Lee Sizing Dies and Pan Lubing

Anyone ever pan lube then size with a Lee sizing Die? I have casted Lee 45 acp 230 gr with grease groove. Just wandering if anyone had experience lubing and sizing that way. Without using Alox on the bullet but lubing the die.
Thanks
Jeff

I used to pan lube and size with the Lee sizer when I first started casting. It works good. There is quite a bit of extra wax so I used to clean the bullets after they were in the brass. Actually the lube recipe I posted on here is a pan lube formula with a few extras thrown in there. All the extra pan lube you have on your bullets help protect your sizer die.

i use case lube on my cast bullets for sizing them, then alox lube them before loading.

i did pan lubing when i first started as well, it was just too much of a pain in the arse to clean the bullets of all the wax afterwards.. the liquid alox simplified the process greatly.


dan

Well I started this way. First pan lubing and then pushing through the Lee sizer but that's not so econmic. I had to clean up all my bullets.

Now I use the Star Sizer for lubing with wax and Xlox when pushing through
the Lee Sizer.

I do it, works great. takes some time but less money than a sizer setup.

I do it too for pistol. It’s cheap, dirty, and works great. If you got the time, it’s well worth it. I usually don’t clean off my bullets after loading. I just put them in my MTM case upside down so they are still easy to get out and stuff in a magazine.

I use RCBS case lube on my boolits before running through my Lee sizing die and it works like a champ. I drop them in a bowl of water after I size them to clean the lube off because it's water soluable. Then roll them around on a dry towel and they are ready to pan lube.
This is the easiest and cleanest method I have found to date, and I abhor that Alox crap, nasty, sticky gunk.....yuuck!

I use Alox for pistol after they are sized with the Lee Sizers. I pan lube all of rifle bullets. But there is a difference when it comes to loading loading several hundred pistol bulllets and only a few rifle.

Gotta say I love Alox, I now buy Xlox from a guy in the US. Cheaper than Alox and the same product.

My wife and I shoot about 200 38spl (plus 100 9mm or 45ACP) every weekend.

So casting-lubing-reloading is VERY big in our home.

I pan lube also with the silicone baking pans. It is alot cheaper than a sizer with all of the punches and dies you need and the stick lubes. I usually lube any where from 200 to 500 bullets at a time.

I used to use the Alox, but it looks like someone is smoking a cigar in front of the gun, it does work great, but my pan lubing formula smokes a hell of a lot less, takes so much more time, but I'm definitely going to buy a Sizing/lubricating press sometime. Well... after i get my pro1000 .

Almost forgot, shoot a phew FMJ's after you are finished shooting lead boolits. It makes the cleaning process also much faster and easier.

Blade wrote:Almost forgot, shoot a phew FMJ's after you are finished shooting lead boolits. It makes the cleaning process also much faster and easier.

I've heard pistol shooters make that claim also, after shooting cast boolits just shoot a few regular rounds or some el cheapo factory ammo before cleaning and it performs a kind of scrubbing action in the barrel to loosen up the leading.

I just use the Lewis Lead Remover kit when I shoot cast boolits, it's amazing how well this kit/system works! It was well worth the $30 bucks I paid for it.

Mohunter wrote:I've heard pistol shooters make that claim also, after shooting cast boolits just shoot a few regular rounds or some el cheapo factory ammo before cleaning and it performs a kind of scrubbing action in the barrel to loosen up the leading.

I just use the Lewis Lead Remover kit when I shoot cast boolits, it's amazing how well this kit/system works! It was well worth the $30 bucks I paid for it.

I used to shoot a lot of silouette steel targets for fun and friendly competition and we used lead bullets for most of the shooting. Many of these boolits were ones that we cast ourselves, and some even invested in custom-order molds from various manufacturers like Lee, Hoch, etc.

Some of these matches ended up burning more than a hundred rounds in an afternoon. We used to hear the conventional wisdom of shooting a few "el cheapo" rounds through the barrel as Mo said.

While I have never used the Lewis system I have heard good things about it despite its low price which would make some suspect its ability to clean.

I have used just about every commercial and home-brewed cleaning compund out there and have seen the effects of such time-honored cleaning solvents as diesel and kerosene in places like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.

I have a Rockwell RK9000 Jawhorse that I clamp my cleaning vise into and this lets me get pretty animal with the cleaning rod if I need to. A little vigorous elbow grease will get a majority of lead out of a barrel with most of the commerical solvents.

I like the foaming bore cleaners as these seem to get all the little nooks and crannies, and I like the fact most of them change color with what they are removing. The one I am using now turns green for copper fouling and blue for lead fouling. Most of my barrels comes out a pretty teal blue color.

http://www.amazon.com/Rockwell-RK9000-Jawhorse/dp/B0018MRUN4

I tried all of that you are talking about with only minimal success and I literally got tired of scrubbing, so I order the Lewis lead remover kit.
It is everything it's touted to be and this is one product that actually lived up to it's claims.

No BS all truth, I pulled the brass screen through the barrel of my brother's .45 after I had scrubbed and scrubbed until I was blue in the face and there was more lead came out on the first pass with the Lewis system than I could possibly imagine. Even after I thought I had 90% of the lead out doing it my way, the Lewis system showed me how much lead was still in there. I made a second pass through just to be sure it was all out and the brass patch came out clean. I'm a believer and I'll never scrub with steel wool and a brass cleaning brush or harsh solvents ever again to get lead out. All true, I don't work for them so I have no reason to lie or make anything up. When I find a great product that does what it's supposed to, I like to share my experience with others so they can also reap the benefits.
This one is truly one that works!

