goodbye Imperial

I believe the Dillon lube is the Lanolin alcohol mixture and another reason I made my own . I heard how great the Dillon stuff was and thought why pay for it when I can make it for at worst 1/5 the price .

It can be messy for sure . When I use Oneshot I just stand them up in a dedicated reloading block . Spray rotate spray again and that worked pretty good . I'd keep a large 16" x 16" paper under the block so I did not lube the bench with the over spray . How ever when lubing in bulk I just use a tub to throw the cases in . I've lubed as many as 900 223 cases at one time with 4 wide fan spray squirts using the lanolin mixture then stir them around a bit in the tub .

As far as savings goes . It's not penny's but rather dollars you save . I've used a lot of Oneshot and I may not have used it correctly but I never was able to size much more then 1k cases per can if that for at best $10 a can . I've sized at least 4k and likely 6k or 7k with $4 worth of the lanolin mixture . That ratio in nothing to dismiss , that's real savings .

To be clear I'm not saying everyone should do this ( but you should :D ) just to those that think it's not worth it , it is period .

The guys the process thousands of cases at a time . I don't see there is any better way . Guys like cw308 need not bother because of the low volume of cases they process . I get that and in fact if I'm going to size 100 or less I'll use One shot or even one of the waxes but for bulk , it's ........well you know ;)
 
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I have made shop calls, to be clear if the shop could figure out their problem they would not have called me. One builder/collector/shooter/reloaders is very opinionated; he has spent many years singing the praise of color and brands, he has a lot of time invested in promoting Imperial and Dillon lube in the bottle and can.

Back to the shop call: He has build many wildcat rifles with no available cases meaning he has to form the cases. He no longer believes in the advise; "all you gotta do is etc..." because everything he tried failed. SO? He calls me with the understanding I will not be allowed to help him if I bring my no name lube and I am to bring the 'OTHER #4 shell holder'. I knew when he requested the other #4 shell holder he was trying to form the cases from belted cases that had been hammered with heavy loads or as reloaders claim' "cases fired with soft headed cases".

I could ask; "What was I to do?" but I did the next best thing. I determined if it was possible to form cases from existing cases with dies that are available. He had close to 440 belted cases that were candidates. I formed 400 of the cases and had all kind of trouble making Imperial and Dillon look good.

And then there were the 40 cases that would not fit the #4 Shell holder, I tried to discourage him from using them; he has three lathes. with the aid of a collet I demonstrated a techniques that reduces the diameter of the case ahead of the belt when sizing hammered cases and I offered to cut the extractor groove to reduce the diameter. We did all of that and then he decided he would not include the hammered cases with the 400.

We did all of the work on a RCBS press that did camed over, it was an A-2, the A2 came with instructions. In the instructions RCBS claimed the A2 was a cam-over press they also included the part about it being a "BUMP!" press. And then RCBS made it very clear, the cam over press is a bump press because the ram bumps at the top. It bumps twice believe it or not it bumps once on the way up and again once on the way down.

And? I thought it nice of RCBS, they explained the cam over press required a different technique for adjusting the die to the shell holder. I could say 'than a non came over press like the Rock Chucker'.

F. Guffey
 
Frankenmauser said: "I don't know about rg1, but I don't pay $14.99 per can of One-Shot. The last one that I bought was regular price, at $8.99, two weeks ago."

I've seen 2 sizes listed - 5-oz and 10-oz. I used the 10-oz size and price to make a better comparison to lanolin and alcohol volume and prices.

Check the $8.99 can - is it 5-oz?
 
And Jack O'Conner thought Lanolin was convenient, his hands hurt all the time, for relief he used lanolin. When he sized cases he added lanolin to his medication.

Had Jack O'Conner added/ diluted his lanolin he would have had to ware gloves because of the cracking of the skin on his hands. And then it becomes a matter of tumbling to clean the lube from the case.

F. Guffey
 
I have ate through all the AR fodder I binge loaded a few years back and dusted off the progressive press this morning and cranked out 250 rounds of .223. While Imperial never failed me, I find the spray stuff much more convenient. As I said in the OP, the Imperial is not getting thrown out though just in case I start doing some heavy duty case reforming.

I am simplifying my reloading now and going down to 2 calibers, .223 and .260. I have several hundred .308s that I may try necking down to .260 Rem. That Imperial may come in quite useful
 
It's stunning how far handloader's will go if they think they can save a penny! But let the topic be gun's or bullet's and economy is out the door. Guy buy's a $2500 scope because he believe's his scope should cost more than his rifle. The goes out and buy's new MTY case's for a dollar each. And then he make's his resizing lube from stuff he buy in the Wal Mart! Bullet casters do the same thing! :-)
 
It's stunning how far handloader's will go if they think they can save a penny! But let the topic be gun's or bullet's and economy is out the door. Guy buy's a $2500 scope because he believe's his scope should cost more than his rifle. The goes out and buy's new MTY case's for a dollar each. And then he make's his resizing lube from stuff he buy in the Wal Mart! Bullet casters do the same thing! :-)
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As much as anyone spends on a rifle...is nothing compared to what a higher end trap or skeet gun costs. And yet I have gone 50/50 with an 870 wing master.
 
