Hi all, I am a bit of a newbie to reloading and it has been fairly cut and dry with handgun rounds and carbide dies. Now I have gotten into the realm of non-carbide dies with the addition of .450 Bushmaster which obviously require a lube. I have been using Hornady One Shot and I am tracking just fine with having the lube for the resizing die......after that I am no longer tracking. From what I get on the internet and the One Shot can itself, is to wipe off the lube after resizing, ok, but I still need to run it through my Lee combination powder through/expanding die, then the bullet seating die and finally the Lee Factory Crimp die, all of which are not carbide dies which would require lube right? But I am under the impression I should be taking the lube off after the first station which is the full length resizing die. Am I making any sense where I am confused here lol? I feel like I am rambling.
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I’m a bit confused in reference to case lube
- Thread starter Targa
- Start date
Old_School
New member
Lube is only required for the sizing operation. Also, a little bit is needed inside the case neck in bottleneck cases, so that the expander button can pull through without a lot of effort. Typically, just enough gets in there from spraying the cases, but occasionally, a lightly lubed neck brush run into the case mouth might be needed to get it into the mouth.Hi all, I am a bit of a newbie to reloading and it has been fairly cut and dry with handgun rounds and carbide dies. Now I have gotten into the realm of non-carbide dies with the addition of .450 Bushmaster which obviously require a lube. I have been using Hornady One Shot and I am tracking just fine with having the lube for the resizing die......after that I am no longer tracking. From what I get on the internet and the One Shot can itself, is to wipe off the lube after resizing, ok, but I still need to run it through my Lee combination powder through/expanding die, then the bullet seating die and finally the Lee Factory Crimp die, all of which are not carbide dies which would require lube right? But I am under the impression I should be taking the lube off after the first station which is the full length resizing die. Am I making any sense where I am confused here lol? I feel like I am rambling.
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FWIW The Hornady spray lube doesn’t really ever need to be removed. It won’t hurt anything to leave it on during all reloading processes and even afterwards. I’ve used it for 20,000+ handguns reloads and other straight walled cases without ever removing it. For bottlenecked rifle cartridges I use RCBE lube and remove it after the case comes of my progressive press.
Welcome to reloading!
There are several different types of lube also.
Spray
Liquid on a pad.
Sizing wax.
Dry graphite.
Homemade lube.
Just remember you want to use, ummm, sparingly?
Don't over do it. A little goes a fairly long way.
I spray Dillon lube(One Shot works fine), on a Q-Tip. Lube inside of neck, outside of neck, and body of casing (bottle nosed obviously).
Don't put any on the shoulder, as it's not needed, and excessive lube can actually cause dents in the shoulder.
There are several different types of lube also.
Spray
Liquid on a pad.
Sizing wax.
Dry graphite.
Homemade lube.
Just remember you want to use, ummm, sparingly?
Don't over do it. A little goes a fairly long way.
I spray Dillon lube(One Shot works fine), on a Q-Tip. Lube inside of neck, outside of neck, and body of casing (bottle nosed obviously).
Don't put any on the shoulder, as it's not needed, and excessive lube can actually cause dents in the shoulder.
As others mentioned , lube is used when sizing . Your using the full length sizing die with the expander ball so lubing the inside of the necks makes sizing smoother . The shoulder of the case shouldn't be lubed , then trimming and chamfering . I remove the lube before adding powder , using dry lube inside the neck makes seating smooth but not necessary.
The dies other than the sizing die don't do much, if anything to the neck/body OD. No need to lube to prevent sticking. I tried a bunch of commercial case lubes, including the "One Shot", but settled on Mink Oil Boot Dressing Cream. It has worked perfectly for over 30 years and I just wipe it off when post sizing inspection. No, it all doesn't come off but there is a very light film, barely enough to feel, of lanolin left on the case as a tarnish preventative.
Most of the people getting stuck cases with the One Shot are trying to size while the stuff is still too wet.
Uh, No. Most of the guys sticking cases with One Stuck are using it with long, bottleneck cases, not a relatively straight-wall case like the .450 Bushmaster. There are much better lubes out there and can even be made by yourself.
Don
Another good product is Lee Case Resizing Lubricant. It is a water soluble metal drawing wax type lube . Non greasy and fast drying . No need to remove it after sizing.
To use in a sprayer , mix Lee Lube with denatured alcohol and put it in a spray bottle , mist the cases in a plastic container and roll them around to coat...lay them out on a towel and 30 seconds they are dry. Put some lube on a Q-Tip for getting more inside case necks...not much is needed . Good stuff . I used it for years applying with my finger tips but the spray application is a better , faster way .
Gary
To use in a sprayer , mix Lee Lube with denatured alcohol and put it in a spray bottle , mist the cases in a plastic container and roll them around to coat...lay them out on a towel and 30 seconds they are dry. Put some lube on a Q-Tip for getting more inside case necks...not much is needed . Good stuff . I used it for years applying with my finger tips but the spray application is a better , faster way .
