Neck lube...fl sizing

Nathan · January 13, 2019, 06:30 PM

Do you apply neck lube when sizing or....? If so, wet or dry? How do you apply?

**Unclenick** · January 13, 2019, 06:35 PM

Are you talking about resizing bottleneck rifle cases or straight wall cases? For the former, I use a dry lube on the insides of the necks. Either motor mica dust or graphite and I use carbide expanders where I can. The combination is fairly effective at preventing the expander from pulling necks off-center when I am doing conventional full-length resizing of the cases.

Nathan · January 13, 2019, 10:54 PM

Bottleneck....i’m Fl sizing, expanding, or neckturning....I’ve always used the Hornady Unique case lube on a bore mop or on a Q tip.

cw308 · January 13, 2019, 11:46 PM

I lube the inside of the necks before F/L sizing with RCBS Case Lube , I use the expander I don't neck turn my brass . I wet tumble again to remove lube .

USSR · January 14, 2019, 07:41 AM

Use a carbide expander ball and there is no need for a neck lube.

Don

locknloader · January 14, 2019, 08:07 AM

Do hornady dies have carbide expander? I just spray the outside with lanolin mixture never bother with inside the neck and have not had any hang ups or stuck cases.

Mobuck · January 14, 2019, 08:13 AM

I use dry graphite inside the neck of about every 3rd case to reduce drag on the expander.
The smaller the caliber, the more important this step becomes.

jpx2rk · January 14, 2019, 09:07 AM

I only have bottleneck cases, and I usually just tap the neck down onto the lube pad every other case when FL sizing.

old roper · January 14, 2019, 10:29 AM

Expanding mandrel for neck turning I use little lube.

Nathan · January 14, 2019, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Do hornady dies have carbide expander?

I don’t think so. They don’t say that in their marketing.

Don Fischer · January 14, 2019, 12:54 PM

Normally I simply spray Hornady one shot on the case's from about 45*, get's inside the neck. Experimenting I've tried using Hornady unique with a Q-tip. Both way's seem to work fine. Don't care for the drag on the neck running dry but also still pull the neck's a bit lubed or not. Went to a Lee collet die for my 243's and don't pull the neck's anymore!

mgulino · January 14, 2019, 01:15 PM

Same as DF. Hornady One Shot from an angle. Have had only one stuck case, and that was when the can of One Shot ran dry.

gwpercle · January 14, 2019, 04:20 PM

Lee case lube on a Q-Tip will lube the neck . After the wax lube dries it doesn't need to be cleaned from the insides of the neck .
Gary

USSR · January 14, 2019, 06:54 PM

The Lyman decapper with carbide expander ball that I use, will work with both Lyman and RCBS dies.

Don

std7mag · January 15, 2019, 05:01 PM

Little Dillon spray case lube on a Qtip.
Lube inside neck, outside of neck, and side of body.
No dimples in the shoulder that way.

cw308 · January 15, 2019, 08:10 PM

USSR
Don , did you find the Lyman carbide expander unit works better in the RCBS die worked better then the original unit ? This season I plan on giving it a try .

Chris

USSR · January 15, 2019, 09:15 PM

Quote:

USSR
Don , did you find the Lyman carbide expander unit works better in the RCBS die worked better then the original unit ? This season I plan on giving it a try .

Chris

Chris,

Works fine. Of course, if you are using a regular steel expander ball and lubing cases individually with something like Imperial Sizing Die Wax, all you really need to do is swipe the case mouth with the finger you used to apply the wax, and the expander ball passing thru the neck will pick it up and run thru the necks pretty smoothly.

