Pan lube - first time

[Warden Callaway]

And probably the last.  I have a Lyman lube/sizer but wanted a more black powder lube so I decided to try pan lube method.  My lube is homemade 50/50 beeswax and tallow.  The lube didn’t stay in the grooves. Now I have a mess. I can press the lube in with my fingers but what a messy and tedious job.

 

[Sam Sackett]

Looks like you tried to break the bullets out of the cake once it cooled.  That won’t work. Take a fired casing that will slip over a bullet. Knock out the primer, then drill out the primer flash hole so that you can take a nail and slide it out the hole, leaving the head of the nail inside the casing. Melt the mess you have, then stand up the bullets in the lube and let cool. Using the “cake cutter” you just made, shove it down over each bullet and remove it from the lubecake. Use the nail to push the bullet out of the casing (cake cutter). Next bullet please. 
 

For the next batch, simply place a bullet into the empty holes in the lube cake and remedy. 
 

Or place the melted lube with bullets in the fridge. Once cooled, dump out the “cake” and push the bullets out the back side of the cake. Try not to break the cake, as this will tear the lube away from the bullets. 
 

Goog luck!

Sam Sackett 

[Warden Callaway]

I did let it "set up" not knowing the timing.  I tried a 45-70 case to cut them out. Lube still didn't stay in the grooves. Then I pulled the whole mess out and tried from the base side. That's when it broke apart. I've used Javilina for 55 years in smokeless and black powder and it had worked fine. I just wanted to try this.

[Cholla]

I do it the way SS described and have no issues.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Change you lube formula. 

I use DGL and have no issues pan lubeing.

Only fill the pan to the top lube groove. 

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

It may take a few tries to get your preferred recipe and also how long to wait before pushing the bullets out.  Also I don't know if it's harder to accomplish with bullets that aren't of the one big Lube groove type. 

[Warden Callaway]

This wasn't my first try at mixing lube. Years ago I mixed up lube using 1/3 beeswax,  1/3 tallow and 1/3 paraffin. I used it to make homemade wonderwads.

 

[Smokin Gator SASS #29736]

2 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

This wasn't my first try at mixing lube. Years ago I mixed up lube using 1/3 beeswax,  1/3 tallow and 1/3 paraffin. I used it to make homemade wonderwads.

 

 

It may require a different mix for ease of pushing the bullets out of the cake and retaining the Lube in the groove.

[Waimea]

I tried something different ONCE.

[Will Kane]

FWIW, I've had pretty good luck pan lubing and punching the bullets out of the cake with "Gato Feo", a popular recipe on the Cast Boolits website.

1 part mutton tallow;

1 part Gulf canning paraffin;

0.5 part beeswax.

[Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L]

I use about 60/40 crisco to beeswax, makes a little softer lube. I found you've got to push out the bullets as soon as it hardens. If you wait too long the cake will break as you push the bullets out and the lube will come out at the breaks.

I push on the nose and have the bullets fall onto a towel.

[Kid Rich]

Take a large sized towel and fold it twice so you have 4 layers of towel use a wooden dowel to push on the nose of the bullet as the entire lube cake is resting on the towel. Do it while the lube is still pliable and warm and you will get 99% out with the lube in the grooves.

kR

PS the lube cake will stay intact and the next time you want to lube bullets just push them into the holes with the lube cake in the pan  and put in oven until the lube melts. Repeat the process.

Edited May 13 by Kid Rich

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

As all the others have already stated .

Done wrong .

I pan lube everything I shoot and I have Zero issues. 

 

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

50/50 beeswax/crisco. But I place the pan in the freezer for an hour or more. Solidifies thw mix. Push out with fingers or a dowel. Puy wax back on pan an dpush in new bullets a heat in oven.

[J-BAR #18287]

I like beeswax/Crisco 50/50.

 

Melt it in an old small crockpot.  Hold the bullet in surgical forceps (Allis tissue forceps worked best for me), dip the base of the bullet as deep as you want the lube and set it on a sheet of waxed paper to cool.  Chilling the bullets in a freezer before dipping helped the lube to stick.

 

When I got set up and into a rhythm, I could lube 400 an hour.

 

One possible drawback:  excess lube comes off in your seating die;  it has to be wiped clean occasionally.  Not a big deal though.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13 by J-BAR #18287

[JackSlade]

I use spg but I have to cut it while it's still warm, a couple minutes after the lube solidifies.

 

If I wait til it's actually cool, the lube doesn't stick to the lube grooves and I end up with a lot of broken lube rings and empty lube grooves. 

 

I'm working on a 100rd block with a friend who 3d prints to make a bulk cookie cutter process. If it ends up being successful, I'll report with a post and a bunch of pictures.

