I am so tired of lube in my seating die.

[MBTcustom]

OK so I cast up my purdy boolits, then I dip lube them with FWFL, wipe the GC on a paper towel, and run them through my push through sizer.
Then I dump them gently into old Sierra boxes to await future use.
I take them out and gently seat them.
The problem is (especially in cold weather) the boolits get deeper and deeper and deeper into the case (by a few thousandths of an inch) because lube film is building up on the seating punch.
If I remove the die from the press, then it is unlikely that it will go back to exactly the same depth (I never tighten my seating die) and cleaning out the lube from the inside of the die is a real PITA.
I would like to clean the tips of the boolits before seating them, but I have no good way to accomplish this without damaging the delicate lube rings.
This is really starting to tick me off, so I decided to ask you fine gentlemen how to handle this?
I have tried feathering a torch flame over the die every few minutes, but I don't like having heat and flames around powder and loaded/in process ammunition.
I would really like to find a clean way to lube the boolits so that they can be loaded without making a mess. (I have a Lyman 450, and that aint happening with rifle boolits)
Thoughts?

[MakeMineA10mm]

Well, first off, I'm confused and concerned about your comment that you "never tighten" the seating die. If you're not locking down the die or the seating stem with the supplied lock rings, that could be a (not the only) factor in your variable seating depth.

I've experienced the lube build-up problem, but mostly when I'm loading for volume. On my single-stage press, I only load moderate to small quantities, usually specialty loads or load development testing loads. I clean the seater every time I take the dies out, which is often. For my large volume loading (1000s of rounds at a time), I use my Dillon progressive, and I've switched to Dillon dies, since they are designed and built for easy cleaning and repeatable settings. Go to Dillon's site and search seating die, and you'll see the system. It works great.

[Wally]

I just loaded 500 WC's in the .357 Magnum cases. WC's tend to fill up the seater die in sort order as there is no space excess lube to go, yet I had no problem with them being seated deeper, as I went. I have had the problem with Lee Liquid alox when I've use heavy coatings of it. It sticks and accumulates on the seating stem. One has to either remove and clean off the stem every so many cycles or wipe the bullet tips off with solvent, to prevent the build up.

Goodsteel you can use a larger caliber seater die to seat the bullet, then remove the seater screw from the caliber you are using, to crimp seperately.

[MBTcustom]

The dies are left loose so that the projectiles can be started strait. This goes for sizing and seating. It allows the dies to "float" so that they will not fight the brass/boolits as they are manipulated, because the threads on our reloading presses are not exactly true to the ram. With jacketed bullets, this is absolutely consistent. I do snug down the punch lock nut a little bit though.
This seater die is the old style with the 1/4" threads that must be removed through the bottom of the die.
I do not crimp these in. There is no way to get enough crimp on soft lead to do any earthly good without damaging the boolit. I just use a special expanding die that produces the correct neck tension, and seat the boolits. The GC gets things started, and the rest of the boolit follows without any shaved lead. Afterwards, I wipe the extra lube off the boolits and the necks with rag that has a sniff of mineral spirits on it.

[cbrick]

Part of the reason I hate pan lubing is the mess. Maybe detest is a better word.

The best way to clean lube off the boolit nose is to not get any on it in the first place.

I have two Star lubrisizers, bought both of them used and I don't have invested in both combined what some pay for 1 used one. Look around, keep your eyes open cause every now and then there is a deal on them. Properly set up there will be no lube on the noses or even on the bases of bevel base boolits.

Life is good. :mrgreen:

Rick

[MBTcustom]

Well I knew there was a way I could throw money at it and make the problem go away!
Besides, you can never have too many presses right?
I would really rather find a hand operated process that will get me there before midnight so I don't turn into a punkin.
I was hoping for a cheaper solution. (both with money and space).

