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Posted: 3/11/2010 9:40:26 AM EDT
| Can you size non-Lee Tumble Lube cast bullets (ex. Lyman, Saeco) in a Lee sizer? Before I dump the green in a Lyman or RCBS sizer I'd like to know. It's been a few years since I've cast bullets, and I always used Lee Tumble Lube moulds, but I have bought some Lyman moulds on ePay. It would be great to be able to use the equipment I have and not have to plunk down more for a sizer/lubricator. |
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The Lee sizer will work. The only issue will be the Lyman designs have a lube groove/s and you need a method to lube the bullets. The Liquid Alox will work for light pistol bullets, but may not perform well in higher velocity loads.
Pan lubing - pouring melted lube into a pan with the bullets standing upright is a cheap method you could use. Use a fired case to cut the bullets out of the hardened lube. If you were more specific on what bullets and intended use I could advise better. |
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Quoted:
The Lee sizer will work. The only issue will be the Lyman designs have a lube groove/s and you need a method to lube the bullets. The Liquid Alox will work for light pistol bullets, but may not perform well in higher velocity loads. Pan lubing - pouring melted lube into a pan with the bullets standing upright is a cheap method you could use. Use a fired case to cut the bullets out of the hardened lube. If you were more specific on what bullets and intended use I could advise better. I had browsed castboolits.com before I asked this question. Someone posted a good recipe to make the Lee Liquid Alox more manageable and not as sticky, so I am going to try that with whatever bullets I cast before I decide to get a luber/sizer. Mainly the bullets I cast will be handgun bullets fired at less than 1,000 fps. That's about all I ever cast years ago when I was into it. I have moulds for 200 gr. SWC for .45 ACP., .44 round ball moulds, and a Lyman .38 148 gr. wadcutter mould. I would like to add a 230 RN .45 mould, and a 250 gr. RNFP mould for .45 Colt loads, as well as a 240 SWC .44 mould for .44 Mag loads. I have only used Lee Tumble Lube moulds in the past, but would like to get Lyman moulds for the others I mentioned. It's been a while since I've loaded my own cast bullets, but I still remember having sticky fingers with the Alox, plus the fact that it would gum up my seating die in no time. The recipe I mentioned looks really promising, as it is supposed to eliminate the stickiness and mess of straight Alox. It's worth a try. |
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I use the Lee Alox,Johnson paste wax and mineral spirits mix with all my cast rifle and pistol bullets in both Tumble lube and non-tumble lube versions. Regardless of bullet design I always first TL the bullets with the mix. On bullets with gas checks I then apply the checks with the Lee push through sizers,my .311 sizer I use on my 300 Sav. and 30-30 bullets applies the check and just slightly sized the bullet down,it cast just a little over .311,I use the .314 size to apply the GC only on the TL bullets I use in my SKS and Mosin,the TL bullet drops at .313 and needs no sizing for those rifles.
For the second coat on the TL pistol bullets I simply TL them once more before loading,on the rifle bullet I ranch dip them after applying the GC and stand them up on wax paper to dry. The Alox/JPW mix dries fast and isn't tacky at all and a little goes a long way. They all shoot great and I've had no leading problems at all using that lube mix. |
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