RCBS bullet lube

[Maximumbob54]

So I recently upgraded from my hand me down Lyman 450 to a brand new RCBS LAM2 and it came with a stick of green RCBS bullet lube. Being the cheapskate that I am I decided to use it despite being in love with White Label Lube's BAC. BAC doesn't require a heater but I find if you just warm it just a bit it flows so much better and really fills in the lube groove just right. MidwayUSA's product description has this to say about the RCBS lube:

"A lube heater is recommended for best results but is not required."

RCBS Handgun Bullet Lube Hollow

So I tried it without any warming and it flows like I'm trying to lube with asphalt. So I bolted a Lyman heater under the LAM2. OK, add a little heat... Nada... OK, leave the heater on a little longer and see when it starts to flow right and then click off the heat. OMG THERE'S LUBE GOING EVERYWHERE!!!! Clean all that up and toss it into the spilled lube zip lock baggie. Now clean up some more as it's still coming out.

I live in Jax, FL and I'm running this operation in the back bedroom of the house so I'm not talking about doing this in cold depths of some mountain pass in the Rockies. RCBS isn't known for making chump equipment so I figure it's got to be something I'm doing wrong. Does the LAM2 just not like to be used with Lyman sizing dies? I can't see how that would be the case but that's one of the last few things I can come up with.

Bottom line, I'm finding this stuff to be complete trash. The added insult is the lube that does stick in the lube grooves likes to start to peel out as the bullet come up from the die. It's like the lube wants to stick to everything but the bullet.

I will have to add some pics in just a bit.

 

[Engineer1911]

I have not used RCBS bullet lube, mine is "home brewed" with bees wax and stuff. I just don't remember the recipe but I got a 3# coffee can full.

My experience with the 'heater' is that there is a very fine line between geat success and a real mess. My technique is set the sizer / heater up first with power on and the lube feed screw backed off about 4 revolutions. Then I get everything else organized, cleaned up, ready to go, lubed bullet trays, etc. I let the sizer / heater sit a good 25 to 35 minutes to warm up and stabilize on temperature and softness.

Once I start sizing & lubing, it is very easy to tell if the temperature is correct. Too soft lube comes easily & quickly -- lower heater temperature. Too stiff lube is work -- increase temperature and wait for it to flow easily. I keep sizing the same bullet until it gets lubed, then do the next one.

A 44 bullet that takes a lot of lube is more sensitive to temperature then a 38 wadcutter that uses just a little lube. Hope this helps you prevent another mess. I learned the hard way -- bullet lube every where -- that setup just takes time to get it right. When I size & lube, the batch size is at least a 3# coffee can of cast bullets, maybe 2 cans so I'm in no rush to get started. It's gona' be a 3 coffee cup day.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Pic time...

As you can see, the bullet on the left doesn't have quite good fill and many of them come out looking worse. I think that's one I ran through twice. That was done with the heater turned on. The one on the right was done with the heater turned off. And as you can see the bullet is now completely deformed but shockingly enough the lube groove is mostly filled just right.

I'm warming up the press with the heater right now and would rather have mostly filled lube grooves than smooshed bullets.

 

[Skip Sackett]

My heater is REALLY sophisticated! It is a $9 clothes iron! I was working at a factory as an engineer and we had a big electrical problem. One of the large amp power panels went south and I was able to get a bit of aluminum bus bar, about 2' worth. I cut that in half, mounted it to the lubing table and mounted my sizer to it. I have enough behind the sizer to lay the iron down. I have a mark on the dial where about 100*F is and viola, I have a heater!

I have also commandeered my girl's hair dryer from time to time to "pre-heat" the sizer. It can be a long time for the iron to put enough heat into things so, when I am impatient, I get the blow dryer out. After a hundred or so, the iron is in fine fiddle and does the work.

I have never use the RCBS lube either, Lyman Orange, Lyman Black, 50/50, BAC, Carnuba Red and a HOST of homemade concoctions that worked about as well only took too much time to make, and all with good success.

May I suggest a little adjustment of the "stop"? Make small adjustments, up or down and see if that helps at all. With the other, softer lubes, it may not be as critical as with the harder stuff. Just a suggestion.

Hope you get it figured out soon.....before you lose all sanity!

 

[Maximumbob54]

And now that everything is getting warm:

 

[Skip Sackett]

What size are they coming out of the mould? What size is the sizing die?

 

[Engineer1911]

In post #5, I suggest running the bullet a little deeper into the sizer die. I think the sizer die lub hole is just hitting the lube groove bottom. Pushing the bullet deeper will get you a better fill.

 

[Maximumbob54]

As cast they come out at a fairly uniform .403" and from the sizing die they come out .401".

I'm running them just deep enough that I don't get lube above the driving band. If I roll the bullet between my fingers the lube will fill back into the groove if it doesn't stick to my fingers. I thought I would be tricky and rub a little sizing wax on my fingers but then the lube really doesn't want to stick to the bullet as I can't help but get sizing wax on the bullet as I pick the next one up.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Been using 60/40 commode seal/canning wax for many years. Requires no heater and works well with all bullets. Cheap too.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Hmmmmmm.

I am at a loss. It will not flow cold? If it would flow cold, albeit hard, I would try it stone cold.

The "roundness" of the ogive gives you a short distance to be off and not suffer for it. Maybe I need to get a .401" die for my Star and see how they work in it! They go nose first but, still, I have had the same problem with some of the "640" design if the lube is too hot. Too hot and it goes everywhere except were it is supposed to!

Turn the heater off, get the hair dryer out, make the outside of the sizer just warmer than room temp and see how it goes. It will cool down kind of fast, depending on the ambient temperature but, just repeat the process every 50 bullets or so. Once it starts flowing, if you can stay consistent, it may just keep going. Stopping is a bad thing when warming your sizer like this, I know first hand!

 

[Maximumbob54]

I just stepped away again in favor loading some .30-30 for a while. I was getting way to close again to the .44 magnum solution.

A happy pic:

 

[Skip Sackett]

Looking good. I just may have to get a .30/30 now, thanks to that picture!

 

[Maximumbob54]

When the zombies come I want to be ready to cowboy up. Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Really I just find the Marlin 336 to be too much fun to shoot and too expensive to feed factory ammo. Casting is easy for it with a Ranch Dog tumble lube mold and they are as usual more accurate than I can aim.