Pan-lube FAIL

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Bill in Oregon
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Pan-lube FAIL

Post by Bill in Oregon »

I've done some pan-lubing in the past and it wasn't rocket science -- mostly using a Paul Matthews lube mix from his .45-70 book (which I no longer have). So, wanting to lube some cast slugs for my .577 Snider and 12,7X44 Swede rolling block, I melted three sticks of SPG and poured it into a pan with a few dozen of said bullets sitting upright as per past practice. This morning I went to press them out of the lube cake and in most cases, the lube pulled out of the grooves. Can't figure out why the SPG didn't stick to my slugs. I may have crowded them a bit, but other than that I am puzzled. Will likely not use SPG for this particular technique in future, as it is relatively expensive stuff to have failures with. A Kookie Kutter would have helped, but I haven't owned one in years.
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AJMD429
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by AJMD429 »

I always thought you had to push a 'cutter' down around the bullet to cut it out of the cooked lube.
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coyote nose
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by coyote nose »

I use a kookie cutter for all pan lubing but even so have occasionally had the same problem with various lubes. Turns out it happens when I let the bullets in the pan cool too long. Next time try cutting them out when the bullets are still very slightly warm. Seems to keep the lube a bit softer and 'stickier' instead of getting hard and brittle and thus not staying in the grooves.
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Chuck 100 yd
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by Chuck 100 yd »

I have pan lubed many times using SPG and have never had an issue with lube not staying in the grooves. I warm up the bullets first, stand them on their base and pour in the melted lube up to covering the top lube groove. I let the lube solidify and then put the cake and pan in the freezer for half an hour or so. Pop the cake w/bullets out of the tray. Pushing on the bullets noses to remove them from the cake of lube with my thumb. I have never used any kind of cutter. Possibly your bullet design needs deeper lube grooves or your bullets need to be cast hotter to give a slight frosty finish on them. Try washing the bullets in Dawn dish soap before luring. SPG is a very good lube. Have fun!

PS , I found some small stainless cat dishes that have tapered sides that allow easy removal of the lube cake and hold about 30 ea. .45 caliber bullets standing on their bases and are deep enough to cover the lube grooves without having to use a lot of lube.
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marlinman93
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by marlinman93 »

I pan lube a lot, and no issues. But I use a block of wood with a slightly larger hole in it to back the lube cake as I push the bullets out. Just situate the bullet you're pushing out over the wood block's hole, and push down on the nose. I made my block with a 1/2" hole and long enough to lay across my lap. I have a towel across my lap so the bullets drop through the hole and the towel catches them. Every so often I dump the bullets into a tray as they build up on the towel. Never had a problem with any lube not staying in the grooves this way. But have had issues if I simply hold the lube cake and try to push them out.
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mikld
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by mikld »

I started pan lubing my cast bullets and still do, 20+ years later. I've found some lubes are just not "sticky" enough to allow you to "punch out" the bullets. I've tried timing the cooling of the lube/bullets, putting the cake/bullets in the fridge and the freezer, but none is 100% sure. One method that helps is to put the pan/lube/bullets in a toaster oven and get the bullets and lube up to the same temp (I use 175-200 degrees for 20 minutes or so). I made my own "cookie cutters" out of stainless steel tubing, reamed out the ID to a few thousandths larger than bullet diameter and run my bullets through Lee sizers. Works quite well for me and several thousand bullets...
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Thanks for the thoughts, gang. Vall, I will try your bullet board idea. My memory is the Paul Matthews lube I used for years was stickier than SPG, which might be a factor. The mold for the 12,7 is Lee's 515-450, with good, deep lube grooves.
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by M. M. Wright »

Bill, did you warm your bullets up before lubing? Cold bullets might cool the lube before it can fill the grooves completely.
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by Bill in Oregon »

MM. this may be a part of it. The bullets had been in the garage.
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marlinman93
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Re: Pan-lube FAIL

Post by marlinman93 »

I've never warmed my bullets first, butt they're always in my basement that's never cooler than 60 degrees. I have cookie cutters I've made from old cases, which work well. I simply drill out the primer hole large enough to allow bullets to slip through the case and out the rear. I expand necks so the bullet slips through easily, and use my case mouth chamfering tool to get a clean sharp edge at the mouth.
But pushing them out on a block is so much easier and faster that I rarely use the homemade cutters. I also have a few old Ideal cookie cutters. Ideal offered these in early catalogs, and they are the same as the ones I made, except nickel plated.
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