Lubed cases thru a progressive???

Sharkbite · January 5, 2015, 10:56 PM

As some of you know Santa brought me a Dillion 550. Im going to use it to speed up reloading for my 300 Blackout.

So.. How do you handle case lube in a progressive press? With my single-stage i would deprime and resize the lubed cases then tumble them to get the lube off before priming them.

I ran 10 test rounds this morning. Everything went ok, but the cases have lube on them still. Also, what is the potiential for lube to get inside and contaminate the powder or primer?

Thanks guys

chiefr · January 5, 2015, 11:08 PM

I use very little case lube. After 40 years, you learn just how little you can use and keep from having stuck cases. Then after reloading, they are rolled in an old towel which removes most all the case lube. I use a typical lube pad to lube my brass and never get lube inside the case.

As of late, I changed over to SS pins and wet tumble brass after size and decap. Then feed the progressive.

Most of my progressive reloads these days are pistol and I use carbide dies.

Wreck-n-Crew · January 5, 2015, 11:09 PM

What lube you using??

When I tumble with Lyman media it lubes the cases. I don't deprime separately, just load them from start to finish and shoot them.

Sharkbite · January 5, 2015, 11:17 PM

Quote:

What lube you using??

I use RCBS spray lube. I am not new to reloading just never done rifle on a progressive. I apply a VERY light film of lube to the case before resizing.

axismatt · January 5, 2015, 11:30 PM

I'm a fan of the spray lubes and use One Shot with great results.

As for your progressive press, a little lube wont hurt a thing, though the transfer of lube to your dies and such will attract a little dust over time. I have learned to occasionally remove the dies and squirt a little gun scrubber into each die, then blow out with an air nozzle, just to keep everything squeaky clean.

hartcreek · January 6, 2015, 12:24 AM

I would roll them around on a bath towel and be done.

Gunfixr · January 6, 2015, 12:38 AM

I use the spray lube that Dillon sells and it has been just fine. They say it will not hurt primers or powder, and it hasn't in my experience. I have a Dillon 550.
I use an old shoe box with a rag in the bottom. I dump a bunch of cases in, spray a few shots on them, put the lid on and shake it about 5 seconds. Dump the brass out, put more in and repeat. I just cover the bottom of the box good, so all can be misted by the spray. It works just as good after drying. I do all brass prior, dumping them in a big box to be ready to load. The film is so little there isn't any problems just shooting them as is, but I guess you could wipe them or tumble them a bit. They feel bit odd, but not particularly greasy or sticky.

rox · January 6, 2015, 02:35 AM

Quote:

How do you handle case lube in a progressive press?

For progressive rifle loading my process is as follows:

Case clean
Lube
Case-prep (1st pass through press)
De-lube
Load (2nd pass through press)
Inspection and packaging.

My lube is liquid lanolin plus 99% alcohol (1:10). For .308 I lube 500 cases at a time in a plastic tray; 10 squirts then roll the tray around, repeat twice more for a total of 30 squirts. Stand for 20 mins for the alcohol to evaporate - during this time the previous 500 are going through the press, and the 500 before that are in the tumbler for de-lube, so the three processes are going on in parallel.

..

LE-28 · January 6, 2015, 07:03 AM

I lube my cases, run them through to re-size, then tumble the lube off them and finish loading them.
With straight walled cases I load in one pass and tumble the loaded rounds afterwards.

wogpotter · January 6, 2015, 08:40 AM

With my 550 I do this.
Cases are deprimed & pocket cleaned on my old single stage.
Now spray lube cases.
Wait 5 minutes dip neck in dry lube & run through all the Dillon's stages. resize, charge, seat crimp eject.
While doing a final inspection I wipe with paper towels. I usually get about 75 308 cases per towel.

jmorris · January 6, 2015, 10:31 AM

I use Dillon lube or the lanolin alcohol home mix of the same thing, load, the Post load tumble for 15min.

schmellba99 · January 6, 2015, 02:17 PM

For rifle rounds,I use the Dillon spray lube, then take my loaded rounds and put them on a towel, shoot with some non CFC brake parts cleaner, fold the towel around and jumble the cases around, let any residual cleaner evaporate and box them up after that.

