Bullet casting yet again/ Sizer Luber

[ultralightbackpacker]

I want to cast now, figure I can spend less time at the bar and more time breathing lead vapor.

I don't mind spending $ to get a quality product, the thing that kills me is all the majors have their own system and style of lube sizers.

Let me preface, I just want to cast in bulk and have some fun in the desert.

Take the Lee sizer/luber, doesnt have a top punch? Eeasy one crank and blammo you have a lubed/sized bullet? Does this work well enough? How can they get away with a different system? Do you have to use Alox?

RCBS and Lyman have similiar yet different systems.

If you had to choose (I am open to others as well), What system would you get if you had say 300 +/- 100 bones for a lube sizer and EASE of use?

What REALLY are the differences in heated lube vs cold lube? Tumble lube? I have seen so many youtube videos on gents making their own etc, and pouring in lube into a pan with bullets up to their necks, yet only to pry them out.

Thank you and Take care,

 

[243winxb]

Lee-pan lube or alox. Lyman 4500 lubes and sizes, has a heater for hard lube. RCBS lubes and sizes, dont know about a heater. Soft lubes work fine, no heater needed. Star is best for BB base bullets,push thru type, faster. Heated lubes less sticky. My Lyman 450 has been in use for 30 or more years. Never a problem. When you run out of lube, some people keep cranking on the lube feed handle, this will break the pressure screw shaft out of the body.

 

[rcmodel]

Lee uses a push through sizing die and liquid Alox lube you apply in another operation & let dry.
The base-punch pushes on the flat bottom of the bullet so no top-punch is necessary.

Lyman & RCBS are identical, and can use the same dies & top punches.
They push the bullet down in the die with the top punch, pump solid stick lube into the grooves, then eject the sized & lubed bullet ready to load.

The Lee is cheaper and more messy as the whole bullet is covered with sticky lube.

The Lyman/RCBS is probably faster because you size & lube in one operation.
The bullets are cleaner when you get done.
They also can seat & crimp gas-checks.

So, you makes you choices and pays your money.

rc

 

[jcwit]

The Lee system of sizing and tumble lubing is not a bad way to go, I used it for a few years with satisfactory results. Only problem I had was the alox building up on the inside of the seating die causing the bullet to be seated deeper and deeper into the case. I know the solution to this is cleaning the seating die out but thats a pain in the xxx having to do this all the time.

With the above being said I finally got a lyman luber/sizer. Best investment I made regarding cast bullets. No harder lubing and sizing and I don't have to wait for the alox to dry, plus no more build up of lube inside of the seating die.

Thus knowing what I know now I would go with the Lyman, RCBS, system.

 

[1858rem]

The Lee is cheaper and more messy as the whole bullet is covered with sticky lube.

i really am starting to like rooster jacket because i can still tumble lube, and it is not sticky or give off any strange odors, it cost about three times as much but you actually get a lot more, the bottle states it ought to coat 6000 boolits, for about 14 bucks.......

 

[jcwit]

i really am starting to like rooster jacket because i can still tumble lube, and it is not sticky or give off any strange odors, it cost about three times as much but you actually get a lot more, the bottle states it ought to coat 6000 boolits, for about 14 bucks

I tried Rooster Jacket also but still had build-up on the tip if the seating die. Watch the seating depth when tumble lubing is my advice, and continue to watch it as you load.

 

[1858rem]

thanks for the tip, i havent noticed yet but i will watch it, how many loadings did it take to change seating depth a noticeable amount?

 

[jcwit]

Usually in the 15 to 25 rounds range, thats why I found it so aggrevating. Had to clean the die with solvent on a Q-tip.

 

[1858rem]

i am almost on load 400 and no problem yet but ill keep watching, maybe i dont use enough lube but i dont get much leading, clean about every 100-200 so far

 

[jcwit]

With the right size bullet, and the right powder charge, and the right lube, you should get no leading. I now load cast for my .45 ACP and .30 cal. carbine and it like shooting a .22 as far as cleaning with no leading.

 

[MMCSRET]

I have a Lyman 450 that I mounted a Midway heater under, an RCBS 1st Generation lubrisizer mounted to use soft lube in and I still use the Lee sizing/lubing process. They all have their applications, as with everything else, one type does not accomplish every task at peak levels. I have duplicate sizer dies for the RCBS/Lyman units because cleaning lube out of sizer dies is messy and time consuming and for me, unnecessary.
All methods work, its personal preference that makes them vital to the operation.

 

[Galil5.56]

If you shoot as cast, tumble lubing is about as fast/cheap as it gets. If you size and/or size and gas check, then a sizer of some sort is needed. Tumble lube with liquid ALOX is a bit messy, but an extremely thin coating of corn starch applied to dried bullets has stopped die build-up for me. I have also found Dillon seater dies about the easiest to maintain if you get build-up because of their design.

 

[Ditchtiger]

To keep your seating depth from changing when using tumble lubed bullets just drill a 1/8th. hole down from the top center of the seating die. The lube will creep up the vent a little bit at a time. The vent can be pushed clean with a piece of wire between loading sessions if it dries out.

 

[lordgroom]

I have used a Lyman 45, Star, and tumble lube with Lee Liquid Alox and White Label. The tumble lude is easy for quantity if you shoot as cast. Of the Star and Lyman 45 I loved the Star. The bullets are pushed through by the base and the operation is very fast. The Lyman and RCBS push things through by the nose and therefore different top punches ar needed.

Lee is cheapest and is sufficient for the task, but I prefer the Star as long as you don't mind the price. For lube in the Star and Lyman I prefer Voodoo lube made by Jeff Bowles at the Cast Bullet Association. No heater is needed for application and I have had no problems with rifle velocities.

 

[fecmech]

If you are talking $300 and you want to cast in bulk I would go with the Magma Star. You can easily size and lube 700-1000 per hour and I prefer the hard lubes such as Magma, Rooster Zambini etc. The hard lubes are not sticky at all and work well in all the pistol calibers and velocities up in the 1600 fps range (that's all the faster I shoot). The lack of stickiness makes for a lot nicer loading experience and less gunk on the handgun particularly revolvers. I would also purchase 4 and 6 cavity molds to help speed up the casting process and that means at least a 20 lb pot from either Lee, RCBS or Lyman. The little Lee 10 lb. pots empty out too fast and won't recover quick enough to keep up with 4 and 6 cav molds. Oh and BTW you don't need any fancy heaters for hard lubes, just mount the Lubrasizer on a metal plate (aluminum works great) and set a garage sale iron on the plate set on low. You can buy a heater of course but it won't work any better than an iron.