Ok so we don't clean brass what about Die wear?

[Shawnba67]

So I have read the posts on the benefits of not cleaning your brass. The carbon prevents brass weld and lubricated seating and release. I follow all that, and think it makes enough sense to personally verify.
But does the dirt/carbon on outside of the neck wear your dies? Is the wear so small as to unimportant? Or are they cleaning the out side of case somehow?
I would happily buy a new FL size die annually to never have to clean my brass!!!

 

[#40Fan]

If your piece of brass goes from box to die, then to ammo box, to chamber, to ammo box and finally back to the die, not much if any dirt can get on it. A wipe down with a clean rag to remove any carbon on the necks will help.

 

[BoydAllen]

I do not tumble, vibrate, or untrasound my brass, but I do wipe the carbon off of the necks with 0000 steel wool.

 

[CharlieNC]

I have tried several wipe-down methods. The easiest to clean black powder/carbon residue on the outside of the neck is a rag dampened with Simple Green spray; works better than the carbon "solvents" that I tried. No residual contamination either.

 

[WillyTP]

Krazy klothe to wipe down necks. Tumble once to twice a year. I believe as long as you don’t put crappy brass in your die, you should always have a clean die.

 

[Shawnba67]

I'm liking what Im hearing!
Maybe I will just put rocks in my HF rock tumbler!

 

[allen529]

I used a brillo pad on the necks to get the outside carbon. It gives the a slight fresh turned shine to them. As for the rest of the case just a clean rag.

 

[Webster]

So I have read the posts on the benefits of not cleaning your brass. The carbon prevents brass weld and lubricated seating and release. I follow all that, and think it makes enough sense to personally verify.
But does the dirt/carbon on outside of the neck wear your dies? Is the wear so small as to unimportant? Or are they cleaning the out side of case somehow?
I would happily buy a new FL size die annually to never have to clean my brass!!!

There is no evidence that soot on case necks wears out dies. A made up problem. I reloaded 20,000 6MM Rem cases for 40 years with the same dies. No problem.

 

[mikld]

I reloaded for 12 years before I got a tumbler. I inspected every case before I reloaded it and during inspection, I wiped each case with a rag lightly dampened with solvent (mineral spirits). No ruined dies. No damaged chambers. And yes, I could spot any defects in the case.

IMO; tumbling/polishing brass for reloading is the most talked about, but least important part of reloading...

 

[M-61]

First I deprime with a punch....gives you a good look at the brass...the it gets vibrated, remove and clean the primer pockets. Lube cases (old style RCBS pad), size the brass and back it goes in the vibrator. Had a number of looks at the brass doing this.
I prefer this order to avoid putting debris in the dies and I like to check the brass visually a couple of times. Also the brass is free of lube. And still I clean my dies every now and then.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I have tried several wipe-down methods. The easiest to clean black powder/carbon residue on the outside of the neck is a rag dampened with Simple Green spray; works better than the carbon "solvents" that I tried. No residual contamination either.

On my new 6Br barrel I started with fresh brass from Lapua ammo that I fired. I size with Redding bushing die using Hornady wax lube on my fingers... Just keep my fingers greased with waxed and a simple swipe on the case is plenty with greasy fingers.

I wipe the outside clean with Windex on a paper towel. Done. I cannot stand the smell of Simple Green or I would use it. This brass Is shooting better than my previous batch and I cleaned them in pins ever time they were loaded.

 

[jepp2]

But does the dirt/carbon on outside of the neck wear your dies? Is the wear so small as to unimportant? Or are they cleaning the out side of case somehow?

The interior surface of sizing dies is very hard. If you continually put dirty brass (sand, dirt, etc) on the exterior of the brass, it will accelerate wear of your dies.

But, the residual carbon on the exterior of of your case neck should tend to serve as a lubricant just as it does when you seat your bullet. Feel free to remove it, but after honing die necks with 240 grit silicon carbide lapping compound, I can tell you how hard it is to remove any material from a die.

I do tumble my brass to clean it because I like shiny brass. But wiping the exterior with a clean cloth (or one with any solvent on it) would preserve my die interior just as well.

 

[Shawnba67]

First I deprime with a punch....gives you a good look at the brass...the it gets vibrated, remove and clean the primer pockets. Lube cases (old style RCBS pad), size the brass and back it goes in the vibrator. Had a number of looks at the brass doing this.
I prefer this order to avoid putting debris in the dies and I like to check the brass visually a couple of times. Also the brass is free of lube. And still I clean my dies every now and then.

You will get 1 more look getting the darned media out of the flash hole!

Unrelated to your post, the found vibratory cleaning to be the number 1 source of lead exposure during reloading . It Puts the dust in the air. No amount of being sure it isnt changes that.

 

[steve123]

Come to think of it I've never worn out a die, and that's not cleaned, tumbled in dry media, by ultra sonic, or by SS wet tumbling.

Meh, I'll SS clean every 3-4 firings, then not clean at all, well unless the brass ends up in the mud somehow.

 

[M-61]

You will get 1 more look getting the darned media out of the flash hole!

Yeah!! I forgot that pleasant step. But yes it is ONE more look for sure.

 

[Homerange]

So I have read the posts on the benefits of not cleaning your brass. The carbon prevents brass weld and lubricated seating and release. I follow all that, and think it makes enough sense to personally verify.
But does the dirt/carbon on outside of the neck wear your dies? Is the wear so small as to unimportant? Or are they cleaning the out side of case somehow?
I would happily buy a new FL size die annually to never have to clean my brass!!!

There's another avenue you've either discounted, ignored or totally missed.

You don't need to slide brass into a die and have it possibly wearing the die if it's not clean.
I never clean brass other than to wipe the mud or dirt off it and let it dry.

LCD, you might be surprised just how simple to use and how effective they are.

 

[Webster]

There is now evidence that soot on case necks wears out dies. A made up problem. I reloaded 20,000 6MM Rem cases for 40 years with the same dies. No problem.

Recently I have been cleaning the necks with 0000 steel wool only to keep my lube pad clean.

 

[Richard Coody]

i think everyone who leaves the carbon in the necks cleans their brass before sizing. i use ballistol on a rag for target brass and dry tumbling for the rest. dry tumbling does leave the neck carbon pretty well in tact.

 

[KenOath]

You will get 1 more look getting the darned media out of the flash hole!

Unrelated to your post, the found vibratory cleaning to be the number 1 source of lead exposure during reloading . It Puts the dust in the air. No amount of being sure it isnt changes that.

“They found vibratory cleaning to be the number 1 source of lead exposure”. Who are they? and where is the lead coming from?

 

[Richard Coody]

“They found vibratory cleaning to be the number 1 source of lead exposure”. Who are they? and where is the lead coming from?

lead exposure?

who cares?

ever been to an indoor range or cast your own bullets.

going to take a long time to get any kind of dangerous exposure. been doing it all all my life and i am 63 and still kicking