Cant get it out of my head

[bench]

For those of you guys using a progressive press or even a single stage press how do you get the lube out of the case.
I have always used a spray lube (home made) to lube my cases and interior of the neck before FL sizing with a forster FL die with the decapping pin and ball installed.
So question is how do you sleep at night knowing there is some lube in the case and the powder is mixing with the lube.
So I always wash and dry before I continue to load which defets the purpose of a progressive press.

 

[4xforfun]

Don't use a ball and I don't use Lube. Bushings only. Sleep great!

 

[msinc]

I have never thought a progressive press was much use for rifle cartridge reloading...not just the lube, but what about the need to trim and chamfer after sizing??? I get it that some companies have a press mounted trimmer, but who needs to shoot that much rifle ammo to the point they need to reload that way??? I have a progressive shotgun and a metallic reloader, but I use it for pistol only.
As far as the lube goes, I either use one that drys and don't matter or if I have a metric schit ton of cases to size I use Ivory Ultra dish soap. Let it dry completely, run the cases and trim/chamfer etc. then rinse in hot water and let them all dry.

 

[chop house]

there's a sign at the local fire dept that says the easiest fire to put out is the one you don't start. similar applies. like 4x, i don't lube the inside, having replaced FL dies with collet and redding body on a single stage.

before making that switch i tried powdered graphite inside the neck, applied with a q-tip. wasn't completely happy with the results.

now i lube with 'unique', just by handling the cases, and wipe the lube off the outside while spinning in a lee holder as part of trim process. I would be more nervous about fully drying after the rinse cycle than any residual lube left near the cartridge base.

 

[Mozella]

A progressive press can help when loading precision ammo, but you can't make the "good stuff" in a single pass. Plinking ammo, maybe. But not ammo you would use for target match shooting or long range hunting.

I bring my individual fired cases home from the range clean so I am able to lube them as step one. Then I run them through a progressive press with an auto case feeder to deprime, neck size (slightly smaller than the final diameter), body size, and insert a sizing mandrel to bring the neck back to exactly the proper ID.

Then I give them a rinse in Simple Green and boiling water to remove most of the lube followed by a wet SS tumble to completely clean them. Next comes an annealing process at which time they're ready to store.

When I'm ready to load, I prime them, and run a highly polished sizing mandrel down the neck (without any lube) one last time to take care of any distortion of the neck that might be caused by previous handling and cleaning steps. Then I charge them individually using a precision scale and seat the bullets with an arbor press.

I use my progressive press to take advantage of bulk handling of cases where appropriate, but I do the critical steps on an individual basis.

If you're going to make precision ammo, give up the idea of doing it on a single pass through a progressive press. Having said that, I've made plenty of AR-15 plinking ammo in a single pass. I just don't worry about the lube.

 

[mongo chicago]

I don't lube the inside of the neck. I vibrate clean and just lube the outside. The ash that is left inside acts enough as a slight lube. Shiny clean inside the case is not necessary and is of no actual benefit.

 

[Papa Charlie]

I use a Hornady progressive to load my precision rounds for competition. Mostly because that is what I own as I also shoot a lot of 45ACP.

First step is to run my cases with spent primer in vibrator with Walnut Shells for about 2-3 hours. They come out looking good, all fragments of powder are gone, not shiny on the inside as I want to keep the layer there as lube for bullet seating. I also leave the primers in place so I don't have to worry about Walnut pieces getting stuck in flash holes.

The press is actually only used as a progressive for decap (Position 1 where drop is located), body size (Position 2) and neck size (Position 3). Then clean my brass to remove the RCBS case lube in acetone and then allow to dry completely.

The acetone evaporates completely, leaves very little to any residue and removes all the case lube inside and out. I also wipe them down on the outside but often question myself as to why. More for looks. Thought about a wet tumbler but don't want the hassle of putting the cases in an oven to bake out the moisture (200F) or to use the SS needles as I believe they work harden the neck.

Then I deburr and champer the neck, followed by a nylon brush to the neck. Then I cap using the press (Position 2 where feed is located) and load powder separate of the press and seat the bullet in position 1 next to the post and main body for stability.

