GC's, LLA, and a push-through sizing die

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max503 posted this 03 December 2018

I normally use my Lubrisizer, but I'm going to try tumble-lubing some GC bullets.  

So correct me if I'm wrong: First I'll tumble lube some bullets with thinned LLA.  After they dry I will seat the gas checks while sizing the bullets with a .310 Lee push-through die.  Then give them another wash of LLA/thinner.

Do I need to do anything special to make sure the gas checks are fully seated?

Thanks in advance.

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RicinYakima posted this 03 December 2018

Just that the bullets are at least 0.003" larger than you are trying to size them. Otherwise all that lube will keep them from seating fully and straight.

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OU812 posted this 03 December 2018

Size and seat gas check without lube. This will seat gas check better because of more resistance. Do your gas checks slip on without shaving?

Bullet fit, matching alloy, correct powder and powder charge are way more important. Sometimes we get lucky.

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max503 posted this 03 December 2018

Size and seat gas check without lube. This will seat gas check better because of more resistance. Do your gas checks slip on without shaving? Bullet fit, matching alloy, correct powder and powder charge are way more important. Sometimes we get lucky.
I thought about that.  Will they go through the die ok without lube?  Guess I could mosey on downstairs and try it.....
I tried it.  Took a lot of force.  I was afraid I might break something so I quit.  I used a .309 die, 311284 bullet, linotype, Hornady GC.  Think I'll very lightly lube them first.

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RicinYakima posted this 03 December 2018

When I was doing the powder coating experiments, sizing casting, I used case lube. Very little is required and once the die is slick, it takes just a touch. As a point of reference, set the die so that the last movement of the handle does the finish sizing. That is where there is the most mechanical advantage. Most folks screw the die in too deep.

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David Reiss posted this 03 December 2018

Size and seat gas check without lube. This will seat gas check better because of more resistance. Do your gas checks slip on without shaving? Bullet fit, matching alloy, correct powder and powder charge are way more important. Sometimes we get lucky.

I thought about that.  Will they go through the die ok without lube?  Guess I could mosey on downstairs and try it.....
I tried it.  Took a lot of force.  I was afraid I might break something so I quit.  I used a .309 die, 311284 bullet, linotype, Hornady GC.  Think I'll very lightly lube them first.

I put a little lube on about every 5th or 6th bullet, or whenever it starts getting hard again. Any type lube will due, I usually put a little sizing wax on my fingers and rub the bullet between them. 

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
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pat i. posted this 03 December 2018

Size and seat gas check without lube. This will seat gas check better because of more resistance. Do your gas checks slip on without shaving? Bullet fit, matching alloy, correct powder and powder charge are way more important. Sometimes we get lucky.

I thought about that.  Will they go through the die ok without lube?  Guess I could mosey on downstairs and try it.....
I tried it.  Took a lot of force.  I was afraid I might break something so I quit.  I used a .309 die, 311284 bullet, linotype, Hornady GC.  Think I'll very lightly lube them first.

I put a little lube on about every 5th or 6th bullet, or whenever it starts getting hard again. Any type lube will due, I usually put a little sizing wax on my fingers and rub the bullet between them. 

I do the same thing with no issues.

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GP Idaho posted this 03 December 2018

max503: Excuse me for straying off subject a bit but a Ric mentioned it I will share this. If. when you ever powder coat a bullet, it is very important that NO lube of any kind is present on the bullet. If bullets have been lubed in the sizing operation they must be carefully cleaned before coating, I wipe them clean with a soft cloth and some rubbing alcohol. Funny story. I placed the checks on some bullets that had a little lube on then and pre=cleaned them by shaking them in a bath of acetone. This cleaned them up nicely but enough of the solvent went between the base of the bullet and the check that when the bullets were placed in a 400 degree oven it sounded like popcorn in the microwave, blowing the checks off the bases and piling them together in a big mess.  On second thought, I might should have shared this in the acts of stupidity thread LOL Best to all. Gp

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onondaga posted this 03 December 2018

max503,

All I use is tumble lube for everything, both LLA and White's Deluxe 45:45:10. Beware of something that gets mentioned by some users that is horrible advice. Do not use dish detergent as a lube for size/check and then tumble lube those bullets. Doing so seriously diminishes the best feature of tumble lube. Both LLA and 45:45:10 adhere tenaciously to cast bullets, but if they were coated with dish detergent the adhesion of the tumble lube is seriously degraded.

The prominent factors that lead to the best successful use of tumble lube are simple: Less is better!!!! use as little as possible to just slightly coat bullets and warming the lube and bullets greatly reduces time for drying. Tumble lube is a surface lube. there is no need or benefit getting it into lube grooves. It WON"T flow out of lube grooves, it is a surface lube. Again, less is better and it only needs to be on the surface that contacts the bore, not wasted in the grooves.

Example: I warm bullets by placing them in bulk, in a brownie pan. Don't preheat the oven just turn it onto WARM when you put the pan with bullets in the oven for 5 minutes. During that 5 minutes I microwave warm the lube 20 seconds at a time in an open squeeze bottle till it is warm to touch. Don't use a round container for tumbling. A square container will tumble well and not roll the bullets. Place the warm bullets, up to 500 for me in a square container about 1 gallon size. Tip 45 degrees and add lube about 1 teaspoon for 500 bullets. now rotate the tilted container tumbling the bullets for 1 full minute. They should be visibly dry at 1 minute unless you used too much lube. Dump bullets onto wax paper and in one hour for LLA or 5 minutes for 45:45:10 they are completely dry and ready to load if they were warmed and tumble lubed correctly. I do this once before size/check, then once after size/check for low velocity stuff but twice after size/check if they are rifle bullets at rifle load levels.

I do prefer the 45:45:10 because it is colorless and tack free.

 

Walmart sells "Country Rich" ice cream in square 1 gallon plastic containers that are terrific for the tumble lube method with up to 500 big bore rifle bullets.

NOTE: this is neat clean stuff to work with using this simple method. If you are making a mess, you are really doing it WRONG.

Gary

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