Lanolin
- Thread starter Pat C
- Start date
A lot of folks claim they've stuck cases with One Shot. I haven't, and suspect they may not be letting it rest long enough. For tough case, I spray with Lee lube diluted in alcohol, then spray with One Shot as one approach. If I only have a few to do, I don't do either, but apply lube by hand.
Hornady makes a lube they call Unique. This is like Imperial Sizing Wax, but cheaper. Seems to work fine. I wondered when I got it if lanolin might be part of the mix, but it's not. When I got the MSDS, it turned out it's mostly bleached tallow plus a little mink oil, paraffin wax, and glycerol. The tallow can be skimmed off a pot of a fatty cut of boiling beef, if you want to try it. Having it go rancid would be my one concern and may account for the bleaching. I don't know.
Hornady makes a lube they call Unique. This is like Imperial Sizing Wax, but cheaper. Seems to work fine. I wondered when I got it if lanolin might be part of the mix, but it's not. When I got the MSDS, it turned out it's mostly bleached tallow plus a little mink oil, paraffin wax, and glycerol. The tallow can be skimmed off a pot of a fatty cut of boiling beef, if you want to try it. Having it go rancid would be my one concern and may account for the bleaching. I don't know.
I just started using that home brew 3000+ cases ago , It works great ! I used to use one shot and the Unique wax , well I still do just less . I love the wax and am unimpressed with the one shot . The one shot works good for 223 . I've never stuck a 308 case but that's because I could tell I was about to a few times and stopped . Added a little more and was gtg . Like the guy in vid said . Both work best when no longer wet .
The huge difference is cost . Although I haven't , I estimate I can do 100,000 223/308 cases using the home brew for about $12 to $15 . I can only do 3k to 5k for the same price using One shot . The down side to the home brew is it must be removed from the cases and your dies .
It does not take much . I mixed up a 12oz batch , 2oz lanolin to 10oz of 91% alcohol . Using that mixture I threw 700+ 223 cases in a plastic tub then sprayed 3 fine mist squirts on the lot , mixed with hand then 3 more fine mist squirts . Mixed that up a few times until no longer wet . GTG and when I looked at how much I used I could barely tell any had left the bottle . I've done a few thousand cases now and I just hit the 10oz mark on the bottle meaning I only used 2oz of the 12oz so far . And that's wasting a bunch a squirts each time after it sits because you have to shake it up . I then squirt a bunch out into the air to be sure I have the mixed up portion up in the tube and coming out of the nozzle .
I believe the Lanolin method works better . Why do I think that ? Because If I were to liberally lube a 308 cases with both then continually run the same case in and out of the sizing die . The one shot would get stuck in under 10 pulls . While The lanolin case never seems to stop being slick . You can run it back and forth all you want .
It's really amazing to me how well it works . Now I've not used 100 different case lubes but IMHO it's better (as far as slickness ) then one shot , imperial , case slick , unique , Lee sizing liquid/paste or what ever they call it . But I still use the Unique and Oneshot on single cases or small batches but I'f I'm doing several hundred , the Lanolin is coming out
How ever that down side of having to clean the cases well after can be a pain . Specifically my method of batch lubing in a tub . When I spray it in there It gets on and "in" anything it hits . There are often many cases mouth up when I spray . I'll be going progressive soon and I'm not sure the Lanolin oil method I use will work do to all the residue left on the completed cartridges when done . Although I've read the Dillon case lube is the same stuff . Maybe there ratio is different and there's less oil left on the case . I've not tried to see how little can be used and it still work .
The huge difference is cost . Although I haven't , I estimate I can do 100,000 223/308 cases using the home brew for about $12 to $15 . I can only do 3k to 5k for the same price using One shot . The down side to the home brew is it must be removed from the cases and your dies .
It does not take much . I mixed up a 12oz batch , 2oz lanolin to 10oz of 91% alcohol . Using that mixture I threw 700+ 223 cases in a plastic tub then sprayed 3 fine mist squirts on the lot , mixed with hand then 3 more fine mist squirts . Mixed that up a few times until no longer wet . GTG and when I looked at how much I used I could barely tell any had left the bottle . I've done a few thousand cases now and I just hit the 10oz mark on the bottle meaning I only used 2oz of the 12oz so far . And that's wasting a bunch a squirts each time after it sits because you have to shake it up . I then squirt a bunch out into the air to be sure I have the mixed up portion up in the tube and coming out of the nozzle .
