removing case lube

[MFH]

Just curious, what do you do to remove lube from loaded rounds? There seems to be a mixed opinion as to whether or not tumbling them is okay. Hand cleaning is certainly a PIA for more than a few rounds at a time. With a progressive press, I presume that no one resizes and cleans cases before continuing to load.

Thanks!

MFH

[swifter...]

on the very rare occasions that I load rifle rounds on my 550, I did exactly that .
I resize, clean/mill primer pocket, prime (cause the Dillon don't seat primers to suit me) then dump powder and seat...
Anymore, I get better ammo almost as fast on a singlestage. Progressive suits me OK for pistol rounds, but I'm a lot more particular about my rifle rounds...
Tom

[sricciardelli]

A quick wash in the ultrasonic cleaner with MEK or TCE right after depriming and resizing does the trick...

[Andy Chadwick]

I use a water soluble lube (RCBS Case Lube 2), wash it off as the last step in case prep, then dry the cases in the oven for about an hour at 225 degrees F. Works well for me.

[blades67]

I just toss my loaded rounds into the tumbler for about 15-20 minutes. Hasn't hurt any of my ammo.

[Desert Pete]

Dump cases (50-75 '06 size cases) in an old bath towel, dampen towel with acetone and hold the corners, leaving the cases balled up in the middle so they don't go all over the place. Just kind of knead the ball of cases and shake them around for a couple minutes. Removes lube and cases are dry immediately upon removal. Do this outside.

[JM at Work]

Tumble for 15 minutes.

[Steve Smith]

WHY TAKE IT OFF AT ALL???



(ducking for cover) I have seen no negative affects of leaving it on. I don't glob it on, though.

[cheygriz]

According to the Lyman Reloading manual, lubed ammo causes excessive thrust on the bolt face, stressing the locking lugs, and over a period of time, could cause excessive headspace or even locking lug failure.

I remove lube by tumbling the sized cases in warm water and liquid Tide. I oven dry at 200 degrees for 2 hours and then reload on my 650 the same as pistol ammo.

In the past, I have loaded without separate sizing, and tumbled the loaded ammo in corncobs treated with mineral spirits. This works quite well. The reason that I now resize as a separate operation is because I like to run my resized cases through a case guage before continuing the loading process. (For bottleneck cases only)

[John Lawson]

To the reloader who doesn't like the way his 550 seats primers: My 1050 has an integral primer pocket swage station.
It is acceptable to vibrate loaded rounds for a short interval provided there are only blunt point bullets loaded. Use the same precaution as when loading ammo for a tubular magazine rifle, and for the same reasons. (I seriously doubt that any ignitions would be caused by spitzer points, given the slight impacts from tumbling (just a fraction of rifle recoil), but it is safer not to take that kind of chance.)
After a local gunsmith killed himself by using a live round for a headspace gauge, forgetting the round was chambered and firing the bullet into his powder display cabinet with fatal results, I tend to err on the safer side.

[cheygriz]

John,

I agree that safety is paramount. I must, however, respectfully disagree about tumbling live ammo.

I've never tried it in a vibratory tumbler, but I've done it many times in a rotary tumbler. I know commercial reloaders who use concrete mixers for tumbling and they tumble millions of rounds of military ball type reloads every year without incident.

I do not believe that there is any safety concern here. Just my $.02

[Steve Smith]

Well, I know what you're saying about bolt thrust, and in a large caliber bolt gun, it would be a problem. In those cases, you're probably not cranking out thousands or rounds per year, not are you sizing your cases to minimum spec to begin with. I don't mean no harm, just spoutin' off.

[MFH]

I spoke with a tech at hogdon today about this. He strongly advised against using a tumbler. His concern, other than possible discharge of a round, was that the vibration would fracture the powder resulting in altered burn characteristics. He claimed that it could be "Very Dramatic".

FWIW

MFH

[buford1]

Read a article some where about tumbling live rounds. Said it would change the burning rate of the powder. Not recommended. I just tumble my sized rounds for about 1 hour all lube, gone.

[colima]

I have had trouble leaving case lube on hot .45 colt loads. I need to use case lube because .45 Colt is about the limit for my Dillon SDB press. Shooting them with the lube on seems to make case sticking in the chambers worse. My current plan is to use the Hornady One Shot spray lube, which I am told will dry without leaving a sticky mess. The advice I was given is that you can leave the One Shot on the loaded ammo. I'll let you know my experience. I'd like to hear from those who have tried this.

[Dan Morris]

With the One Shot lub, I haven't cleaned any cases and have had NO problems.
Dan

[cheygriz]

MGH,

If you tumble loaded ammo for extended periods of time, like overnight, you may very well change the powder burning characteristics.

If you tumble in corncob and mineral spirits for 10-15, which is adequate foir removing lube, you won't have any problems. especially if using modern ball type powder.

[Poodleshooter]

I roll them across a paper towel, fold it over, and pat the cases dry. This works for spray on, RCBS oil type and Lee water based lanolin lubes. I could tumble, but this is impossible with the oil type lube.

[yankytrash]

Not wiping lube off:
"For the want of a nail, the shoe was lose; for the want of a shoe the horse was lose; and for the want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for the want of care about a horseshoe nail." - Benjamin Franklin

Expedient, or industrial, removal of case lube:
"Never confuse motion with action." - Benjamin Franklin


Or, here's a quote from yankytrash:
"Just wipe it off, ya lazy bums!"

Didn't know ol' Ben was reloader, did ya?

[40ozflatfoot]

I tumble walnut shell treated with case polish for the dirty brass, resize, then tumble with untreated walnut shell for about 20 - 30 minutes. Aside for the little dings and dents, they come out looking like new.

I get my walnut shell from bead blasting supply houses. I got a 50 pound bag of walnut shell for less than 30 bucks last year, and I'm barely through 1/4 of it.

Case polish can be whatever you like.

[fnbrowning]

Here is how I process my brass.
(1) Tumble in corncob media that is mildly impregnated with "Brasso" metal polish.
(2) Remove brass and shake media loose.
(3) Spray with Hornady case lube, several light coats from 3 directions, including the case mouth.
(a) My aim is to reduce wear on the die and eliminate drag on the case mouth that could elongate the brass.
(4) Run the lubbed cases through my resizing die.
(5) Wash the cases in Hot water with a small amount of industrial detergent added. Rinse in cold water.
(a) I've experimented in adding a small amount of vinegar to the wash, and it can boost the detergent and really give the brass a nice sheen!
(6) Spread out on an old towel in the basement or garage for several days.

Now I know step #6 causes there to be a drying period, but I processed a sufficient amount of brass years ago in the first run, and stored it away. That way I'm never in a hurry for any brass, & the drying time is of no consenquence.

P.S. Just my personal observation, I tried the oven dry method, and I didn't like the way the way the hot air dulled the sheen on the cases. So to keep them bright, I just air dry now.

[Abe Normal]

Well, how about this trick from High School Science class...
After washing your brass as usual do a quick rinse in denatured alcohol?

It mixes with the water, dries quickly, has a rather low flash point and as long as your not sloshing steel cases around in steel can there's no chance of creating a spark. Further, denatured alcohol doesn’t stink to bad, can absorb a heck of allot of water before needing to be discarded and so far (5 years now) has worked well for me!