Don

cw308 · January 15, 2019, 10:38 PM

USSR
I lube the inside of the necks with a Q tip using the steel expander works good . I always try something new to see what works better , I would still use the RCBS Case Lube even with the carbide ball for 308 . It doesn't bother me to wet tumble again to remove the lube. If the shaft was longer on the Redding S type bushing sizing die I have I would use that shaft and carbide ball , they must sell different ball diameters for neck tension , will have to check into that.

zeke · January 15, 2019, 10:58 PM

For most of my rifle reloading am not expanding the case neck unless i plan on trimming it. If running an expander , it is carbide and allow it to self center. Don't remember ever lubing the inside of a case neck.

cw308 · January 15, 2019, 11:20 PM

Z
I always F/L size with the expander ( RCBS ) I leave the shaft at the top of the die sandwiched between a washer , o ring and washer on the shaft , I screw the lock nut down to give alittle wiggle room to let the expander and shaft to self center , works very good . I trim every firing if you can call it that it's more of a clean up , but that's me . I'm only shooting 30 rounds every range trip ( 308 )

F. Guffey · January 17, 2019, 10:57 AM

Neck sizing and then there is neck expanding. When I size a case the neck expander does not contact the inside of the neck when the ram is raised. My expander contact the inside of the neck when the ram/case is lowered.

Lube: I have had cases that required as many as three squeaks to pull the expander through the neck. Pushing the expander through the neck is different. When the expander makes that sound when being pulled through the neck the neck requires cleaning, requires annealing; when lubing the inside of the neck I lube to top of the expander (again) because the expander is inside of the neck when it contacts the neck.

And then there is forming/expanding the neck (necking up) or sizing a case that has been sized. there are benefits to using a carbide expander when necking up. Many years ago Dillon made carbide expanders for RCBS sizing die. instead of being round they started out with a triangle shape and then became round.

And then there is the pulling of the neck when the ram is lowered and that story told by reloaders that claim the shoulder is pulled out and that causes an increase in head space. No one measures before and again after with one exception; I have never experienced an increase in case length from the shoulder to the case head that was/is caused by lowering the ram while expanding the neck.

I have experienced a decrease in case length from the mouth of the case to the case head when necking up. Expanding the neck shortens the length of the case, I have wildcat cases that have shortened .045" in the process of forming, necking up before firing.

F. Guffey

January 13, 2019, 06:30 PM	#1
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2001 Posts: 6,331	Neck lube...fl sizing Do you apply neck lube when sizing or....? If so, wet or dry? How do you apply?

January 13, 2019, 06:35 PM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Are you talking about resizing bottleneck rifle cases or straight wall cases? For the former, I use a dry lube on the insides of the necks. Either motor mica dust or graphite and I use carbide expanders where I can. The combination is fairly effective at preventing the expander from pulling necks off-center when I am doing conventional full-length resizing of the cases. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

January 14, 2019, 07:41 AM	#5
USSR Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2017 Location: Finger Lakes Region of NY Posts: 1,442	Use a carbide expander ball and there is no need for a neck lube. Don __________________ NRA Life Member NRA Certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor

January 14, 2019, 10:29 AM	#9
old roper Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2007 Posts: 2,155	Expanding mandrel for neck turning I use little lube. __________________ Semper Fi Vietnam 1965 VFW Life member NRA Life Member

January 14, 2019, 06:54 PM	#14
USSR Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2017 Location: Finger Lakes Region of NY Posts: 1,442	The Lyman decapper with carbide expander ball that I use, will work with both Lyman and RCBS dies. Don __________________ NRA Life Member NRA Certified Metallic Cartridge Reloading Instructor

January 13, 2019, 10:54 PM	#3
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2001 Posts: 6,331	Bottleneck....i’m Fl sizing, expanding, or neckturning....I’ve always used the Hornady Unique case lube on a bore mop or on a Q tip.

January 13, 2019, 11:46 PM	#4
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	I lube the inside of the necks before F/L sizing with RCBS Case Lube , I use the expander I don't neck turn my brass . I wet tumble again to remove lube .

January 14, 2019, 08:07 AM	#6
locknloader Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2017 Posts: 164	Do hornady dies have carbide expander? I just spray the outside with lanolin mixture never bother with inside the neck and have not had any hang ups or stuck cases.

January 14, 2019, 08:13 AM	#7
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	I use dry graphite inside the neck of about every 3rd case to reduce drag on the expander. The smaller the caliber, the more important this step becomes.

