Bag Balm for reloading

Discussions covering the components and techniques of reloading for your long gun.
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AlaskanGuy
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Bag Balm for reloading

Post by AlaskanGuy »

Morning all....

Ever get one of them Lake City 308 cases stuck up in a die? How about a 223? It just tends to ruin a rhythmic reloading session.. let me introduce you to my all time favorite case lube,

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Bag Balm. Just the tiniest bit will do the job of any case lube out there and way more. It’s good for your hands too... when I am lubing cases, I just tap my finger ever so lightly on top of the goo, and that is all it takes for a dozen or more cases. Just smear it around between thumb and finger and you are good to go. If you have more then thisss.....

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Your using too much... the can on my loading desk has lasted several years... try it, cheap, good for your hands, and never a stuck case... what’s not to like? Available just about everywhere.

Dedicated to Farmer Jim...

AG
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by farmerjim »

When I started back reloading a few years ago I re-coated my large stamp pad with the herters case lube that I had bought in the 60's. It still worked good, but I ran out. I tried Hornady one shot. It worked great on all my straight wall cases. Then I got a bunch of mil 223 cases. Second case got stuck. First one in my life.Luckily stuck cases are not too difficult to remove from lee dies. I sprayed a bunch more one shot on the cases and started again. About 10 more cases and stuck again. I then came to the conclusion that this is not going to work. I had bought an 7 oz jar of lanolin cream, so I gave it a shot, using my fingers just like you explained with the Bag Balm. Not a single stuck case in the next 3,000 cases. I have also used the liquid Lanolin oil in 90% alcohol and sprayed on the cases with the same success.
The active ingredients of Bag Balm are 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate 0.3% (antiseptic) in a petroleum jelly USP and lanolin base.
I have checked the prices on each and find that the Bag Balm is about 10% cheaper than the lanolin.
When I run out of the 2 jars of pure lanolin that I have ( will do about 20,000 cases) I will switch to the bag Balm.
Thanks for the Info.
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by horseman »

There are a LOT of things you can use for case lube. If living in remote Alaska then whatever is available would be good, especially serving "double duty" as a hand cream/lotion for chapped hands. Imperial sizing wax gets rave reviews from most everybody, I have some, works well. I prefer RCBS case lube as I like to use a pad and do 5 or more cases at a time. I (think) it's pretty close to STP and works very well also. I haven't had any issue using Hornady One Shot with 223 cases, a good spray on a bunch of cases, roll them around so all get a good covering, wait 10 or 15 minutes for the "carrier" to dry and go to work. The reason I do it this way is I load 223/556 on a progressive press using RCBS X dies. No stuck cases. I do the same for all handgun cases as it makes things just go easier even with carbide dies. I think of case lube the same as I do with bullet lube, it's so cheap to buy and it goes a long way I see no reason to "concoct" my own. AlaskanGuy has a bit different scenario because of where he lives and "things" may be a bit more difficult to acquire with more cost involved so an item "on hand", that serves more than one use makes really good sense. For most of us though, just spend the 5 bucks and get a tube of "regular" case lube and when that runs out in about 5 years or so go get another one.....as in all things in reloading YMMV....by the way I do have a can of Bag Balm. My wife uses it on her feet at night with socks. Women wear weird shoes.
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by Macd »

Must give the bag balm a try. It is one thing I can find here without problems. They sell it at the at the CO-OP store. It makes good "O" Ring lube too but the best for that is KY lube. I use Lee lube cut in alcohol about 7-1 and sprayed on. It works fine for everything I size. I do rub some uncut lube inside and outside a case neck to start and then away to the races.
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by GasGuzzler »

I have some Imperial that is probably pretty close. It's the slickest of all the options I've tried but there's no such thing as a free lunch. Manually lubing cases one at a time as they enter the size die is tedious, messy, and extremely slow. Speed isn't my only goal but I need to get stuff done and move on. If you get 4.2387% too much of this style of lube on the case you'll get dented shoulders. Hornady One-Shot is the go to for sticking a .223 case. Also note it needs to DRY before using...but I've never been tempted to buy any. Lee lube mixed with rubbing alcohol in an atomizing spray bottle is cheap and simple, won't dent cases, and one batch lasts forever.
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by AlaskanGuy »

Lots of awesome responses here... I dont do speed though.. I am totally into accuracy though. I grab a case, a quick swipe with my slightly lubed 2 fingers, and it goes into the shellholder. Prolly take less then a second. But that is just me. Never had a dented case. I can tell by how hard the handle pulls when it is time to re-dip. Lots of great suggestions though.. did I mention it’s good for your hands??? You guys have a great day.. make it a reloading day!
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by Jeff H »

Neat idea.

Thought I replied yesterday but must not have hit "submit."

What do you have to use to get it back off the cases?

I just bought a fresh tube of LEE case lube last fall, so I'm set for another twenty years, but I like having back-up options.
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by RBHarter »

By ingredients bag balm should be a fine BP bullet lube too . I've always had a can around as long as there was a dog to get foot sore . Never thought about it for case lube .

All of my cars have 150k on them and STP is a mainstay .......yeah I know ...... It goes in the gears and the engine . It is in fact what the original RCBS case and swage lube was , no since changing what works . I also make my cast bullet lube with it . I can't lube over 4-5000 cases on the leftover can slime from an oil change so I'm pretty set that way .
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by jagower »

I find putting cases in a Ziploc bag and spraying with Hornady one shot lube and working them around does a good job.
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Re: Bag Balm for reloading

Post by mr surveyor »

I've found that plain old Lee Case Lube, cut with alcohol, works just as well in a zip lock bag .....


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