Alox lube

[reno]

I decided to do a little casting again. I cast 300ct. of 230 gr. RNFP  20/1 today and they dropped from the mold .451 dia. just right for me. I have a Lubesizer but why go though the trouble  sizing and lubing when they are the right Dia. and thought I might try tumbling the bullets in some Lee's Alox. I load Schofield brass with 4.9 gr. Trail Boss with a soft cast 230 gr. RNFP.  Has anyone out there done this?
Thanks
Reno

[Bunk Stagnerg]

Hi Reno,
I am using Alox tumbled on both ball and bullet in my .36 Colt Navy guns when using Black MZ and it works just fine. I see no reason it would not work with smokessomewhatless powder. Alox will NOT work with real Back Gun Powder however as it is a petroleum based lubricant, or so I am informed, and I have no intention of testing to find out.
Been there done that did not like it.
Bunk.

[Professor Marvel]

Greetings My Good Reno

I regularly do that with .45 colt and schofield and .45 ACP.

Liquid Alox, tumble lubed is what I use for pretty much everything smokeless. I use Unique for
smokeless pistol and CAS carbine loads. Easy to do, and I since I am a cheap bar stitch frugal sort
it saves me from spending money on the lubrisizer :-)

For BP I use SPG and the cookie cutter method.

yhs
prof marvel

[Drydock]

LLAlox is all I use on dedicated smokeless loads.  Great stuff, easy to apply.  Cast bullets in the evening. Next morning lube them in a butter tub before I go to work, load them after I get home.

[reno]

Since I cast 20/1 and they drop out the diamater I want, I did some pan lubing with SPG. and used a drilled out 45/70 case as a cookie cutter, and I think they are better than ones I've run though my Lubesizer, and sure saves time.  Should of done it years ago.
Reno

[Professor Marvel]

Since I cast 20/1 and they drop out the diamater I want, I did some pan lubing with SPG. and used a drilled out 45/70 case as a cookie cutter, and I think they are better than ones I've run though my Lubesizer, and sure saves time.  Should of done it years ago.
Reno

YES! THAT!
Can you show us your 45/70 cutter?
I will try to get a cellphone pick of mine...

Yhs
Prof Marvel

[reno]

Here are a few pictures, though not very good. I know this has been done many times by others but I thought I would give it a try. Just drilled out the rear of the case and use a small dowel to push out the bullet. It also helps if you deburr the case neck. Works great.

[reno]

Here a couple finished 45 cal. 230 gr. Also made one out of a fired 44/40 brass for my 44s. Be sure to deburr the case neck.
Reno

[Professor Marvel]

Thanks Reno

below is my version, back when I had more time I put a wooden handle on the 45-70 case, stuck
a ten-penney nail thru the primer hole, and glued an epoxy knob on the end

yhs
prof marvel

[reno]

PM, that is really a great cutter, I bet you would make a few bucks if you sold some of those
Thanks for the picture
Reno

[Professor Marvel]

PM, that is really a great cutter, I bet you would make a few bucks if you sold some of those
Thanks for the picture
Reno

Thank you for the kind words Reno!

in the past the day job payed pretty well so  anything I did for sale was priced based on
-  am I doing it for fun
-  how much I liked you

So it was either a labor of love or around $200 per hour lol
... at my pace, no one can possibly afford it!
and that was the idea.

but I can post some quick pics & instructions, it is really dirt simple.

first lets look into the parts department...
If we carefully peruse the top layer of crap top of the desk we may find what we need

wow I was wondering where that doohickey went ....

[Professor Marvel]

So we can carefully select exactly what we need for this project:

I) A Nail
B) A Stick
3.1) A knob
3.2) A Wire Nut
IV) A long enough shell casing. In this case a 45-90 cuz it is what is visible in the crap pile  parts department

[Professor Marvel]

Now the hard dirt easy part

this is for the newbies who never used a Lee cookie-cutter. Or made cookies . or biscuits.

Since this is for .45 s we selected a 45-90 ( or 45-70) case due to the case being internally  ( ~ .458 ) larger than the bullet ( ~ .452 - .454 )
and long enough to completely go over the whole lenght of the bullet.

If we were doing .38's a 38-55 case would work.

or... substitute a short ( ~ 3 inch ) length of steel, copper, or brass tubing of the appropriate inner diameter.

But this is for .45 s

1) Take your stick

2) drill a 1/2 inch whole in it.

3) gently force the 45-70 case into the whole as far as you want (without splitting the wood)  and epoxy in place
          you may note that my stick is a pice of plywood. I went with plywood after spiltting the first stick

4) after drying drill out the primer hole so the nail slides thru

5) shape the wood the way you want

6) slide nail in and glue either  the knob ( or the wire nut & epoxy lump ) over the nails point.

bob's your uncle

[Professor Marvel]

Finally, to answer the original question,

IE ALOX lube.
for bullets.

For smokelss, ALOX is grand.
back in the 70's I started with the solid stuff, (it is strangley sticky) and I still use the  the pan and cookie cutter method.
Since I had a kit for each caliber, that was a lot of lube. When I started running out, being the cheapskate frugal fellow that I am
I added beeswax or candle wax to the mix, and poof, worked great for pistols!

Now that solid ALOX is no longer available, I got a bottle of liquid ALOX and that seems to work fine for smokeless also. But,
due to the solvents I can't have it in the house.... So I do it it the outdoors on nice days.

For BP the best bet is either SPG (store bought) or the mysterious non-petroleum home-brew concoction of  your choice.

If you go the DIY mix, Just make sure the ingrediants really are nonpetroleum - many folks are still trying to use wax toilet rings,
thinking that they are still beeswax, but they are not.
EG: Oatey brand: "There is only one Johni-Ring? -- a 100% pure, high-grade petroleum wax for installing closet bowls.

Folks are funny - they get an idea stuck in their head, whether it is from old wives tales or new interweb BS, and never
actually look it up themselves to see if it is true or not.

example of an old Lee Cookie cutter/sizer kit

[reno]

Thanks very much. I bet a lot of people out there will like your posts also.
Thanks  again
Reno

[ira scott]

I Reno, am one of those many people, thanks Professor! That is one Cadillac cookie cutter. Very informative and entertaining posts as always.

[Professor Marvel]

Thanks Ira
you are too kind to an ancient mariner babbler :-)

yhs
prof babbles