[Wally]

The dies are left loose so that the projectiles can be started strait. This goes for sizing and seating. It allows the dies to "float" so that they will not fight the brass/boolits as they are manipulated, because the threads on our reloading presses are not exactly true to the ram. With jacketed bullets, this is absolutely consistent. I do snug down the punch lock nut a little bit though.
This seater die is the old style with the 1/4" threads that must be removed through the bottom of the die.
I do not crimp these in. There is no way to get enough crimp on soft lead to do any earthly good without damaging the boolit. I just use a special expanding die that produces the correct neck tension, and seat the boolits. The GC gets things started, and the rest of the boolit follows without any shaved lead. Afterwards, I wipe the extra lube off the boolits and the necks with rag that has a sniff of mineral spirits on it.

If you use a Lee Lock Ring you can snug it...it will hold nicely, without slipping, but give a bit when seating/crimping due to it having an "O" ring...

[geargnasher]

I don't understand the potential of losing the adjustment if you take the seating die apart. I have a fist full of Sharpies scattered throughout my house, shop, gun room, and vehicles for (among the million uses and counting) making witness marks on things.

Using a luber/sizer, or finger-lubing and pushing through a sizer die, I just don't have that problem. After many years of never taking it apart, my .30-30 seater started to put a hydraulic crimp on the mouths, causing a slight bulge in the case just below the crimp. I unscrewed the cap and pulled out the seater plug to find the entire cap was packed solid with boolit lube. A faint bit gets scraped off during seating and pushed up past the seater plug every time, and after a couple thousand it filled up. The depth never changed, though.

Gear

[cbrick]

I know what he is saying, lube on a boolit nose does build up inside the seater die and it does change the seating depth. Fairly quickly too if there is much lube on the boolit. I don't think I've ever had it happen with bottle neck cases but straight wall handgun for sure.

It's fairly easy to take the die apart for cleaning and return to the previous setting. Make up a dummy round for each boolit that you use in that cartridge & crimp it at the correct OAL. When you clean the die just put the dummy round in the shell holder and adjust the die's seating depth to the dummy round OAL.

Rick

[Irascible]

What is FWFL?
I cured the headache of LEE Liquid on the nose by dipping bullets to just below the crimp groove. when dry they go through the LEE push through and are dipped again and allowed to dry thoroughly before seating. I dip in LLA thinned by 10% mineral spirits

[cbrick]

What is FWFL?

Felix World Famous Lube.

Rick

[ShooterAZ]

This is something that caused me to lose a MAJOR shooting event a few years back. The boolits were seating too deeply and caused FTF. My fault for not paying attention. I load on a Dillon 550B. Now after EVERY 200 rounds, I slide the toolhead off and clean out the seating die with a q-tip sprayed with Hornady dry lube & cleaner. It cleans it out real well and seems to inhibit lube from sticking in the die as much. This is just part of dealing with boolits I guess... your'e always going to have at least a little lube on the exposed part of the boolit. Not a big deal for me, just clean the die after every couple hundred rounds.

[theperfessor]

You got gun cleaning equipment and Hoppes? Maybe acetone would work better with liquid Alox. How about every fifty to a hundred rounds you run a swab wet with solvent up in the die, followed by a dry swab or a cotton patch. Think about how you would clean a hole w/o removable pieces involved.

This works for me, and I mostly use gummy soft Alox. I also have some long cotton Q-tip type swabs that are fluffier and longer than regular Q-tips. Don't remember where I got them but they are industrial and not drug store items. YMMV

[MBTcustom]

Yeah, I clean mine too. The problem is that after loading 50 rounds, the last one is seated .003-.005 deeper than the first one. Once I get that baby set, I don't want to move it until the job is done.
I'm thinking about going back to PP boolits. This whole lube thing is a PITA. At least paper is clean and shoots the same cold as it does hot.