Gary
I worked for a large city Department of Water and Power for 25 years. On every electrician's truck and every "trouble truck" was a 5 gal. bucket of wire/cable pulling lube. I could not tell the difference between the pulling lube and Lee's case lube, even when I looked at the product's MSDS. Needless to say I occasionally "borrowed" a cup of the lube for my "home use"...Another good product is Lee Case Resizing Lubricant. It is a water soluble metal drawing wax type lube . Non greasy and fast drying . No need to remove it after sizing
"5 gal. bucket of wire/cable pulling lube"
For real? By profession I am that guy with that bucket of Polly water (cable lube) on his truck. Never thought of it as a case lube, we call it bull snot, elephant cum, donkey jiz... but case lube? shoot, I'm set for several lifetimes! might give it a try!
I do know for fact this stuff is very hard to completely remove from any thing it comes in contact with, hands, shirt, gloves...water soluble, but bring lots of H2O!
For real? By profession I am that guy with that bucket of Polly water (cable lube) on his truck. Never thought of it as a case lube, we call it bull snot, elephant cum, donkey jiz... but case lube? shoot, I'm set for several lifetimes! might give it a try!
I do know for fact this stuff is very hard to completely remove from any thing it comes in contact with, hands, shirt, gloves...water soluble, but bring lots of H2O!
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Are you using a single stage or progressive press?
As mentioned already, case lube is most helpful when forcing the brass to slide into or around something like a sizing ring, die, bushing or an expander ball or case mouth expander. These things are found on full-length resizing dies, neck resizing dies, neck bushing dies, body sizing dies, and expanding dies which are sometimes installed on the powder measure in a progressive setup.
One Shot can be left on the case, but any lube type can be cleaned off prior to charging (without a mouth expander), seating the bullet, and crimping.
So for example, you could decap and clean your cases a bit -- at least rinse and dry them. Then lube them on the outside of the body and a bit inside the neck. Spraying them with One Shot and letting it dry is fine. If you're using a progressive press and haven't decapped yet, that's fine. Decap them in the first station. Then full-length resize, neck resize, neck bushing resize, and/or body resize as needed. Next, expand the mouth if called for (generally for straight-walled handgun cartridges). Now you've finished all the brass forming steps other than crimping and you can finish cleaning the cases in the tumbler.
When the brass is clean, it will be ready to load. You can then prime it off press or feed it into the press to prime there. Fill with powder using a short rifle charging die so that you're not expanding it again. Then seat the bullet and crimp.
Crimping does not require lube, but the Lee Factory Crimp Die also resizes. It has a carbide resizing ring that sizes down the outside diameter of the case. Since it's carbide, lube is not necessary. It generally sizes a little less than a sizing die. The sizing die squeezes the brass down to a diameter for good neck tension on the bullet. The FCD's carbide ring is a little larger in diameter. If you've already run the case through the sizing die, the larger FCD sizing ring won't do anything. The carbide ring is necessarily a little larger diameter so as not to squeeze the seated bullet. It can't create neck tension (other than by the crimp), but instead, it's intended to catch any case that wasn't resized and to make sure it will chamber.
As mentioned already, case lube is most helpful when forcing the brass to slide into or around something like a sizing ring, die, bushing or an expander ball or case mouth expander. These things are found on full-length resizing dies, neck resizing dies, neck bushing dies, body sizing dies, and expanding dies which are sometimes installed on the powder measure in a progressive setup.
One Shot can be left on the case, but any lube type can be cleaned off prior to charging (without a mouth expander), seating the bullet, and crimping.
So for example, you could decap and clean your cases a bit -- at least rinse and dry them. Then lube them on the outside of the body and a bit inside the neck. Spraying them with One Shot and letting it dry is fine. If you're using a progressive press and haven't decapped yet, that's fine. Decap them in the first station. Then full-length resize, neck resize, neck bushing resize, and/or body resize as needed. Next, expand the mouth if called for (generally for straight-walled handgun cartridges). Now you've finished all the brass forming steps other than crimping and you can finish cleaning the cases in the tumbler.
When the brass is clean, it will be ready to load. You can then prime it off press or feed it into the press to prime there. Fill with powder using a short rifle charging die so that you're not expanding it again. Then seat the bullet and crimp.
Crimping does not require lube, but the Lee Factory Crimp Die also resizes. It has a carbide resizing ring that sizes down the outside diameter of the case. Since it's carbide, lube is not necessary. It generally sizes a little less than a sizing die. The sizing die squeezes the brass down to a diameter for good neck tension on the bullet. The FCD's carbide ring is a little larger in diameter. If you've already run the case through the sizing die, the larger FCD sizing ring won't do anything. The carbide ring is necessarily a little larger diameter so as not to squeeze the seated bullet. It can't create neck tension (other than by the crimp), but instead, it's intended to catch any case that wasn't resized and to make sure it will chamber.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
FWIW, Hornady makes more than one case lube product under the "One Shot" brand name. One is an aerosol -- one is a wax -- and I have no idea what the third is, but it creates a gloppy mess.
The OP did not mention which One Shot product he is using.
The OP did not mention which One Shot product he is using.
Using case lube, One Shot or any other product, is a trial and error learning experience. When just starting out I was amazed that a little too much lube could actually put a dent in .243 piece of brass. If a shell gets stuck you'll probably say to yourself "oops, should have sprayed a bit more, won't do that again". If you are doing well with One Shot I'd say stick with it