Carbide die and lube

[afret]

Would a 45-70 carbide sizing die require lube for sizing brass? Wondering if it's worth the extra cost.

 

[B y r o n]

Straight wall cases are good to go dry through carbide dies. Some don't even clean them first believing the carbide is hard enough to absorb the abuse. Personally, I clean all my brass before sizing.

 

[gdbleb]

Do these even exist?
I just found this old thread -
https://www.marlinowners.com/threads/carbide-45-70-die.137538/

 

[M-61]

Would a 45-70 carbide sizing die require lube for sizing brass? Wondering if it's worth the extra cost.

No lube required
However, being a big fan of that cartridge I found that I only ‘neck size’
Straight wall case, neck size?
I can’t imagine how many different specs there are for this brass after 135 years.
I think the die manufacturers today make them to the smallest possible dimensions so one die fits all. Decades ago I realized that the ridiculous amount of effort required to full length size the whole case was nuts.
So basically all I do is run the case maybe 3/4 of an inch into the die. Squeezes it down enough so the whole bullet that is in the case basically is sitting in the only part of the case that is sized. I guess you could call it neck sizing. Anyway it works for me in a number of rifles flawlessly. The accuracy is far better than I would have expected.
Hornady brass is 1/0 of inch shorter. Don’t care for it but their 325gr bullets seem to outshoot other makers. The only time I found Hornady to be superior in anything.

 

[Bill K]

One of the reasons for Carbide dies, no lube needed. As for still cleaning the brass prior to running them into any die, do it, it is just plain better to run clean brass into any die.

 

[Webster]

Would a 45-70 carbide sizing die require lube for sizing brass? Wondering if it's worth the extra cost.

May not be necessary but it seems to me to be a good idea. It cannot hurt to do it. Seems to make sense that if you have two surfaces sliding against each other with high contact pressure a lube should be used. I use a light vis petroleum oil for case lube. It has great film strength (provides good seperation between two surfaces under load and sliding against each other). Do you get galling without lube? Cleans up quick with a paper towel. Paper towels are not really extra cost. I worked in petroleum lube research. If nothing else you don't have to pull as hard on the lever.

I don't know where people get the idea that carbide dies are self lubricating. It would be nice if carbide dies were called by their proper name. Carbide coated, tool steel with tungsten carbides, cemented carbide ect.

 

[Sumtoc]

I use a (very) light application of Hornady One Shot to 9mm and any other straight wall cases with a carbide die. Helps the life expectancy of the brass and the dies. Press also cycles more smoothly. I don't clean it off, just shoot it as is.
I also use a heavier application of One Shot on shouldered cases and remove it by dry tumbling before dropping powder, seating bullet and primer. (Unless it's a small number of cases when I'll wipe them down with paper towels and a little rubbing alcohol.....)

 

[afret]

Thanks guys for the good info!!!

 

[tommeboy]

I use lube for ALL of my brass sizing. They get cleaned after sizing so I don't worry about it. I do large batch sizing so I only have to do it once a year. Then they are primed by hand or on the progressives depending on what they are

 

[afret]

It was my first time reloading pistol brass and did some .357 brass using a Lee die set (with Lyman M expander die) and didn't use lube and it worked OK. It was sure nice not having to use lube.
I just ordered a couple of 45-70 lever guns and I found that Lyman makes a carbide sizing die for this cartridge so I got one on the way. I hope this one won't need lube to resize. I think I'll use a tiny bit of lube to start to see how it goes since I don't want brass stuck in an expensive die.

 

[Rimneck]

I do lube with carbide if for no other reason than reduced force to size.

 

[Fuj]

Clean brass and no lube. My method for just about 50 years.....