home made case lube?
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fireflyfather
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Get a big container of vaseline from costco. It's not going to get much cheaper than that.
Jim Watson
Member
Lanolin.
It is not cheap by the pound, but a pound will lube a LOT of cases.
Castor oil maybe.
It is not cheap by the pound, but a pound will lube a LOT of cases.
Castor oil maybe.
TexasSkyhawk
Internet SEAL
This guy has a lot of homemade recipes on his website related to gun and reloading products. Haven't really tried any of them, but most of them look like they'd work just fine.
http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm#Sizing
I've tried a number of sizing lubes and I always keep coming back to the basic Lee Lube in a tube. Quite honestly, I just haven't found anything that consistently beats it.
Jeff
http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm#Sizing
I've tried a number of sizing lubes and I always keep coming back to the basic Lee Lube in a tube. Quite honestly, I just haven't found anything that consistently beats it.
Jeff
Aren't some lubes made out of 50+ wax? Probably the messiest type of lube though. I think i have some castor oil for an automotive a/c compressor. The lee case lube in the small tubes says you can dilute it with water. Can you water it down enough to spray on?
dmftoy1
Member
Whoops . . ..just realized you said "CASE" lube. 
Regards,
Dave
Regards,
Dave
1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Try Imperial Sizer Die wax. Use sparingly. It took me several years to use up a 5-dollar tin..and I reloaded a LOT of rifle ammo during that period.
ranger335v
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"Making" case lube is pointless when there are so many inexpensive substitutes easily available. Various soft waxes replicate Imperial Die Wax and I love them all!
Go to Wally World's shoe department and get a tin of either "Sno-Proff" or Kiwi "Mink Oil" or even Kiwi Neutral shoe wax. All are really soft waxes and they do fine as case lubes. Touch the wax with your finger tips and transfer a light coat to each case as it's sized, especially down near the case head where sizing pressure is greatest.
All of the waxes are clean, easy to apply, work great and are easy to wipe off the cases afterwards. It doesn't get any better!
Go to Wally World's shoe department and get a tin of either "Sno-Proff" or Kiwi "Mink Oil" or even Kiwi Neutral shoe wax. All are really soft waxes and they do fine as case lubes. Touch the wax with your finger tips and transfer a light coat to each case as it's sized, especially down near the case head where sizing pressure is greatest.
All of the waxes are clean, easy to apply, work great and are easy to wipe off the cases afterwards. It doesn't get any better!
jmorris
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Case lube is one of the least expensive components in reloading (even less than the polish for tumbling). Also, if you try to save a buck on polishing you’ll just wind up with not so shiny cases. If you concoct a less than ideal case lube then stick a case trying to save a penny…get prepared to tip the swear jar.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
+1
In the grand scheme of things, case lube cost isn't even a blip on the radar screen.
But if you insist, Anhydrous Lanolin from a druggiest is one of the best case lubes I have ever used.
And it keeps your hands soft, and makes you smell like a wet sheep!
rcmodel
In the grand scheme of things, case lube cost isn't even a blip on the radar screen.
But if you insist, Anhydrous Lanolin from a druggiest is one of the best case lubes I have ever used.
And it keeps your hands soft, and makes you smell like a wet sheep!
rcmodel
xsquidgator
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I have tried several kinds of commercial case lube, from the RCBS goo that you spread on with a pad or your fingers, to aerosol cans, to lately a spray bottle of some alcohol0-based fluid. I like the last the best and if you were going to come up with a homemade substitute, I'd try to duplicate that product first. It was pretty cheap, just a few $, so I'd only do it if I ran out and didn't want to wait to buy more.
zxcvbob
Member
Kiwi "mink oil" (use like Imperial) or castor oil (from the drug store, not Castrol motor oil.)
I use Dillon Case Lube (pump spray lanolin in alcohol) when I'm doing a bunch of cases at once, or mink oil if I'm just doing a few.