[largom]

TIM, First I would get a lub/sizer, [easy for me to spend your money]. You can make your own sizer dies and top punches. I also second the Lee die nuts with the o-rings, I have installed these on all of my dies. I also second the use of long Q-tips. the ones I use have 6 in. wood ends but I don't remember where I got them. I would also suggest that you look at the Hornady seating die with the sliding sleeve. I use one die body and make my own custom sleeves and seating stems for each caliber and boolit. I also have the Hornady "Microjust Seating Stem" attachment installed on my die body which allows seating depth to be adjusted in .001 in. I told you it was easy for me to spend your money!

Larry

[MT Chambers]

You should prolly use your Lyman 450 for all your lubing/sizing needs or invest in a STAR, putting lube where it's not needed on the bullet causes this.

[462]

The seating stem and sliding sleeve, on Hornady's New Dimension seating dies, can be removed and cleaned without having to remove the seating depth adjuster stem.

[fishnbob]

Have you tried wiping the boolit nose on a rag with mineral spirits before you seat it? That's what I did when I tumble lubed and sized in a Lee push thru sizer and it kept my boolit seat depths consistent. It took time but I didn't have to clean the die until I was through seating.

[prs]

I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but my solution is to lube the boolits and store them in a cool dry place. An hour so before my loading session I place them in the deep freeze. Frozen lube in the lube grooves does not gob-up the die. On the other hand, tumble lube does not gum it up either after is well cured. Now, if your traditional lube technique gets lube slathered about on the exterion of the boolit, frozen or not, it will make a mess in your dies and require the ammo to be cleaned-up before use. Way too much trouble, be neat.

prs

[BulletFactory]

I always wondered why nobody makes a die that has a couple holes, or a notch in there for the wax to flow out of the die.

[fatelvis]

If I remove the die from the press, then it is unlikely that it will go back to exactly the same depth
That's why Dillon dies are SO nice! You can take the seating stem out and clean it, and put it back without disturbing the setting at all.

[Bent Ramrod]

I got a Vickerman seating die for the .30 caliber, which seems to be the worst offender, because I use Loverin designs a lot. The sliding gizmo on the Vickerman die is supposed to ensure alignment in seating, but the bonus for me is that the excess lube is squeezed out the opening on the spring loaded slider. It's easy to keep the lube scraped off the little window in the sliding piece so it doesn't build up.

The Lyman Precision Alignment dies don't have the opening, so you can't remove the buildup as it builds up, but the space up in the die seems to hold a fair amount of excess lube.

The only other way I've found is to take the die out and wipe it out with a twist of paper towel dampened with acetone or lighter fluid.

[mpmarty]

I used to have this problem with 45acp and H&G #68 boolits when I tumble lubed with just LLA. Since mixing (with heat) LLA & JPW and letting boolits cure over night the problem went away. The LLA/JPW dries as hard or harder than the waxy lube on 22lr cartridges and doesn't come off and stick in the seater plug.

[runfiverun]

if you use a dillon die you can just pull a clip and pop the seater out of the die,clean it and put it back.
i use star lubers like rick does, and have never had to pull and clean a seater die.
so i really don't have any advice i guess.

[dragonrider]

Tim you are a machinist you can correct this. A properly set die locked with a proper lock nut, that being a split nut with a small shcs to clamp it, can be removed and cleaned without losing adjustment. I make my split locknuts out of brass, the Lee nuts with the o-ring get tossed.

[Wolfer]

I had a lot of trouble with this when I used LLA on my 45 colt. I could watch the crimp grove and every so often adjust the sweater a little. When I got done loading I'd clean most of the lube out with a small screwdriver.
I pan lube my handgun boolits now and don't have as much trouble but still have a little.
I still use LLA on my rifles but put it on a lot thinner and let it dry longer than I used to.

What about drilling a couple holes in the die at the appropriate place?

[MakeMineA10mm]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...
https://www.dillonprecision.com/uimages/reloading_dies/die3_m.jpg

When you notice bullets starting to seat deeper, pull the cotter pin at the top of the die, releasing the seating stem, clean with solvent (I use mineral spirits), stick the stem bac in, pop in the cotter pin, and all seating/crimping settings remain as before. For the difference in price from regular dies to Dillon's, it's a great investment to cure aggravation.

