neck sizing/lube

[learningcurve]

So I was going along resizing the 223 cases in the lee die I have for them, when low and behold the decapping pin got stuck inside of the case and it was frozen in there for lack of better terms. Now I called lee and they took care of it without any issues. What I was wondering and forgot to ask the guy after he told me to try adding a little more lube to the inside of the case mouth, to see if it would help keeping it freed up was do i need to tumble or otherwise clean out the inside of the case to remove the lube, or is it ok to leave the little amount in there while loading. I know not to get it on the outside of the case neck but not sure on the inside. I tried searching for this problem and either didnt put in the right words or failed to see the answer.

[mrawesome22]

The only neck dies lee makes, that I know of, are collet dies and don't require any lube.

Do you mean the collet locked up?

If so, a little tap tap, on the top of the die, should free it up.

I've heard of guys polishing the inside of the cup, and the outside of the collet, to keep this from happening.

I polished the mandrel on mine, as it came very rough from the factory also.

Sent from MIUI using Tapatalk 2.

[learningcurve]

I am not sure what the die is it came in the 3 die kit, this is the one for removing the primer and resizing the neck of the case. the pin in the center got stuck in the case and wouldnt come out, so lee told me to lube up the inside of the case neck a little more then I had been.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Your set looks like this?



If so, it is a collet neck die and does not require lube.

I would take it apart, clean it thoroughly, buff out any obvious imperfections in the surfaces of the collet, buff the decapping/neck rod to a shine, lube the collet LIGHTLY and put it back together.

Use something like Flitz polish to polish to a shine and/or even a Scotch Brite pad to smooth the rough spots.

I polish the inside of mine by putting Flitz on a tight fitting bore brush and chucking the brush in a cordless drill.

[learningcurve]

Hopefully this isnt a problem to post this link but this is the set I have.

http://www.basspro.com/Lee-Pacesette...10202590/67911

The one with the pin sticking out of it is the one I am referring too. Hopefully this is helpful as I am at work and do not have access to the stuff at home.

[mrawesome22]

That is a full length die.

Are you lubing the case body?

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[learningcurve]

Yes I lube them with RCBS case lube on the pad 5 or so at a time and was lubing the inside of the case neck 1 out of 5 or so, in order to keep it from building up heavily. I stopped using the lee stuff because it seemed to just cake on the pin and was hard to get off there. I dont mind lubing the inside of the case if I need to I just wasnt sure if I need to remove it from the inside before I load them and put the bullet down into, I remember reading not to allow the lube on the outside of the case neck and something about not putting it down inside where the powder rests but I couldnt remember if it was the same for the actual neck. If so a quick tumble to help remove the lube and i would be good. It just seemed like one more added step and more time to remove media from the flash hole. So I figured I would ask the more knowlegable folks for the information. Thank you again for the help.

[zxcvbob]

I use a 2-die Lee set to load .223's. If everything was dry (which it's not) talcum powder makes a good dry neck lube. The problem with it is it mixes with any oily lube it can find and makes a muddy sludge in your die that eventually causes shoulder dents. You have to take the die apart and clean it.

So for a while I would just touch about every third case mouth to a lube pad and that would transfer enough to lube the expander button on the decapping pin.

Last batch of .223's I resized, I lubed with Dillon Spray Lube, and just enough lube migrated to the case mouths I didn't have any problem with the decapper pin sticking.

[learningcurve]

Ok so I just need to lube a couple every now and again and make sure it isnt clogging up the die which is what I believe happened. Then I just need to perhaps run a cotton swab in the necks just to get any excess out that might be in therE? I just dont want any damage to be caused by not getting the lube from the inside of the case neck where the boolit sits. I have a rcbs case neck brush i was thinking of just running down the neck a swipe or two but I wasnt sure if it needed to be done or not. Thanks for the advice.

[wncchester]

Cases git stuck in sizer dies for ONE reason; improper lubing (on the outside, especially down near the head, not the inside).