I use Dillon Case Lube (pump spray lanolin in alcohol) when I'm doing a bunch of cases at once, or mink oil if I'm just doing a few.
bogie
Member
For bulk reloading where I'm going to be tumbling, I use spray-on butter-flavored Pam. After a little while, the gun room smells like popcorn.
For rifle reloading, there's some stuff out there that is better than the Imperial Die Wax lube... Look in Sinclair's catalog for Tru-Kote's sizing lube - the stuff is EXCELLENT. It's like Dapper Dan when compared to Fop...
For rifle reloading, there's some stuff out there that is better than the Imperial Die Wax lube... Look in Sinclair's catalog for Tru-Kote's sizing lube - the stuff is EXCELLENT. It's like Dapper Dan when compared to Fop...
Im not trying to cut corners for everyday reloading but just trying to come up with some good ideas in case of a last ditch effort,cant get to the store,ran out at deer camp 100 miles in the woods, survivalist kinda makeshift stuff. If i was stuck in the woods perhaps some bees wax melted with lanolin would work well.
Thanks for the ideas. I wouldn't mind sacrificing a few lee dies.
Thanks for the ideas. I wouldn't mind sacrificing a few lee dies.
Husker1911
Member
A can of STP will last a very, very long time.
jcwit
member
I tried Palmolive concentrated dish liquid just for kicks a few times and it worked even for 30/06 cases, course you have to wash the cases off in water after.
Griz44
Member
When I first bought supplies, I picked up 2 bottles of the Cabelas spray on (LANOLIN AND ALCOHOL). I am up to 10K cases sprayed and have not opened the second bottle yet. Buy your lube, it's cheap and plentiful everywhere...
uk roe hunter
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lanolin and isopropyl alcohol, 1;8 mix and put in a spray cooking oil can. warm it up and shake it before use, lasts for ages and ages, after use you must wash the cases in hot soapy water though.
uk
uk
scrat
Member
heard this is the cheapest and best for home made stuff
bogie
Member
You wanna lube the cases before you FL resize.
And you -do- wanna FL resize, and not just neck size.
You want to bump the shoulder back maybe a thou... Not a whole heckuva lot more. Cases will chamber easier, rifle will be just as accurate.
1) Remove firing pin/cocking mechanism from bolt. See how easy the handle drops?
2) Chamber a fired unsized case. Handle should require a little force to chamber it.
3) Unscrew your sizing die a turn or so.
4) Put a little Tru-Kote sizing lube on the case (very little), and size it.
5) Wipe it off with the towel you stole from your wife, and chamber it. Does the bolt still take force to go down?
(if not, you need to unscrew that die further, and you may wanna have your gunsmith check out that rifle's headspace...)
6) Now, screw the sizing die in about a quarter of a turn, and repeat #4 and #5. Keep going until the handle requires just a tad amount of finger pressure to close. Dropping via gravity is a Bad Thing. Lock down the lock ring on the die, and don't mess with it.
And you -do- wanna FL resize, and not just neck size.
You want to bump the shoulder back maybe a thou... Not a whole heckuva lot more. Cases will chamber easier, rifle will be just as accurate.
1) Remove firing pin/cocking mechanism from bolt. See how easy the handle drops?
2) Chamber a fired unsized case. Handle should require a little force to chamber it.
3) Unscrew your sizing die a turn or so.
4) Put a little Tru-Kote sizing lube on the case (very little), and size it.
5) Wipe it off with the towel you stole from your wife, and chamber it. Does the bolt still take force to go down?
(if not, you need to unscrew that die further, and you may wanna have your gunsmith check out that rifle's headspace...)
6) Now, screw the sizing die in about a quarter of a turn, and repeat #4 and #5. Keep going until the handle requires just a tad amount of finger pressure to close. Dropping via gravity is a Bad Thing. Lock down the lock ring on the die, and don't mess with it.
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