[geargnasher]

The only time I've ever had this issue is with straight liquid Alox, that will gum up a die pretty fast, especially if you put it on too thick. I don't get lube on my boolit noses though, so like I said before the only issue I've had has been with lube getting squeezed or scraped out by the case mouth when seating/crimping. That tends to coat the inside of the die though, and not make it into the seater stem itself. What brand of die are you using?

Gear

[MakeMineA10mm]

Also, I suppose if you're loading 50-yard bullseye ammo, leaving your dies to "float" might help, but for 99% of pistol ammo, you're not going to see an accuracy difference vs. Locked-down dies. Especially if there's no security of the adjustment. I've watched my dies with no lock rings turn (screw themselves out of the press) sightly (maybe 1/3 of a turn) over the course of loading 75 rounds. When I load rifle ammo for concentricity, I use the Bonanza Co-Ax press, because the dies float in it, but, the design requires a lock ring be used, so the adjustment is fixed. If you need that accurate of pistol ammo, that could be another solution - a new press. :)

As far as using a lubri-sizer, that won't solve this problem 100% either. Sometimes lube migrates forward out of the lube groove and gums up the die anyway - even with no lube having originally been on the nose. I don't think there's an better solution than an occasional cleaning, and Dillon dies work best for that.

[MBTcustom]

First of all, I used a Lyman 450 lube sizer for years, and there is no way a discriminating booliteer would use that on precision rifle boolits. Its a nice idea and all, but the fact of the matter is that its not "whether or not" your boolits are getting sized off center, but how much they are being sized off center. The push through die is the only way to get a truly accurate, strait, concentric sizing of the boolits. This is why the star is so sweet as well.
Secondly, if you are not measuring each and every COAL to the .0005 you wouldn't ever see what I am having trouble with.
Thirdly, If you have ill-fitting punches that leave a ring around the boolit, you would not see what I am dealing with.
The problem is that my punches fit the boolit exactly, and have a pretty broad contact area on the ogive of the boolit so as to not leave any marks on the boolit as it is seated. This large contact area gets a small film of Felix stuck to it with each subsequent boolit that is pressed in place. By the end of fifty rounds we have a small problem.
Once I get a die set for the depth I am after, it does not leave the press until all the rounds are loaded. In theory, this is to produce absolutely consistent seating depths. On a typical 7/8-14 reloading die, every degree of rotation changes the depth by .0012 inches.
The threads are cut so loose that when you tighten the die down, it finds its home on one side or the other of the threads and ends up being cocked to one side ever so slightly. By not tightening it down, it is able to float into the path of least resistance and therefore will be more accurate.
I am very well equipped to deal with equipment problems, but I have a solid system set up that I do not want to change.
All I was really wanting to know is how to lube more cleanly so that the lube will not build up in the die.
I think I will find a way to heat the die, and keep it at a solid temperature while seating the boolits. This will keep the lube liquidus enough to flow out of the way of the seating punch.

[Cadillo]

Buy a set of Dillon dies. The seater and crimper pop right out for cleaning with the removal of a pin. No loss of adjustment. You need to tighten down your dies! Tighten the sizer with a case fully seated in the die. Same for the seater.




Well I knew there was a way I could throw money at it and make the problem go away!
Besides, you can never have too many presses right?
I would really rather find a hand operated process that will get me there before midnight so I don't turn into a punkin.
I was hoping for a cheaper solution. (both with money and space).

[runfiverun]

convert the 450 to a push through.

[MBTcustom]

convert the 450 to a push through.

Or, I could just keep using the push through dies that I made from scratch exactly concentric to the threads. Besides, how would this help get the lube off the tips of my boolits?


