Brass Resizing & Lube Question

[gw74r]

I'm fairly new at this so any input is appreciated.

My current LC rifle brass process is:

1) Sonic clean (Doing this only for the dirty once fired LC I purchased)

2) Resize and decap (I intend to trim first after a few shooting cycles)

3) Wet tumble with SS media in either Dawn or wash/wax with Lemishine

Someone told me wash/wax kept the brass shiny longer than Dawn because it leaves a surface film. Is that true even using Lemishine?

Here's the main question......When reloading, can I leave the sizing die / decapper in the press (Dillon 1050) since the brass was already resized, and if so, is it necessary to lube the already sized brass again? Or can I just leave the sizing die in the press and run the brass through the normal stages without lubing? I'd rather not remove more lube after loading if I can help it, but don't want any stuck cases!

[Enfield47]

If you're going to be resizing the cases, you have to use a good lube or they will get stuck. You should also trim all the cases for uniformity in the bullet seating process.

I tumble using corn cob media so I can't help with your wet tumble question.

[BillnotBob]

Hello gw74r, I would recomend that your pick up a low cost/second hand single stage press, and a universal decapping die. Decap the brass first, then clean, resize, trim and chamfer/debur as needed, and then load.

[stevec223]

I would take the sizing die out of the press,,, or just insert the brass into the second station... You will have to lube if your running the case into the sizing die again... And I would trim the lc cases prior to loading,,, my lc cases were all over the spectrum as to length,,, and some way over max length... Get it all done before the first loading and future loadings should be much easier... Cheers...

[NorCalFocus]

Get a Lee universal decapping die and a Lee cheapo press. Skip the two cleaning steps, and resize your brass without a decaping pin. I personally really love using sizing wax, and I just wipe it off, but I do single stage loading. For you I'd use the Hornady One Shot spray, as it dires on the case and doesn't need to be removed.

http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/136543/lee-universal-depriming-and-decapping-die?cm_mmc=pf_ci_google-_-Reloading+-+Dies+%26+Shellholders-_-Lee-_-136543&gclid=CjwKEAiA1vjCBRDd-9q3w4OF6WUSJACWv_sVpt0kQcNfZeuSQCrZBgAsVuWAH2P-b8hPF3ZwEUKHpRoC79Pw_wcB

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[JagerDog]

in 2) note that trim comes after sizing.

Uniforming your brass now will help down the road. 1X LC brass is gonna have crimped primer pockets and shot from a variety of guns and can become way out of spec in some guns.

If running through a sizing die again, yes, you'd need to lube. The brass springs back "some" and the neck is overly resized and then expanded with the sizing button.

I run my reloads through the tumbler (dry) for 20 minutes or so to remove fingerprints and any lube.

[bazineta]

I intend to trim first after a few shooting cycles

Typically with once-fired LC, you want to trim after the first firing, i.e., immediately, as soon as you resize it that first time. A lot of it will have been fired in MGs, and it can be long.

[baih777]

Your saying after you resize and trim the brass that you are wet tumbling. That's all good.
But i am confused.
When you go to reload, you want to use the resizing die again ? Its not necessary when loading rifle brass.
If someone else knows this why this would be , pleas explain.
Op, you might be getting confused with pistol brass reloading.

[MrElectric03]

Are you running brass through the 1050 to deprime and size, then tumbling, and running it through the press again to load?

If so do you have a crimp die setup in the toolhead? If you do then you are putting a crimp on the case before tumbling and then working it out of the brass when it goes through again, also sizing twice. That's a lot of over working the brass.

As others have said, trim all brass for consistentsy after sizing. Get a universal decap die and single stage or a Dillon trimmer which sizes and trims in one step, but I like to tumble after to remove any shavings. Personally I do all rifle prep for .223, .308, and .30-06 on my xl650, then tumble. .223 gets loaded on the 1050, .308 and .30-06 get loaded on the single stage.

[RandyD]

I also will resize and deprime brass, then clean them with stainless steel media. If you do this, you do not need to resize the brass again, you can continue on to the next stage of reloading. However, if you are going to resize them a second time, you will need to lube the cases, which you will have to remove before firing.

I tend to prepare brass (resize, deprime, swage primer pocket, tumble in stainless steel media, and trim) and then store it for when I am ready to fully reload the cases. When I run these cases through my Dillon 650 to finish the reloading process, I remove the sizing die. There is no need to size a second time and it just puts more wear on the brass.

[alexisjohnson]

once the lube has been removed...you'll need to relube if you want to put it through the resizing die. It will probably get stuck if you don't

[gw74r]

Thanks to all for the great response and suggestions.

I see now I jumped the gun, at least on my 308 LC brass. I de-capped with a Lee Universal die on a Forster Co-Ax that I intend to use for precision loading, and then wet tumbled.

I just checked and everyone was right....the LC is all long. Looks like I'm gonna have to lube - size - trim, and then wet tumble again to remove the Dillon lube. It seems way too sticky to put in a dry tumbler without ruining the media prematurely.

NorCalFocus suggested One Shot which I tried on some 308 but it was much harder to size than with Dillon lube. It took 2 hands to complete the stroke on the 1050, and I was generous with the One Shot. I might try it on 223 which should take less effort to size.

MrElectric03 pointed out the issue of crimping twice so I'll remove the crimp die for sizing.

RandyD suggested removing the sizing die when loading and that is what I thought to be the easiest solution all along. And like him, I would like to process all my brass and have ready to load when the time comes.

As for trimming, I have a Wilson trimmer for the small run precision stuff, but I will buy either a Dillon 1500 or a Bosch router setup as I have several thousand cases of 308 and 223 to prep. I've read the Dillon is very loud, and have watched the router youtube videos. While a little more expensive, the router seems like a nicer setup. Anyone used the router setup or have a preference?

Thanks again for all the help, and hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas!!

[8mmFMJ]

Dillion lube is by far the worst lube I have ever used. It gums up my dies, doesn't wash off without solvent, and causes my cases to seal horribly in the chamber, ejecting them full of soot far beyond the neck.

It got worse and worse as time went on reloading those cases. I stripped all my cases in a gallon of rubbing alcohol and now I use Hornady one shot.

Reloading 5+ years now and just finished decapping/resizing 2000 .308/7.62x51 mixed.

[bazineta]

Looks like I'm gonna have to lube - size - trim, and then wet tumble again to remove the Dillon lube. It seems way too sticky to put in a dry tumbler without ruining the media prematurely.Christmas!!

I find even wet tumbling isn't all that great for getting rid of Dillon lube. Unless I'm mistaken, the lube portion is lanolin, and for that, very hot water seemed to me to be the most effective.

However, while the Dillon lube is extremely convenient to apply in mass volume, I'd usually dimple a lot of shoulders with it. I've since moved to Redding Imperial dry lube and wax. Dip the neck in the dry lube, then apply the slightest coat of wax to the body, never a hydraulic dimple. Both just wipe off easily with the cheap Harbor Freight microfiber towels.

For trimming, if you want to do huge volume, the Dillon option can't be beat, really, especially if you have a 1050. If you want precision, IMO the best at that is the L.E. Wilson; Brownell's sells an upgraded version with a great stand, micrometer option, and a carbide cutter that makes things practically effortless.

So, all depends on what your preference is, really. I like the Wilson as it's consistent to 0.001 every single time, and that's my thing. With a 1050, if you want volume, an RT1500 is very nice indeed.

[8mmFMJ]

Oh and I also wet tumble with dawn... No SS pins it will harden your cases. And the wetter and thicker the lube the more dimpled cases you will have.