Scratches on cas neck after sizing

[jesilva]

After sizing the last batch of brass, I noticed linear scratches on the necks of the cases. I use a spray lube. Could minute flecks of brass be adhering to the die and if so how do I remove them.

Jim

 

[K22]

I had the same condition on three of my dies. I was told by RCBS's customer service that the condition is caused by one or more of the following: insufficient lube on the neck; failure to clean the die to prevent brass particle build up; insufficient chamfering the outside diameter leaving a "lip" on the neck after trimming causing brass fragments to be deposited in the neck area of the die.

The problem is once the condition appears it means the die had been "scored" and the condition will only get worse unless the die is refurbished. The remedy is to have the neck area of the die polished. I returned my dies to RCBS and they polished the necks at no charge to me even though the dies were over 20 years old - that's some customer service!

In my case I'm not sure what really caused the condition - I kept my die clean and take great care in chamfering the necks. Perhaps I wasn't lubing the necks adequately - I use One Shot Hornady spray lube. The RCBS rep suggested I try Imperial Sizing Wax especially in the neck area. I'm going to order some but in the mean time I've been careful to make sure I get sufficient spray lube on the necks.

 

[fdshuster]

Jim: I have no proof that it works to prevent sizing dies from scratching the brass, but after each and every use of the die I use a cotton q-tip dipped in Hoppes to wet down the interior surfaces of the die, then take an old thin cotton rag (like an old handkerchief), twist it 'til it's in the form of a thin rod slide it all the way thru the die, grab the "top" and turn the die over the rag to dry out the inside. I have RCBS sizing dies that are over 40 years old & they never leave scratches on the brass.

At least part of the problem could be an accumulation of dirt and a buildup of old lube that has attracted & held small particles of dirt. I would also think old lube left in the die could trap & hold moisture causing rust. I've inspected the inside of my dies with my borescope & they are all as new.

ps: I've always used nothing but Imperial Die Wax.

 

[jesilva]

Thanks for the ideas of what to look for

Jim

 

[Milo 2.0]

You really have to clean or polish your die like others mentioned, or it's just going to be cumulative, getting worse, falling down into the case part.
The best trick is to chamfer and deburr new brass right away, or before sizing. I trim mine with a 3 way cutter when new, virtually eliminates this.

 

[M-61]

I am old fashioned and not in rush, Thus: I always have used vibrating tumbler. All fired case first go into the tumbler after they are fired....spent primers and all. I am not a fanatic with keeping the dies clean but I will not resize until the brass spends some time being cleaned. Then I de-prime them and then size the brass. Then back in the tumbler. My thought reasoning behind this is simple. The dies are clean to start with so why would I want to introduce some sort of dirt INTO them....this could be the 5th case while doing 40 and I can look at 35 scratched cases! Also while they are in the vibrator for the first time I can start cleaning the barrel. A couple of extra steps but as I say I am not trying to see how many rounds I can reload in a given amount of time. I've always been successful with RCBS lube. Messier than many others for sure, additionally to borrow from another post: I've picked up more than a few new primers with less than clean hands because of this lube, and it never caused a problem. Finally I've never seen better customer service than RCBS,ever.

 

[jonbearman]

I myself.take the die apart the die and take it outside and use carb cleaner or castle shop solve to degrease and clean the die thoroughly and blow it out with compressed air if possible and use the rag to clean anything I missed.I have even used simichrome to lightly polish the interior once in a great while.Brass can actually attach itself to the interior walls if accidently run in without enough lube. The brass left behind will build up even more if the die isnt polished correctly.I bought a set of 6 br forster die like this from a fella on here he never used.It took a little while and after polishing it was smooth and no scratches.

 

[M-61]

I also disassemble and clean my dies, but it's after many many reloads. I actually found a product better (IMO) than simichrome which is hard to beat. It's 3M Chrome & Metal Polish p/n 39527. I use this on new dies which I clean and polish before I use them.

 

[Rust]

Although it adds another step, I got a decapping die. Primers get knocked out, brass gets cleaned, then it gets sized.

 

[Shynloco]

After sizing the last batch of brass, I noticed linear scratches on the necks of the cases. I use a spray lube. Could minute flecks of brass be adhering to the die and if so how do I remove them.

Jim

IMHO, you just received some really good suggestions on keeping your dies clean. I too believe that you have to clean your dies to keep from the scratches you described. But if you get them, simply take 0000 steel wool and run that over the necks and it'll cleans those cases right up.

But more importantly, a new found friend (thx to this blog) who has competed in F/TR matches for more than 25 yrs recently taught me something that I found "amazing." Many reloaders love and use Imperial Sizing Wax which is a good product. Bot one major draw back of Imperial Sizing Wax is something called the lack of "VICOSITY" (the quality or property of a fluid that causes it to resist flow). Now to be sure, I'm no chemist and claim no expertise in the subject. But my friend suggested I give a try to RCBS Lube-2. And I'm not here to debate or promote anyone's product, other than I've found the RCBS Lube-2 to work much better in protecting the brass you resize and provide a much easier and "fluid" movement when dropping the handle on the press and driving the casing up into the Die for whatever resizing you are doing. And where I was getting the scratches (using Imperial Sizing Wax) as originally described by jesilva, those scratches were not present in like casings in the same die when I used RCBS Lube-2.

Again, I'm providing this information purely as something useful I've found works under certain conditions and not to promote any particular product, other than to share something I've learned that works for me and others. Regards to all.

Alex

 

[BBK]

jesilva,
I had the same problem with my Lee carbide .45 die. I have been using the die for over 25 years and had never had a problem. I contacted Lee and they told me that the problem is that brass particles become imbedded in the carbide and cause scratching. I wondered how something as soft as brass could become imbedded in something as hard a carbide but that is what they told me. They also said that if you tumble before you resize it helps because the tumbling media residue helps lube the case. They polished it for me for free and returned it with no shipping cost, also great customer service. He also said I could wrap 0000 steel wool on a dowel and it would do the same thing. I was using old polishing media so I threw it away thinking that it might have a lot of brass residue in it. hope this helps.

 

[Immike]

I recently had this same problem and it seemed to come from the sharp edge where the shoulder meets the neck in the die. I took a 3/8 dowel and used a pencil sharpener to shape the end to a cone. Then wrapped it lightly with oiled 0000 steel wool and chucked it in a cordless drill. It took more effort than I expected since the dies are very hard material. I had to start using imperial wax liberally but the problem ceased.