Help Using A Lee Whack A Mole
- Thread starter s1mp13m4n
- Start date
I have used a 2 ton arbor press with mine. It works, but remember you have to get the case out eventually...
gwpercle
Member
I forgot about one of the best improvised case lubes and you wont be too embarrassed to buy the square green tin it comes in Vermont's Dairy Association's Original ... Bag Balm ...Great for dry chapped skin on the hands or other area's . It has a Lanolin base
...my Grandma used it on her...hands , Grandpa used it on the milk cows other parts and I have used it for emergency case lube .
Why it's an udderly amazing product and you don't have to feel funny when you buy it at the local Tractor Supply (like some other products made for ladies with babies) and it keeps your hands nice and soft !
Gary
...my Grandma used it on her...hands , Grandpa used it on the milk cows other parts and I have used it for emergency case lube .
Why it's an udderly amazing product and you don't have to feel funny when you buy it at the local Tractor Supply (like some other products made for ladies with babies) and it keeps your hands nice and soft !
Gary
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For cryin' out loud! What's easier to get than lube actually designed for reloading? Lee, RCBS, Hornady, whatever. Spray it on. Shake em' in a plastic bag. Roll em' on a pad. Use your fingers. Don't matter. It's cheap and readily available. AND for less than a hundred bucks you could pick up a used single stage press and quadruple your output...
That said, congratulations on giving it the old college try and beginning to learn the art and science of handloading. May you have many happy hammer drops!
That said, congratulations on giving it the old college try and beginning to learn the art and science of handloading. May you have many happy hammer drops!
If you have a bench vise that opens far enough, it can be used to push the case into the die very easily.
Sometimes it easier to place the case in the die. Then flip it around and put the case head down on a hard surface so you are looking at the top of the die.
Then strike the top of the die with a non-maring mallet to drive the die down over the case.
Bow string wax works well in a pinch for case lube. BeesWax also. Soften either with a dab of crisco melted in.
Sometimes it easier to place the case in the die. Then flip it around and put the case head down on a hard surface so you are looking at the top of the die.
Then strike the top of the die with a non-maring mallet to drive the die down over the case.
Bow string wax works well in a pinch for case lube. BeesWax also. Soften either with a dab of crisco melted in.
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
I agree, buy a lube made for reloading cases. I use Imperial Sizing Wax on rifle cases and One Shot works well on straight handgun ammo cases.
Yes, use the cylinder of your revolver as a go no-go gauge. Set aside all cases that don't go into the cylinder easily. Load the ones that go in easily then if you get a press later you can full length resize them. It will only take a few for you to load your first test rounds.
I lived in LA during my first 25 years of reloading and there were only 3 places to get reloading supplies, and many times the offerings were minimal. Case lube was limited to Hornady One Shot, in two of the stores and the other carried no case lube. My post was to inform the OP that "dedicated reloading case lube" was not necessary and substitutes were readily available. I use Mink Oil Boot Dressing Cream because 1. It is available 3 blocks from my house. 2. It works as well or better than commercial case lubes I tried.3. It is much less expensive.
There are many things used in reloading that need not be "dedicated reloading" only and substitutes are sometimes better (alox is a metal preserver that works well as a bullet lube. I have made aluminum can gas checks. I often use Bag Balm, Mink Oil, etc. for case lube. I use 50-50 acetone ATF instead of Liquid Wrench or Kroil. Sawdust works quite well, as good as any commercial flux for my casting. And there are many more chemicals and tools that work equally as well as "dedicated" reloading stuff)...
^^^ That right there!
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
@s1mp13m4n
Sorry, if I had remembered the Lee Loader was neck size only I would have resized the cases I sent you before I packed them up.
Are any of the cases I sent you a problem if are the others a problem? The cases I sent were loaded to low pressure target loads only. They should not be stretched.
Sorry, if I had remembered the Lee Loader was neck size only I would have resized the cases I sent you before I packed them up.
Are any of the cases I sent you a problem if are the others a problem? The cases I sent were loaded to low pressure target loads only. They should not be stretched.
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
Not as good as KY
max503
Member
I've done many 22 Hornets with a Lee Loader. I never used lube.
I have a 38 Lee Loader but have never used it. I might if I get time, just out of curiosity.
I wouldn't surprise me if you had to put some oomphf into the hammer blows, and not use any lube.
I have a 38 Lee Loader but have never used it. I might if I get time, just out of curiosity.
I wouldn't surprise me if you had to put some oomphf into the hammer blows, and not use any lube.
It's good for getting a toe wet, into reloading.
I remember sizing & priming some .45 ACP on night,
on CQ duty.
I may have eventually loaded a few hundred rounds, but
the second time I had a primer go off (they are LOUD),
I committed to buying a press and real dies!
OP
s1mp13m4n
Member
Lee Loader update. I have figured out that the Lee Loader needs a very firm surface. A table with give, wood with any bounce will not cut it. I solved my Lee Loader problem with an anvil. I used it today to load fifty 38 special rounds. It took three hours but it did get the job done.