I believe the Lanolin method works better . Why do I think that ? Because If I were to liberally lube a 308 cases with both then continually run the same case in and out of the sizing die . The one shot would get stuck in under 10 pulls . While The lanolin case never seems to stop being slick . You can run it back and forth all you want .
It's really amazing to me how well it works . Now I've not used 100 different case lubes but IMHO it's better (as far as slickness ) then one shot , imperial , case slick , unique , Lee sizing liquid/paste or what ever they call it . But I still use the Unique and Oneshot on single cases or small batches but I'f I'm doing several hundred , the Lanolin is coming out
How ever that down side of having to clean the cases well after can be a pain . Specifically my method of batch lubing in a tub . When I spray it in there It gets on and "in" anything it hits . There are often many cases mouth up when I spray . I'll be going progressive soon and I'm not sure the Lanolin oil method I use will work do to all the residue left on the completed cartridges when done . Although I've read the Dillon case lube is the same stuff . Maybe there ratio is different and there's less oil left on the case . I've not tried to see how little can be used and it still work .
Marco Califo
New member
Mixing equal parts Lanolin, ethanol, Niquel, and 7-up, is NOT an FDA approved cure for counting sheep.
The alcohol evaporates leaving the thin coating of oil/lube behind. If it all evaporated there would be nothing to lube the case . 99% is better because it evaporates/dries faster on the case . The 91% has 9% water and does take a bit longer to dry/evaporate off the cases . In small batches it does not take but a minute or two but in the large 500+ count batches it takes 15min or so with a quick stir every 5min .
The lower the % of alcohol the higher the % of water there is . As we all know oil and water don't mix so the least amount of water in the alcohol the better . 91% works good and was all that I could find at the time . At some point I'll try the 99% but that wont likely be for awhile .
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Something to consider. There are dozens of lanolin and similar based hand creams, Neutrogena, for one. Not junk ones, but the heavy hand creams. These things aren't oil based, most of them are wax based and will hold up under pressure. Lots of them use glycolic compounds rather than water, so they don't dry up in a heartbeat. Water cleanup.
Some of them have ionic additives that should definitely be cleaned from the dies and the brass has to be rinsed clean or tumbled.
Anyone who wants to goof around a bit testing unconventional lubes would be well advised to check out the things his wife uses. I imagine that greasing your hands heavily and just rolling the brass in your hands would do it.
Some of them have ionic additives that should definitely be cleaned from the dies and the brass has to be rinsed clean or tumbled.
Anyone who wants to goof around a bit testing unconventional lubes would be well advised to check out the things his wife uses. I imagine that greasing your hands heavily and just rolling the brass in your hands would do it.
briandg, on occasions I have made shop calls meaning I have friends that get into a bind and need help. When they are forming cases for wildcats and experience failures they I can expect a call. I will tell you they are opinionated, after they tell me what they are doing and what they need they instruct me not to bring my no name lube.
That leaves me with trying to form cases with their favorite lubes. They love Imperial, they love Dillon in a can or pump spray bottle; problem they have spent many years bragging on that stuff and there is nothing I can do to get them to consider there is a chance there is something out there that works better. Point? I struggle to make imperial and Dillon lube look good.
One trip I was asked to bring the other #4 RCBS shell holder for magnum cases. They had 40 cases that would not fit their #4 shell holder, so? I brought a small gasket cutting ball peen hammer.
F. Guffey
That leaves me with trying to form cases with their favorite lubes. They love Imperial, they love Dillon in a can or pump spray bottle; problem they have spent many years bragging on that stuff and there is nothing I can do to get them to consider there is a chance there is something out there that works better. Point? I struggle to make imperial and Dillon lube look good.
One trip I was asked to bring the other #4 RCBS shell holder for magnum cases. They had 40 cases that would not fit their #4 shell holder, so? I brought a small gasket cutting ball peen hammer.
F. Guffey
Lanolin and alcohol spray does work, and the only product I've read of with failures is the Hornady One Shot (many reports on forums of stuck cases using One Shot). Personally I've tried a few and settled on Mink Oil Boot Dressing Cream. It contains lanolin, is good on my hands, is not greasy and doesn't contaminate everything, easy to remove, and just plain works. I used some of Lee's white stuff and found it to be the same as "cable pulling lube" (I worked for a large city Power company and the white stuff was in 5 gallon buckets on most of the electrician's trucks, so I "borrowed" about a cup full.).
Guffy, I surely understand that.
I read a quote once; "the reloader is the man who will hear God say 'thou shalt not fool with the status quo" and he will walk away muttering to himself "oh yes I shall!"
