Sooper Dooper (?) homemade lube die!

totalloser · October 28, 2009, 12:12 AM

I think I figured out a really slick way to make THE BEST lube die. I have been using a modified RCBS drilled and tapped to accept the Lee decap system (http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...ad+single+pass the stock one SUCKS). Lathe drill and tap to 1/8"npt to accept the Lee decap pin. Kind of a lengthy link, but it has a pic or two of the lube die I am using now.

The problem that I have with the lube die now is that the lube is inconsistent, and a pain to apply in a fast moving progressive setup. Plus, it would be nice to have the Easyx pin, which is too short for the RCBS die.

Sooo, I took some measurements on the Lee (cheapo!

) decap die and found that it may be fairly easy to bore it out slightly to fit a coiled pipe cleaner. I will be boring to .610" from appx .565" to allow a spiraled pipe cleaner to sit inside without touching the case mouth on insertion of .308win cases. I will be precision drilling the side of the die, and a lube bottle for a 1/8" SS tube to press in, and then bending a hook for the lube bottle to hang off the decap collet nut. A nylon tube will connect the lube to the die, so a simple squeeze will top it off without fooling with rubber bands, and bottles.

The die body will be machined down to minimum length while leaving enough threads to lock to a turret, in hopes of cutting the length down enough to allow the easyx decap pin from my die set to fit in.

If this works out well, I'll be posting up pics of the process. Any thoughts, especially on potential problems would be welcome.

Starvingboy · October 28, 2009, 08:05 AM

...ummm, send me some pix when you're done? I love my lube die, but if you figure out a better way, I'm game.

totalloser · October 29, 2009, 01:36 AM

I'll post up pics of the whole thing if it works out well. I've sort of decided to separate the brass processing into another pass for .308, and I think I've found a way to modify the priming system on my LM to automatically swage the primer pockets-that's what got me on this tangent. (I'm sure you remember the last one!

) Prepping mil brass separately is driving me nuts.

Having a lube die is a godsend, but I think it can be made a lot better-we'll see if I'm wrong, I guess!

The Lee decap mod is VERY worthwhile, though if you have access to a lathe. NEVER break a decap pin again. Another way to make the RCBS lube die work better is to epoxy a 1/8" tube into the oil fill port, and bend a hook to mount the bottle for a quick squeeze setup. This allows the lube die to keep up with the press.

Oh, and what I meant was the stock decap pin sucks compared to the Lee one. No fiddling to line it up, and it's indestructible. I reread my post and realized I wasn't clear on that point. I love the lube dies, too. Though I wasn't fond of breaking decap pins whenever a case didn't fully insert.

October 28, 2009, 12:12 AM	#1
totalloser Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, CA Posts: 679	Sooper Dooper (?) homemade lube die! I think I figured out a really slick way to make THE BEST lube die. I have been using a modified RCBS drilled and tapped to accept the Lee decap system (http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...ad+single+pass the stock one SUCKS). Lathe drill and tap to 1/8"npt to accept the Lee decap pin. Kind of a lengthy link, but it has a pic or two of the lube die I am using now. The problem that I have with the lube die now is that the lube is inconsistent, and a pain to apply in a fast moving progressive setup. Plus, it would be nice to have the Easyx pin, which is too short for the RCBS die. Sooo, I took some measurements on the Lee (cheapo! ) decap die and found that it may be fairly easy to bore it out slightly to fit a coiled pipe cleaner. I will be boring to .610" from appx .565" to allow a spiraled pipe cleaner to sit inside without touching the case mouth on insertion of .308win cases. I will be precision drilling the side of the die, and a lube bottle for a 1/8" SS tube to press in, and then bending a hook for the lube bottle to hang off the decap collet nut. A nylon tube will connect the lube to the die, so a simple squeeze will top it off without fooling with rubber bands, and bottles. The die body will be machined down to minimum length while leaving enough threads to lock to a turret, in hopes of cutting the length down enough to allow the easyx decap pin from my die set to fit in. If this works out well, I'll be posting up pics of the process. Any thoughts, especially on potential problems would be welcome. __________________ You only truly believe in freedom if you believe in the freedom of those you disagree. Last edited by totalloser; October 28, 2009 at 12:18 AM.

October 29, 2009, 01:36 AM	#3
totalloser Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, CA Posts: 679	I'll post up pics of the whole thing if it works out well. I've sort of decided to separate the brass processing into another pass for .308, and I think I've found a way to modify the priming system on my LM to automatically swage the primer pockets-that's what got me on this tangent. (I'm sure you remember the last one! ) Prepping mil brass separately is driving me nuts. Having a lube die is a godsend, but I think it can be made a lot better-we'll see if I'm wrong, I guess! The Lee decap mod is VERY worthwhile, though if you have access to a lathe. NEVER break a decap pin again. Another way to make the RCBS lube die work better is to epoxy a 1/8" tube into the oil fill port, and bend a hook to mount the bottle for a quick squeeze setup. This allows the lube die to keep up with the press. Oh, and what I meant was the stock decap pin sucks compared to the Lee one. No fiddling to line it up, and it's indestructible. I reread my post and realized I wasn't clear on that point. I love the lube dies, too. Though I wasn't fond of breaking decap pins whenever a case didn't fully insert. __________________ You only truly believe in freedom if you believe in the freedom of those you disagree. Last edited by totalloser; October 29, 2009 at 02:00 AM.

October 28, 2009, 08:05 AM	#2
Starvingboy Member Join Date: September 17, 2008 Posts: 74	...ummm, send me some pix when you're done? I love my lube die, but if you figure out a better way, I'm game.