Case Lube
Quote from Reloader on February 20, 2017, 6:45 amI recently purchased an XL650.
Should I use case lube or not? Some say yes and some say no. Will I damage the dies or reduce the case life without lube?
cheers
I recently purchased an XL650.
Should I use case lube or not? Some say yes and some say no. Will I damage the dies or reduce the case life without lube?
cheers
Quote from Reloader on February 20, 2017, 11:50 amFor rifle cartridges, you'll be sorry if you do not because you probably will not be able to remove the case from the die. I have loaded about 10K .45 ACP cartridges in my Lyman carbide die that was purchased in the late '60's. Lubricant has never been used. So, you have some anecdotal evidence. In general, you do not need lube for straight walled cartridges when using carbide dies.
For rifle cartridges, you'll be sorry if you do not because you probably will not be able to remove the case from the die. I have loaded about 10K .45 ACP cartridges in my Lyman carbide die that was purchased in the late '60's. Lubricant has never been used. So, you have some anecdotal evidence. In general, you do not need lube for straight walled cartridges when using carbide dies.
Quote from Reloader on February 20, 2017, 3:55 pmWith straightwall handgun cartridges, the primary advantages to lubing the cases are reduced effort to resize, and because of that, increased production rate. A carbide size die on a straightwall handgun cartridge has a sufficiently lowered friction coefficient that cases won't stick in the die. A little bit of lube is nice, especially if you intend to load a large quantity at one sitting.
Bottleneck cases must be lubed, even with carbide dies. Otherwise, the case will stick.
With straightwall handgun cartridges, the primary advantages to lubing the cases are reduced effort to resize, and because of that, increased production rate. A carbide size die on a straightwall handgun cartridge has a sufficiently lowered friction coefficient that cases won't stick in the die. A little bit of lube is nice, especially if you intend to load a large quantity at one sitting.
Bottleneck cases must be lubed, even with carbide dies. Otherwise, the case will stick.