Couple of pan lubing questions

Boolit Buddy Join DateFeb 2010LocationCentral ArkansasPosts65

Pan lubed my first batch yesterday and was doing another today. I'm lubing .45 Colt boolits and using an empty .45-70 case to cut them out of the brick of lube.
My question is, how long should I wait before cutting them out?
I'm doing it while it's still pretty warm but think I may need to wait a little longer.
Also, if I decide to push them with a pencil or dowel, should I wait longer than usual?
I tried pushing a few out, and while they popped right out, the grooves would have voids in them that didn't fill with lube.

Thanks

Life is a series of bullseyes and backstraps - Ted Nugent

Boolit Bub Join DateAug 2011Posts24

I wait until the lube is completely cool before punching out the bullets. For those that did not fill the grooves all the way, I'd sit those back in the lube (place them in the holes you punched out), reheat the lube, and do it again. Shouldn't lose much time/effort that way. An ounce of prevention prevents a ton of lead.

Boolit Buddy Join DateFeb 2010LocationCentral ArkansasPosts65

OK. I think that's what I was doing, taking them out too soon.
Thanks.
Also, should I lube all the way to the top, or leave the crimp groove free of lube?

Life is a series of bullseyes and backstraps - Ted Nugent

Using a case to cut them from the brick isn't a bad idea at all, but I personally prefer to simply push them out with my thumbs. Saves some time, and if you do it right, very successful. I use a silicon cake pan, pour my lube, let it harden, (after an hour I'll throw it in the fridge to finish it off quicker), and then push them out. I pick up the whole brick and carefully push them out, base first.

As far as filling them up, all you technically need to do is get the lube groove full. I find I get a better fill out if I top it off a little bit.

Also, with the crimping stage, there's a real easy way to make sure it stays clean! Just keep a rag handy at the bench and wipe the tips down before shoving it into the crimp. Works every time for me.

With 50/50 I find its best to cut them out when the top of the lube is solid and the inside of it is gooey.

Currently loading: .32 Long/Magnum/Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, .30 WCF, .45-70 Gov't.

Looks like you got a bunch of answers that boil down to whatever works for you, no set rules I use a couple different lubes for pan lubing and find it a pain to find the right temp of the cake to "punch out" the bullets and one of my lubes is too "sticky-gooey" and the lube won't stick in the grooves well. So, I just cut out all my pan lubed bullets. I made "cake cutters" out of stainless steel tubing and honed the ID to a few thousandths over bullet diameter. At about 7" long they are handy and I cut a dowel about 1" longer than the tube, to push the bullets out. Been doing it this way for a few years and haven't found a real need for a lubersizer 'cause I rarely lube much more than 100 bullets at a time...

Boolit Buddy Join DateFeb 2010LocationCentral ArkansasPosts65

haven't found a real need for a lubersizer I haven't either.
For stuff like 9mm and .40, I just tumble lube and size with the Lee push through die.
I'm loading up some .45 Colts for hunting though and am experimenting with different methods. My mold drops them at 0.4525, so sizing isn't an issue with them.
I'm about to start making my own lube. It seems easy enough.

Life is a series of bullseyes and backstraps - Ted Nugent

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