Carbide vs Standard die
Quote from Reloader on January 16, 2014, 12:48 amI've been reloading for sometime now using a Dillon RL550B. I reload .40s&w, .45acp and .308win. I'm not having any issues, but I was wondering what advantages would using a carbide sizer/deprimer have over using the standard sizer/deprimer die. I understand the carbide will probably last longer, but what about case lubing?
I've been reloading for sometime now using a Dillon RL550B. I reload .40s&w, .45acp and .308win. I'm not having any issues, but I was wondering what advantages would using a carbide sizer/deprimer have over using the standard sizer/deprimer die. I understand the carbide will probably last longer, but what about case lubing?
Quote from Reloader on January 16, 2014, 2:44 pmUnless your handgun dies are quite old, they should have a carbide size die. Dillon handgun dies have always used a carbide sizer. On bottleneck rifle calibers, you still have to lube the cases, regardless of the size die construction. The advantages are in die longevity and increased scratch resistance.
Steel rifle size dies should last about 40,000 cycles. A carbide rifle size die has a lifespan of about 750,000 cycles. This of course varies with brass cleanliness, but is a good guide.
Unless your handgun dies are quite old, they should have a carbide size die. Dillon handgun dies have always used a carbide sizer. On bottleneck rifle calibers, you still have to lube the cases, regardless of the size die construction. The advantages are in die longevity and increased scratch resistance.
Steel rifle size dies should last about 40,000 cycles. A carbide rifle size die has a lifespan of about 750,000 cycles. This of course varies with brass cleanliness, but is a good guide.
Quote from Reloader on February 28, 2014, 2:25 amCarbide dies generally have the advantage of requiring no lube. Regardless of the type of case (bottle necked, or straight walled) if you need to use a case lube stick with the dry spray lubes. These have come a long way and are safe and efficient to use. They do not build up and dent cartridges like fatty or paraffin containing lubes of yore.
One improvement, and an attribute which varies from die manufacturer to manufacturer is the radius-ed lead into the sizing carbide ring. This varies from none to some to more depending on the die design. None gives alignment issues which can be an issue on manually indexed equipment. "Some" tends to work well, but carbide is so hard that a diamond stone is required to radius or lead the carbide ring. "More" or "too much" lead can result in insufficient sizing length and result in an inability to chamber rounds in SAAMI spec chambers.
Just keep in mind that all dies are not created equally, nor are all chambers. Manufacturing tolerances can tend to stack up and become a problem. It's a shame that Geometric tolerancing has not been universally applied yet. Bench rest shooters have tended to solve this problem by using "neck sizing" dies to maintain the consistency of their brass fit to chamber fit.
Hope this helps,
Larry
Carbide dies generally have the advantage of requiring no lube. Regardless of the type of case (bottle necked, or straight walled) if you need to use a case lube stick with the dry spray lubes. These have come a long way and are safe and efficient to use. They do not build up and dent cartridges like fatty or paraffin containing lubes of yore.
One improvement, and an attribute which varies from die manufacturer to manufacturer is the radius-ed lead into the sizing carbide ring. This varies from none to some to more depending on the die design. None gives alignment issues which can be an issue on manually indexed equipment. "Some" tends to work well, but carbide is so hard that a diamond stone is required to radius or lead the carbide ring. "More" or "too much" lead can result in insufficient sizing length and result in an inability to chamber rounds in SAAMI spec chambers.
Just keep in mind that all dies are not created equally, nor are all chambers. Manufacturing tolerances can tend to stack up and become a problem. It's a shame that Geometric tolerancing has not been universally applied yet. Bench rest shooters have tended to solve this problem by using "neck sizing" dies to maintain the consistency of their brass fit to chamber fit.
Hope this helps,
Larry