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Homemade Case Lube

If you want to save some money, just use some Mink Oil from the shoe polish section.. Thats all Hornady Unique Case Lube is.. simply Mink Oil. A buck or two for a large enough can to last for several thousand cases..
 
Hornady Case Lube is the best I have used...but too much dents the case. Too little makes it tight. This looks like a pretty good system. Like I said, I will give it a try and see what happens. Goal for 2014 is not to replace any dies! We will see! I usually like to get one case stuck a year....or I miss one little piece of media that scars the inside of my die that f's up my cases!

Note: using HEET might cause a faster velocity. Just kidding :).
 
I have tried this recipe and it works very well. I also have used Lee Lube that comes in a 2 oz tube with 24oz of ISO heet way cheaper to make your
case lube this way.
 
Why make your own case lube? In the grand scheme of things,(bullets/powder/primers etal) a can of Hornady One Shot, or imperial die wax, will be good for hundreds of cases. What's your time worth? Just saying...
 
I used to use Hornady One Shot but the cheapest bestest DIY i have found is Walmart's version Pam nonstick cooking spray. Under $2 a can and a little goes a long way. Ill never use anything else again...
 
DIBBS said:
Why make your own case lube? In the grand scheme of things,(bullets/powder/primers etal) a can of Hornady One Shot, or imperial die wax, will be good for hundreds of cases. What's your time worth? Just saying...
Click to expand...

I create lubricants and work with them every single day (job) as well as having unlimited access to countless reagents and I still only use RCBS case lube simply for the above reason, the return on any time invested in creating my own lube is far too negligible as compared to simply using an easy and cheap off the shelf lube like RCBS. I think people tend to vastly over-think case lubes.
 
I use a mixture of lanolin, castor oil, and Heets. The Heets is just the carrier.

Quick to make and very cheap.

I use just the lanolin/castor oil mix for my bullet swaging dies.
 
The lanolin, castor oil, and heets concoction sleeps with Hornady 1shot's mother. You can adjust the amount of lanolin you use to get an application thickness that makes you happy. I usually use 1 1/2 to 2 honkin tablespoons of lanolin to a bottle of heets.

For a fair comparison take 100 7.62X51 1xfired milsurp brass, put it in a bag, spray in a couple hits of one shot, dump, let dry, and SB or FL size.
Do the same for for the lanolin/castor oil/heets mixture, and then SB or FL size.

You'll feel the difference immediately.

ETA: Don't forget to shake the brass around in the bag after you spray it with the 1shot and other concoction.
 
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A tin of imperial sizing wax will last for a gazillion cases if you use it correctly and costs about $8. I really can't see the point of going to the trouble of mixing up concoctions like that when the good stuff is so cheap.
 
Easy spray application, takes about 5 minutes to make, Allows you to lube a bunch of brass at one time, superior to 1shot. That is why I do it. When I used to fully prep milsurp brass for a side business it made life so much easier.

Plus I always have lanolin on hand for bullet swaging.

Imperial sizing wax and unique case lube are also great case lubes, but are slow compared to a spray lube.
 
Garyc said:
A tin of imperial sizing wax will last for a gazillion cases if you use it correctly and costs about $8. I really can't see the point of going to the trouble of mixing up concoctions like that when the good stuff is so cheap.
Click to expand...
+1 ... I have never had a stuck case or had any kind of problem with Imperial Sizing Wax. There's no reason to try re-inventing the wheel.
+


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
gvanhyning said:
+1 ... I have never had a stuck case or had any kind of problem with Imperial Sizing Wax. There's no reason to try re-inventing the wheel.
+


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I can definitely understand that!!!

I'm a self sufficient kind of guy and already had the stuff to make it, so it was easy for me to do. I use lanolin for swage lube, and it is an ingredient in one of my bullet lubes. If anybody ever wants the instructions or recipe then just shoot me a PM.

However; if I were just starting into reloading and stuff I would buy some imperial or unique and be done.
 
Dillon spray lube is about 1 to 10, lanolin to isopropyl alcohol.

You can get 91% isopropyl alcohol at almost any drug store. Or I found 99% online through Amazon (also a source for the lanolin).

Mix, spray, size.

I now lube batch cases (for progressive reloading), in a plastic tub. Put in a few hundred .223 cases, give then a couple of prays, shake, a couple more sprays, into the case feeder and start pulling the handle.

You do not need to let the alcohol evaporate. Alcohol is actually a lubricant also.

You might want to lube the first few cases a bit more to lube the die thoroughly, but once you get going, it doesn't take much lube.

For neck sizing only, I spray the lube on a piece of plastic and dip my finger tip in it. A light swipe of the case mouth and it works great.
 
I've known about this for awhile, but I'll give it a spin. I use only Hornady One Shot spray lube right now. I don't imagine it'll be too time-consuming to pour some liquid lanolin and a bottle of iso-heet in a spray bottle.
 
HEET® brand contains a special additive and methanol.
Click to expand...

