Do you use case lube with carbide dies?

[jcwit]

Nope, no need. Only people who have string arms need help from case lube in sizing pistol cases.
__________________

Hey guy, I do not have string arms, far from it, but at 69 years old and being a 12 year cancer survivor and now having arthritis, making life easier is of importance.

Think about it, Lord willing someday you also may be old.

[Kevin Rohrer]

making life easier is of importance.

I've tried it both ways. Using lube decreases the effort a negligible amount for small cases. I suppose if you are resizing long cases like .44Mag or better, using a lube might make it easier, though.

Problems sizing the tiny 9mm?! Question: Is a Carbide die being used? Solution: Kickbacks with a 20-lb dumb-bell and Nosebusters with a French bar.

[schmellba99]

Interesting. This thread is the first time since junior high I was ever accused of having "string arms".

Well, I guess you learn something new each and every day.

[floydster]

Me no use case lube, me strong man, me big man
Me 76 years old.

[jcwit]

Problems sizing the tiny 9mm?! Question: Is a Carbide die being used? Solution: Kickbacks with a 20-lb dumb-bell and Nosebusters with a French bar.

Some folks have no idea what it can be like to get old or have arthritis or other infirmities. I can't even walk down range 100 yds to post a target without stopping to catch my breath. I'm a Veteran with a total disability. Dumbells and french bars are not even an option.

Anything to make life easier is a blessing.

[10 Spot Terminator]

If my brass comes out of the tumbler nice and shiney,,, No lube

Less than perfectly shiney brass ,,, Lube it

[Slamfire]

Some folks have no idea what it can be like to get old or have arthritis or other infirmities.

Don't worry, they will get there !

I can't even walk down range 100 yds to post a target without stopping to catch my breath.

Well at least you are not breathing lead vapors during the walk.

[serf 'rett]

My cases have been tumbled with stainless steel pins, so they are ultra clean before I start sizing. I can easily feel the decreased resistance when 9mm cases are lube. So I use lube - and I don't feel less MANLY because I do. I batch load, translate that to mean, after I tumble the brass, I will then size and expand the cases followed by sort, Zip Lock and store ‘em.

While sizing, my can of Imperial Die Wax sits beside the tub of cases and I lightly press thumb and two fingers into the wax before picking up the first case. The small amount of lube remaining on the fingers will be good for several more cases (usually around 8 to 15 pieces), before I feel the press resistance increasing. When the sizing pressure increases, the fingers go back the lube can for another dose.

Here is the simple part that perhaps the iron pumpers are missing. The higher degree of resistance is primarily due to friction, which leads to increased stress and wear of parts and equipment. My Material Structures and Mechanics of Materials classes addressed issues such as stress, strain and molecular deformation of metals; such stuff was even understood back in the dark ages of my first and second runs at a degree. Someone would border on being insipid if they fail to understand a small amount of lube will increase the long term life of the equipment and most likely the cases.

Question for the knuckle draggers, who cast dispersions at the string armers – Do you run your car without any oil? Different equipment, but same principles. Must you use lube with carbide dies? Nope. But is it a good idea? I think so!

I may not live forever, but I fully expect the Rock Chucker to make a go of it (well, actually, I do expect to live forever and think old Rocky will perish by fire but that’s off topic).

[Gerry]

On page 9 of my Dillon XL650 manual, it advises the lubrication of ALL brass, including pistol. Even Lee's manual recommends the lubing of pistol cases, particularly if you tumble them very clean.

It has nothing to do with user strength. I find that it makes a well tuned progressive press work smoother and thus faster. I get way more screw ups with my Dillon using unlubed pistol cases, enough to make about a 200 round per hour or more difference. A half second of spray lube over a cookie sheet filled with a couple thousand cases is worth my time.

Sometimes RTFM really does help. This is one of those occasions.

[jcwit]

Well, I guess the last 2 posts sorta clears things up!

[sc928porsche]

I clean my dies before and after each use. I use a little stp on a q-tip to coat die and the proceed with sizing. With carbide, I do not relube until the cleaning process.

[Jim Watson]

I have lately started giving my pistol brass a spritz of spray lube.
It really does reduce the effort on the handle. Call me lazy.

If my brass comes out of the tumbler nice and shiney,,, No lube

Less than perfectly shiney brass ,,, Lube it

Strange, my perception is the opposite. The cleaner the brass, the harder the pull. I had some alleged "once fired" that had been chemically cleaned down to very bare brass that took more effort than ordinary tumbled and way more than uncleaned brass with a little tarnish and carbon fouling.

[Stressfire]

For the negligible extra steps of a quick spritz and a wipe-down before storage, adding case lube might not be strictly necessary, but it sure does make life a little easier.

[jaguarxk120]

If the case's are chemically cleaning leaves the brass clean, BUT the metal surface very rough.

The tumbled brass is polished/burnished and the metal surface's are very smooth.

So it stands to reason something thats chemically clean but with a surface like sandpaper will take more effort to resize.

[Gerry]

Keep in mind that many folks do use an additive to the media in their tumbler, and an additive that isn't just an abrasive, but one that lays on a microscopic coat of wax or something on the surface of your brass. For example, Nu Finish fits this category. Then your cases are most likely lubed enough, although another quick shot of a very light coating of lube doesn't hurt in my experience.

I can remember years ago sizing unlubed .45 ACP brass tumbled without additives in a Lee Classic Turret. It was even making different sounds as it entered/existed the die along with the harder pull which didn't give me a very good feeling. I haven't examined the die closely, but I bet there was some galling taking place - carbide or not. Then I started to just damp my fingers with the Lee paste lube while handling the cases and just that little microscopic amount made a world of difference. I don't bother now because I use additives and also use the spray lube on cookie sheet technique for large volumes of brass.

[tkglazie]

Well said Gerry. Loading .45s (especially with Win cases) is really a lot easier for me on my LCT when I use nufinish to tumble and keep a little Lee case lube handy. My .45 FCD is definitely a half a thousandth to a thousandth tight but even if it wasnt I would benefit from using a tiny amount of lube.

[Kevin Rohrer]

If my brass comes out of the tumbler nice and shiney,,, No lube

In all seriousness, I DO notice a difference between shiny brass and brass that is not. I always try to reload with brass that just came out of the tumbler.

No offense intended to anyone here who isn't 100% Combat Effective, which I am not right now (heart bypass 2-months ago). I just regained enough upper body strength to begin reloading. I'll be cranking out .308 and .45 on the Dillon shortly.

[lll Otto lll]

Originally Posted by Gerry

On page 9 of my Dillon XL650 manual, it advises the lubrication of ALL brass, including pistol.

Sometimes RTFM really does help. This is one of those occasions.

You left out the part in the Dillon manual that says "If you're using a carbide sizing die, you will not need to lubricate your cases (before sizing) when loading straight walled cases.

Makes little sense why Dillon would recommend lubing cases that isn't needed.
I'm guessing it's a misprint.