Never had a problem, and no lube on the rounds after.

For pistol rounds, I use the Hornady One Shot just because I disdain the idea of metal on metal without some form of lube, even if one metal has a significantly higher rockwell hardness rating and the whole purpose is to use one to re-shape the other. It makes a significant difference, to me anyway, in the amount of effort required to operate the press when loading straight wall cases with carbide dies.

I've never really worried about excess lube with One Shot. I probably roll them in a towel anyway, but it's been long enough now that I dont' remember exactly if i do that or not. Couldn't hurt if i did anyway.

BigJimP · January 6, 2015, 02:20 PM

I lay my cleaned and sorted cases ( not deprimed ) ....in a cardboard box top ( roughly 11" X 17" )...and I lay the cases flat in the box on their sides...and then I "spritz" them lightly with the Dillon spray lube....roll them around a little to distribute the lube....let them dry for 15 min ....and dump the cases into the press case feeder.

Before I box up the finished rounds....I roll them around with the palm of my hand on a terry cloth towel on my bench...to clean a little of any excess off...and I case gague each round ...and box them up.

Lube, to me, is primarily used ....to make the press run a lot smoother ( Dillon 650 in my case ) with carbide dies....you don't need to lube / but it helps - so why not.

mdmtj · January 6, 2015, 02:38 PM

To start the brass prep process I use station 1 as a single stage to size and deprime my lubed rifle brass.

Tumble
Trim - as necessary
Remove crimp - as necessary

To complete the load process with the prepped brass:
1 - Down/Up stroke with station 1 empty. This completes the tasks in stations 2-4 and picks up a primer.
2 - Place prepped brass into station 1.
3 - Press in primer
4 - Advance shell plate
5 - Return to step 1

You just have to pay attention to the steps or you may find yourself putting a brass into station 1 before the down/up stroke. This will result in dry brass stuck in the sizing die.

January 5, 2015, 10:56 PM	#1
Sharkbite Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2013 Location: Western slope of Colorado Posts: 3,679	Lubed cases thru a progressive??? As some of you know Santa brought me a Dillion 550. Im going to use it to speed up reloading for my 300 Blackout. So.. How do you handle case lube in a progressive press? With my single-stage i would deprime and resize the lubed cases then tumble them to get the lube off before priming them. I ran 10 test rounds this morning. Everything went ok, but the cases have lube on them still. Also, what is the potiential for lube to get inside and contaminate the powder or primer? Thanks guys

January 5, 2015, 11:09 PM	#3
Wreck-n-Crew Senior Member Join Date: March 8, 2013 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,820	What lube you using?? When I tumble with Lyman media it lubes the cases. I don't deprime separately, just load them from start to finish and shoot them. __________________ If you ever have to use a firearm, *you don't get to pick the scenario!*

January 6, 2015, 12:24 AM	#6
hartcreek Junior member Join Date: April 22, 2014 Location: Washington Posts: 1,549	KISS I would roll them around on a bath towel and be done.

January 6, 2015, 08:40 AM	#10
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	With my 550 I do this. Cases are deprimed & pocket cleaned on my old single stage. Now spray lube cases. Wait 5 minutes dip neck in dry lube & run through all the Dillon's stages. resize, charge, seat crimp eject. While doing a final inspection I wipe with paper towels. I usually get about 75 308 cases per towel. __________________ Allan Quatermain: “Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles”? Elderly Hunter: “That's dashed unsporting. Probably Belgium.”

