prelubing minies in mass quantitys?

[walruskid1]

35 yrs ago, i recall my scoutmaster ( the guy that got me started in bp ) placing minies base down in a cakepan and pouring a mixture around them to a point above the grease grooves. then i think he took a tube and cut them out. does this work? what do you use for a lube that will semi-harden? what do you cut them out with? i am starting to cast minies and want to know what works. does anybody use liquid alox? dave

 

[JackAubrey]

I use this method except I remove them from the lube before it hardens w/ pair of tongs.I then set them in a second pie pan w/o any lube to take a set.I have not settled on a concoction I am thoroughly pleased with yet.At this time I am melting beeswax and crisco.Best regards,Jack.

 

[jtmattison]

I use the pan lubing process you described. My lube is made of beeswax and olive oil. Stand the bullets up in a shallow pan and pour melted lube in just to cover the top groove. Allow it to harden and cut them out of the lube with the appropriate caliber speed loader tube.
I have also used another method with shallow grooved bullets. I put the bullets in the freezer for a couple hours. I melt the lube and just dip the cold bullets into the lube a couple times. The lube sticks right to them.
I hope this helped.

Huntin

 

[robinghewitt]

Wonder if you could use one of those .577/.451 grease gun style groove greasers? I Know they're designed for soft lube but if you had your heat proof gloves on... ::

 

[big bore 75]

I just melt my lube and dip them and plase the dipped ones in another container, tryed the other way but for me its faster and makes the little lady happy with out taking up her kitchen space. bb75

 

[jdstrang]

WK:

I'd advise against it, since most lubes tend to dry out over days or weeks and thus lose, to some degree, their "lubriness."

I'm a big fan of MCM lube, made by the North East Trade Co., which can be applied with a plunger-squirter device that at one fell push squirts a little melted lube up into the hollow base while coating the grooves.

We generally make up "minie cartridges" using Caplugs that look like these:
http://www.caplugs.com/catalog/StarPage.asp
into which is loaded the powder charge, with the minie squeezed in, nose first and base out. The lube pump enables thorough lubing with one push of that loaded case on the plunger. Extremely convenient, economical and time-saving for those who shoot lots of minies... :m2c:
:blue: :grey:

 

[jimbo15563]

I found this TC pre-luber at:

October Country

It was made by Thompson Center and has an attachment for a tube of Bore Butter. You just push them thru and squeeze on the tube. Thompson quit making them, probably because they'd rather we buy their Pre-Lubed Maxi Hunters. October Country only has .54's. I'm sure there are some .45 and .50's somewhere. It's just a matter of finding them.

Jimbo

 

[jtmattison]

I have the pre-lubers in .50 and .54. I never could get them to work. When the bore butter is soft enought to apply with the pre-luber it is too soft to stay in the grooves. I like my homemade lube better because it is a bit thicker and stays on the bullet. If you buy the pre-lubed TC bullets you will see that the bore butter on them is much thicker also.

Huntin

 

[Tumblernotch]

I use the method shown in the U.S. Army Ordnance Manual of 1861, only on a slightly smaller scale. It works very well, it's easy to do and the lube is easy to make and is period correct if you're into that. I'll just quote what it says in the book:

To Grease the Balls- "Place them on their bases on a tin frame capable of holding 50 balls and immerse it in a melted mixture of 1 part of tallow and 8 of beeswax, kept warm, until the cylindrical part of the ball is covered. Remove the frame and let it stand until the grease hardens."

If you load the bullet without sizing, the excess will peel off as you put it in the muzzle. If you size it after greasing, the sizer will remove it and make a very neat appearing bullet and I would recommend it if you are to put it in a paper cartridge. Instead of tallow, I use 1 part of Crisco in it's place. If you use it in very hot weather and it does get a little soft, you can decrease the tallow or Crisco and increase the beeswax a little. Some shooters put grease in the base. I don't. It needs to be in the grooves or on the sides of the bullet to do it's job. You're wasting lube putting it in the base and running the risk of contaminating the powder, especially if you use one of the softer lubes and the load is left in the gun for any amount of time. They didn't do it back then either. Even the beeswax/tallow lube could leach through the cylinder case if exposed to high temperatures for a time. CW musket cartridges were made of 3 pieces of paper and the inner one, or cylinder case, kept the powder separated from the bullet.

But, you can experiment with different types of lube and it's placement. Different people get different results. All I can say is that it works for me and it is the way set forth by the guys that designed the weapon system.
:imo: :results: