Two reloading Q's - Lube Clean Up & Crumpled Case

300magman · July 18, 2011, 09:53 AM

Just another reloading newbie here, but what methods do you guys use to clean the lube off of your resized brass? I've been having great luck with Hornady One-Shot...its surprising how Little I need to use. I feel very little resistence full length sizing .308 brass and virtually non resizing 45/70 even with minimal lube and the occasional dry case.
But I'm just wondering if there is a better/faster way to clean the lube back off...Currently I am wiping each case thoroughly with a shop towl.

2nd Question: After loading nearly seventy-five 45/70 rounds with zero issues, I suddenly had one case that felt odd when working the press to seat the bullet. I stopped and looked at the round only to find that the bullet seated about 3/4 of the usual depth and then the brass buckled like an accordian....Several rounds later, I had finished the batch, without any further problems.

So is this the kind of thing that occasionally just happens? (or could I have encountered an overdiameter bullet?) Cases were fully prepped, chamfered inside of mouths, wiped for burs, free of excess lube, and powder charges were all consistent and no more than a 90% case fill (with bullet seated) Bullets were bulk box 405gr Remington.

PawPaw · July 18, 2011, 09:58 AM

I run my deprimed brass through the tumbler for an hour or so to remove lube.

Yeah, I know, running dirty brass through a deprime die might scratch the die, scratch the brass, etc, etc. I don't deprime dirty brass. However, my brass gets a trip through the tumbler after depriming.

PA-Joe · July 18, 2011, 06:43 PM

I clean my brass with walnut media then size and clean again with corn media.

Were you using lead bullets or jacketed? If lead did you bell the case mouth? If jacketed, did you champher the inside of the case after sizing? Did you check the length of the case?

These are the most common causes of buckled cases.

Next would be trying to crimp at the same time you are seating the bullet but as you noted the follow up cases went ok.

300magman · July 20, 2011, 07:52 AM

I did fully prep the cases, as I mentioned, lengths were also consistent, and the 405gr remington is a jacketed bullet. . . My 45/70 dies are set up to crimp in the same operation as seating, but the bullet seems to fully seat before the crimp begins and many many other rounds have come out fine that way. Actually for all the far this bullet was seated, it wasn't at all near the crimping stage yet.
I was just wondering if this is the kind of thing that occasionally just happens, or if perhaps a fat bullet was to blame. When I get back to the reloading bench I will pull the bullet and measure it, just to see if it is off spec.

As for cleaning, media seems to work well to remove lube for you guys? I would think it would turn into something of a sticky mess . . . but then I don't really know the consistency of regular media, I use stainless steel in a rotary tumbler.

chris in va · July 20, 2011, 05:46 PM

Quote:

As for cleaning, media seems to work well to remove lube for you guys?

NO! All the dust in the tumbler stuck to my cases. Will never do that again. Even using the SS might be iffy.

That buckled case...was it Federal? They use really soft brass.

Stargazer · July 20, 2011, 09:48 PM

I use the RCBS pad lube that is water soluble. Two dampened paper towels on my left leg and two dry ones on my right leg. I wipe each case off after sizing first wet to remove the lube then dry ones to dry them off.

I get crumpled cases if the lube is too heavy on the neck.

kxkid · July 20, 2011, 10:22 PM

I tumble my case sagain after to get the lube off and Polish at the same time. I use poormans one shot, Lee lube mixed with 96% rubbing alcohol. No issues with dust sticking to it.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

MOshooter65202 · July 20, 2011, 11:20 PM

I always tumble my brass twice,first before resizing and again after resizing to get the lube off the case.

CherokeeT · July 21, 2011, 04:43 PM

I tumble my brass to remove the Hornady One Shot lube, never had an issue with the corn cob media. I use a little case polish or NuFinish polish in my media.

As for the crumpled case, without seeing it, it is hard to evaluate. The case may have just been worn out.

