Progressive press case lube question.

[guthook]

Being new to progressives, I have a question for you guys concerning lubing cases.

My previous thought on lubes is to get it all off after sizing. This of couse, is not possible on a progressive without altering the order of operations and sacrificing the very thing you buy it for in the first place...time.

I was under the impression the Dillon spray lube would dry after aplication, leaving a sort of dry lubricating film. I was wrong again. The alcohol dries, leaving a greasy film.

A few things:

-Does this affect the powder?
-Powder granules stick to the inside of the case mouth and feels gritty when seating the bullet.
-As the bullet is pressed into the case mouth, is the lube being squeezed down into the powder?
-The finished cases feel greasy on the outside.
-Do you know of a better spray type lube that will not ruin powder?

---Now, here's the weird part... Dillon says to tumble the finished cases when completed to remove the lube!

Everything I have ever heard has been NEVER to tumble live rounds. This directly goes against any safety instructions I've learned.

Does anyone do this?
Is it safe?
Anyone ever heard of a mishap from this?

 

[Oreo]

Tumbling assembled ammo is perfectly safe.

As for your case lube, you might be using too much. Only takes a tiny bit. Perhaps experiment to see how little you can use & still size a case with reasonable resistance. When I don't use enough on .223 cases its really obvious that they just don't want to go into the sizing die. If I forced it I'd be afraid the case would get stuck & not come out.

I also recommend Imperial sizing die wax. It comes in a small tin like shoe polish. I wipe my index finger on the wax about every third case. Just rolling each case between my thumb & index finger before placing on the shell plate is all it takes. The idea is to get the lube on the shoulder area. It doesn't migrate around like a spray lube & stays out of the case mouths pretty well. One tin will last for many thousands of rounds.

 

[guthook]

Tumbling assembled ammo is perfectly safe.

As for your case lube, you might be using too much. Only takes a tiny bit. Perhaps experiment to see how little you can use & still size a case with reasonable resistance. When I don't use enough on .223 cases its really obvious that they just don't want to go into the sizing die. If I forced it I'd be afraid the case would get stuck & not come out.

I also recommend Imperial sizing die wax. It comes in a small tin like shoe polish. I wipe my index finger on the wax about every third case. Just rolling each case between my thumb & index finger before placing on the shell plate is all it takes. The idea is to get the lube on the shoulder area. It doesn't migrate around like a spray lube & stays out of the case mouths pretty well. One tin will last for many thousands of rounds.

Huh. Guess I never questioned that conventional wisdom.

What I really want is to save as much time as possible. Spending my entire night at the press is getting old. If they made a consistent bullet feeder, I'd buy that as well. I'm all about labor saving devices nowadays.

 

[Oreo]

I find the sizing wax to be integrated into the rhythm of things quite easily. No extra step of lubing cases & letting them dry. I suggest trying it.

 

[Baumer]

I also tumble loaded rounds and have never had a problem. I wouldn't run them for hours like you do when you're cleaning the brass but 30minutes to an hour to remove the lube is fine.

 

[Baumer]

Huh. Guess I never questioned that conventional wisdom.

What I really want is to save as much time as possible. Spending my entire night at the press is getting old. If they made a consistent bullet feeder, I'd buy that as well. I'm all about labor saving devices nowadays.

I've heard good things about the bullet feeder for the LNL AP. I'm not sure about the dillon, but I would imagine they have something comparable.

 

[Oreo]

I'm not as familiar with Dillon equipment but I think they make their own bullet feeder and it works pretty good.

For a long time there was no Hornady branded bullet feeder for the lnl-AP so there were a few ingenious aftermarket options with varied performance. They were fairly pricy. I'm not familiar with hornady's bullet feeder other then to say i think its fairy new to the market so research thoroughly how well it performs. The lnl-AP was not originally designed with provisions for a bullet feeder and this is one case where the Dillon design had a little more forethought.

 

[Caeb75]

Dillon makes carbide .223 and .308 size dies for precisely this reason. At $115 they're not cheap, bit worth every penny.

 

[Mdeng]

I don't spray the lube directly on the cases.

I Spray a few shots of lube into a plastic grocery bag. Then put a hand full of clean cases into the bag, and roll them around in the bag. I then dump the bag into my Dillon 650's case feeder and load.

I only use carbide dies in the progressive press and even though it's not necessary I still lube the cases.

Once the ammo is loaded I use a clean cloth to wipe the lube off the cases as I put them into the ammo boxes. It takes a little longer but I rarely have any problems with my reloads.

Mdeng

 

[photoracer]

That is why I use carbide dies to load 9mm, 9x23, 357SIG, and 41MAG. No lubing the cases.

 

[sgt23preston]

Sgt Preston here...

Question: Are you loading straight wall pistol rounds OR necked down rifle rounds..?

I only load straight wall pistol rounds & have NEVER used any type of case lube...

Let me qualify that by saying that I load on a Dillon 550 & use Dillon Carbide Dies...

And for the record, I've loaded about 20K++ rounds 9mm's, 38 Sp's, & 45 ACP...

I haven't needed to use any case lubricant & my machine stays clean & is easy to clean when necessary...

Hope this is helpful...

BTW...I never tumble live rounds either, it just doesn't feel right to me...

 

[Baumer]

BTW...I never tumble live rounds either, it just doesn't feel right to me...

I'll admit I was a little apprehensive the first time I dumped a batch of loaded rounds into the tumbler, but after 20 years it's just a normal part of the reloading operation for me. I will say that I'm much more gentle with the media seperator with the loaded rounds than I am with empty brass.

 

[jimbobborg]

Y'all know every ammunition manufacturer except Lake City tumbles their rounds after loading them, right? Lake City doesn't because the military wants visual proof that the brass is annealed.

 

[guthook]

I guess you're never too old to learn.

I was talking about the .223 from a previous thread and forgot to post that info here as well.

I do use carbide dies for loading pistol rounds, but I guess I need to get some carbide for rifle now as well.

 

[Mdeng]

I guess you're never too old to learn.

I was talking about the .223 from a previous thread and forgot to post that info here as well.

I do use carbide dies for loading pistol rounds, but I guess I need to get some carbide for rifle now as well.

Tom, get in touch with Bob M. and pick up a bottle of the spray lube he sells. Give the plastic bag a try, it has worked well for me and was suggested by Bob.

 

[gibby]

I take tumble the finished cases to mean before actual loading. That is what I do. Tumble clean, resize, decap, trim, clean primer pocket, Retumble. Then start loading.

 

[K31]

Follow the directions for Dillon spray lube, including stealing the cookie skeet.

Spray lightly, shake, spray again.

No, it's not meant to dry. It is lanolin and alcohol.

No, there is no better lube.

You can easily remove it by putting 4-5 rounds in between a couple of folded paper towels or a an old cloth towel and rolling them between your hands back and forth several times.

 

[guthook]

Tom, get in touch with Bob M. and pick up a bottle of the spray lube he sells. Give the plastic bag a try, it has worked well for me and was suggested by Bob.

Way ahead of you. That's what I'm using.

Gotta try the bag. My case blocks are covered in grease from the previous lubing.

My wife was not amused by the instructions.

Dillon did actually mean finished live rounds.

Tried it last night and no tumblers/by-standers were harmed in the process.

 

[camotruck]

That is why I use carbide dies to load 9mm, 9x23, 357SIG, and 41MAG. No lubing the cases.

this

 

[Mt Airy]

I have good luck with the hornaday spray lube