[Cholla Bob]

13 hours ago, Kid Rich said:

Take a large sized towel and fold it twice so you have 4 layers of towel use a wooden dowel to push on the nose of the bullet as the entire lube cake is resting on the towel. Do it while the lube is still pliable and warm and you will get 99% out with the lube in the grooves.

kR

PS the lube cake will stay intact and the next time you want to lube bullets just push them into the holes with the lube cake in the pan  and put in oven until the lube melts. Repeat the process.

This is the method I use.

but with "Pearl Lube"   if its too stiff just add more crisco

1 part vegetable shortening
1 part wax toilet bowl ring
1 part soy wax (used for making candles)

[Dapper Dave]

I use SPG Tropical. I also load SMALL batches of pan lubed bullets, normally I use powder coat, but for black powder loads that doesn't help much.

 

Cooled lube and a home made lube cutter made by my gunsmith buddy for cutting them free.

 

 

They will have a little above the lube groove, my fault putting too much in there;

 

 

Wipe that off, and they work quite well. 

 

 

Better look at the cutter, 45 Colt case with a few modifications.

 

 

That was from making my first ever 45 Colt black powder rounds.

 

 

 

[Warden Callaway]

History:  Maybe 10 years ago I walked into Grafs retail to pick up something and while waiting I checked the folding card table loaded with stuff marked down.  Broken packaging and odds and ends. There was a brick of SPG - I'm remembering 5 lbs but maybe 3 lbs. It was priced pennies on a dollar.  They also had SPG in sticks for a $1 each.  I didn't need it but knew it was a steal at this price. I bought the brick and a couple of sticks. I ask why they were getting rid of it (not something they carry), he said it came in as samples. I soon traided it to Lonesome Ryder for a decapping tool he had. Pretty good grin on his face. Both happy.  

[Warden Callaway]

I made another attempt.   Mixed in a big dollop of Cisco.  I maybe didn't let it cool enough and some bullets pulled out with a big skirting of lube. But at least half are passable. 

[Griff]

SPG in sticks & a Saeco lubri-sizer and viola... sized and greased BP bullets!   A dedicated machine with the 4 sizers I need:  .323, .409, .452 & .458.  A Lyman lubri-sizer dedicated for smokeless boolits and appropriate lube.  Having two different brand sizers means I can keep my BP sizers dedicated and the same with smokeless... It was always a pain to clean the smokeless lube out of the sizer when switching to BP lube.

 

I tried that pan lubing once... one word:  "messy'!  Plus they're still not sized.  

[Dapper Dave]

Well, it works for me. Your mileage may vary. With the cutter, it is very NOT messy, at least, for me. 

 

 

Edited May 15 by Dapper Dave

[Kid Rich]

Cleaning smokiless lube from bullets is easier than lubing them. Use an old cookies sheet with about 3-4 layers of news paper on it with the bullets on top, place in the oven temp about 175. Should be all out in 20 minutes. If that temp isn't high enough put it up 10 degrees.

kR

[Warden Callaway]

I thought I was in great shape finally the Lee 454 sizing die box. Opened it and the die and pusher deal were missing.   But I went down to where I have the Lee APP press set up and they were there and the die already mounted in a collet.  The bullets are goopy with that soft lube so I didn't try to use the feeder - just put one down at a time by hand. I have 50 more to do but need to wait until Mary is occupied outside. 

[J-BAR #18287]

4 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

I have 50 more to do but need to wait until Mary is occupied outside. 

 

Edited May 16 by J-BAR #18287

[German Jim]

On 5/12/2025 at 11:40 AM, Sam Sackett said:

Looks like you tried to break the bullets out of the cake once it cooled.  That won’t work. Take a fired casing that will slip over a bullet. Knock out the primer, then drill out the primer flash hole so that you can take a nail and slide it out the hole, leaving the head of the nail inside the casing. Melt the mess you have, then stand up the bullets in the lube and let cool. Using the “cake cutter” you just made, shove it down over each bullet and remove it from the lubecake. Use the nail to push the bullet out of the casing (cake cutter). Next bullet please. 
 

For the next batch, simply place a bullet into the empty holes in the lube cake and remedy. 
 

Or place the melted lube with bullets in the fridge. Once cooled, dump out the “cake” and push the bullets out the back side of the cake. Try not to break the cake, as this will tear the lube away from the bullets. 
 

Goog luck!

Sam Sackett 

Exactly what I do ,.. or did.  I now get mine pre-lubed.

[Warden Callaway]

Mary went to the library so I pan lubed the last 50. All went well.  A couple pulled out a little bugger but overall very acceptable.   I remembered that I had scrounged up some 40 S&W ammo box inserts from the range after some law enforcement did some training.  The inserts worked perfect for racking up the bullets. 

[Dapper Dave]

I just cast up 200 bullets about two hours ago and ya know what? I powder coated all of 'em, so neener.