You need to tighten down your dies!
Like on a Lyman press? where they paint right over the rough machined top of the press?
It doesn't matter how tight I run my dies if the lube is building up in the seating punch!

Dang this thread has covered everything except how to change the oil in a 1937 Plymouth station wagon!

Thanks for the tips fellers. I have gotten a few good ideas through all of this.

[HangFireW8]

Goodsteel,

If you are measuring to the .0005" you shouldn't be measuring COAL. You should use a ring to measure the datum point on the ogive that corresponds to the engagement point of the ogive with the rifling.

This is much more important than boolit tip height.

HF

[BeeMan]

Look upstream in your process. How is the bullet lube on the nose getting there? Stop that and cleaning the die is no longer your problem statement.

[MBTcustom]

Look upstream in your process. How is the bullet lube on the nose getting there? Stop that and cleaning the die is no longer your problem statement.
Ahem, If you read the OP you will see that is exactly what I am trying to do!
The lube is getting on the tips of the boolits when they are being pushed through the sizing die. (as per the OP?)
so I have a bunch of purdy lubed boolits in a box. They have lube in the grooves, but also on the ogive and everywhere else. The lube on the ogive is transferring onto the seating punch and building up a residue that is effecting the seating depth.

Goodsteel,

If you are measuring to the .0005" you shouldn't be measuring COAL. You should use a ring to measure the datum point on the ogive that corresponds to the engagement point of the ogive with the rifling.

This is much more important than boolit tip height.

and your point is?
Actually, I consider the distance from the head of the cartridge to that datum point on the ogive to be the critical dimention, but since it takes a long time to type that every time, and since I am only loading one boolit style at a time, lets just say COAL to make it easier.

[375RUGER]

That's why Dillon dies are SO nice! You can take the seating stem out and clean it, and put it back without disturbing the setting at all.

And another nice thing about the dillon seater is it is vented and a soft lube like FWFL will not build up but be extruded.
I loaded a 100 wadcutters this weekend and the last round had the same OAL as the first. When I was done I had a 7" piece of "spaghetti" sticking out the top of the die. Pulled the heart of the die for inspection and put it back in, didn't even clean the tad bit of FWFL that was in there.

Goodsteel,
I don't know why you couldn't drill a vent hole thru the center of whatever die you are useing. It won't hurt anything and will likely help.

[KCSO]

I drilled a hole throught the seating stem and that cured the problem. The lube that would build up is now pushed out the top of the die. You MAY have to go to the local machine shop to... sorry. I do have a couple old sets of dies tha have vent holes drilled in the side of the seating die.

[cajun shooter]

I will say that when you have a problem that is happening in the lubing stage, then that is where you go to solve it, not at the seating stage.
There are several die makers who make a precision micrometer type of seating die also. I used them while making ammo for my sniper rifle on the swat team and loading for hunting ammo.
Several different angles of attack here, you just have to choose which one will best suit your style. We all have our own ways of going from A to B
A heat gun from Harbour Freight will work as one of the cheaper solutions. You will probably need to wipe any running lube though. Laying them on their side on a old towel and heating with gun may work out to be fairly fast.
Do you also put the finished round into a devise to check bullet run out?
The micrometer type of seating stem with it's floating seat stem seems to be what you need to use for your goal of zero run out along with no lube on nose.
I have been loading since 1968 and always use the four step style of seat and crimp in separate stages. I hope you find the way to make your loading fun as it should be and not the PITA you are now having. Take Care David

[MBTcustom]

I hope you find the way to make your loading fun as it should be and not the PITA you are now having.
Loading is fun, dealing with varying seating depth due to cold lanolin isn't.
I was simply hoping for a few opinions on how to clean the lube off the tips of the boolits before cramming them into the cases.
I'm actually thinking I need to find a way to heat the die so that the lube stays soft enough to flow out of the way as it is being seated.
I cannot afford to heat the shop to 70 degrees (where the lanolin in the FWFL will remain pliable) so I will just find a way to heat the die up instead.
Thanks.

