lee bullet lube

[bob whittaker]

hi guys                                                                                                                                                                              have a couple qustions?has any one used lees tumble lube if so hows it work ,good ,bad ,nogood?  i was going to try it on 405gr soled,an hollow point from around 1400 to1800 fps,iwill be using no#2 aloy.an does any one know the dia.on a browning 1885 single shot  is it 457,458,or459? any help will be of grate . thank you all.                                                                                                      

[jhalcott]

  Hey Bob ,saw you smilin' on TV!
    i have tried Lee Liquid Alox on some other calibers with good success. 30-30, TC 7tcu and 35 whelen. It does leave the part of bullet out side the case sticky enough for dirt and lint to collect there. Kept in a plastic box or bag though they were O K! Accuracy was good and I found NO leading in the bores. I used it on some 358318 bullets that were first lubed with Felix lube. Accuracy was better than with just felix. You do have to set them on wax paper to dry .

[Duffy]

You can also dust them with motor mica so they aren't so sticky.

[jgalar]

The stuff dries eventually. I have buckets of bullets sized and lubed and they are all dry to the touch.

[Veral]

  Read the above comments with the understanding that accuracy is a relitive thing, and,  maximum velocities are very limited, compared to LBT lubricant.   

  To get best results with any lubricant, the grooves must be full so hydrolic pressure is put on the lube as the bullets size down in the bore, and as obturation pressure is applied.  With only a skin of lube, in that portion of the bullet which obturates, or upsets due to pressure, the bullet will close up till the lube is  under pressure, but in closing up, deformation will unbalance the bullet and more bearing surface will be created.  Un lubed bearing surface is the cause of early leading, when trying to work up maximum velocity.

  For the record.  I developed the fine grooved tumble lube process, had a mold cut for it, and developed a dry to the touch lube.  It worked very well for light pistol target loads, and stood up to 1200 fps without leading.  I wrote an artical about it in the Cast Bullet Association newsletter stating that I would be producing molds for it soon, and Lee promptly "inovated" it, before I could even get started.  After more extensive use, I discarded the concept, because it is only good for unsized bullets, but sizing and a precise fit to the cylinder throats, (with throats/bullet slightly larger than groove, are mandatory for optimum revolver accuracy.

  When I started LBT it was to provide better products and  than any other manufacture, and the most scientific information available about cast bullets.   I stick with that concept, and rather than change would prefer to simply close the doors.

[apollo]

I've been using the Lee liquid alox for years with great results. I prefer to apply the lube by just holding the bullet with my fingers and then applying th lube straight to the bullet from the bottle. I squirt a little on the bullet and then use my finger tip to push it around the bullet and into the grooves. This method allows a thicker apllication and I have had no problems with leading even with speeds at 2200 fps. I haven't pushed any cast bullets faster than that so I don't know how well it would work past that.

[Lloyd Smale]

Im with you all the way on this Veral. Ive never seen a case where i couldnt get better accuracy out of a revolver by proper sizing and using a good lube then i have with unsized bullets and tumble lube. Did you ever sell your tumble lube. Im sitting here remembering that i had some tumble lube quite a while back that wasnt lee. Could it have been yours?

[Veral]

  Yes, I sold it for a few years, but learned there wasn't a lot of interest.  My lube was applied to hot bullets, warmed in an oven, with just enough applied to make them look wet.  A stick of it would lube probably 30,000 bullets, so some users my still be using the only stick they ever bought.

 Our current lubes all work just as well, and considerably  better than Lee alox tumble lub.  Commercial leaves the bullets with almost no tackyness, Blue a little more, and with Blue Soft the bullets will feel slightly tacky, but nothing like the Lee goop.  If you want to try it, put your bullets in an aluminum cake tin, warm in a kitchen oven to 200 deg F, touch a stick on the bottom of the pan and roll the bullets around gently.  Use barely enough to make the bullets look wet.  Extra won't help performance but will be messy.  You should be able to get 1100 fps with most revolvers using standard weight bullets without getting any leading.  In cool weather I've run velocities to 1400 fps without leading.  This is with plainbase bullets.  Keep in mind that the process is a plinking load high production method, and should be considered that, in my opinion..