Lee Case lube question

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Lee Case lube question

Post by BrianT »

Any of you that are using the Lee Case lube and alcohol, do you let it dry before using it, or use it wet?
I've tried alcohol 70%, 91%, and 99%, mixed 10:1 with the Lee Lube, even cut the alcohol 50/50 with water, as Lee suggests, let it dry, and it does not work. If I use it wet, it works until it gets too dry. (Maybe the concentration ratio needs to be higher, like 8:1??)
I can even take that 1st case I tried, after letting it dry and it fails to size, wet it with the same solution, size it wet and it works fine. I've read where people say you will get hydraulic neck dents, using lube wet, but I haven't seen that, yet.
If I use it straight out of the tube, it works great, but that takes forever if you're resizing large batches of 223.
Just wondering if maybe my reloading room is haunted, or something!
Thanks
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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by mr surveyor »

Lee Case Lube and alcohol is the only case lube I've use for the last 10 years. I mix mine to about 7 (alch) to 1 (LCL) and let it air dry. The only "bottle neck" case I load is 30-30 win, and after it dries the neck and shoulder gets wiped off and I make sure there's a tiny bit of lube inside the case mouth. I learned to do it the "easy way" from the beginning by using a large enough zip-lock bag ..... throw in about 15 of the 30-30 cases and give them a couple of good squirts of the lube mix, then just roll up the open end of the bag and shake them around (gently) to make sure the brass is all covered. Never, ever had any issues.

Since all my handgun type dies are carbide, I normally don't even consider case lube - with the exception of 9mm brass. It may be (probably) due to the tapered case wall, but I have to lube about 20% of the brass and make sure to run a lubed case through every 5th round.

I think you are cutting the lube entirely too much. Just my opinion.


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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by farmerjim »

The only lube that I will use on bottleneck cases is Lanolin. The solid cream rubbed on the case or the lanolin oil in 90 percent alcohol both work fine. I have never had a stuck case with lanolin lube.
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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by mr surveyor »

farmerjim wrote:The only lube that I will use on bottleneck cases is Lanolin. The solid cream rubbed on the case or the lanolin oil in 90 percent alcohol both work fine. I have never had a stuck case with lanolin lube.

o.k. let's get this straight ;)

there's 70% alcohol (plain old rubbing alcohol) up to the high grade 90% alcohol.

then, there's percentages of each substance (in this case two substances - lanolin and alcohol


so, is your mix 90% contents of alcohol and 10% content of lanolin?

or is it X% content of 90% alcohol and Y% content of lanolin?

just making your life difficult :)


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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by BrianT »

I agree farmerjim, the lanolin mix just plain works. I've only used it with the 99% alcohol mixed 10 parts alcohol, 1 part liquid lanolin.
So far it has just proved harder to get off of big batches of brass, but again I've only tried removing it in a vibratory tumbler, with straight corn cob media, no additives...
I want to use the Lee, if possible, because of it's water base.
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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by farmerjim »

I use hot, almost boiling, water and dish soap to remove the lanolin.
After drying in my convection oven ( same one I use for powder coating) , I tumble the brass (15 to 30 minutes) in ground walnut shells with nu finish on a paper towel . This stops the brass from tarnishing for several years.
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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by GasGuzzler »

The question was how to cut the Lee lube so I will answer that. I use the Lee lube cut with alcohol in a sprayer. Stand the cases up in a loading block and spray them from above from a couple angles. The lube needs to set up before sizing. For larger batches of smaller cases I use the bag method. Cases DO NOT have to be washed after. 4.5 oz. of 70% alcohol to a 2 oz. tube of Lee case lube. DO NOT use 90%. I only lube rifle cases.
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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by BrianT »

Thanks, it sounds like I've been cutting the lube too much. I'll give it another try.
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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by BrianT »

Well, I'm still getting mixed/inconsistent results.
I'm trying to bump my 223 brass' shoulder back to 1.457"- 1.460". measured with a Hornady HeadSpace Comparator. This gives me a .003-.006" shoulder setback, based on my fire formed brass measurements.
I'm using a Lee Challenger Breech Lock and 2 different Lee 223 Sizing dies. I've also experimented with an RCBS 223 sizing die, and shell holder, but have seen no difference in the results.
I finally got around to mixing up 4.5oz of 70% alcohol, and 1 tube, 2oz, of Lee Resizing Lube.
I put 20 pieces of same headstamp 223 brass in a block, and sprayed them from the front and back, at about a 45 degree angle. I let these dry about 15-20 minutes.
The first 5 I tried, I wiped the lube off of the shoulders. This didn't work at all. These all measured too long after sizing.
The next 15 pieces of brass, I did not wipe off the shoulders, and these all sized OK, within the HS range I'm looking for.
I put 20 more pieces of this same brass in a block, sprayed them and left them for a little over an hour to dry.
6 of the first 10 did not size correctly, stayed too long. Trying the RCBS die, same result. Very inconsistent.
I think there may have been a little more lube on this second set of 20 cases, so I'll work on finding a more consistent amount of lube per batch.
Every one of the cases that would not size with the dried lube, sized perfectly if I put a drop of this mixed spray lube on the case and ran it thru wet.

I have 2-3000 primed 223 cases I need to resize, which is why I really want to make this lube work, without lubing each one with my fingers.
I don't want to deprime them all, as I fell like the primers don't seat as tightly, once they've been taken from a case. I'm sure they will go bang, but they just don't feel as tight, after trying 2-300.
Thanks for your help
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Re: Lee Case lube question

Post by GasGuzzler »

The answer is in your post. Wiping them off is no good and neither is letting them sit for an hour. It just needs times to gel. The cases should have a layer on them that is hazed over but not dry.
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