[9.3X62AL]

If you have a wife or daughter(s) near at hand, they cast off blow-dryers with some regularity. These items may have fallen from grace in Herself's estimation, but they still put out warm air very well for the purposes of heating lube-sizers or melting lube from H&I dies.

[badgeredd]

Forgive me if I missed the suggestion before now. On the Lyman 450, one can presize his boolits with a push thru and then lube them in a Lyman with a die .001 larger than the pre-sized boolit and negate the off center sizing. I do this quite often in my Lyman lubrisizers with rifle boolits. The suggestion came from a friend and has worked wonderfully. On long boolits it eliminates the bent boolit syndrome. It also eliminates the lube-in-seater-die syndrome. Just a thought........

Edd

[Forrest r]

I've found that I only have this problem with the tumble lubed bullets also.

As the OP put it "I throw money @ the problem" to fix it by buying extra seating/crimp dies. I bought the ones that can be taken apart (Hornady/Lyman) without removing the die body from the reloading press & cleaned.

A added side bonus of having the extra seating/crimp dies is that I can set the different dies for specific bullets & not have to change them back & forth between the hbwc's, swc's & rn's & fp boolits that I reload.

As with all hard learned lessons & simple solutions I will continue to "throw money @ the problem" by continueing to buy used seating/crimp dies @ gunshows for $5 a pop. There always seems to be a vendor @ a gunshow with a bunch of loose reloading dies thrown in a box. I always look thru these boxes for 38, 44 & 45 seating/crimp dies.

Call it lazy but I also have different sets of dies for the 38spl's & 357 mags along with the 44spl's and 44mags. There's no adjusting/readjusting the dies to the different heights but being lazy comes @ a price. It takes extra expander dies (2 per caliber) & extra seating/crimp dies (2 per boolit).:bigsmyl2:

[Centaur 1]

Tim, I take the largest jewelers screwdriver that will fit and stick it up into the die and twirl it around. Blobs of lube stick to the screwdriver, just wipe it off and repeat a couple times. I still disassemble and clean the die properly when I'm done, but this will get you through the batch you're loading.

[Wally]

Tim, I take the largest jewelers screwdriver that will fit and stick it up into the die and twirl it around. Blobs of lube stick to the screwdriver, just wipe it off and repeat a couple times. I still disassemble and clean the die properly when I'm done, but this will get you through the batch you're loading.

Better to use a popsicle stick broken to fit...as it won't scratch...

[Centaur 1]

That'll work too. I usually use a short piece of 1/8" diameter brass rod that I hammered flat on the end. You could do the same with an old aluminum cleaning rod. You just need to clean out the center so it makes room for more lube.

[mdi]

OK, you dip them (no lube on nose of bullet), wipe base (still no lube on nose), store them (no lube on nose), then load , So, where does the lube get on the nose of the bullet to be transferred to the seating strm?

[MBTcustom]

I dip them (no lube on nose of bullet)
Wipe the base (still no lube on nose)
Run them through my push through sizer to wipe the lube flush to the lube grooves.
Store them (now there is lube on nose)
And then load.
At which point the lube that was transferred to the noses as they followed eachother through the sizing die starts building on the cold seating stem.

I suppose I could just hold the boolits with a pair of pliers while I wipe the noses with mineral spirits to clean them.:roll:
But I would rather not risk damaging the most important part of my boolits by grabbing them with a hard tool.

[BeeMan]

Ahem, If you read the OP you will see that is exactly what I am trying to do!
The lube is getting on the tips of the boolits when they are being pushed through the sizing die. (as per the OP?)

OK, I see I missed the question in the last sentence of your OP. I did not see it stated that lube was getting on the nose of the bullet from the push through sizer, though maybe it could be inferred. I got admittedly sidetracked by all the discussion on seater dies that allow cleaning...

