Bullet Making Lube

S

steven.cozort

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Many years ago when I first started making bullets I used used some lube that Allen Bench had given me, there wasn't much and it only lasted a few years before I ran out. It made made .308 bullets with a .3080 shank with with a .3083 pressure ring in his B&A dies which was great.

Since then I obtained some lube that was a 50/50 mixture of lanolin and castor oil. and while it seemed to work ok the .308 bullets measured .3083 on the shank and the pressure ring was .3095" and, while the finished bullets which shot quite good, I don't like the extra effort it takes to point them and they sometimes don't eject easily from the die.

So what my question is, for you guys out there that make bullets, what formulation of bullet lube do you use?

Steve
 
George Ulrich(carbide dies) recommends 50/50 Lanolin and Vaseline. microwave for 10 min. stir it up and freeze it.
Heard people use Lanolin and neets foot oil.
Lanolin and Castor oil.
 
George Ulrich can tell you I use Bob Sinonsons lube. George Ulrich gave me what he thinks is the fomula
7 part lanolin and on part vaseline or neets foot oil. I tried some of Corbins lube , it works ok but i still like
The one Bob Simonson made for me. I have tried plain caster oil from the drug store. That works ok.
 
i think your mix is to thin for what you are using try 8 or 9 parts lanolin to 1 part lard oil or caster oil. george
 
i probably need to clarify this i recomend 50-50 anhydrous lanolin and vasoline, if you are going to cut with some sort of oil you need more lanolin to make lube less runny. hope this helps. georg
 
George,

The 50/50 solution (lanolin & castor oil) was not runny by any means and looked like the lube Allen gave me. The stuff he had was given to him by Gene Harwood a long time ago and the formula was lost. The problem as I see it is the lube now does not have the pressure capability which makes it hard to point up. I have steel dies, would that make much difference in the type of lube to use?

Even my .22 bullets are .2245 on the pressure ring.

I don't make many bullets, maybe a couple of thousand / year and I just need a good lube so the bullets come out the correct diameter after pointing up.

Thanks,

Steve
 
Steve, maybe runny isn't the best word thinner might be better all the oil is really used for is to cut the lanolin which is what is truly the lube that takes the higher pressures generated by swaging.steel dies are more difficult then carbide you might try a little pure silicon or slick 50 added to mix.the thicker the lube the better it hangs on to bullets or the less that is pushed off leaving a smaller dia. george
 
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George,

I remember reading a post a long time ago (and my memory isn't as good as it once was) but in short, someone who was using vasoline in their lube was complaining about finding soot on their bullets. The theory at the time was the vasoline was detonating under the pressure? Like a diesel?

I do have some silicon oil from a copier repair guy.

Steve
 
The B&A Book had a lot of information on what lubes were tried . They used hydrated lanolin.
My copy has long since vanished. I believe George . The lube Bob Simonson made for me sure looks and smells like lanolin. When i run out i'll try a different lube but a little goes a long , long way.
 
Thanks again guys, I will make a new batch with a higher percentage of lanolin as George suggests using vasoline to make it somewhat thinner.

Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year as well.

Steve
 
I assume that when you guys speak of these ratios like 8 parts of lanolin and 1 part of vaseline you are speaking of weight ratios?
 
Lanolin

What are the properties of Lanolin that make it THE bullet lube of choice? One would think in all the time that has expired since folks have been making bullets that something synthetic would have appeard that would be better and easier.
 
Pete if you come across one let us know. I think its the lubrication quality plus the consistancy of lanolin that makes it special. Remember lard oil is an old lube that is also hard to beat .
 
Might be the polishing effect. After point up. Toss them in a bath towel. Fold the towel width wise. One over the other. Grab the ends and move bullets back and forth. Only takes a few times.
And Wow are they shiny.
And there is still a little lube on the jacket. So they are not dry.
 
zippy06 said:
Might be the polishing effect. After point up. Toss them in a bath towel. Fold the towel width wise. One over the other. Grab the ends and move bullets back and forth. Only takes a few times.
And Wow are they shiny.
And there is still a little lube on the jacket. So they are not dry.
Click to expand...

That's basically what I do to remove the majority of the lube from pointed bullets..... An old towel that is the Mrs. would object to her fancy hanging towels.......!

Happy Holiday's all,
cale
 
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