Lube question

[karnaaj]

I've read about lubing the exterior of cases before going into the resizing die and that makes sense, but what I am having a hard time understanding is lubing the inside of the case neck. Wouldn't that make the powder stick to the inside of the neck instead of falling to the bottom of the casing? Do you somehow clean it up before dropping the powder? Help a newbie to all this understand.

 

[Shoney]

I'm preesuming you are talking about straight wall pistol cases. If you have carbide dies, no lube is necessary. Steel dies require a small amount of lube, but it is very minimal in straight walled cases.

For bottleneck cases, pistol or rifle, lubrication of the outside of the case is necessary. Petroleum based lubes, if they are used on the inside of the neck, should be cleaned before powder or primer are added.

I prefer Imperial Die Sizing Wax as a lube, In over 46 years of reloading , I have used a wide variety of lubes, and the IDSW is the best.

 

[karnaaj]

So if I am understanding you correctly, if someone uses a progressive press they are more than likely using carbide dies instead of lube to avoid having to clean up the lube before the next step? Which essentially would defeat the purpose of such a high capacity press?

 

[Shoney]

Not necessarily. If you have a progressive and use steel dies (herecy IMHO), you can lube with spray lubes which require no cleaning.

 

[karnaaj]

Last question then. Is there a situation where you need to lube the inside of a necked rifle cartridge?

 

[Ol` Joe]

Thick neck walls will cause the expander ball to drag and "pull" the shoulder out some after the die has set it back. The ball also can drag the neck crooked to the axis of the cartridge and induce runout. Lubeing the inside of the necks will help prevent these problems.
I use Imperial wax and dab a bit on my fingers wipe them on the case as I handle them when sizeing and every few cases rub a finger tip over the mouth of a case. This gives enough inside neck lubrication and isn`t so much it needs removal. If useing a nylon neck lube brush-RCBS offer them- with other lubes and you feel the need to remove it a wipe with a Q-tip will do.