I spend anywhere between 25 and 50 a week on ammo so pinching pennies is not my goal. Ease of use, convenience and the feeling of being able to do it myself is the goal

If I could build a gun from parts that I bought from Walmart that would perform as well as a factory gun at half the price I would be doing that too
 
Don Fisher wrote:
Haven't a clue when I ever had a case lubed right.
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It takes a little time to get it worked out because an appropriate film is so light that it's hard to tell you've got anything at all on the case. I run my right index finder across the surface to pick up a little bit. I then rub it between my thumb and index finger. And then wait a couple minutes. Some will be absorbed by your skin. Don't worry it's mostly beef tallow. I then run my index finger across the surface again and rub my thumb and index finger together.

I then pick up a case and holding the case head with my left hand, draw my thumb, index and middle finger along the case from the head to the shoulder. Skip lubricating the shoulder and then give my index and thumb a quick spin around the neck and then size. I can usually lubricate about 10 cases before I have to go back and refresh my fingers with the smallest amount of lubricant.

If you do it right you won't be certain you've done anything at all.

I've sized over 5,000 rounds with this tub of Unique and I've only used about 15% of it.

I used a carbide expander so I only need to lubricate about every fifth neck. I do it with a make-up applicator, not a Q-tip. The cotton on the Q-tip is too loosely wound to the stick and it picks up two much Unique.
 
locknloader wrote:
What kind of pistol rounds need lube, something long like a 38 special? I just did some 9mm for first time with no lube and didnt have any issues with them binding up (carbide and titanium dies though).
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Straight-wall pistol cartridges do not need lubrication if used with a carbide die. The 9mm Luger case has a slight taper to it, but can be sized with a carbide die without the need for lubrication.

BUT, there's no harm in lubricating cases going into a carbide die and it can dramatically reduce the effort required to size cases and make the whole process go smoother.
 
rg1 wrote:
Store bought Dillon Case Lube---about $9.00 for 8 oz.
Homemade with 99% isopropyl alcohol. Bought from Amazon
2 bottles- 16 ounce- 32 ounces total approx. $8.00 to $10.00 per bottle
one 4 ounce bottle of liquid lanolin--$7.00-$8.00 for one bottle
So a rough estimate of $23.00 to $26.00 for 36 ounces of homemade case lube.
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About how many cases do you expect to lubricate with that 36 ounces?
 
Road Clam wrote:
Love my Imperial for NATO bottleneck rifle. Will continue to use it. Don't care about counting pennies for a cheaper replecement. ... Amazing to me how little imperial wax is needed on a burly NATO SL 30-06 casing to glide through the die with minimal effort.
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I don't know that the home-brew guys are saving all that much. Everyone has posted how much the ingredients cost and how big a batch it makes up, but nobody has said how many cases it will lubricate.

At the rate I'm using it, I expect my $3.99 tub of Unique to last around 35,000 rounds. For some of the home-brews to yield the same number of cases as $24 worth of Unique they'd need to be getting something on the order of 200,000 cases out of a batch just to break even - and that says nothing for the time, effort, gas, wear and tear on the vehicle to run around and pick all that up.
 
For me, it ain't all about the cost.....it is the fact I can lube 1000 cases in 5 minutes and I make it at home because it is cheaper than buying it.

The progressive press with case feeder facilities the necessity to lube cases quickly, evenly, and somewhat cheaply. Screwing around with a pad, or wax , or the like just isn't a better option for this application.
 
I don't know that the home-brew guys are saving all that much. Everyone has posted how much the ingredients cost and how big a batch it makes up, but nobody has said how many cases it will lubricate.
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I used Unique and agree one tub does a lot . I would not say 35k but it may do 10k easy . I only say that because that's the only lube I used when I first started and there's no way I lubed 35k before I went through that first tub . It may have been more then 10k but nowhere close to 35k

As I stated before when it comes to the waxes the spray stuff is faster . I can and have lubed 900 223 cases in 5 min

About how many cases do you expect to lubricate with that 36 ounces?
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I estimate 15 to 25 thousands 308 sized cases and really expect it be more on the higher end of that . I've already stated I've sized 4 to 7 thousand with my 11oz mixture and still have some left ( about 3oz ) . How many 10oz bottles of any store bought spray case lube would it take to do that same amount ?

So one $15 bottle of Lanolin will do 45k to 75k 308 sized cases . I just bought more and anticipate I'll now have enough lube to last maybe the rest of my life especially when you consider the 3 tubs of unique , 1 tub imperial and 3 cans of Oneshot I still have

I also agree that if I could make a rifle just as good as a manufactured one for 1/5 the cost I would . In fact I have done that with no less the 5 AR's . Maybe not at 1/5 the cost but most at 1/2 the cost .
 
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For me it wasn't the cost savings. The only local store that carried Dillon Case Lube was 30-45 minutes away and through downtown traffic. I bought the Dillon lube for several years and discovered that you could make your own. 32-36 ounces will last me a long time. I could have bought several bottles at $9.00 in one trip to the store but a couple occasions they were out of stock and I was out of lube. Just saying Dillon Case Lube is a good lube and it can be replicated. I've used RCBS case lube and Lee's paste lube but haven't tried OneShot or Imperial. Don't like aerosol spray cans for long term either as they can lose their pressure in time. Most of my experience with Dillon lube was before Amazon 2 day shipping.
 
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