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Do pan lubing they said. It will be easy they said. NOT.


Cholla

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I just made up a bunch of 250-grain .452 bullets for use with blackpowder. I had 1/2-pound of SPG lube that I melted and poured around the bullets, then melted again to make it was level. 12 hours later I started popping out the bullets expecting to have the lube remain in the grooves. 75% of them it didn't stay in the grooves and I have to smear it back in. I was using this for my trial run for my .45-70 Postell bullets. It ain't looking good. It sure isn't clean, neat, or easy.

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I have found pan lubing comes down to having the correct lube recipe, and getting the cake and bullets popped out at just the right temp.

 

Too hot, and it's a mess.

 

Too cold, or a lube too hard, the wax just shatters or doesn't stay in the groove.

 

 

I can tell you the secret to getting it right... And not end up tearing your hair out...

 

But you might not like it...

 

 

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Cholla said:

I just made up a bunch of 250-grain .452 bullets for use with blackpowder. I had 1/2-pound of SPG lube that I melted and poured around the bullets, then melted again to make it was level. 12 hours later I started popping out the bullets expecting to have the lube remain in the grooves. 75% of them it didn't stay in the grooves and I have to smear it back in. I was using this for my trial run for my .45-70 Postell bullets. It ain't looking good. It sure isn't clean, neat, or easy.

 

Use a fired case or size a case large enough that you can easily push a bullet into it. Drill out the primer pocket so you can use a rod to push the bullet back out of the case.

Cut the bullets out of the hardened lube with it.

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15 minutes ago, Cholla said:

I just made up a bunch of 250-grain .452 bullets for use with blackpowder. I had 1/2-pound of SPG lube that I melted and poured around the bullets, then melted again to make it was level. 12 hours later I started popping out the bullets expecting to have the lube remain in the grooves. 75% of them it didn't stay in the grooves and I have to smear it back in. I was using this for my trial run for my .45-70 Postell bullets. It ain't looking good. It sure isn't clean, neat, or easy.

Dave was quicker! You are far more experienced at BP than I, but something out of time called a Cake cutter comes to mind'  A sharpened bit of tubing just a touch larger than the bullet.  I may have misremembered, but maybe not. The cartridge idea is easier!  Edit- the nice thing about tubing is subsequent rounds push previous out.

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Or just buy big-lube bullets and be done with it!:P

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Cholla- what Sedalia said above. Also, I’ve found that SPG alone is a little runny, especially during the summer months. I’ve had luck mixing a little beeswax in to the melt (you could also just use paraffin wax but I think it’s harder than beeswax). When you let a pan cool (I set mine outside), there’s a nice window where the now solid’ish wax/lube will cookie-cut nice a cleanly. It’ll still be pliable and not yet flaky if that helps. 

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I pan lube, and I've found that just a few degrees or a few minutes at x degrees makes a big difference.

 

I set my oven at 200, and put the bullets and lube in a pie  in there for about 15 minutes.   Then I pull them out and let them cool on top of the oven for 5 minutes.   Then I put them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.   Then I put them in the freezer for 3 minutes.

 

At that point i can pull the disk out of the pie tin and push the bullets straight through the disk (which keeps all the lube in the grooves.

 

I still experiment from time to time, but I find that if I go much longer in the fridge (or freezer) the bullets won't push or, or the lube is too brittle and cracks out of the grooves.   If I go much less, the lube is too soft and squishes out of the grooves when pushed through the disk.

 

 

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Howdy

 

I used to pan lube years ago. I used a mix of about 50% Crisco and 50% Bees Wax.

 

Heat the kitchen oven up to about 250 or 300 degrees, I forget exactly what temperature.

 

I did it for years, with regular hard cast bullets with skimpy lube grooves filled with hard crayon bullet lube. The hard lube has to be melted out first, by laying all the bullets down on their sides on cookie sheet covered with a few sheets of paper towels in the oven. Don't worry if a little bit of hard lube is left in the lube grooves.

 

Once the lube has been melted out of the bullets,  set up all the bullets in a pie pan, pointy side up, then pour the melted wax mixture around them for a depth of about 1/2" or so. Leave about 1/2" between each of the bullets.

 

Let it sit, don't touch it until the wax hardens.

 

Then pop it in the fridge for a few minutes to stiffen the wax a bit more.

 

What you want is a 'bullet cake'; the bullets sitting in a cake of wax. Pop the cake out of the pan. Shove the bullets out with your thumb. Not necessary to use an empty case to pop them out, I never had to. DO NOT MELT THE WAX AGAIN. Place the 'empty' cake back in the pie pans and place the next batch of bullets into the holes in the cake. Put the pan with the bullets into the oven. Allow the wax to melt around the bullets and repeat the process.

 

It works, but I was never satisfied with the amount of lube the skimpy lube grooves could hold. Not enough to keep the bore lubed for the entire length of a rifle barrel.