It is not isopropyl alcohol. No idea what the special additive is. Methanol is not good for you.

Methanol is toxic by two mechanisms. First, methanol (whether it enters the body by ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through the skin) can be fatal due to its CNS depressant properties in the same manner as ethanol poisoning. Second, in a process of toxication, it is metabolized to formic acid (which is present as the formate ion) via formaldehyde in a process initiated by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase in the liver.
Click to expand...

Just buy a bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol at your local Rite Aid, CVS, Wahlgreens, etc.
 
Imperial is good stuff and I use it when neck sizing, but its slower than I want to go when I'm loading large batches. For that, I use the Dillon spray lube. When it runs out, I plan to try making some. I've grown tired of the lube pad, and I've had trouble with the oneshot losing its pressure. Lightman
 
Does it have to be cleaned off? That's the real beauty of One Shot, it does not need to be removed before loading.
 
Then I will stick with one shot. Thanks!
 
This is from piston pete way back when. I use the 99% isopropyl alcohol and lanolin for my lube and like this guy I can lube 250+ at a time. I use SS tumbling though so it is easy to get the lanolin off with dawn on the final quick wash. I store my extra in a air tight mason jar.

"buy 32 ounces of 99% isopropyll alcohol, i bought two 16 oz. and one bottle of 100% PURE Lanolin
oil, fill a two quart sauce pan half full of water, bring to a near boil, if your alcohol and oil have a
foil seal pin punch a small hole in them to release any pressure build up from heating, swirl the oil
and alcohol in the hot water till the temp. is about 120 degrees F., pour one bottle of warm alcohol
in a quart jar or bottle, pour in the oil, cap and shake vigorously a few seconds, rinse out the oil
bottle with the remaining alcohol, ad more alcohol till the quart bottle is full, cap and shake
vigorously a few seconds and BINGO !!! you have the best resizing lube money can buy !! and it will
damn near last a life time, pour the lube in a spray bottle capable of a fine mist and have fun
reloading !!"
 
ISDW

Slow?

Have a hand don't ya?

Put cases in a gallon ziploc. Apply liberal "sheen" to the hand you use to rub one out. Put hand in bag and grab and stir liberally like you did to the prom queen with whom you had a slow dance. You will never have to start a thread about how to get a stuck case out of a die, and your brass will not be dented.
Tumble for a few minutes in clean corn cob. Load. It doesn't really get much simpler.

"Reloading in 2014, it IS rocket surgery."
 
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I've never tried HEET but I do use lanolin/alcohol mix. It's very easy to over lube with this stuff and dent the case shoulders. In the video, he's probably using twice the amount I use and I still have to make sure the excess is off the cases. I've never had a stuck case though I have had plenty of dented shoulders, LOL!
 
I have backed WAY down on the amount of lube, and still no stuck cases.

I put about 200 cases in a plastic box (Target about the size of a shoe box). I give about 3 spritzes from the Dillon psrayer, shake and give 1 - 2 more. Dump in the case feeder and go.
 
rodnocker1` said:
I've never tried HEET but I do use lanolin/alcohol mix. It's very easy to over lube with this stuff and dent the case shoulders. In the video, he's probably using twice the amount I use and I still have to make sure the excess is off the cases. I've never had a stuck case though I have had plenty of dented shoulders, LOL!
Click to expand...

Just lower your amount of lanolin. Also ensure your bleed hole in the die is clear.
 
Old post but thought I would add VO5 hair cream. Contains mineral oil, lanolin, and paraffin. I put a small dab in a 4 or 8 oz. spray bullet with regular 70% rubbing alcohol. don't use the 90%+ variety ( it will just evaporate right out of the bottle). It will settle to the bottom of the bottle. Just heat in microwave 15 seconds, shake it up, spray on (little goes a long way), let evaporate on cases, and its good to go. Leaves small film of the hairdressing on the cases. Wipe off shoulders before sizing. Don't forget the last part or you will start off bumping your shoulders .002" and end up .007".

Cases and dies are easy to clean up. Just spray a little brake or carb cleaner and let evaporate. I got the tip from a wildcat old-timer back in 2006. I am on the first tube I got from the grocery store back then and I have hardly put a dent in the tube. Or, I guess you can just smear a little on by hand no different than the tube of Lee case lube.

EDIT: Don't put your fingers in your mouth when handling this shit. Almost every ingredient is also used in laxatives. :)
 
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Liquid dishwashing soap is as slick as imperial, and washes right off in the thumlers, even when you put 250 cases in there, which I can't say about any of the lanolin based lubes.

Downside is you must wash/oil your dies immediately after use or they'll rust.
 
Anhydrous lanolin and equal part Petroleum jelly[ vaseline] . Mix to warm in microwave. Apply. It also preserves your dies and is "green". Failing that go out into the country and grab a fleece/wool off a sheep i.e. lanolin.
 
Imperial. You will never have a stuck case.

After sizing just a quick twist in a rag wetted with alcohol and it is clean. Less than 3 sec.
 
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