July 18, 2011, 09:53 AM	#1
300magman Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2008 Posts: 714	Two reloading Q's - Lube Clean Up & Crumpled Case Just another reloading newbie here, but what methods do you guys use to clean the lube off of your resized brass? I've been having great luck with Hornady One-Shot...its surprising how Little I need to use. I feel very little resistence full length sizing .308 brass and virtually non resizing 45/70 even with minimal lube and the occasional dry case. But I'm just wondering if there is a better/faster way to clean the lube back off...Currently I am wiping each case thoroughly with a shop towl. 2nd Question: After loading nearly seventy-five 45/70 rounds with zero issues, I suddenly had one case that felt odd when working the press to seat the bullet. I stopped and looked at the round only to find that the bullet seated about 3/4 of the usual depth and then the brass buckled like an accordian....Several rounds later, I had finished the batch, without any further problems. So is this the kind of thing that occasionally just happens? (or could I have encountered an overdiameter bullet?) Cases were fully prepped, chamfered inside of mouths, wiped for burs, free of excess lube, and powder charges were all consistent and no more than a 90% case fill (with bullet seated) Bullets were bulk box 405gr Remington.

July 18, 2011, 09:58 AM	#2
PawPaw Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2010 Location: Central Louisiana Posts: 3,137	I run my deprimed brass through the tumbler for an hour or so to remove lube. Yeah, I know, running dirty brass through a deprime die might scratch the die, scratch the brass, etc, etc. I don't deprime dirty brass. However, my brass gets a trip through the tumbler after depriming. __________________ Dennis Dezendorf http://pawpawshouse.blogspot.com

July 20, 2011, 09:48 PM	#6
Stargazer Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Posts: 506	I use the RCBS pad lube that is water soluble. Two dampened paper towels on my left leg and two dry ones on my right leg. I wipe each case off after sizing first wet to remove the lube then dry ones to dry them off. I get crumpled cases if the lube is too heavy on the neck. __________________ 5.56mm, reach out and touch something. .458 SOCOM,reach out and knock something down. M70 Web Page

July 21, 2011, 04:43 PM	#9
CherokeeT Senior Member Join Date: April 23, 2008 Location: Medina, Ohio Posts: 273	I tumble my brass to remove the Hornady One Shot lube, never had an issue with the corn cob media. I use a little case polish or NuFinish polish in my media. As for the crumpled case, without seeing it, it is hard to evaluate. The case may have just been worn out. __________________ God Bless America US Army, NRA Endowment TSRA Life, SASS

July 18, 2011, 06:43 PM	#3
PA-Joe Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2010 Location: NEPA Posts: 909	I clean my brass with walnut media then size and clean again with corn media. Were you using lead bullets or jacketed? If lead did you bell the case mouth? If jacketed, did you champher the inside of the case after sizing? Did you check the length of the case? These are the most common causes of buckled cases. Next would be trying to crimp at the same time you are seating the bullet but as you noted the follow up cases went ok.

July 20, 2011, 07:52 AM	#4
300magman Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2008 Posts: 714	I did fully prep the cases, as I mentioned, lengths were also consistent, and the 405gr remington is a jacketed bullet. . . My 45/70 dies are set up to crimp in the same operation as seating, but the bullet seems to fully seat before the crimp begins and many many other rounds have come out fine that way. Actually for all the far this bullet was seated, it wasn't at all near the crimping stage yet. I was just wondering if this is the kind of thing that occasionally just happens, or if perhaps a fat bullet was to blame. When I get back to the reloading bench I will pull the bullet and measure it, just to see if it is off spec. As for cleaning, media seems to work well to remove lube for you guys? I would think it would turn into something of a sticky mess . . . but then I don't really know the consistency of regular media, I use stainless steel in a rotary tumbler.

July 20, 2011, 10:22 PM	#7
kxkid Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2011 Posts: 207	I tumble my case sagain after to get the lube off and Polish at the same time. I use poormans one shot, Lee lube mixed with 96% rubbing alcohol. No issues with dust sticking to it. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

July 20, 2011, 11:20 PM	#8
MOshooter65202 Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2011 Posts: 471	I always tumble my brass twice,first before resizing and again after resizing to get the lube off the case.