I check seating depth with a comparator (Base to Ogive) about every ~5 rounds and find only slight variation on some due to the bullet variations.

I also perform spot concentricity testing and every round comes out to <0.001". I say spot testing as over time I have not had a reading greater than <0.001". But continue to check just to be sure.

My dies are Redding Competition Dies and a Lee Decapper, don't like to use the resizing dies for decapping.

I might add a single stage press sometime in the future but find that my progressive the way I use it does a pretty good job for me.

 

[jepp2]

For those of you guys using a progressive press or even a single stage press how do you get the lube out of the case.

My brass prep up through sizing and lube removal is done prior to the loading step. Doesn't matter if I am loading on a progressive or single stage. I do the prep shortly after they are fired, so everything I store is ready to load for the most part.

For lube I use homemade boot leg lube (liquid lanolin and alcohol), and after sizing I just drop them in a vibrating tumbler with fine corn cob. Removes the lube just fine in less than 30 minutes.

 

[XTR]

Scott Harris out in Phoenix loads for his entire family of shooters on a Dillion. If you think Scott, Christine or Devon are shooting sub par ammo go out and beat them and prove it.

 

[Ron Blain]

So question is how do you sleep at night knowing there is some lube in the case and the powder is mixing with the lube.

This was a major concern and after sleepless nights I consulted with my physician and the solution was Zolpidem 10 mg just before bedtime.

Seriously I also use spray lube and am working off some RCBS aerosol cans that are 20 plus years old as RCBS no longer makes the stuff in the aerosol cans. Generally my brass is relatively clean so I resize and do all my case prep before they see the tumbler. I just use a tiny amount on a Q-Tip for inside the case necks and things work out fine. I wouldn't over think this.

Ron

 

[Carl Ross]

Here is my typical match load workflow:

Tumble in walnut - remove media w/ media spinner
Lube with homemade Lanolin-Alcohol mixture (gets in necks a little, which smooths the mandrel operation)
Hornady progressive cycle: decap-prime-size (no expander)-mandrel
Wipe outside of cases with towel to clean up
Hornady progressive cycle: weigh powder on Fx120i w/Autotrickler and charge through press mounted funnel-seat bullets

I shoot PRS and similar matches, not F class or BR, so what makes the cut is for sure a bit less precise. Even still, going through my load notes from this year the largest velocity SD I had with my competition loads was 6 fps, average SD was more like 4 fps. PLENTY good enough for my discipline, so whatever the lube is doing in there, apparently my powder doesn't care much. My workflow is a constant work-in-progress, and there are some areas I'm still looking to tighten up, but I'm not willing to slow things down much to do so!

Also, I don't trim (and subsequently chamfer) unless forced. Just touched some 6.5x47 brass for the first time after 11 firings as 10% or so were nearing trim length.

Lastly, I sleep pretty good If I'm staying awake, it isn't my powder keeping me up!

 

[memilanuk]

Pretty sure that @Jay Christopherson loaded the ammo he used to take 2nd in the 2017 FCNC (F-Open) on a progressive press. Not all in one pass, as several have mentioned.

I've done it both ways... both progressive and single stage, but for my peace of mind I typically tumble (corn cob), lube (home-made spray, following this recipe), size/expand... then throw them back in the tumbler to take the lube off. That can be done with a progressive that has a just sizing die, or a sizing die and a mandrel die, depending on how/if you do the expanding.

If I do any additional case prep i.e. trim/chamfer/debur, clean primer pockets, brush the inside of the necks, apply Imperial dry graphite lube, etc. I do it now, in between.

Finally a progressive (550, but could be anything) set up with a decap die in station #1 to punch out any residual media that found its way into the flash holes, a powder die in station #2 (feed it how ever makes you happy) and finally a seater die.

The key here for a progressive is to float the dies. For a 550/650, the easiest way is to get the tool heads from Whidden, but you can roll your own using parts from UniqueTek. In theory, the rubber O-rings in the Hornady LnL AP should accomplish much the same effect.

