Problems with bullet lube

[zxcvbob]

I bought a Lyman 4500 lubricizer last year. It worked great with the black moly lube sample stick that came with it. When that ran out (which didn't take very long) I loaded the thing up with some candle wax and EP chassis grease that I had mixed together a while back. That pushed the rest of the black lube on through, and i lubed hundreds of more bullets with the rest of that black lube. When it transitioned to my lube, it wouldn't stick to the bullets (that's what I get for using paraffin instead of beeswax.) I cleaned it all out and bought an assortment of lubes from LsStuff. I started with the BPCR lube, but it was really messy to use -- it's sticky enough, but it was squeezing out all over and more of it stuck to the bullet bases instead of the lube grooves. It was leaking just about everywhere except the bottom of the cylinder (where most people complain about leaking with this model.) Finally I dug all that out and put in a stick of their "BAC" hard lube. I'm having the same problems as I did with the BPCR. The lube squeezes out under the bullet and tries to push the bullet out. Then when I take the bullet out there's lube all over the base but very little in the grooves. At this point I would think the 4500 was a worthless POS, except it worked so good with that first lube stick.

What am I doing wrong? I don't think it's the lube (now), I think it's me. Or did I need to take the sizer apart and boil it to get all the remnants of BPCR lube out when I switched back to a semi-hard lube? Do I have something out of adjustment?

Maybe I need to chill the bullets before sizing them? When I was using the Lyman black lube, it was winter, and I had to heat the sizer a little with a hair dryer but the bullets were still cold.

 

[dagger dog]

ZXCVbob,

How much pressure are you putting on the screw? You only need to screw it in 'till you feel some resistance,and it will usually be enough to lube several bullets without having to screw it down for each bullet.

I too am new at this and I have a 4500 with the black moly lube sent along with the sizer in the kit. Iv'e only lubed a few (50) .22cal bullets but I found out the lower the pressure you keep on the lube stick the less mess you wind up with. Also are your bullets a gas check type with the bases smaller to accept the gas checks, and are you trying to size and lube them without gas checks? If yes that lets the lube run under the base of the bullet and causes the problem.

The other lube the BAC may require a heater, and if you try to use it without the heater it may take so much pressure from the screw to get it to flow and that may be causing the excess lube. Make sure the sizer die matches the diameter of the bullet or is smaller. If the bullets are quite a bit smaller than the sizer die to start with that may be your problem.

Just trying to help out and maybe I won't run into the same thing!
Go to the castboolits site and read some of the archived material available there. The fellows there are happy to help out also, they are a good source of info just like the firearm loonies at this site!

 

[ReloaderFred]

My guess is you're using too much pressure and the bullet isn't going into the die far enough. Try adjusting the depth to where the lube groove is getting filled all the way with the minimum of pressure.

The Lyman 45 and 450 had trouble with leaking from the bottom, where the plug was press fit into the bottom of the casting. The 4500 has a solid bottom, I believe.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[nambu1]

I use high temp lubes. I started with wrapping the luber with pipe heat trace to soften the lube. I now have a lube heater I bought from Midway. Alot less mess.

 

[rcmodel]

I have gone as far as drilling a 1/8" bleed hole straight through some of my sizing die punches to keep grease off the bullet base.

And you know what, it works!

I have a couple of sizer/bullet combo's that no amount of adjusting seemed to help. After drilling the bleed holes they work fine.

rcmodel

 

[zxcvbob]

Where did you drill this hole?

I tried adjusting the depth stop on the 4500 and that may have helped some, but now the lube goes up all over the ogive. (this bullet has very short driving bands, so the problem now could just be the bullet) I got disgusted with it and dumped all the bullets in the melter. Didn't want to try to clean my seating dies. This particular bullet may end up just being used with LLA or Rooster Jacket. I was having problems before with all bullets, including long ones. I don't feel like messing with it any more tonight.

I was really cranking on the pressure feed until I read the responses here, trying to get the grooves filled flush like with the lyman black lube. This is much softer Alox lube; does it maybe only fill the grooves halfway? As long as they have some lube all the way around, does it matter how full they are?

I'm going out of town for a few days. When I get back I think I'm gonna boil the lubrisizer to get all the old lube out. I can still see bits of black lube and BPCR mixed with the new red Alox stuff. They may not mix well.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Alox lube takes very little pressure to get the lube grooves filled. You may not have the lube grooves lined up exactly with the holes in the die, which makes it hard for the lube to flow properly. If lube is getting on to the ogive, then you're too deep with the bullet. Experiment by adjusting in very small increments and see if that helps.

I don't have a Lyman 4500, but I do have a Lyman 450, along with an RCBS, a couple of Saeco and 4 Star machines. The Lyman is my least favorite of the bunch.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[ants]

Add a note to the notebook:

When first starting out, don't try to make your own lube with axle grease and paraffin. Stick with a bullet lube that works.

 

[ranger335v]

Extruding lube under the bullet base is the result of (1) not keeping enough down pressure on the handle and (2) putting more pressure on the lube feed handle than is necessary.

It is NOT necessary to completly fill all the lube grooves completely to get the bullet properly lubed. One or two grooves maybe 80-90% full is usually enough, with a good lube such as alox anyway.

Check the muzzle of your weapon after firing a few rounds. If the crown has a thick coat of sprayed lube, you have too much. Cut back until the excess goo disappears.

 

[rcmodel]

Where did you drill this hole?

Straight through the center of the bullet punch that goes inside the die.

Part of the problem can be a mold sprue plate that doesn't cut off the sprue clean & flat on the base of the bullet.

If there is a remnant of the sprue left, it holds the bullet up off the flat end of the base punch, and leaves a gap for bullet lube to get between the bullet & the punch.

The bleed hole allows the sprue remnant room to enter it, and lets the bullet base set flat & tight against the end of the punch.

Plus, if lube does get in there, it all can squeeze out the bleed hole and come out the bottom of the punch.

Check your just cast bullets, and make sure the mold sprue plate is adjusted properly to give a clean cut-off so you have perfectly flat bullet bases.

rcmodel