Couple of die questions??

[Rig Magician]

First off what is best to clean the new Hornady dies with? I read about several different cleaners(WD40, Simple Green, One Shot and break free). WD 40 seems like it would leave a oily film and one shot may be expensive when having to use several cans. Not sure about the others.
Second, does the new series II new deminsion .45 pistol dies have a tape or roll crimp? I read on there site where it says eaither taper or rool crimp. Does that mean it comes with both and you just change them out?
Thanks,
Mark

[NWPilgrim]

The Hornady site seems to have no details about their die design. Or itf it is there it is not under the "Die" section.

Anyway, they probably are using a generic paragraph to describe all the handgun dies. The pistol cartridges ones will have taper crimp and the revolver cartridge dies will have a roll crimp.

As for cleaning I use brake cleaner to blast out crud, then when dry I give it a spray of One Shot which will also dry out and leave a film. Occasionally I'll disassemble the dies and thoroughly clean and lube them with Tetra Gun lube which when wiped dry will leave a polymer film.

[Rig Magician]

Thanks for the info. This will be a new setup that I will be hopefully getting setup while I am home. I will have to clean all the parts when I take it out of the box.
At one point I read on a post that the .45 dies came with a roll crimp and not a taper crimp. So I was just wondering on that.
Again thanks,
Mark

[jepp2]

Per the information on the Midway site, taper crimp:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=187392

I use the same solution for cleaning dies as cleaning my AR15 bolts. Mostly odorless mineral spirits with about 5% CLP. It cleans dies extremely well and leaves a slight protective coating on to resist rust.

[Unclenick]

Standard seater.crimper dies are all taper crimp now, AFAIK. You can get a roll crimp in older seater dies or separately for Auto Rim rounds for revolver.

Agree with mineral spirits. Let the parts soak overnight, and in the morning you can just swish all the grease away. The mineral spirits will dry off after awhile.

I usually hit the dies with LPS-2 after that, or Birchwood Casey Sheath. These are rust inhibiting oils. I wipe the sizer ring and decapper pin off afterward. Ditto the expander. This is just to keep from getting oil into the cases. The One Shot idea sounds good, too. After it dries, you won't have to wipe it. It doesn't bother powder in its dried state, and the first few loads will wipe the sliding surfaces clear anyway.

[Don H]

Like NWPilgrim, I use brake cleaner and a spritz with One-Shot Case Lube. I haven't found rust to be an issue in Utah so I don't use anything that leaves any rust-prventative film.

[Rig Magician]

Thanks everybody for the info. I am just trying to get all of my ducks in a row. I still have 2 weeks left at work and not much more than that at home this time. I would like to have everything setup and operational before I leave to come back to work if at all possible. I have to to finish building a wood fence and build my reloading table.
Mark

[Shoney]

Hornady has a different idea on dies. All their standard straigtwall pistol dies sets come with roll crimp. Taper crimp dies have to be ordered seperately and specifically. If your box doesn't say TAPER CRIMP, it is roll crimp.

Why Hornady did this was probably for keeping "their" stocking system simple. They show only nine taper crimp dies 38cal/9mm; 40/10; 400 Corbon; 45ACP; 454 Casul; 460SW; 475 Linebaugh; 500Linebaugh; and 500 SW Mag.

Although Hornady dies are very good, their thinking on selling taper crimp dies seperately is beyond me.

[Rig Magician]

I sent this question to Hornady and I just got a reply. They said the die set comes with a roll crimp and you need a seperate taper crimp die. Darn now I need to order one of those.
Mark

[bigbird34]

I used rubbeing alcohol to clean my new Hornady dies and a cotton swap and let drip dry .....Then eash plastic box got one of those packets to keep moisture out ....I don't lube the dies,unless they are showing signs of corrision and then I'll use Kroil oil to coat the dies...for long term storage ,then I'll wipe them down with rubbibg alcohol before they are reused ....alcohol leaves no residue ,on the dies.

Problem with penetrating oil is it will creep and kill primers ....drier is better !

My 2 cents,Jim

[oneoldsap]

Pull the decapping pin and clean like a gun.

[Mike1]

Cleaning solvent works OK as well as providing a little rust protection.

As an aside. The ONLY die I've ever had a problem with (out of 35+ sets) was the Hornady seating die in their titanium nitrade 45 ACP set. The little clip that hold in the bullet guide wears out. Hornady charges about 5 bucks plus shipping for 3 of the things.

[Tim R]

If you don't have the Hornaday dies yet may I suggest a RCBS taper crimp carbide set. I know some one will be snooty on RCBS but these have always worked well for me in both straight wall pistol and taper crimp auto loaders cartridges with no need for a Lee FCD.

[Taroman]

I read a tip somewhere about polishing the inside of new rifle dies using metal polish on a 20 gauge shotgun mop chucked in a drill. Tried it and it really slicks them up. Afterwards, if they need cleaning, I use the spray can gun scrubber. To prevent rust, a spritz of Boeshield has always worked.

-My $0.03, YMMV