There is no reason for a die decap pin to ever be touched by case lube and we can't "clog up" a die with lube. We can put so much excess lube on
the neck/shoulder that it hydralically dents the cases during sizing; lube dents are most common when using those lousy lube pads. Touch your finger tips to the lube and apply it thinly by rubbing cases between thumb and finger tip as you pick up each one for sizing; with practice it's fast and you KNOW you've covered the cases well.

Lubing inside case necks simply reduces the effort to withdraw the expander plug, it has no effect on sticking cases.

[learningcurve]

OK thank you for the clarification the gentleman at lee was telling me it did not matter at all how much lube was on the outside, it was the inside that had to be lubed or it would get stuck, granted this was all over the phone and he was not looking at the die. It struck me odd that i could move the pin up and down, but he was the expert not I so i listened to his advice.

[wncchester]

"...he was the expert..."

Maybe not. No part of the inside of a case can possibly touch a die wall.

[m&p45acp10+1]

If the pin gets stuck in the case, and comes out of the die. Then that is a sign of not enough lube inside the case mouth.

If the case gets stuck inside of the die, and the rim pulls off then it is a sign of not enough lube on the outside of the case.

Here is my method. Use case lube on a patch, roll patch between thumb, and first two fingers. Then roll case between your fingers. Run from right below the shoulder, to the base. Use a pipe cleaner to lube inside the case mouth of every case. It will help to cut down on case stretch some too. Lube the pipe cleaner lightly. After a few hundred cases are done. Take the die outside. Spray with carb cleaner, or brake parts cleaner. Blow it out with compressed air. It is good to go again. That prevents lube from building up in the die.

[mrawesome22]

Yep. You didn't have the body lubed enough.

You can also get some ultra fine grit sandpaper and polish the expander button to eliminate the need for inside neck lube.

Chuck the rod in a drill and wear a thick leather glove on the hand holding the paper as it will get hot very quickly.

I had some old sandpaper I used for lapping computer heatsinks laying around and went, 1800, 2400, 3200, and finally 4000 grit. This was probably overkill, but a super smooth, mirror like finish is the result.

Pulls through necks effortlessly with zero lube.

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[learningcurve]

Yes that is exactly what happened. The case stuck in the die and ripped the base off of it. I had to use a 3/16 inch punch to drive it out then per his instructions I used a hole saw with a metal blade on it to cut the base off which in turn I suppose broke the small pin off the base before i even got through the side of the case. He was on the phone the whole time talking me through it and just finally said, you know what this is too much hassle. Asked for my address and sent a whole new die to me. Which he was going to do and just wanted to teach me how to remove a stuck case. His way seemed a lot more difficult then getting the stuck case removing tool. He also said I could use a a grinder but that seemed really high risk of breaking something else. I dont know it seemed all odd to me but it was my say 30th case to decap and I was probably and most likely doing something minor wrong with removing it all. He said to learn and move on so I have but it really struck me as odd that I could move the decaping pin up and down but he was telling me that was where it had stuck at. Again I thought if that was the case then the pin shouldnt have been moving and the case should have just fallen out of the die not rip in two parts at the base.

I have noticed this is a excellent place for a wealth of knowledge and have learned more just reading here than i was from talking to the so called "experts" at my local stores. I cannot thank you all enough for the information and help, I know that to make sure it has more then enough lube on the cases is a good thing.

[Clifford L. Hughes]

Learingcurve:

I lub the inside of the necks on all of my brass with Hornady's One Shot lub. It is a dry lub. The expander ball slips right out.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery Sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired

[learningcurve]

OK I just picked up a small tub of the hornady case lube stuff. I was going to try taht on the case neck, however I will look into the spray stuff you are talking about.

[Brian Pfleuger]

Don't go crazy with the lube. Too much is bad too.

It's really a happy medium and "medium", in this case, is a closer to a little than a lot.

I use Hornady Unique lube. I get some on my thumb and pointer finger and rub the case from below the should to the head. You can just barely tell there's anything there. You don't need any more than that. If you do, there's something wrong. 223 cases are not hard to size.