$5 homemade bullet luber

[duckey]

This past Winter I got into yet another hobby (much to the wife's dismay) and started casting .50 Call Maxi Balls for my TC Grey Hawk.  Next came the issue of lubing up the ring grooves.  Well I found that TC used to make bullet lubers that screwed onto a tube of Natural Lube 1000 plus .  And saw that some folks were selling them on Ebay for about $40.  I decided to make my own...and I did for less than $5!!!  I hope to post a picture up soon.  I went to Low's and bought one 1/2" CPVC T, one 1/2" glue to 1/2" thread CPVC adapter and a 12" length of 1/2" clear vinyl tubing.  I drilled the horizontal part of the T fitting out with a 1/2 " drill bit and then used a round file to enlarge it a bit more...just enough to slide about a 3" of vinyl tube in and hold it snug.  If it is to snug then the bullets will not slide through easily.  I drilled a 3/8" hole through one wall of the tube and aligned that up in the T fitting.  I also used a little bit of super glue to secure the vinyl into the T fitting.  Next I cut a 2" piece of vinyl tube and connected the T fitting to the 1/2" glue to thread adapter and used a bit of super glue on this joint as well.  That's it!  Simply warm the lube up so it will flow easier and then push a bullet through one end and stop it in the middle and give the tube a good squeeze and your done.  Now I would recommend that instead of the vinyl tube from the adapter to the T I would use CPVC pipe as it is more rigid and will make life easier.

[duckey]

One last note....you will notice that the threads on the tube of lube and the threads on the CPVC glue to thread adapter do not match...I assure you that if you hold the two parts squarely together and applie a little force that the luber will engage and stay on the tube.

[peddler]

It always works better when it's rigid.

Peddler     

[chuckrudy]

looks like it will work for you. good job, well done.

[CAPTJJ]

Didn't know anyone used Maxi balls any more, cool idea. My grandfather used a wood block with a bunch of drilled holes in it that the bullets woudl just squeeze into; he would lube them by hand then slide them in the block then wipe off the excess. The block would also act as a bullet holder and he would load them from it, old school.

[duckey]

Didn't take long for the appropriate commentary to begin.   Yeah with the in-line smoke poles being used today,  people usually raise an eyebrow when I mention what I shoot.  The Maxi  Balls are down right devastating on deer.  I shoot a 370 grain, it has good accuracy out to 100 yards (4-5")....I seldom shoot past 50.  I bought a Lyman Single cavity mould from Midsouth Shooters in MI for a decent price and have dropped about 60 bullets from it.  This gun is the cheapest thing i can shoot these days!  I have some reloading equipment on backorder from Midway that will help out a lot if I can find powder, primers and bullets...or i may cast my own.

[stka]

Good job on the luber. I thought maxi balls were hollow on the back to engage the rifling on the barrel. Are those tight going in?

[CAPTJJ]

They actually compress to engage the rifling with the ridges on the bullet, neat concept.

Might have to try some in my Lyman Great Plains, switched from to a .50cal barrel rifled for conicals but always used sabots. The .54cal with round balls did agood job on deer.

[duckey]

The Maxi Balls load easily.  I can shoot round balls too Sabots in the Grey hawk but have always stuck to the maxi's.

[drobertsinMaryland]

Nice build! There are some on here that would use it for something else.

[Green Mountian Hunter]

            Nice job ; I have the same Maxi Ball mold , it sure is fun making your own

[CAPTJJ]

I found a couple of the wood blocks I was talking about; also used them to load with a homemade ball starter, still had some patched round balls in them. Round balls were all we could hunt with in NY when gramps was around, used Maxis for shooting silouettes. He pre-measured out the black powder(all he used) and poured it into coin rolls, that was his speed loading method.

[duckey]

Thanks for the pictures.  I am making my father a speed loader similar to that for his .54 cal flintlock he is building now, I only have three holes in mine.  I like the coin role idea for holding the powder...not to far off from what they used to use.