The last few batches I did this summer I did on the Co-Ax - mainly because I haven't figured how to make my K&M expander mandrel die play nice with the 550 - and seated ~30 thou long, to be final seated with a 21st Century hand die on a K&M arbor press fitted with a DC hydraulic base. The last bit - seating - may be way over kill, as my Forster Ultra BR seater floated in the 550 achieves nearly identical consistency.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

Pretty sure that @Jay Christopherson loaded the ammo he used to take 2nd in the 2017 FCNC (F-Open) on a progressive press. Not all in one pass, as several have mentioned.

I load all my ammo on a Dillon 550. I do 4 operations on the press - FL-size (though I've been testing doing this step separately), mandrel/neck size, powder drop, and seat. I've been priming on the Dillon as well, though I've been experimenting lately with priming the brass before going to the press as well.

If you really want to get into it, @Scott Harris did an awesome write-up on building precision ammo on a progressive (Dillon 550) that is more or less the "bible" on the subject (IMO).

 

[memilanuk]

FL-size (though I've been testing doing this step separately)

I've been priming on the Dillon as well, though I've been experimenting lately with priming the brass before going to the press as well.

Which way did you do for the ammo you took to Deep Creek & Lodi?

 

[Shynloco]

Cotton swab the inside of every casing after resizing and before loading powder. Time consuming...yes. But I sleep just fine.

Alex

 

[Jay Christopherson]

Which way did you do for the ammo you took to Deep Creek & Lodi?

I was FL-sizing as a separate step (hard to feel the seating while FL-sizing at the same time). Primed on the Dillon. The ammo I took to the SWN was FL-sized on the press in the first station.

 

[dsculley]

Forget the spray and use the Lee lube if you worry about the spray in the cases. It is as easy to lube a bunch of cases at one time with the Lee as it is with the spray. Get a heavy ziploc bag, squeeze a small dollop of Lee lube into the bag, drop in the cases then shake/agitate the bag 30 - 45 seconds. You will most likely use a bit more lube than needed at first, but you will learn how to adjust. A good way to learn is to prep the bag for ten cases, add ten cases, check to see if over-lubed, if so, add ten more and shake/agitate. They will most likely be about right at this point. Pour them out of the bag onto a cloth/towel and start processing. Run them through your progressive then clean the cases with a microfiber cloth. I use a single stage and wipe them off before seating (I chuck the case holder for the Lee case trimmer in a drill and spin the cases while cleaning them with a microfiber cloth). I have found this method easier and less messy than the sprays. No mixing, no over-spray, no mess, everything is contained inside the bag.

 

[Homerange]

there's a sign at the local fire dept that says the easiest fire to put out is the one you don't start. similar applies. like 4x, i don't lube the inside, having replaced FL dies with collet and redding body on a single stage.

before making that switch i tried powdered graphite inside the neck, applied with a q-tip. wasn't completely happy with the results.

now i lube with 'unique', just by handling the cases, and wipe the lube off the outside while spinning in a lee holder as part of trim process. I would be more nervous about fully drying after the rinse cycle than any residual lube left near the cartridge base.

Instead try some mixed with fine lead shot in a small screw top jar. I use a 35mm film canister.
Plunge the case into the mix and it's nicely coated with graphite that after just a couple of case through a FL die will leave enough of a coating that you can skip doing it to each case from time to time.
Sure some don't like graphite for the black it can leave on everything but when you get the method sorted you'll find you need bugger all and as a result it's not that messy at all.

 

[K22]

Your making this more complicated than necessary. I have a single stage RCBC press purchased in 1969. I full size (w/ sizing button) all my cases with a .001 to .002" shoulder bump. I lightly lube the exterior of the case with Imperial Sizing Wax. I lightly lube the sizing button initially and after ever 20 rounds. After sizing I wipe the exterior of the cases with a paper towel and brush the inside of the necks with an RCBS nylon brush. The key here is to polish the sizing button to minimize drag on the neck so you don't have to lube it very much if at all.

In almost 50 years of reloading I've never had a misfire of a reloaded centerfire pistol or rifle round except once and that was due to a small rilfe primer that somehow didn't have priming compound.

PS: I shoot over 1,000 rounds of centerfire rifle a year. A tin of Imperial last me 4 to 5 years.

 

[KenOath]

After FL sizing I throw brass back into dry corn cob tumbler for an hour or so, gets all lube of..