 

Once I discovered Big Lube bullets I never pan lubed any bullets again.

 

 

P.S. I just watched those videos. Boy, did he leave out a lot of details.

 

By the way, when I used to cast my own Black Powder Big Lube bullets I used the same Magma/Star lubesizer he shows. The best on the market. I don't cast my own bullets anymore, the lead count is too high in my blood. I buy all my Big Lube bullets from Springfield Slim these days. I'll bet he uses a lubesizer like this these days.

 

pn8EaWFYj

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The wax has to be slightly warm. It is the degrees of "slightly" that is the key problem. But once you get the details worked out is isn't too difficult, if you don't need more than a few hundred. Me, I bought a Lubrisizer and never looked back.

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I went through the same issues with pan lubing.  Pulling them out with pliers worked better than punching them out for me (they were hard cast bullets), but both worked more or less okay if conditions were right and you held your tongue a certain way.  Then I bought a really old Lyman lubricizer.  It came with a flat top punch which is all I've ever needed since all the cowboy bullets are flat point.  It leaks and is a bit messy but works well.  But now I don't have as much time for reloading so I've started buying some of my calibers from Springfield Slim.

 

I'm surprised the APP shooters haven't jumped in and said that their bullets need no lube.  

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1 hour ago, Branchwater Jack SASS #88854 said:

I have found pan lubing comes down to having the correct lube recipe, and getting the cake and bullets popped out at just the right temp.

 

Too hot, and it's a mess.

 

Too cold, or a lube too hard, the wax just shatters or doesn't stay in the groove.

 

 

I can tell you the secret to getting it right... And not end up tearing your hair out...

 

But you might not like it...

 

 

 

 

Thanks but Dudley needs to be more involved in your videos. It's not fair that you always get the spotlight.

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Just now, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

I think the moderators have just removed MaryAdam's posts on various topics.  

I reported her, hope I did the right thing! If not, sorry Mary Adam

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27 minutes ago, Springfield Slim SASS #24733 said:

The wax has to be slightly warm. It is the degrees of "slightly" that is the key problem. But once you get the details worked out is isn't too difficult, if you don't need more than a few hundred. Me, I bought a Lubrisizer and never looked back.

 

Listen to Springfield Slim. He is a professional. I buy all my Big Lube bullets from Slim these days.

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1 minute ago, Branchwater Jack SASS #88854 said:

 

Then you're going to love next week's episode!

Put it on the wire please, I'll forget to check you tube by then!

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2 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

Put it on the wire please, I'll forget to check you tube by then!

 

It premiers May 25 at 8:00 central.

 

To keep up with all the content we offer, be sure to subscribe to the Branchwater Jack channel on YouTube.

 

You can also ring the notification bell to be alerted when new content is posted.

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Branchwater Jack SASS #88854 said:

 

It premiers May 25 at 8:00 central.

 

To keep up with all the content we offer, be sure to subscribe to the Branchwater Jack channel on YouTube.

 

You can also ring the notification bell to be alerted when new content is posted.

 

 

My birthday, I can remember that:D

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3 hours ago, Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 said:

 

Listen to Springfield Slim. He is a professional. I buy all my Big Lube bullets from Slim these days.

Thanks, but I am only loading up 50 .45 Colt with a 250-grain bullet and 30 grains of BP for an experiment for an article. Once that's done, I'm back to PC bullets and Trailboss. Now, .45-70 is another matter.

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5 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

Use a fired case or size a case large enough that you can easily push a bullet into it. Drill out the primer pocket so you can use a rod to push the bullet back out of the case.

Cut the bullets out of the hardened lube with it.

I used a .45-70 case and shoved a wool dauber through the primer hole. It worked.

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I am reminded of a very old book I have on CAS by Charley Gullet.  He goes into detail on loading BP, and holy macaroni is it a pain compared to what we do today.  All sorts of wads.  And he seriously stated that 45 Colt was the best BP round for rifle.  

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The only bullets i have cast myself are the Big Lube 44 and 45 cal bullets. Pan lubed them. It wasn't bad after a few tries. But I  buy from Springfield Slim now too.

 

I cant imagine casting for all of the smokeless calibers I shoot. It was cool when I shot my first reloads and that much cooler reloading bp with bullets I cast and lubed myself.

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15 hours ago, Branchwater Jack SASS #88854 said:

 

It premiers May 25 at 8:00 central.

 

To keep up with all the content we offer, be sure to subscribe to the Branchwater Jack channel on YouTube.

 

You can also ring the notification bell to be alerted when new content is posted.

 

 

All subscribed

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17 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said:

I'm surprised the APP shooters haven't jumped in and said that their bullets need no lube.  

Abliene,

 

Lube? What is lube? If you shot APP you would have to worry about it. <SMILEY>

 

La Sombra

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