pan lube not working

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Last Post 24 January 2011

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csa 357 posted this 25 July 2010

i made up some lube for pan lube and its not sticking in the grease grove, less than half have very little in the grove? heres what i made it out of, 1# beeswax,1#parifin wax,# 1#vasaline maybe its the hot temps we are having here in alabama?

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JSH posted this 26 July 2010

The three maybe seperating when they cool? I had some issues of my lube not staying in the grooves when I pan lubed some 45-70's a while back. I put the bullets in the pan on a hot plate, just enough to get them warmed up. Then poured my lube in and let them set till cool. Issue went away.

I am no guru on the subject of lube and have only used my Felix home brewed lube the last 6-7 years. You may have to much parrafin or too much vaseline. IMHO, you would do as well to cut the parafine with vaseline until it is some what soft and sticky. The beeswax is just being wasted with that mix. jeff

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amb1935 posted this 26 July 2010

Try cooling the lube in a refrigerator or freezer before popping the bullets out. It will firm up the lube and allow the groove to more or less cut through the lube. Also, you could add a little more wax to stiffen it. Or, if it's stiffness that's causing the problem, add more Vaseline.

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Wayne S posted this 26 July 2010

dito on the Frig./freezer treatment, however the local 90* temps might let your lube run/fall out in storage.

Another option is to brew up some 45/45/10 “tumble lube” , just a thought

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csa 357 posted this 27 July 2010

im still trying, i might have been trying to do too many at one time, so im doing smaller batches, also noticed the grease groves or not real deap on these 45 bullets im trying to lube

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csa 357 posted this 27 July 2010

im still trying, i might have been trying to do too many at one time, so im doing smaller batches, also noticed the grease groves or not real deap on these 45 bullets im trying to lube

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CBA Member

raytear posted this 28 July 2010

FWIW

Lyman's old pan lubing system had a tool for removing the bullets which they called a Kookie-Kutter (or was it a Kake-Kutter?). It was shaped a like a steel cartridge case with a very long neck. The inside diameter was just large enough to go over a bullet. The whole tool was hollow so that as additional bullets fed in from the bottom the earlier ones came out the top. I have made this type of tool before from old cartridge cases with the primer pocket drilled large enough for the bullets to pass thru. The beauty of this system is that a bit of lube is sheared away from the lube cake and comes out with the bullet. Also leaves convenient holes for the next batch of bullets.

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John Boy posted this 28 July 2010

"its not sticking in the grease grove, less than half have very little in the grove?" If the bullets are not warmed up to the the same tempetature of the lube ... before cooling the pan lubed bullets, the lube usually does not stick. Also, if the lube is too warm when removing the bullets, the lube will separate from the GG's

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csa 357 posted this 29 July 2010

thanks jb ill try that

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CB posted this 29 July 2010

I'd try cutting the Vasoline 50/50 with Anhydrous Lanolin to make it stick AND slick. Then add that to the 1/3rd recipe you are using. Lanolin is a great lube besides being sticky and takes high heat better than any of the other ingrdients.............Dan

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CBA Member

argie1891 posted this 29 July 2010

i have been dip lubing with good success for several years. the trick is to put the bullets into melted lube and leave them in there untill they get up to about the same temp as the lube. i take the bullets out with needle nose pliers and put them on wax paper. then as the lube runs off i move them a time or 2 i have had no problem with the lube groove not being filled. except with some bullets made for black powder that has real wide grease grooves. i have just added whatever lube i have on hand to the pot... and you can get a small crock pot at the local thrift store they seem to always have some at good will or the salvation army. hope this works for you joe gifford aka argie1891

if you think you have it figured out then you just dont understand

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Daryl S posted this 14 August 2010

I've had poor luck with parafin mixes and prefer to stick with good, 1st filter beeswax when making lubes.

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Wineman posted this 22 August 2010

I have been using “Speed Green” (Beeswax and Bullshop mold lube) as a pan lube. I put the bullets in a non stick round cake pan. The first time I pour in the lube and put them in the oven at about 190 degrees for say half an hour. Everything is up to temp and then I turn it off and let it cool. If I am in a hurry I use the freezer to “pop” the cake out of the pan. It will pop on its own after a few hours. I then use a piece of soft pine scrap and push the nose of each one out of the lube. As mentioned this leaves holes for the next round. I again put them in the oven until everything is melted and the same temp. I put in a small chunk of solid lube each time to keep the level the same. It seems to work fine for me. Remember the lube is very flammable and my oven is electric. I set the cooking time so it turns off after half an hour and also set a timer to remind me things are “cooking". I have not used this method on round or spire pointed bullets (pushing them out could deform the tip) but on flat points it has worked fine. A cutter made from an old case would work better on them.

Wineman

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runfiverun posted this 22 August 2010

about three tablespoons of lanolin will be enough to make the lube tacky. the first thing i'd do is is to cut the paraffin down to about 1/3 a lb. then add the lanolin as the lube cools down or it'll burn. the vaseline is also a long carbon chain and is related to the paraffin. beeswax also has carbon chains and alcohols in it allowing the paraffin/vaselne to bond to it. however the beeswax has holes in it that are about three time bigger allowing it to be a better carrier of lube. the vaseline is a fine viscosity adjuster. as is the parafin which is also capable of carrying lube or filling in the holes in the vaseline. so far you got a lube which is a better carrier. a carrier and a plasticizer. but no real lubricant. a good lube generally has a carrier a lube and sometimes a binder. and sometimes a viscosity adjuster.

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mikld posted this 26 November 2010

I'm too, working with a shallow groove .45 boolit. I added some lanolin and heat the lube and boolits together. I can punch them out w/no prob. I've only beem making small batches of lube so to a cup (total) of Beeswax/paraffin/vaseline I added a tablespoon of lanolin...

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J Louis posted this 24 January 2011

You need to warm up the bullets. I set my cake pan with the bullets in the oven set at warm for about 20 minutes prior to pouring in the lube. I used to have the same problem and this approach has eliminated the issue. I use the foam case holders of which will hold 50 bullets each and I turn two each upside down in the cake pan and leave them on the bullets during warm up so they don't fall over while moving them out to the pan lubing area. After the lube cake has set and been removed from the pan I stand it on edge and push a bullet part way out of each of the corners set the foam holder over these protruding bullets turn the lube cake right side up and push the remaining bullets in to the foam holders and you are ready to go. I also use an additional foam holder for a lid and use a rubber band to hold them together for protection.

J.Louis