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stephen perry 1
03-31-2013, 08:47 PM
New bullet makers will benefit by a discussion on what lube some use on jackets. When I started I listened to others on lube. Interesting, I tried a few. I tried castor bean oil plain then mixed with vaseline. OK, but a little messy. I read what Mike Walker used. He recommended hydrous lanolin rolled in a cloth. Couldn't find hydrous lanolin so I bought anhydrous lanoline. Despite what Walker said against the anhydrous it works fine for me.

I mix mine 3 parts lanolin 1 part vaseline.

I use a gallon Mason jar weigh my lube and shake and roll my jar about 600 jackets a time. No matter how you lube your jackets the final measurement on the bullet shank and pressure ring is what's important.The least amount of lube is best.

Never tried these but I don't see why RCBS case lube and Imperial Sizing Die Wax, both should cut with vaseline. Like to hear from others on their technque on jacket lube.

Stephen Perry

george ulrich
03-31-2013, 10:47 PM
Stephen, I use hydrous lanolin or I have tied about everything at one time or another 3-1 for anhydrous sounds about right but I'm going from a bad memory.some other concoction's are 8-1 lanolin to lard oil about the same to caster oil . I prefer my lube alittle thicker and not quite as runny as others. even straight stp works real good except its alittle messy.haven't found any real magic in lube so I tend to try to keep it simple.I totally agree the least you can get away with is the best scenario for consistency.the one thing I do alittle different is I lube twice, first on carbide I lube .5 grs per k to core seat then add another .5-1 gr and retumble to refresh then point up. I warm jar with a hair drier to loosen lube and assist migrating of lube during tumbling. hope this helps as always george

BangPop
04-01-2013, 03:02 AM
I use a lube that Don Rorschach gave me many years ago. It is a stinking, sticky, orange something or other that I have no clue what it is, but it works well. I suspect it's some sort of high pressure grease. It doesn't take much to do the job. When I do .705 length .22 jackets I use 1.8 grains per bucket of 2600 jackets. George, our mutual friend in St. Clair gave me a BIG tub of the lube about 10 years ago and I have enough to last 2 lifetimes. Tim

stephen perry 1
04-01-2013, 03:19 AM
BP
The lube Rorschach gave you is most likely Anhydrous Lanolin. The stringy, orange color, sticky are the charachteristics of the stuff. If you want something different try 3 parts lanolin 1 part vasoline. Otherwise continue with what you do.

Stephen Perry

BangPop
04-01-2013, 12:36 PM
I don't think it's anhydrous lanolin. I have some anhydrous and have tried it in the past. The lube that Don gave me is nothing like it. It is much more viscous and judging by the odor, I am pretty sure it petroleum based.

Intel6
04-01-2013, 02:44 PM
I use 50/50 castor oil and anhydros lanolin.

Neal in AZ

redrock ranger
04-02-2013, 12:00 AM
Will straight Imperial Die Wax work ??

stephen perry 1
04-02-2013, 12:59 AM
I haven't tried Imperial but I mentioned it because it has the same consistency as the lanolin/vaseline I use.

Stephen Perry

stephen perry 1
04-02-2013, 01:09 AM
In The Benchrest Shooting Primer Rorschach describes his lube as anhydrous lanolins with RCBS case lube. What Don gave you might be something different but that's what he said. Lube for bullet making has no magic formula. I have found most every bullet maker I know has a different formula. Anhydrous lanoline with an additive is very popular.

Stephen Perry

george ulrich
04-06-2013, 02:53 AM
Will straight Imperial Die Wax work ??

I have not tried it and wouldn't on steel dies its not really an extreme pressure lube,but I have used the sizing lube from sharp shooters supply,its really slick a little to the stiff side but warming cures that. george

Utah Shooter
04-10-2013, 03:06 AM
I was hoping a thread of this nature would appear and here it is. I must admit I am a bit enamored with the gents in this thread.

I have alway been looking for the "best" type of lube that is out there, especially when I talked with Tim on the phone. Ever since I have wondered what the orange gue that he used is made out of.

I find myself starting to realize exactly what he told me. "It is not about exactly what I use. It is about what and how it works for your dies!"

