It has been a long time coming, but I finally bought a serious bullet lubrisizer, and I could not be happier. I’m kicking myself for not taking the plunge sooner.
I started lubing my own bullets back about 2014. I went the cheap route. I picked tumble lubing. That is, I’d put the cast bullets in an empty sherbet tube, squirt in some lube, and swish it around. That was fine while I was doing small batches with a single-stage press. However, when I started working with my Hornady LNL Auto-Progressive, I had to stop way too often, clean lube out of the bullet seating die, and go back and re-calibrate it each time. If I did not, the buildup of lube would quickly change the seating depth of the bullet. That could get dangerous with a short round like 9mm where a difference of a couple thousandths can radically alter pressure.
About a year or so ago, I started pan-lubing. That reduced but did not eliminate the problem. Some folks have an easy time popping bullets out of their waxy matrix. I made a mess of it on two attempts and put everything aside while I contemplated a solution.
The advent of the Rossi M92 in 44 Mag got me thinking again. I had a Lee C429-240-SWC mold and a pile of gas checks, but I was going to have to buy a different sizer die to fit the generous dimensions of the Rossi’s bore. I decided to look for something different. A used RCBS Lube-a-matic was on EBAY at a steal of price and I snagged it.
I collected up all the bullets I had from some of my previous lubing experiments. My biggest batch was over 300 from my Lee 358-125-RF mold that I use for 357 Mag and 9mm. Some were sized and lubed. Some were not. Some were still stuck in the matrix of lube while I figured out a new way to extract them. My solution was simple: boil the whole lot in water and free the bullets from the waxy lube. Once all the lube had floated to the top, let things cool. Once cool, peel the layer of lube off the top of the pan and retrieve the cleaned bullets.
This worked great. The lube I was using was a homebrew that was 50% Beeswax and 50% Paraffin. Once I had it collected, I could remelt it and pour it in the Lub-a-matic. What I ended up with was kind of a zebra-striped hybrid that took on the black stripes of the RCBS lube that was still in the barrel. Once that is used up, I bought some White Label 50/50 sticks. It is the original NRA formula in hollow 1-inch sticks , and I can order those cheaper on Ebay than I can make them myself.
I ordered a heater, which although not necessary, is handy. You can give the Lube-a-Matic a softer lube that will dispense without heat, but I wanted a wax that stayed hard at ambient temperature.
Category Archives: Reloading
The Auto-Charge– Two Years On
Two years ago, I got a Hornady Auto-Charge from Natchezss.com. At the time, I likened the transaction to dragging a topwater lure over a largemouth bass repeatedly. After repeatedly presenting it the bass, the fish strikes just because he’s sick and tired of seeing it. The question I want to … Continue reading →
Trip to the Farm
The weather was going to be ideal, so I took the opportunity to ride down to the farm and get some chores done. Most of the weekend was spent dealing with the water system. I ended up replacing the shallow well pump and some plumbing in the cistern, but I … Continue reading →
Crawling out of the Basement
It’s been a little over a year now since my retirement. The Chemo kept me from reloading most of that time, and I just got back to it after New Year’s. Mostly it was about stamina and to a certain extent the neuropathy in my fingers, but I kept doing … Continue reading →
Pan Lube: A Detective Story
This is a bit of a detective story, but there is no dead body. There is no crime. I’m the perpetrator. This should be easy, but it has been tough. The Chemo last summer left me with some holes in my memory. It’s all just little things, but I’ve had … Continue reading →
More on Bess’ Balls
The first attempt to cast balls for the Brown Bess ended with mixed results. The Lee .69 cal mold cast perfect balls for what would be standard paper cartridges, but that assumes that the shooter would be jamming multiple rounds down the barrel without any cleaning. For precision shots, I … Continue reading →
Brown Bess– First Chance to Play with My Balls
Today is looking like the first really good day in a while. The snow is almost completely gone. It’s heading towards the low 60s today. I had reasons not to go to the farm, but I did have time to get my two new molds out and cast balls for … Continue reading →
.35 Caliber Bullet Casting
I got some feedback over the previous post asking for clarification on my 35 caliber bullet casting project. I went back through my previous posts, and realized I never really wrote this up in any detail. I guess it is time I do. Mind you this is not a end-all … Continue reading →
Powder Coating for Dummies
From E-Mail (name withheld on request) Oh, High and Lofty Shaman! . . . I notice you have several pictures on your site of rounds loaded with green-colored bullets. I take it you do powder-coating. How does that work? I see all over, but it all looks way too complicated … Continue reading →
New Storage Bins
With all the hoo-haw last summer, I got way behind in my projects. One of the first left to do was constructing some storage bins for the Shamanic Secret Underground Reloading Facility (SSURF). I originally built SSURF when moving my base of operation back in 2013. It houses all my … Continue reading →
Hornady LNL AP — Just checking in
Some folks were asking about progressive presses the other day. I started telling about my luck with the Hornady LNL Auto-Progressive, and by the time I was done, I realized I should probably let you guys in on it. In 2017, I decided to buy a progressive reloading press. I … Continue reading →
Update on the Auto Charge
Covid hit the family, and knocked the snot out of me. I was down for the better part of a week, and I’m just starting to feel like myself. Yesterday was the first day I had to actually use the Hornady Auto Charge to load rifle rounds. The results were … Continue reading →
Hornady Auto Charge
You know how you can keep pitching a topwater lure back in the lily pads and after enough casts that ol’ bass will suddenly explode?A couple minutes later you and that fish are looking eye-to-eye, Sometimes I have real empathy for the bass. This is one of those instances. Folks … Continue reading →