Dented shoulder from too much lube with RCBS dies?

Z

zanemoseley

New member
I'm still relatively new to rifle loading. I started with 308 and had some issues with them sticking in the dies, some were my fault forgetting lube some were not my fault. These stuck cases made me thread the flash hole and extract with a bolt. As a result I've been really spraying cases with case lube well before sizing.

So I got 1000 pieces of 5.56 lake city brass and started working up my first load. After my first 25 round batch I noticed some pretty badly dented shoulders. At first I thought it was dents from the first firing by the military but the rest of the brass doesn't look so bad. This leads me to believe it was from using too much lube however I thought RCBS dies were vented to prevent this.
 
I just thought RCBS dies had the vent to prevent this. Maybe I'll go to a pad for my low volume rifle rounds and keep using the spray on my high volume pistol cases.

I could see the pad being better to evenly apply lube without overly lubing.
 
Greasy thick lube such as the RCBS lube makes it worse but any lube with too much on the neck will cause dents. Just a little bit on the neck an none on the shoulders. I too like a lube pad and also prefer a lanolin lube such as the Dillon case lube. It helps a little to make sure the vent hole on your sizer is not plugged with lube or dirt.
 
Note that with a pad excessive lubing causing oil dents is a common result unless the lube is removed from the upper half or third of the case. Use a shop rag or handi-wipe for that purpose. Only the lower section of the case needs to be lubed. The vented die will not help much in preventing oil dents. A spray on type lube that dries should minimize or prevent denting.
 
With bottle necked cases you really only want lube on the case body. Any on the neck or shoulder will cause dents. I use an RCBS pad, and their lube. Their lube is water soluble and comes off easily. Just put a few drops on the pad and rub it in with your fingers. You only want it to be a bit tacky. Next I lay out 10 or so cases, and roll them with your hand. As a beginner, you'll think there's not enough lube but if you do this then there's plenty. RCBS lube is tacky too...so after a few cases if you were to forget to lube one or two you'll be ok.

A quick add...depending on how bad the dent is, you can usually just load it and it'll fire form to the chamber. If it's really bad they can be discarded or used as dummies to set up dies, trimmers, etc. If it's a hard to find case, not that .308 is...you can put a few grains of powder in the case, top it off with cream of wheat or oatmeal and fore it out of the rifle. It's very low pressure but enough to remove the dent and size the case to your chamber.
 
I was looking at imperial sizing wax, it looks like people love it.

I'll post some pics of my new .223 rounds and see what you guys think, some have pretty good dings. They're not loaded too hot just 23.5 grains of varget.
 
Imperial sizing wax is great stuff. I use Royal Case & Die Lube aerosol which works wonderfully compared to many of the other spray lubes. It coats evenly with little spay and it never gets sticky if the cases are left sitting for long periods of time.

I also make my own lube with alcohol and lanolin which also work well but not as well as the Royal spray.
 
Try using Hornady One Shot. It's a great lube. Just spray it on your cases even if they are still in your pouch. No need to wipe it off.

Cases will go into your sizing die much easier even if you are using Carbide Dies.
 
You only need [RCBS-like] case lube on the bottom 2/3-3/4 of the case body.
In application for a single-stage press where you pick up each case 1-at-a-time,
put a very small amount [a barley corn dab] on your forefinger, and then rub it
on the case between thumb/forefinger as you pick it up to resize. You will find that
you can do several (3-4) rifle cases with just this small amount before putting
another "dab" on your fingers again.

Saves lube, saves dents, saves die cleaning, saves periodic pad cleaning, saves time.
Other than that -- no advantage. ;) :D :rolleyes:
 
case dent

too much lube is a good possible culprit just a thing to chdck is clean the die and make sure the vent hole is open ! they tell you that when you use them the first time to make hure it is not clogged using a small paper clip if you got one i just checked mine with compromised air and verified light was coming through to the inside of the die
 
Lee dies will dent necks with excess lube also. I dented about 10 yesterday using Lyman spray. It will blow out to form when fired if small dent. Hornady one shot works best for me if I spray it on and let it set 4-5 minutes. After I clean mine I lube the inside of my dies with it. My best luck is rubbing some bag balm on the expander ball
 
I mostly use the RCBS pad and lube. It has been my habit to lube on the pad then run the case over a brush with some mica to lube the inside neck. I then wipe the neck and shoulder with a rag before it enters the sizing die.
The longer I've reloaded the more I've realize a little live goes a long way.
I don't add lube to the pad until I feel the cases trying to stick in the die.
Experienced enough now I'm to be able to feel if a case needs more lube.
Just takes time and I've had my share of dented shoulders over the years. They still shoot okay.
 
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