springer99
New member
Yes, I use spray lube, usually lubing about 1 in 10 straight wall(38Spl) cases and 1 - 5 tapered(9mm) cases. Just makes resizing SO much easier.
Carbide die, lubrication.
- Thread starter dahermit
- Start date
No. Absolutely NOT. NEVER.
I bought the carbide dies to NOT lube those cases, and they work fine. Even .44 Mag are simple to resize without significant effort in either my Rock Chucker or Lee Turret presses. Putting lube on cases when using carbide dies just seems plain stupid to me. But to each their own . . .
I bought the carbide dies to NOT lube those cases, and they work fine. Even .44 Mag are simple to resize without significant effort in either my Rock Chucker or Lee Turret presses. Putting lube on cases when using carbide dies just seems plain stupid to me. But to each their own . . .
Some really strong "opinions" about lube and carbide dies. Basically, lube is not needed to size straight walled brass, but how many of us only do something if it's absolutely needed? I don't. Sometimes I do things just because I want to, and lightly lubing every third .44 Magnum case when sizing is one. And depending on how much time I have, or if I'm bored I have been known to do some totally unnecessary stuff (I even deburred some flash holes on the interior of the case once). I like reloading, I have no quota, I am in no hurry, and I do as much as I feel like doing, and if that included lubing 38 Special brass to resize, then I will....
I've not seen the "Reloading Police" in quite a while and they prolly ain't gonna kick down my door and confiscate my ammo 'cause I made it "wrong"...
I've not seen the "Reloading Police" in quite a while and they prolly ain't gonna kick down my door and confiscate my ammo 'cause I made it "wrong"...
I use Imperial exclusively and I lube 9mm on about a 1-per-5 or 1-per-6 basis and it radically improves the experience. I use just a touch of lube on .44 Mag (just a touch -- the amount of lube that would result in a stuck case if you were doing bottle neck rifle) and I do a full lube with .460 and .500 Mag brass.
Save your absolute nonsense about my "low cost dies", my dies were bought as early as 1988 and most of them in the early 90's, 13k loaded in 2016 and 10-15k annually in the previous five years.
I use a hybrid system whereby I use a progressive press to decap, size, prime and flare my brass and I meter powder case by case with a Lyman 55, and I seat & crimp every round single stage.
If you got the results that I got (accuracy, perfect function and round count substantially beyond 10k annually across almost 10 different chamberings) you wouldn't question anything at my bench as "wasteful", "superfluous", "unnecessary" or otherwise.
Save your absolute nonsense about my "low cost dies", my dies were bought as early as 1988 and most of them in the early 90's, 13k loaded in 2016 and 10-15k annually in the previous five years.
I use a hybrid system whereby I use a progressive press to decap, size, prime and flare my brass and I meter powder case by case with a Lyman 55, and I seat & crimp every round single stage.
If you got the results that I got (accuracy, perfect function and round count substantially beyond 10k annually across almost 10 different chamberings) you wouldn't question anything at my bench as "wasteful", "superfluous", "unnecessary" or otherwise.
Depends on the type of cartridge / case design...
Some carbide dies CLEARLY say they need to be lubed so I lube them...
These are generally bottle-necked RIFLE dies such as the .223R, .308W, etc.
Currently do not load for .30 Carbine so not sure what I'd do for it.
If straight walled or slightly tapered like the 9mm, I do not use lube. For me this was the entire purpose of the carbide sizer!
T.
Some carbide dies CLEARLY say they need to be lubed so I lube them...
These are generally bottle-necked RIFLE dies such as the .223R, .308W, etc.
Currently do not load for .30 Carbine so not sure what I'd do for it.
If straight walled or slightly tapered like the 9mm, I do not use lube. For me this was the entire purpose of the carbide sizer!
T.
JeepHammer
Moderator
Light lube keeps brass from sticking to the dies/expander rods.
If you DON'T lube, pull your expander rod and look at it...
People forget this is two ABRASIVE metals in compression contact.
Carbide WILL hold brass, and brass WILL stick to carbide like cement.
Light lube stops a TON of abrasion & gives nicer looking cases to boot.
If you DON'T lube, pull your expander rod and look at it...
People forget this is two ABRASIVE metals in compression contact.
Carbide WILL hold brass, and brass WILL stick to carbide like cement.
Light lube stops a TON of abrasion & gives nicer looking cases to boot.
