I'm a lanolin case lube convert!
- Thread starter Shadow9mm
- Start date
I get the lube all up inside my cases . Like I said I size in large batches and spray the lube on all areas of the cases . Not by choice but because I have no other choice based on how I lube my cases .
I toss the full batch into a plastic tub then spray a couple squirts , shake tub well and spray a couple more squirts then shake tub and swirl cases with gloved hand . When I shake the tub the heavier end of the cases naturally move to the bottom resulting in the case mouths pointing up . It's virtually impossible for me to NOT get case lube inside my cases . In fact I like it because the expander glides through so easy compared to not having the lube in there .
These 1400-ish cases are once fired LC-17 and have been deprimed , wet tumbled and primer crimp removed in that order . They are now ready to be lubed and FL small base sized .
So what I do after sizing is rinse the cases off in a bucket of pretty hot soapy water drain and rinse with hot water . I then spread them out on a towel outside and let dry . After they are dry I trim and final dry tumble in corncob media . This method gets all the lube off and results in bright and shinny cases outside AND inside
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As far as contaminating the powder , I don't know but can say for sure if the insides of the cases/necks still have lube on them . The powder will stick to the lube , especially small ball powders like H-335 or W748 . Not sure I'd want to be seating bullets with a case neck full of stuck on powder . You'll likely need to clean/tumble the lube out of the insides of the cases regardless if it contaminates the powder or not , at least I would .
I toss the full batch into a plastic tub then spray a couple squirts , shake tub well and spray a couple more squirts then shake tub and swirl cases with gloved hand . When I shake the tub the heavier end of the cases naturally move to the bottom resulting in the case mouths pointing up . It's virtually impossible for me to NOT get case lube inside my cases . In fact I like it because the expander glides through so easy compared to not having the lube in there .
These 1400-ish cases are once fired LC-17 and have been deprimed , wet tumbled and primer crimp removed in that order . They are now ready to be lubed and FL small base sized .
So what I do after sizing is rinse the cases off in a bucket of pretty hot soapy water drain and rinse with hot water . I then spread them out on a towel outside and let dry . After they are dry I trim and final dry tumble in corncob media . This method gets all the lube off and results in bright and shinny cases outside AND inside
.As far as contaminating the powder , I don't know but can say for sure if the insides of the cases/necks still have lube on them . The powder will stick to the lube , especially small ball powders like H-335 or W748 . Not sure I'd want to be seating bullets with a case neck full of stuck on powder . You'll likely need to clean/tumble the lube out of the insides of the cases regardless if it contaminates the powder or not , at least I would .
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IMHO my method is best with large quantities at once . One squirt from a spray bottle will do 300 cases if applied right . Meaning if you squirt a coupe sprays on 200 cases you’re really just wasting product IMO . This method does go a long way for sure if done right . Todate I’ve sized no less then 6k 308 and 223 cases since I started using the lanolin method . I’ve only used 2oz of the lanolin so far and still have enough in the bottle from the second oz to do the 1400 cases above . So that means 2oz of lanolin and 20oz of alcohol will have done maybe 8k rifle cases . I still have 22oz of lanolin and 1.5 gal of alcohol . So I should be gtg for another 150k .
MG,
I see how you get the brass standing case mouths up.Yes,you could get more lube inside than desirable.
You can fix that by cutting down on the batch size you are spraying.Put less than one inch or so depth of cases in your tub. They will lay more on their side.
Spray them,shake them,then dump them in another tub.
I see how you get the brass standing case mouths up.Yes,you could get more lube inside than desirable.
You can fix that by cutting down on the batch size you are spraying.Put less than one inch or so depth of cases in your tub. They will lay more on their side.
Spray them,shake them,then dump them in another tub.
I have use lanolin for years. I use an alcohol wash to get it off the cases after sizing, works great. I just checked the price of 100% lanolin & can't believe how much the price has gone up. I bought a 4 pack a few years ago for $6.47 ea. and I just saw it was as high as $17.95 at some places now for the same 4oz bottle. WOW!
Yes and no depending on how you do it and size of tub . Mine's something like 16"W x 12"D x 7"T . I've not done any testing but I'd think based on observations when lubing cases anything more then 200 would likely not sit flat if you're shaking and tossing them around . Between 500 and 800 pieces and shaking them in that size tube results in just about 70% of them will sitting head down mouth up after each shake/toss . The less space they have to lay flat the more they seem to keep them selves upright . Over 1k in that tub and they start sitting on top of each other resulting in less standing on end but still getting a large portion to do so . As I said before I don't have an issue with getting lube in them but I don't load on a progressive where the inside needs to be dry while the outside is lubed .The fact I work in such large batches . I size and prime all my cases ahead of time . That way I'm gtg for usually a couple years at a time . Like right now I'm just finishing up ( meaning a couple more weeks of an hour here or a couple hours there ) prepping out about 3K cases . Once done those cases will last me awhile and then I start all over again
I'm only doing it because I had just realized I only had about 300 prepped cases and everything else had been fired and was dirty . I've been doing this for a few years now and as shadow has pointed out . Rinsing them in hot soapy water gets most of the lube off , enough to do other stuff like trim them with out stuff sticking to them . For the first few thousand I did a few years ago I put them (fully lubed) straight into the dry tumbler . That seemed to work just fine on removing the lube but the media got what appeared to be really dirty fast . It was then I decided to rinse first only because I figured at some point the media was going to have to much lanolin in it and need replacing sooner then normal .
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Mg,
A couple of things. First, you don't have to spray them while you're shaking them. Spray them while they're laying flat and then shake them. And, you can spray a little in the container just prior to placing your shells in there. It helps to distribute more lube to your cases.
Don
No no I don’t spray when shaking them . Shake , spray , shake , spray then swirl with hand a few times as they dry . One reason I use the tub is not needing to handle the cases by hand . Meaning I have little interest on making sure they all lay flat . I never liked laying out my cases nice and uniform or lubing one at a time with the waxes . The more I can do in the least amount of time is my goal ;-)
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Maybe try only filling the tub halfway or even a third. Spray, shake, dump them in another tub and do the next batch.
Lol , I don’t understand what’s going on here . I have zero issues with the way I do it , not sure why people keep trying to help me out . I even said I want lube inside the necks to help pulling the expander back through .
I only said I was willing to give the castor oil a try if it cleans off easier , I not only do not have any real problems with the lanolin lube . I actually love it and if it was all I had to choose from , I’d be happy with that .
I’ve only been pointing out some issues one may come across so others don’t need to learn the hard way . I'm in no way saying I don't like my method or it does not work .
Me somewhere on page 3 said:
I only said I was willing to give the castor oil a try if it cleans off easier , I not only do not have any real problems with the lanolin lube . I actually love it and if it was all I had to choose from , I’d be happy with that .
I’ve only been pointing out some issues one may come across so others don’t need to learn the hard way . I'm in no way saying I don't like my method or it does not work .
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