Felix lube - TL variety

L

longfellow

New member
How about a Tumble Lube recipe since there seems to be a concensus that this stuff works so well? Does anyone have any genuime experience modifying the recipe for such a use?
As an alternative, are there any recommendations for an alternate tumble lube entirely, to my Lee Liquid alox? I am in the middle of load development which hasn't yet gotten past the initial phase which is to find a lead-free load and am looking for an alternate TL to add in to the project. My leading problems may in fact be lube-related so I'd like to expand the experimental plan to now add loads with a different tumble lube.
Ed
 
There's a discussion and detailed instructions (I think the thread is a sticky) at the cast boolits forum about using a mixture of paste wax and Alox. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll post a link. (I can't remember which forums allow posting links to competing sites so I'm not going to lead off with that)

White Label Lube has their own version of Alox that they call "Xlox" (to avoid trademark infringement, I guess.) It's a lot cheaper than Lee's Alox, and works as well although it seems stickier. That could be a good thing if it means it's more concentrated; just dilute it with mineral spirits.

I tried mixing Lee's Alox with Minwax Paste Finishing Wax and applied it warm to some bullets. I did not follow Recluse's recipe. It was easier to use than straight Alox but I got a little barrel leading. Since I didn't clean the gun first, that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

There's a liquid lube called "Rooster Jacket" that is a lot cleaner than Alox, and the .38 Special I used to test it almost looked unfired after shooting a box of ammo. But my target scores were terrible with it, and I suspect that *might* be the lube's fault rather than mine because I've heard the same thing from other shooters. Or it could have been the bullets I was using, who knows.
 
Bullet Lube

Beeswax, Carbowax, parafin mixtures work well.

I would use 33/33/33 or just 50/50 of the beeswax and carbowax.

Carbowax is a high temp wax.

Or tumble sized bullets in Molybdenum Disulfide (sp)
 
I've heard that this stuff works good. It's simply Alox 606-55HF, manufactured by the Lubrizol company. Alox is a registered trademark of Lubrizol. I'm told that this is the same stuff that Lee buys and re-bottles with his own label.

As soon as I get low on Liquid Alox, I'm going ot get a 32 oz bottle from these guys.
 
I agree with PawPaw. That is the same stuff that zxcvbob mentioned. White Label Lubes, located in Pocatello, ID. It is a small operation, but it would be tough to find better guys to deal with. I'd highly recommend them.
 
I just got into the casting part of reloading. Casted my first 124 gr. 9mm from a Lee tumble lube mold also some .45 cal. 200 grn. semi wadcutters from a Lee mold.

Everything went just fine thanks in large part to the information I read on this forum.

I tumble lubed the 9mm with the XLOX lube from White Label lube Co. I then loaded 25 of them to test as soon as I can. What a stickey D#&^ mess!!!!

Do you guys take the extra painfull time to wipe the excess lube off the exposed bullets, or do you fire as is? It seems that without cleaning them they would gum up everthing.

Maybe I am not doing it in the most productive manner. I just tumbled them in straight lube (not reduced with any thinning agent) and set them on their base to dry for a day.

I am looking for the easiest and cleanest way to tumble lube.

Thanks for all the helpfull information in the past.
 
parttime said:
I tumble lubed the 9mm with the XLOX lube from White Label lube Co. I then loaded 25 of them to test as soon as I can. What a stickey D#&^ mess!!!!
Click to expand...

Did you let it dry? After tumble lubing, I normally let the bullets dry on waxed paper overnight, or 24 hours, depending on the weather. Then load as usual.

Do you guys take the extra painfull time to wipe the excess lube off the exposed bullets, or do you fire as is? It seems that without cleaning them they would gum up everthing.
Click to expand...

No, I've never felt the need to wipe the lube off the bullet nose. Once it dries, it's stuck. I've never found that it gums up anything.

The technique I've come up with is to use zipper-bags. I put a handful of bullets in the zipper bag, squirt a little Alox in the bag, then seal it and knead it until the bullets are covered. Then I open the bag and pour the bullets on a sheet of waxed paper to dry. The next day, they can be stored for later use or loaded immediately.

If I'm applying a gas check, I'll lube them as normal, wait 24 hours, then run them through the sizer to apply the gas check. I then re-tumble the bullets in alox again, let them dry again, and store them. In effect, I'm coating the bullet twice.
 
Parttime, you used too much lube. The bullets should have a gold-tone to them and be a *little* sticky, but that's it.

I've been mixing Lee Liquid Alox with melted paste wax and applying it warm to warm bullets. It dries faster than straight Alox and is not sticky. White Label Xlox should work just as well that way, but I'm still using up all my little bottles of LLA before I try it.
 
Lube of the Tumblers !!

45% Xlox, 45% Johnsons paste wax, 10% mineral spirits !

Although I like to run mine thru the lubesizer this worked excellent on some as cast wadcutters runnin `bout 800fps .
 
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Thank You all for the feed back on the lubing techniques. I did let the bullets dry for over 24 hrs., they were very stickey. It must be as zxcvbob stated, I used to much lube.

I will try reducing the mixture as your gentelmen have instructed and use the zip-lock bag method also.

The great part is-- I get to do it all over again!!

Thanks again for your suggestions
 
GP, are you cooking down the Johnson's Paste Wax before you mix it? I'm using Minwax Paste Finishing Wax and did not cook it down, and it seems to have too much solvent left without adding any mineral spirits. Still works though; I'm just getting a little leading.

For my next batch, rather than cook-down the wax I'm going to fortify it with a little carnauba or candelilla wax flakes.
 
you mean it`s a little too runny ???

I think it depends on the alox thickness to begin with ???

Mines the consistency of maple syrup almost & will leave a golden sheen on the bullets , I stand em on there ends & if it looks as if the temp was too hi & too much ran off I`ll do it again .

I do scrape the run off up & put it back in the container though .

I did only a couple of batches & shot probably 50 or so , I just think it`s a messy way to lube bullets & ran the rest thru the lubsizer.

Some people say warm the bullets before tumbling & I did by puttin em in the sun until warm but it seemed to make it all run off ???
 
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