubed bullets!

When I was young and foolish, I experimented with loading and firing every other round with lubed bullet and every other round unlubed. It was just a half-assed experiment, but I got the worst leading and barrel fouling you can imagine. It took HOURS of scrubbing and brushing to remove all that lead from the forcing cone, bore, and chamber throats.

The easiest way to lube up those bullets is to use the Lee Alox liquid bullet lubricant. Just dip or even lightly tumble them in the lube, and place on a sheet of waxed paper for the lube to harden. They will then load and fire no problem, just as if they had been sized and lubed in the first place.

 

[SW CQB 45]

thanks JT. when you say tumble, are you referring to the a case cleaner type tumbler?

if so, how many slugs would be acceptable so one does not burn up the motor?

my two tumblers, lyman/???? are medium/decent size.

since I have never worked with liquid Alox, it this a messy job?

 

[Dan Cash]

Jt is right, don't use the projectiles without lube!
To tumble lube the bullets, place a double hand full of bullets in a pan or similar container (plastic coffee can). Squirt some liquid alox on the pile of bullets and gently roll around in the container until all have a thin coat of lube. Pour out on cookie sheet or wax paper and let dry.

This is a technique but has never proved very satisfactory for me. I pan lube bullets that will not go through a lubricating machine. Go to Cast Boolits - Dedicated To The World Of Cast Bullets! and do a search on pan lubing and lube formula. You will learn more than you ever wanted to know.
Dan

 

[Calaveras Slim]

I'm with Dan Cash.

However, if this young feller is going to do any casting, mybe so he can buy a low cost Lee Set up to size and lube his bullets. I bought the RCBS Lubrasizer and never regretted it, but it runs around $260 now, so that may not be the way for him to go.
\
However he does it, these bullets need lube

 

[max]

Just curious as to why you think they were sized but not lubed. Usually those operations occur at the same time.

 

[SW CQB 45]

his grandpa died, so we will never know why they were not lubed.

I will tell you this, these are some first class slugs.

according to the grandson, his grandpa was very meticulous with everything he did.

in the pile of reloading equipment appears to be two sizers/lubers, including lead ingots and tubes of lube.

since I buy bulk bullets ready to go, this stuff is somewhat a different language but I can probably make heads or tales on how to use.

if I were to take a guess, there is probably close to 500 slugs of 45acp and 500 of 38spl that do not have lube.

I will likely end up buying the majority of this stuff (slugs), and I may set up his lubers and try this out one cool winter day.

so there may be more questions down the road.

I know there was some saeco molds, handles, shotgun reloaders, and a bunch of accessories. I was explaining the reload process to the youngin and he seemed lost. He is a shotgunner and I told him that in ref to metallic reloading, he needed to start reading grandpa's reloading manuals and build a sturdy bench and we can start from there.

He can use me as a resource to reload handgun, however I have no time behind a shotgun loader.

I will be using you all as a resource to help lube if I dont go the ALOX way.

thanks for the info

 

[BSkerj]

I will warn you now....if you lube these bullets yourself be careful that one thing does not lead to another. I bought a used Lee mold and bottom feed furnace, 40.00 for both, just to try casting, and now I am hooked. You may be pleasantly suprised how you will look forward to those "cold winter days". Some of the guys on this forum and Casting Boolits site just helped to feed my addiction. Good Luck and ask lots of questions if there are any doubts.

 

[epj]

You seem to have already answered your question. There are two lube/sizing machines available. All you need to do is set one up and lube the bullets. You indicate they appear to be sized already. Did you mike them to se if they are actually sized? As mentioned, check out the cast boolit website for more info than you can even imagine.

 

[nonferrous]

Lee makes a sizing die that Midsouth sells for about $14 and it comes with enough Liquid Alox to lube 1000's of Boolits.
It's a nice clean system and it works for me. It also comes with a container that catches the lubed Boolits.

 

[SW CQB 45]

Lee makes a sizing die that Midsouth sells for about $14 and it comes with enough Liquid Alox to lube 1000's of Boolits.
It's a nice clean system and it works for me. It also comes with a container that catches the lubed Boolits.

nonferrous, is there a part number as their website (midsouth) does not have a search function?

 

[nonferrous]

Regarding Midsouth order numbers.
The Lee Lube and sizing kits are on page 59 of the latest catalog.
The price is 14.09 each plus shipping. I have found that with Midsouth, a large order does not cost much more to ship than a small order.
The .358 dia. kit is # 006-90048
The .452 dia. kit is # 006-90055
The .454 dia. kit is # 006-90056
The .457 dia. kit is # 006-90057
When you go to the web site, Midsouth Shooters Supply, Reloading, Air Guns, Optics, Muzzleloaders & Shooting Supplies, the menu on the left has reloading, then click on lead bullet casting, then sizing dies, then Lee.
If you need a press, the Lee reloader press is only 26.00 and would ship for another 1.00, I have mine set up just for sizing and I don't have to mess with my setup.
There is better gear out there, but I don't know how Lee does it for what they charge.
Its like my Mec 650, it looks like a throwaway tool, but I have had it for almost 40 years and I have lost count of how many 1000's of shells it has loaded, it still works like it did when I was driving my brand new Buick Electra 225 in the early 70's and that car was probably made into refrigerators 20 years ago.
Good luck, MIdsouth is pretty good.

 

[SW CQB 45]

nonferrous, I appreciate the info.

will that die screw to my RCBS RockChucker?

 

[nonferrous]

Right, it's a 7/8 x 14 thread and will fit any press.

 

[SW CQB 45]

OK, good deal.

I will try to figure his stuff out and if not, I will definitely try the others listed here.

Those slugs are too nice to leave sitting.