tumble lube advice

vonbama

anyone have suggestions on tumble lube cast bullets coming out of lee tumble lube molds. what do you use for the tumbler? bought or home made? what type of lube do you put in it? thanks keith

smith52

I use the Lee liquid Alox lube on all my cast bullets and it works well. I just put a little into a Rubbermaid container, then put a hand full or two of my cast bullets in, put the lid on and roll them around. If all my bullet are not lightly coated with the Alox, I add some to the container and roll them around again. After they are all coated I lay them out on freezer paper (shiny side up) and let them dry over night. I usually stand the bullets on their bases while they dry. I have noticed since I've been using it that leading in my barrels has been greatly reduced as well.

Rocky Raab

Lee Tumble Lube bullets are meant to be lubed with Lee Liquid Alox. Just do as smith52 described. LLA is cheap, and one bottle will do a thousand bullets or more.

I do recommend you set them outside to dry, as some find the odor offensive. (it smells like car undercoating)

If you find them a bit tacky, you can dry them longer or dust them with powdered mica. I use Motor Mica brand.

Mobuck

Does the remains in the container dry out fairly quickly. Before Lee started marketing their product, I used a graphite type ag use paint but the unused amount dried into powder after a couple of days if you didn't keep lubing bullets daily.

smith52

Mobuck,
A thin film of the Alox is left in the container and does dry out a bit (to the consistency of a soft wax) overnight and it seems to stay that waxy consistency. I've been using the same containers to lube with for a couple of years and the left over never seems to get any thicker. It seems to stick to the bullets the next time I lube and add a little fresh Alox.

Rocky Raab

Yup, as smith52 says. I keep a screw lid on my tumble tub. It's a two-quart plastic jar I've used so long I couldn't say what originally came in it. Maybe the lid keeps enough air out that the residue never gets truly hard, but it also keeps the LLA smell in.

In any event, I can lube a couple hundred bullets at a time in it. The most time-consuming part is tipping each and every one of them base down on waxed paper (wear disposable gloves, trust me) for outdoor drying. After a day or so, I put them back into the tub, add a teaspoon of mica and gently tumble them again. That's it.

LLA seems to meet all its advertising claims; it doesn't melt off, it does prevent leading and it doesn't smoke excessively when shot. I like it.

smith52

I've never tried this powder mica, but I think you have me convinced to give it a try.

jonk

I never bother to set them upright after. The lube on the sides of the bullet are mainly a cosmetic issue; when they get blasted through a gun barrel the lube gets moved around anyhow.

kms1961

hi im new to casting as well do the bullets from the lee die need to be sized as well? thanks kevin

Rocky Raab

Kevin, when you say "from the Lee die" do you mean from the mould? In other words, after being cast?

The answer (if so) is that some might and some might not. Lee Tumble Lube bullets are designed to be simply lubed and shot as-cast. No sizing needed or desired on those.

Their standard bullets may have to be sized a bit. It does depend largely on if they cast round and if their diameter matches your gun. For example, I size the bullets that drop from mould C309-170-F because that's the best way to get the gas check seated, but it also makes sure the bullets are really round. I tumble lube then before and after sizing, as the instructions say.

kms1961

thanks rocky that is what i was asking

smith52

quote:Originally posted by jonk
I never bother to set them upright after. The lube on the sides of the bullet are mainly a cosmetic issue; when they get blasted through a gun barrel the lube gets moved around anyhow.


jonk,
When I started using the tumble lube I just left them lay on thier sides as well, however, I found that excess rubbed off in my seating die and would change my seating depth. I had to clean my seating die out quite a bit. Since I've been setting my lubed bullets on thier bases to dry the build up of lube is greatly reduced and I only have to clean my seating die occasionally.

e8gm

I been using the tumble lube bullets since I started casting. I just put the bullets in a baggie, dribble a little alox in and tumble by hand for a minute or two. Then dump them into paper tray to dry overnight.

haroldchrismeyer

I use an old soft margarine container. It takes a few tries to not use too much lube. It doesn't take anywhere near what you think it would.

243winxb

Liquid Alox application http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/faq/index.cgi

Best results in applying liquid alox are when the alox is heated before applying, or thinned with paint thinner. This makes it flow more easily, and results in a more even coat. One technique is to boil water and pour it into a coffee mug, and then drop the bottle of liquid alox into the mug for about five minutes.

Place your freshly cast bullets into something about the size of a Cool Whip bowl and drop a few drops of liquid Alox on the bullets. Mix the bullets around until they are all coated. Lay the freshly coated bullets on some wax paper to dry. Liquid alox will usually dry enough overnight to reload the next day, depending upon the humidity. Tacky bullets can be dusted with powdered graphite.

If you subscribe to the "more is better" line of thought, your coated bullets may never dry. Don't go for a "golden" color but rather just a light varnish. If you discover that your bullets are sticky the next day, you can get by with using a little less the next time. Keep reducing until the "stickiness" is gone by the next day.

If you are sizing your cast bullets, it is necessary to lube them first. Because the sizer will remove some of the surface of a larger diameter bullet, you may need to re-lubricate the bullets after they have been sized.

Many of our bullets are of the "TL" or Tumble Lube design. These bullets have many shallow grooves that are perfect for allowing Liquid Alox to adhere to a great amount of surface. It has been reported that the accuracy of these bullets is high.