I also believe in the Lewis system, it actually works, I've seen someone doing it on a video on youtube. It's cheap, why not try it?

Maybe I am only getting 90% of the lead out of my barrels, but you are right Mo, you can scrub till your sore and still not get all lead fouling out some of the older barrels.

I have been watching the Lewis system - nice to hear it works well for so affordable a product.

I tumble and pan lube a lot my cast boolits, and if anybody has seen my custom-order Lee group buy idea, all those boolits were designed to be tumble lubed.

Despite the fact that it might not produce the most woderful pretty boolits, tumble lubing is still very cheap and quick and does not require a lot of more expensive equipment like a lubrisizer and all its requirements.

The Lee alox and tumble lub method does smoke a bit more but then I shoot a lot of Bullseye which is kinda smokey on its own.

I do have an old Lee pan lube kit in .357 that I use every once in a great while. I wish I had one in .359 because I like to shoot cast boolits that are about .002 overbore.

There are several lubrisizers for sale on Evilbay and the other on-line auction sites. There are always a few at the local swap meets and gun shows too.

My friend has a Lyman 450, and we get together every once a while to mass produce bullets. Between the two of us setting up a production assembly line (and a case of beer it is thirsty work) we can get a few thousand done in an afternoon without much difficulty.

We split the costs which makes it a bit easier on the pocket book. While I like the Lee tumble lube method, and they shoot as good as any of the more traditionally lubed bullets, I shoot what I can get.

One of my favorite lubes comes from a guy on Evilbay. I have been using his red and blue lubes for a few years now. They are much cheaper than the traditional lubes from major manufacturers, and have held up well in my "official" testing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380103285421&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Haunting Evilbay and the other on-line auction sites, you can find lots of homebrewed lubes for sale or make your own. I have a homemade blackpowder bullet luber that takes solid sticks of 50/50.

I am not ready to invest in a lubrisizer and all that it requires just yet. I am not quite ready to begin casting again to the level that I would need my own lubrisizer.

I also do not have a production pot anymore and the little hobby jobby I have, does not have wattage or capacity for economical pouring and smelting.

So for now I pan or tumble lube ala the Lee method which I can do in my living room.

I pan lube with my own version of Lithabee and I use a single burner hot plate to heat the lube, then do about 25-30 boolits at a time.
I'm like you, I haven't graduated into using that many to justify getting a lubrisizer. I don't even have a .45 pistol yet, I want a Springfield 1911 but just can't swing it right now........maybe someday?
I do have all the casting stuff I need including an MP mold in .452 that does regular HP's, Hex HP's, and Solids all in one mold and I use the Lee .452 sizing die.
Talk about putting the cart before the horse.
That's me........always thinking ahead.

Mo, where did you get that .452 mold?

I have a .45 Series 80 Colt and a .45 LC Ruger Bisley conversion. I also have a .45-70 and .45 Win Mag pistol barrel for the Contender so I shoot a lot of .452 bullets.

While our indoor ranges and some of our outdoor ranges have caught California fever and have banned exposed lead completely, I still shoot a few lead when I can. That mold sounds pretty neat and I like the idea of able to switch from HP to solid in one mold.

One great thing with the Lee method of tumble lubing is it is quick and easy, and does not require much more than an old margerine tub with a lid to rattle the bullets around with a few drops of lube.

The Springfield 1911s are really nice. I have shot a friends, and the local range has one for rent that I have tried a couple of times.

I really like the Taurus 1911 a little better than the Springfield. One of the local 'smiths here will take either pistol and refine it for carry for just under $400 which is a good deal.

I prefer to cast my boolits a little over .002 bore size. Unless they are going to be pushed towards the upper limit of cast boolit ability I keep hardness either at or just above pure lead with a little tin, wheel weight alloy or linotype tossed in.

When I get another production pot I hope to cast with a friend as doing it as a twosome lets your production run much higher with less chance for a goof.

Before my best friend got sent back to Afghanistan we used to cast together on my old production Lee pot. I ran the pot and he ran the molds. He would dump and pile the molds on the warming tray while I filled them and placed them on the cooling tray.

We used a piece of surgical tubing around the lid of an old plastic coffee can holding a taught section of cloth rag that has a diagnal slit in it. In the bottom of the coffee can we place a couple inches of water.

Boolits dropped from the mold will roll on that cloth covering and fall into the water below quenching them. The rag prevents splash back either hitting a mold or the pot which can be dangerous.

Here's the link to MP's website, but be forewarned...........you will spend some money, and be sure to have a paper towel handy to wipe the drool off your chin!

http://mp-molds.com/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=2

Wow, Mo thanks for that link.

I have been a cast boolit member for some time, but like this forum a tad better.

I have seen MP molds before just was not aware of how to order them. Pricey yes, but no more than other custom molds.

When you consider that it's 3 molds in one and then figure in the cost of new molds........it's actually right on par.
I can tell you for sure that the quality is truly exceptional. Miha is an absolute master of his craft. I doubt you could find a better quality mold anywhere?

Those molds are pretty neat but will obviously need a lubrisizer.

I'd love to get into the 700gr .50 cal group buy but for some reason it will not let me post to the group buy forum.

My .500 S&W is a NEF H&R 22" Handi Rifle so it should handle those large bullets ok and not recoil too badly I hope.

There is another heavy .44 cal mold that might work in my .444 Marlin barrel.