Guy once told me to use STP oil goop. What was that, about SAE 200? Back in the old days, you could add $20 worth of that stuff to a destroyed transmission and be able to sell it. I hear that some of them could get a few hundred extra miles.
Honestly, I'm not someone who plays around a whole lot re-inventing wheels. I'm much more likely to use an ancient technique than to fool around with untested things.
My house is from 1928. The shellac finishes are magnificent. When I bought it twenty years ago, I used three gallons of Orange shellac to finish parts of the floors. It still looks great, better than poly. It also looks great on a maple stock.
I read a quote once; "the reloader is the man who will hear God say 'thou shalt not fool with the status quo" and he will walk away muttering to himself "oh yes I shall!"
Guy once told me to use STP oil goop. What was that, about SAE 200? Back in the old days, you could add $20 worth of that stuff to a destroyed transmission and be able to sell it. I hear that some of them could get a few hundred extra miles.
Honestly, I'm not someone who plays around a whole lot re-inventing wheels. I'm much more likely to use an ancient technique than to fool around with untested things.
My house is from 1928. The shellac finishes are magnificent. When I bought it twenty years ago, I used three gallons of Orange shellac to finish parts of the floors. It still looks great, better than poly. It also looks great on a maple stock.
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Mike Irwin
Staff
I've always just squeezed a sheep...
The biggest problem with lanolin is that it's rather tenacious.
The biggest problem with lanolin is that it's rather tenacious.
Mike Irwin
Staff
Oh, go get rammed, ewe're not the boss of me! 
Bytesniffer
New member
I just received 4 oz of pure lanolin and
16 oz of 99% Isopropyl Alcohol
Mixed it. One oz to 4 oz alcohol
Works terrible in small based die.
One shot sucks. Gets stuck.
Lee case lube works great .
Lanolin and alcohol works fine
In regular sizing die.
16 oz of 99% Isopropyl Alcohol
Mixed it. One oz to 4 oz alcohol
Works terrible in small based die.
One shot sucks. Gets stuck.
Lee case lube works great .
Lanolin and alcohol works fine
In regular sizing die.
Marco Califo
New member
Nay to Glycerine
Lanolin is wool oil from sheep. It is a very good lubricant.
Glycerine is not known as lubricant.
"Glycerol /ˈɡlɪsərɒl/[4] (also called glycerine or glycerin; see spelling differences) is a simple polyol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. . . It is widely used in the food industry as a sweetener and humectant and in pharmaceutical formulations. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerol
I use Lucas Oil White Lithium Grease.
"Grease . . . ("lithium grease") adheres particularly well to metal, is non-corrosive, may be used under heavy loads"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_soap
Lanolin is wool oil from sheep. It is a very good lubricant.
Glycerine is not known as lubricant.
"Glycerol /ˈɡlɪsərɒl/[4] (also called glycerine or glycerin; see spelling differences) is a simple polyol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. . . It is widely used in the food industry as a sweetener and humectant and in pharmaceutical formulations. "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerol
I use Lucas Oil White Lithium Grease.
"Grease . . . ("lithium grease") adheres particularly well to metal, is non-corrosive, may be used under heavy loads"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_soap
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Bytesniffer : Sorry to hear it did not go well for you . I've used it when sizing 308 with my Redding SB bushing die and as you could guess it works good for me . Can you elaborate more on how you used it ? Cases in a bag , tub , laid out on towel ??? I'm asking because you actually used more of the lanolin then I do so in theory yours should be more slick then my 1 to 5 ratio .
Are you sure the shaken mixture had filled the spray tube/nozzle ? Sometimes my first couple squirts are pure alcohol with no oil .
How many fine mist sprays did you use ?
Did you let it dry ?
Maybe 99% evaporates to fast before the mixture can migrate all over the cases ???
I'm just surprised how well it works for me and it did not for you .
Are you sure the shaken mixture had filled the spray tube/nozzle ? Sometimes my first couple squirts are pure alcohol with no oil .
How many fine mist sprays did you use ?
Did you let it dry ?
Maybe 99% evaporates to fast before the mixture can migrate all over the cases ???
I'm just surprised how well it works for me and it did not for you .
I use a Lanolin and 99% alcohol mixture (1 oz to 10 oz.) for pistol and revolver cases. I use Hornady unique for rifle (bottle neck cases). I also have mink oil boot polish which works. One Shot seems to have its limitations plus it is a chemical based product. I still have some Hornady One Shot spray but it sits on the shelf now. I am moving away from chemical based products as much as possible.