lube / carbide dies

[soundguy]

so far I've only reloaded rifle brass. have not dones any pistol / used carbide dies.

now after colelcting a couple pistol caliber dies.. I see may say no lube needed.

does that mean it's optional.. or you can not lube it?

any downside to lubing with a carbide die?

one of the dies i got for free.. with no paperwork... 38spl. are all pistol caliber dies carbide?

next.. if carbide dies need no lube.. why are the rifle dies not made carbide?

thanks

[BlackEagle]

I have RCBS carbide dies for my .38/.357 reloading and have never used lubricant.

My opinion is that using lubricant would only foul the die over time and you would need to take it apart to clean it unnecessarily.

[jack404]

if your loading FMJ no lube needed loading cast lead use lube and resizing dies to ensure correct size

[soundguy]

seems about the same issue with a regular steel die for a rifle. IE.. clean as needed no?

again.. I've only used non carbide dies on rifle brass...

speaking of 38 / 357 same die set huh?

[soundguy]

Originally Posted by jack404

if your loading FMJ no lube needed loading cast lead use lube and resizing dies to ensure correct size

would lube damage something or just not needed?

say I had a block of rifle brass out and spray lubed it and some drifted over to my block of pistol brass.

issues? or just not needed / but won't hurt?

sometimes I prep LOTS of brass at once and have a few hundred rounds out in loading blocks all over the bench and tables.. just need to know if I need to segregate my pistol brass if lube will hurt it or the dies..

thanks.

PS.. not arguing.. just trying to find out.

and again.. if carbide diese need no lube.. why don't they make the rifle dies out of carbide?


on a side note.. saw some dillon bench die sets.. wow.. 60$ a pop.. man!!

[X Ring]

not needed, but won't hurt anything

[jack404]

FMJ rounds today are
1 high precision made

2 dont have the grease slots

but wont hurt to lube em

[gdmoody]

Lube will not hurt the carbide die, but as said you will probably end up having to clean it much more often.

Why don't they make carbide dies for rifle loading - don't really know, but I would think that it would have something to do with the bottle neck.

When you use the word Dillon, then you are talking expensive but I understand that they are easier to take apart to clean than other dies. I have a Dillon progressive press but I use Lee dies in it because of costs.

[soundguy]

ok cool, so I can keep all my loading blocks on the old wood table that I spray lube on... keeps it all cleaner if I'm only spraying in one location, so I just do all my case prep on 1 table... if it won;t hurt if there is overdrift, I'm good to go. I won't actively try to lube them.. but now know I don't ahve to move them off to prep either.

thanks guys.

knew I could ask here and get an answer.

[jack404]

i have a bottle brush that i wrap a chux wipe around and pass down through the centre to clean up brush part holds the cloth part close in and wipes well

enjoy!!

[BlackEagle]

I don't know if lube will harm carbide dies, and I wish they made carbide rifle dies...it would make life easier, not as messy.

My RCBS dies came set up for .357, with an adapter that replaces something in one of the dies that will make it work with the .38 cases.

Jack, I'm not sure I follow your comment...When reloading my .357 cases I'm using carbide dies to resize. I don't use lube. I use lead round nose flat point heads and put a slight crimp when seating the bullets, to hold them in place.

My .223 is a different kettle of fish. When full length sizing I use lube; when neck sizing I don't use lubricant. I'm using SMK in those cases.

<edit:> Just saw that three or four posts got added by the time I finished this post

[soundguy]

Originally Posted by gdmoody

When you use the word Dillon, then you are talking expensive but I understand that they are easier to take apart to clean than other dies. I have a Dillon progressive press but I use Lee dies in it because of costs.

yep.. I stopped at the reload table at the show and needed to get a couple shell holders .. that's where my wife bought me the uni decapper i've been wanting. anyway.. while there I looked at their die sets.. had a stack of dillon.. and 60$ a pop or so! had some lee, rcbs.. and used lyman. had a lyman 222rem set used, for 15$ I almost picked up.. but someone grabbed it first. I was also looking at a used 38spl set in a baggie.. lloked older.. but looked fine.. no paperwork. I bought a bunch of projectiles I needed, and a couple pounds of powder ( win 231 and some H universal ).. plus found a rcbs 375 H&Hmag die set I've been looking for...... seller told me i could have the used/bagged 38spl die set I kept looking at for free after I bought all that other stuff.. so i sure didn't turn him down.

I don't know if that set is carbide or not ?

[gdmoody]

If it is carbide, you can tell by looking into it from the "bottom". If it is carbide, it will look like it has a sleeve inside.

[jack404]

I have a Dillon progressive press but I use Lee dies in it because of costs.

there'll be some die sets in the giveaways coming up , LEE

[gun-nut]

Originally Posted by gdmoody

Why don't they make carbide dies for rifle loading - don't really know, but I would think that it would have something to do with the bottle neck.

I would say that you are on the right track. As a machinest Carbide has to be ground it can not (that i know of) be machined. So the price would be very high. If you look at the sizing die you will see thats its just a small insert pressed into the steel body. To grind the full body and the neck would be a pain. Not to say that it could not be done with the high tek machines that are now out there.

[soundguy]

so a price issue..e tc. that's why we can still get lee and rcbs dies for 30$ a set and not say.. 80$

makes sense!

[Alpo]

Jack appears to be thinking you mean lubing bullets >if your loading FMJ no lube needed loading cast lead use lube and resizing dies to ensure correct size< and >FMJ rounds today are 1 high precision made 2 dont have the grease slots but wont hurt to lube em<

My understanding is you are asking about lubing cases?

As someone else said, lube won't hurt anything, but it is not necessary.

You asked if all pistol dies are carbide. No. If they aren't marked "CARBIDE", it's a steel die, and you need to lube the cases.

Carbide dies work because there is a carbide sizing ring at the bottom of the case. They are only made for straight wall cases. I have heard there are some (extremely expensive) carbide bottleneck rifle dies. They have two carbide rings -one at the bottom to size the case body and one near the top to size the neck.

[soundguy]

yep.. deffinatley was refering to case sizing.

thanks

[jack404]

sorry i'll get me glasses on

[cpttango30]

You can lube or not lube with carbide straight wall dies. As for Carbide bottle neck dies you still HAVE to LUBE the case like always.

[USMCSpeedy]

I like to lube every 4th or 5th case when using carbide dies. Its not needed but it sure keeps things working smooth.

[JohnTheCalifornian]

I have a set of Dillon Carbide 357 Sig dies. I don't lube those. And that's a bottle neck cartridge and they go in and out of the die just fine.

Dillon's carbide rifle dies still require lubing... so I see no advantage to having those if your cases still need to be lubed..

[cpttango30]

Carbid rifle dies are for guys that are running a 1050 and cranking out 2k rounds in a loading session. They are for HIGH volume rifle shooters as the carbide doesn't wear as fast as steel. So I have been told.

Or

They are for the guys with "Have Money am Stupid" and just like to throw around that their rifle dies are $150 a set because they have to have the best.

[soundguy]

i guess if I was rich.. and did want the best.. and could get die sets for 5x the regular cost.. that would be cool.. for now I guess rcbs 30$ die's are fine with me..

[gdmoody]

I think that even if I were rich, I would still use RCBS or LEE dies. In my opinion, they are just as good as the $80-100 set of dies.