Kevin Rohrer
New member
Anecdote: Someone on one of these boards actually admitted to using lube and a carbide die to make resizing 9mm and .380 brass easier.
My question to him was: Just how big are those thread-arms of yours?
My question to him was: Just how big are those thread-arms of yours?
Olive oil ?? There is a shortage of that you know !
In any case it does make it easier to do .
I always have popped the primer then washed the cases in hot water and detergent. Then I sized , etc,
Washing the cases removes dirt , especially the very abrasive sand which will wear the carbide die !!
In any case it does make it easier to do .
I always have popped the primer then washed the cases in hot water and detergent. Then I sized , etc,
Washing the cases removes dirt , especially the very abrasive sand which will wear the carbide die !!
I spray the Hornady spray lube into a big zip lock bag and dump in a pile of brass and shake it around. Then when reloading on my LNL I have two piles of brass, lubed and unlubed, and alternate which one I pick up. It DOES make the press operate much smoother, especially on the stroke taking the brass out of the resizer. No hang.
I wonder how many of the people complaining about the extra step or trouble it is to lube deprime off the press, tumble between operations, etc. etc....
Point is, do what you darn well please. YOU are the one who should be happy with your process, not all the internet experts.
I wonder how many of the people complaining about the extra step or trouble it is to lube deprime off the press, tumble between operations, etc. etc....
Point is, do what you darn well please. YOU are the one who should be happy with your process, not all the internet experts.
serf 'rett
New member
Imperial wax every five to ten pieces as needed for smooth operation. The amount is so small I never clean the cases afterwards. In fact, it appears the thin wax adds some protection for the brass. I don't see the brass turning darker during long term storage.
Since I load on a single stage press, there is minimal additional time required for lubing a piece as I simply touch two fingers to the wax while operateing the press with the other hand. Touch wax, twirl the case between the two fingers and thumb and insert in shell holder.
We have metal to metal contact during sizing so lubrication makes sense to me. I would not operate my vehicle engine without oil.
My take is the non lube crowd don't make their living in an engineering discipline or they haven't figured out a very simple method of applying the tiny amount of lube which makes the job easier and reduces wear on all parties - brass, press, dies and operator.
Since I load on a single stage press, there is minimal additional time required for lubing a piece as I simply touch two fingers to the wax while operateing the press with the other hand. Touch wax, twirl the case between the two fingers and thumb and insert in shell holder.
We have metal to metal contact during sizing so lubrication makes sense to me. I would not operate my vehicle engine without oil.
My take is the non lube crowd don't make their living in an engineering discipline or they haven't figured out a very simple method of applying the tiny amount of lube which makes the job easier and reduces wear on all parties - brass, press, dies and operator.
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buck460XVR
New member
I used to think the same thing......until I started to reload for the .460 mag. Now I do just as RCBS recommends when resizing that brass, I lightly lube every other case so I don't have to stand on the press lever....and I use a Rock Chucker also. I don't lube however, for the other 7 handgun calibers I reload.
Rangerrich99
New member
I have done it, and it did make resizing easier, but I haven't made it a regular part of my process. Pretty much I'm a bit lazy and I don't want to add another step to reloading handgun rounds.
The only time I lub pistol is with my 44 magnum cases. I normally do 1 every 20 or so. Does it really need it? Maybe not, but the force required to size is much less. This is with Redding competition dies and a Rockcrusher press. It puts less stress on the cases and my arm, does no harm.
I always find humorous the way some don't agree with something someone does then they label it as "stupid".
I always find humorous the way some don't agree with something someone does then they label it as "stupid".
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jumpingeezer
New member
NO,
Lubing straight wall cases defeats the purpose of buying the carbide dies in the first place.
I tumble all my brass using corn cob media and Dillon polish before sizing them and they run through the carbide dies with virtually no friction.
I'm a lazy old man and I can't see why I should add an unnecessary and time consuming step to my routine.
Lubing straight wall cases defeats the purpose of buying the carbide dies in the first place.
I tumble all my brass using corn cob media and Dillon polish before sizing them and they run through the carbide dies with virtually no friction.
I'm a lazy old man and I can't see why I should add an unnecessary and time consuming step to my routine.
I'm a lazy old man also, but some time your on the bench just place a little lube on one case and run it through and see how much less effort it takes for the next bunch of cases.
When you load as many 44 special, 44 Magnum and 45 LC as I do and have an elbow beat-up from too many sets of tennis you would lube one every now and then too. I do it because I am lazy. Then just wipe it off.
