Tumble Lube

[steve4102]

I know, I know another casting question, sorry.
I am lubing my cast bullets with Lee Alox tumble lube. Besides being messy, smelly and sticky, I like it.

I thinned it down with a little mineral spirits to make it a little easier to work with, let it sit to dry. Dry, good one

I sized the bullets in the Lee sizing die and lubed them again, then let them dry overnight to a nice sticky film.

I have a feeling that this stuff is going to be tacky and sticky forever or until it gets covered with dirt, dust and crap. Am I right?

My question is, after my bullets are seated is there any reason to keep the exposed part of the bullet covered with the Alox? Can I just wipe it off or does it need to cover the entire bullet to do it's job?

[steve4102]

Oh, one more question. Am I going to have feeding issues etc. in my 1911's if I leave this sticky crap all over my ammo?

[JLA]

I always wiped it off after seating. And if you thin it enough with MS it will dry to a dry film. But the overall messiness of LLA is why I started pan lubing with a homemade brew and 'cutting' the bullets out with a homemade 'cookie cutter' before sizing thru my Lee sizer dies.

[aa1911]

yes, I wipe 'em off; after I load 'em in my Dillon, I sit and wipe them down one by one while watching the news or whatever. Time consuming but otherwise your gun will likely start getting fouled up.

Same for my rifle rounds with cast bullets, wipe the whole thing down to remove all excess lube and make it look purrrrrty....

I'm wanting to try the tumble lube myself to save some time; I'm in the process of switching to primarily lead in my 1911's due to cost of jacketed stuff (and availability).

[gdmoody]

I only use the Alox and Lee sizing die on 45/70 bullets and I really don't remember how long they stay sticky. I can say that I do wipe them clean after seating, just like Josh mentioned.

[steve4102]

Originally Posted by JLA

I always wiped it off after seating. And if you thin it enough with MS it will dry to a dry film. But the overall messiness of LLA is why I started pan lubing with a homemade brew and 'cutting' the bullets out with a homemade 'cookie cutter' before sizing thru my Lee sizer dies.

Care to share the details of this?

[dbach]

I wipe it off. I haven't shot enough of them to tell weather its a problem or not.

[JLA]

Originally Posted by steve4102

Care to share the details of this?

Sure.

Basic mix for smokeless loads:
2# raw beeswax (cappings grade is best, but you will have to strain it)
1/4# grade 1 Carnauba wax flakes (this is extremely hard wax)
8 fluid ounces of SBGO (you can sub your fav gun oil in here)

I called it SBGO Boolit Balm. and it works fantastic. I ran it to 2500 FPS with gaschecked 200 gr loads in 7.62X54 and .30-06 with no leading.

Pan lubing is where you use a baking dish (I recommend silicone baking dishes for easy removel of the solidified wax block) Line up your un lubed un sized bullets in the dish so theres roughly a half inch between each bullet and the walls of the dish. then pour the hot lube melt into the pan up past the lube groove in the bullets. allow the lube to completely cool and harden (Overnight is best) then either push out from the base or cut out with a modified fired case (for .45 handgun bullets I used a .45-70 case with the base cut off). Use whichever method gives you bullets with full lube grooves. Then just size them and load and shoot them.