I will continue to follow this thread and hope that there is a secret formula out there. Until then I will stick with plain old anhydrous lanolin.

George, I hope recovery is swift for you. Stephen, thank you for starting all of these fantastic threads. Tim, as always thank you for all of your knowledge shared with me.

Kiwishooter
04-28-2013, 01:43 AM
When I bought my dies (used) I got a small tub of lubricant and a syringe with some of the same lubricant in it, this was supplied by Mr Neimi (so I was told). I also got a large tub of anhydrous lanolin in the package when I got everything.

The seller used a Thumbler tumbler (the big red one) and told me he just spread the lube on the inside of the drum (it has a black insert in the steel drum).

He told me to use 9.5gr, then changed that to 9gr and in a latter email said 7.5gr, pour in a bucket of jackets and let them tumble for 2 or 3 hours.

These instructions left me a bit puzzled to say the least, as it is different to what I've read elsewhere:confused::confused:......doesn't take much to confuse me at times.......Kiwi

stephen perry 1
04-28-2013, 02:24 AM
Kiwi
Several here have talked about lube and how to apply the lube. If you want to try my lube it is 3 parts anhydrous lanoline 1 part vaseline warmed up to combine. There are several other lube formulas that work good too.

I use a gallon Mason jar to tumble my jackets 15-20 minutes. Using a Thumbler Tumbler is fine to apply lube to jackets but 2-3 hrs tumbling seems excessive. Maybe someone that uses a TT can give you their time with the tumbler.

Kiwi you been reading and asking questions for awhile about bullet making. Now that you bought dies tell us what brand you bought, caliber, and what presses do you plan on investing in. Congratulations on buying your dies.

Stephen Perry

Kiwishooter
04-28-2013, 05:50 AM
I bought some used 6mm Neimi dies, both BT and flat base, with 3 point up dies, the dies came with 3 RCBS Rockchucker II presses, the thumbler tumbler, a set of bullet trays, lube, some J4 jackets and 3 different weights of formed cores.

After weighing the cores and jacket they would make a pretty heavy bullet, just over 68.5gr. using the lightest core and over 60gr using the heaviest. I can only assume the cores were used in a lighter jacket.

There were no bullet making notes that came with the setup so have been trying to figure out how to set up the dies, and not damage anything........there are no mentors here in NZ........Kiwi

george ulrich
04-28-2013, 09:45 PM
Ian, that's way to much lube for carbide I don't even use 1/2 that for 30's I lube twice once to core seat around .5 grs per k on 6mm. tumble for 15 minutes. core seat then tumble in towel and relube using 1-1.5 grs to point up tumble 5 mins. the whole thing to remember is you actually want the jacket to grab the inside of the die to pull off punch ie. enough pressure to fill jacket but not over stress jacket. so less lube is needed for the core seat operation. for point up I use the minimal amount for easy ejection, this also helps fill out die properly. we take a lot of pains to produce dies as round as we can the expand up theory doesn't leade itself so well on carbide, it was necessary on steel not on carbide. george

Kiwishooter
04-29-2013, 09:49 AM
George, what do you tumble your jackets in?
You mention tumbling in a towel, is this to remove lube after core seating?

Do different types of lube require different amounts? Ian

robertw
04-29-2013, 06:22 PM
Kiwi:

I also have the large Model B Thumbler Tumbler for lubing the cores and jackets. I use a Folger plastic coffee can with its plastic lid which I place inside the drum to hold the cores and jackets. I use a separate plastic can for the cores and jackets. The Folger can has a recessed handle as part of the can which acts as a vane inside the can that helps to rotate the cores and jackets. The can is easy to remove and you do not have lube on the rubber liner of barrel of the tumbler. I put a small amount of lube on the inside of the plastic can and then briefly heat with a hair dryer. I then place the cores or jackets in the can and again heat briefly with the hair dryer. I only tumble for 10 minutes. I use a lube mix of 50% lanolin and 50% vasoline which I initially heat to mix.