January 6, 2015, 02:17 PM	#12
schmellba99 Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2008 Posts: 803	For rifle rounds,I use the Dillon spray lube, then take my loaded rounds and put them on a towel, shoot with some non CFC brake parts cleaner, fold the towel around and jumble the cases around, let any residual cleaner evaporate and box them up after that. Never had a problem, and no lube on the rounds after. For pistol rounds, I use the Hornady One Shot just because I disdain the idea of metal on metal without some form of lube, even if one metal has a significantly higher rockwell hardness rating and the whole purpose is to use one to re-shape the other. It makes a significant difference, to me anyway, in the amount of effort required to operate the press when loading straight wall cases with carbide dies. I've never really worried about excess lube with One Shot. I probably roll them in a towel anyway, but it's been long enough now that I dont' remember exactly if i do that or not. Couldn't hurt if i did anyway. Last edited by schmellba99; January 6, 2015 at 02:27 PM.

January 5, 2015, 11:08 PM	#2
chiefr Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: AR Posts: 1,401	I use very little case lube. After 40 years, you learn just how little you can use and keep from having stuck cases. Then after reloading, they are rolled in an old towel which removes most all the case lube. I use a typical lube pad to lube my brass and never get lube inside the case. As of late, I changed over to SS pins and wet tumble brass after size and decap. Then feed the progressive. Most of my progressive reloads these days are pistol and I use carbide dies.

January 5, 2015, 11:30 PM	#5
axismatt Junior member Join Date: January 1, 2015 Posts: 141	I'm a fan of the spray lubes and use One Shot with great results. As for your progressive press, a little lube wont hurt a thing, though the transfer of lube to your dies and such will attract a little dust over time. I have learned to occasionally remove the dies and squirt a little gun scrubber into each die, then blow out with an air nozzle, just to keep everything squeaky clean.

January 6, 2015, 12:38 AM	#7
Gunfixr Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2007 Location: East Coast, USA Posts: 360	I use the spray lube that Dillon sells and it has been just fine. They say it will not hurt primers or powder, and it hasn't in my experience. I have a Dillon 550. I use an old shoe box with a rag in the bottom. I dump a bunch of cases in, spray a few shots on them, put the lid on and shake it about 5 seconds. Dump the brass out, put more in and repeat. I just cover the bottom of the box good, so all can be misted by the spray. It works just as good after drying. I do all brass prior, dumping them in a big box to be ready to load. The film is so little there isn't any problems just shooting them as is, but I guess you could wipe them or tumble them a bit. They feel bit odd, but not particularly greasy or sticky.

January 6, 2015, 07:03 AM	#9
LE-28 Senior Member Join Date: September 24, 2012 Location: North Carolina Posts: 759	I lube my cases, run them through to re-size, then tumble the lube off them and finish loading them. With straight walled cases I load in one pass and tumble the loaded rounds afterwards.

January 6, 2015, 10:31 AM	#11
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,077	I use Dillon lube or the lanolin alcohol home mix of the same thing, load, the Post load tumble for 15min.

January 6, 2015, 02:20 PM	#13
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	I lay my cleaned and sorted cases ( not deprimed ) ....in a cardboard box top ( roughly 11" X 17" )...and I lay the cases flat in the box on their sides...and then I "spritz" them lightly with the Dillon spray lube....roll them around a little to distribute the lube....let them dry for 15 min ....and dump the cases into the press case feeder. Before I box up the finished rounds....I roll them around with the palm of my hand on a terry cloth towel on my bench...to clean a little of any excess off...and I case gague each round ...and box them up. Lube, to me, is primarily used ....to make the press run a lot smoother ( Dillon 650 in my case ) with carbide dies....you don't need to lube / but it helps - so why not.

January 6, 2015, 02:38 PM	#14
mdmtj Member Join Date: March 4, 2013 Posts: 80	To start the brass prep process I use station 1 as a single stage to size and deprime my lubed rifle brass. Tumble Trim - as necessary Remove crimp - as necessary To complete the load process with the prepped brass: 1 - Down/Up stroke with station 1 empty. This completes the tasks in stations 2-4 and picks up a primer. 2 - Place prepped brass into station 1. 3 - Press in primer 4 - Advance shell plate 5 - Return to step 1 You just have to pay attention to the steps or you may find yourself putting a brass into station 1 before the down/up stroke. This will result in dry brass stuck in the sizing die.