January 14, 2019, 09:07 AM	#8
jpx2rk Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2015 Posts: 387	I only have bottleneck cases, and I usually just tap the neck down onto the lube pad every other case when FL sizing.

January 14, 2019, 12:54 PM	#11
Don Fischer Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2017 Posts: 1,868	Normally I simply spray Hornady one shot on the case's from about 45*, get's inside the neck. Experimenting I've tried using Hornady unique with a Q-tip. Both way's seem to work fine. Don't care for the drag on the neck running dry but also still pull the neck's a bit lubed or not. Went to a Lee collet die for my 243's and don't pull the neck's anymore!

January 14, 2019, 01:15 PM	#12
mgulino Senior Member Join Date: July 2, 2017 Posts: 198	Same as DF. Hornady One Shot from an angle. Have had only one stuck case, and that was when the can of One Shot ran dry.

January 14, 2019, 04:20 PM	#13
gwpercle Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 1,752	Lee case lube on a Q-Tip will lube the neck . After the wax lube dries it doesn't need to be cleaned from the insides of the neck . Gary

January 15, 2019, 05:01 PM	#15
std7mag Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2013 Location: Central Taxylvania.. Posts: 3,609	Little Dillon spray case lube on a Qtip. Lube inside neck, outside of neck, and side of body. No dimples in the shoulder that way. __________________ When our own government declares itself as "tyrannical", where does that leave us??!! "Januarary 6th insurrection". Funny, I didn't see a single piece of rope...

January 15, 2019, 08:10 PM	#16
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	USSR Don , did you find the Lyman carbide expander unit works better in the RCBS die worked better then the original unit ? This season I plan on giving it a try . Chris

January 15, 2019, 10:38 PM	#18
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	USSR I lube the inside of the necks with a Q tip using the steel expander works good . I always try something new to see what works better , I would still use the RCBS Case Lube even with the carbide ball for 308 . It doesn't bother me to wet tumble again to remove the lube. If the shaft was longer on the Redding S type bushing sizing die I have I would use that shaft and carbide ball , they must sell different ball diameters for neck tension , will have to check into that.

January 15, 2019, 10:58 PM	#19
zeke Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 1999 Location: NW Wi Posts: 1,671	For most of my rifle reloading am not expanding the case neck unless i plan on trimming it. If running an expander , it is carbide and allow it to self center. Don't remember ever lubing the inside of a case neck.

January 15, 2019, 11:20 PM	#20
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	Z I always F/L size with the expander ( RCBS ) I leave the shaft at the top of the die sandwiched between a washer , o ring and washer on the shaft , I screw the lock nut down to give alittle wiggle room to let the expander and shaft to self center , works very good . I trim every firing if you can call it that it's more of a clean up , but that's me . I'm only shooting 30 rounds every range trip ( 308 )

January 17, 2019, 10:57 AM	#21
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	Neck sizing and then there is neck expanding. When I size a case the neck expander does not contact the inside of the neck when the ram is raised. My expander contact the inside of the neck when the ram/case is lowered. Lube: I have had cases that required as many as three squeaks to pull the expander through the neck. Pushing the expander through the neck is different. When the expander makes that sound when being pulled through the neck the neck requires cleaning, requires annealing; when lubing the inside of the neck I lube to top of the expander (again) because the expander is inside of the neck when it contacts the neck. And then there is forming/expanding the neck (necking up) or sizing a case that has been sized. there are benefits to using a carbide expander when necking up. Many years ago Dillon made carbide expanders for RCBS sizing die. instead of being round they started out with a triangle shape and then became round. And then there is the pulling of the neck when the ram is lowered and that story told by reloaders that claim the shoulder is pulled out and that causes an increase in head space. No one measures before and again after with one exception; I have never experienced an increase in case length from the shoulder to the case head that was/is caused by lowering the ram while expanding the neck. I have experienced a decrease in case length from the mouth of the case to the case head when necking up. Expanding the neck shortens the length of the case, I have wildcat cases that have shortened .045" in the process of forming, necking up before firing. F. Guffey