The Folger coffee can's diameter is a perfect fit, however, the depth of the tumbler barrel is deeper than the coffee can so I cut a piece of foam and inserted it into the bottom of the barrel. This gives a good fit and the coffee can remains secure in the barrel of the tumbler.

george ulrich
04-29-2013, 06:48 PM
Ian, I use a thumlers tumbler model b and place a one gallon glass jar inside of their tumbler, the jar has two plastic strips glued inside this flips jackets and keeps them moving around. the towel is to remove the excess junk that comes off jacket when core seating you will be very surprised at how much crap comes off even after washing. george

Kiwishooter
04-30-2013, 07:39 AM
George, do you wash your jackets prior to core seating?

If you do what do you wash them in? Do you wash your bullets at any other time?......Ian

algunjunkie
04-30-2013, 12:31 PM
I have been using a 50/50 mix of anhydrous lanolin and castrol oil for my lube. 5 grains on the inside of a jar add 1k of jackets and roll. I do the same for core seating and point forming. it is messy and I have been looking for a different lube.

From reading the post it appears that I may be using a bit too much. I also wipe mine with a towel between core seating and point forming. My towel usually looks like it has been dragged across the ground afterwards.

stephen perry 1
04-30-2013, 12:38 PM
al
Instead of castor oil try vaseline. No mess. My lube is 3 parts anhydrous lanoline 1 part vaseline.

Stephen Perry

Al Nyhus
05-01-2013, 01:34 PM
I was taught by my mentor (Randy Robinett) to use a mixture of anyhydrous lanolin and pure neets foot oil. I've experimented with some other stuff but nothing has worked as well in my dies.

One thing for certain....and George may have touched on this...there needs to be a certain amt. of 'drag' on the point up. Slippery is not always better.

Good shootin'. -Al

aaronraad
05-02-2013, 05:47 AM
Ideally I think the lubricant should aim to provide a consistent coeffcient of friction over our temperature and pressure ranges. I think the 'drag' effect can be described as consistent amount of back-pressure. Given we are hand swaging by feel the drag provides feedback.

If you are expecting a subtle amount of drag or friction with each stroke, then you know something is wrong if there is no drag or too much drag. Depnding how much flex is in your press and how much feel you have for swaging, might dictate your preference for lubricant? Some of us might prefer more or less drag than others, and therefore there is no one perfect swaging lubricant formulation.

This has certainly given me cause to think about experimenting with lubricants for swaging. It's possible I might end up having diffferent lubricants for different presses, to get the best performace.

stephen perry 1
05-03-2013, 12:51 AM
Al as much as I like I your comments about lube I could care less what Randy says about lube. We all have lubes that do just fine. Mentors tend to overplay their hands and their students seem to become copy cats.

I think most everybody is using anhydrous lanolin as their base lube and cut it with something else. Besides that have a good day Al.

Stephen

Al Nyhus
05-03-2013, 02:34 AM
Stephen, I have no comment on your comments.

Too bad...this had been a good thread..........:( -Al

stephen perry 1
05-03-2013, 02:44 AM
AL, why isn't the bullet thread a good Thread. Your guys thrown a few barbs, he wasn't called on them. Too thin skin Al.

Al Nyhus
05-03-2013, 03:15 AM
Stephen, R.G. hasn't posted a single comment in your entire 'Bullet Lube' thread.

I'm far from being thin skinned, as anyone that knows me personally can attest to. I just won't waste time with intentionally rude behavior and remarks.

Take care. -Al

stephen perry 1
05-03-2013, 03:49 AM
Al
Pretty crasse comment from a guy with no comment. Your only hurting the new bullet maker that's trying to put all the info together by leaving. Wasn't long ago you were a new bullet maker and I was answering your questions. Do what you want Al you got your own Mentor.

Stephen

MIBULLETS
05-04-2013, 12:36 AM
+1 on the anyhydrous lanolin and pure neets foot oil. All natural. I tend to stay away from any petroleum based stuff, I find it harder to clean off the finished bullets.

stephen perry 1
05-04-2013, 12:43 AM
MI
Since I stated in my point-up Thread I leave the lube on my finished bullets I don't have the final clean-up some of you have. Read my point-up Thread lots of room for discussion there. Thanks for you comments MI.

Stephen Perry