[HABU]

I have the opportunity to buy a new RCBS Lubrisizer, but it's at a distance and the guy selling it doesn't know about them. RCBS (lubrisizer) (http://www.rcbs.com/equipment/lubeamatic.html) doesn't have an over abundance of info on their site.

Do I need any attachments for the Lubrisizer or is the lube held in the housing somehow? I know I'll need a die and top punch for it. Will an RCBS die size a bullet out of a Lee mould properly? I guess its only the shoulder of the bullet getting sized, so it seems it will work. Just making sure before I find out otherwise the hard way. :banghead: On the other hand, will a Lee die fit in an RCBS Lubrisizer?

I'm not interested in way sticky bullets so Alox is out, albeit at a cost.

[David Wile]

Hey Habu,

Both RCBS and Lyman bullet casting systems are virtually interchangeable. The Lubrisizer dies and top punches are perfectly interchangeable between the two, and I use both RCBS and Lyman single and double cavity moulds with the same Lyman double cavity handles I have been using since the 1960s. However, I did have to add additional holes and do some filing on the handles so they would work with all my moulds. Other than the minor work on the handles, the RCBS and Lyman systems are virtually interchangeable.

About two years ago, I bought my first and last Lee mould. It was a 405 grain mould for my Marlin 45-70, and I was able to cast good bullets with it. However, the problem was when I wanted to lube and size the bullets in my Lubrisizer. I could not get any RCBS or Lyman top punch that would properly fit the Lee bullet nose design. Every top punch I tried would leave a mark of some kind on the nose, and that was just not satisfactory for me. I sold the Lee mould, bought two RCBS gas checked moulds, and the top punch fits just fine for both bullets.

I like the Lubrisizer system, have been using my Lyman Lubrisizer since the 1960s, and I simply would not want to lube and size any other way. Alox and tumble lubing is just not for me.

Will a Lee die fit in a Lubrisizer? I do not know for sure, but I doubt it. As to what is actually sized on the bullet, it is the full length of the bearing surface, or, in other words, all of the bullet that touches the lands and grooves of the barrel. The nose or ogive of the bullet does not get sized in any way.

As far as how the lube works in the Lubrisizer, a stick of lube is placed in the housing as you suspected, and a piston is screwed down a little bit as each bullet is sized. The piston forces a small bit of lube into the grooves of the bullet while it is in the sizing die. Can you make mistakes while lubing and sizing bullets? Yes, there is a small learning curve to the process, but one easily learns how to lube, size, and apply gas checks pretty quickly with either the RCBS or the Lyman Lubrisizers.

If you get the machine and have further questions, please do not hesitate to question more via E-Mail if you like.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[bompa]

Hey Dave are you using a #45 lube & sizer ?? I still have one and it works as well as the new improved models.. The original sizing die didn't have an O ring on it either,lets a bit of lube seep up around the top of the die.. When I started casting my own the old fellow that got me going was still using water pump grease to lube his bullets.. Messy but it worked.. There wasn't much to choose from for store bought bullets back then,60,s..

[David Wile]

Hey Bompa,

I started with a used 45 in the mid 1960s. When the newer 450 model came out about 1969 or 1970, I got the fever for the new one and got right away. Back then, they were grey, and now I wish I had one of the orange colored ones.

I still have most of my original sizing dies from back then, but they all have the rubber O ring at the top. I even went down in the basement to make sure, and every sizing die had the same original O ring. I know I never replaced any O ring in all that time. Even my first die, a .309 for my 30-40 Krag, has the O ring, and I must have bought that around 1966.

I never had the lube seep up the outside of the die; the O rings must have seen to that. However, I have certainly had lube come up from the inside of the die when I applied too much pressure on the piston. That is what I meant in my earlier post to Habu when I suggested that one has a bit of a learning curve when learing to operate the Lubrisizer. I still have slivers of lube sneak up at times, but I keep it to a minimum.

I have always used the stick lubes in my Lubrisizers, but I recently talked to a fellow who gave me his recipe for making his own lube based mainly on beeswax toilet seals (new ones of course). When I run out of the sticks I still have on hand, I am going to try the beeswax recipe. It sure isn't hard to make.

Over your considerable years of casting, have you also used RCBS equipment with your Lyman equipment? I know some folks have said you cannot interchange the moulds with the handles, but I have done just that with some very minor fitting of my Lyman handles. I also have several Lyman four-cavity moulds in 38 caliber, and I can make some good headway with those moulds. They do, however, weigh a bit more and take some getting used to. I can only imagine what it is like to wield moulds that have six or eight cavities.

I also cast out of a standard Lyman post for about twenty years until I finally bought a Lyman electric furnace with a bottom pour. Since getting the bottom pour furnace, casting goes a lot faster for me. Having said that, I have to admit that speed really is not my goal in casting bullets. I just like making my own good bullets.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[bompa]

When I was casting I used only Lyman molds,that is all there was being sold in my area..Did try a couple of lee molds near the end of my casting career.. Quit about twenty years ago,got married and had no place to set up for casting,but I had so many cast and stored that I have a few left.. Would size and lube as needed..Plus I traded my molds to a caster for a large amount
of cast bullets..Must have shoot around 5000 rounds of 9mm that winter..Went through a bunch of powder and primers with the powder of choice,AA5 being hard to find in this area..Still have enough 30 cal to last me forever and a few 45's too..
Must say I got tired of the extra cleanup with lead and am not buying anything but plated or FMJ, at least for the 9mm anyway..
Doing my own did save me a bunch of money, meant more powder and primers, in the old days..If I remember right primers were $6. a thousand and powder was around $3. a pound.. Sounds great till you remember that that was a lot then, hell a good pistol was less than $100 brand spankin new..

[Fatelvis]

I have a RCBS lubrisizer, and although Ive always heard that the sizing dies are interchangable with Lyman`s, I tried using a Lyman .452 die, and it didnt work so hot. I since replaced it with a RCBS die, and all is well. I know it was only one occurance, but I suggest you stay with RCBS dies for your Lubrisizer.

[JPM70535]

AFAIK both the Lyman and RCBS systems are interchangable. At least for me both brands of sizer dies and top punches have always worked in my Lyman 450 purchased in the late 60s.

I tried Lee molds for casting 38-357 and 9mm, and while they produced pretty good bullets, they were not a standard design and as has been mentioned here, finding a top punch was impossible. I switched to Lyman and RCBS molds and have been happy with the results for over 30 years. I also used Lyman handles with RCBS molds by drilling extra holes and fitting shims to take up the extra space in the handle slots.

I use a lube heater base and hard lubes like Blue Angel that eliminate the problem of sticky bullets in the summer time. The only drawback is that my old 450 seeps a little lube between the base of the sizer and the heater plate, but I can live with that.

Happy casting