Your post #48 suggests some possibilities. You're dip lubing, right? Is there lube above the first full diameter portion that is sized by the push through die? If so, this lube may be getting pushed ahead building up inside the sizer. Alternately, is the bullet being sized pushing on the base of the last bullet sized, again where excess lube may be going?

A picture of your bullets, with lube, before and after the push through might help sort this out. You may even try pushing partway in and then back out the bottom.

Edit to add: I agree that wiping is a pain. I've had similar struggles with excess lube, but not with your particular process of dip lubed FWFL and then push through sizing. I may try it though to see what is happening. FWIW, I will be using a homemade push through die as well. It will likely be next week before I get a chance to try though. Let us know if you get it solved first.

[geargnasher]

Tim, I've been "finger lubing" my rifle boolits and shoving them through a Lee sizer for over a year now testing various lube formulas. I've put several thousand downrange that way, and have yet to have the problem you're experiencing.

When your lubed boolits are cold, like 35-40 degrees or cooler, the lube will be hard in the grooves. You can hold it just fine by the body with one set of fingers and give the nose a twist in a solvent-dampened rag held by the opposing set. In the three seconds you handle the boolit, the lube in the grooves will not melt. Put a little film of hand lotion on your fingers to keep them from sticking to the lube if it starts to pull out of the grooves.

OR, machine a boolit holder out of some aluminum rod that will hold the body of the boolit but leave the nose exposed. Clean the noses when you size/lube them by holding in the tool and "pinching" the nose with a solventy rag.

OR, adjust your push through die or modify/make a new pushrod so that the boolit isn't pushed completely through with the pushrod, but by the next boolit coming up under it. At the top of each stroke, wipe the nose on the boolit before expelling it completely from the die with the next boolit in line. If your sizing die isn't relieved like Lee's are (having a short sizing constriction and then being larger above that point), the boolit will be held quite firmly by the bottom band or two so you can wipe the nose without damaging the lube in the grooves. I hope that made some sense, I'm thinking of my Perfesser-made H-die push-through adapter, and the boolits are held very tightly until the gas check clears and they "pop" smartly out of the top.

Gear

[deltaenterprizes]

I always wondered why nobody makes a die that has a couple holes, or a notch in there for the wax to flow out of the die.

Dillon makes the seating stem like that

[warf73]

I dip them (no lube on nose of bullet)
Wipe the base (still no lube on nose)
Run them through my push through sizer to wipe the lube flush to the lube grooves.
Store them (now there is lube on nose)
.

I have the same issue with my 480 boolits as I'm doing the same process. I'm going to try and pan lube (found small lid right height off of a cascade bucket) my next batch to see if I can keep from having the problem. It’s all the extra lube on the side of the boolits and just adds up in the sizing die.
Tim cleaning my die isn’t as big pain, my 480 set up is in a turret head (Lee Classic Cast Turret) so when my boolits start to go deeper I remove the head and clean. I'll keep you posted on if it works or not going to run a batch this weekend if all goes well.

Warf

[MBTcustom]

I had a brilliant idea! Ha ha! Light bulb! I'll post pictures after I get something made.

[HangFireW8]

and your point is?


Whether the head of the cartridge or the shoulder should be used to find the "COAL" depends on the design of the rifle and the sizing of the case. In some rimmed systems the front of the rim is the starting point.

Perhaps you know all that and can afford to be snide to those trying to help you. Sometimes answers are for the benefit of the newbies more than the OP.

However I have met reloaders who used COAL base to tip only for decades, struggled with irregular tip bullets/boolits (especially Sierra MK HP) and never figured all this out.


HF

[MBTcustom]

Sorry Hangfire, I wasn't trying to come across snide, and you are right about how to measure the seating depth. However, the problem is that the lube is pushing the boolits deeper into the cases as it gets built up on the seating punch, irregardless of how the cartridge is measured.
I think I have a solution though.

[MBTcustom]

OK here is the big idea I had.
I took a piece of 1/2" aluminum rod and reamed a .360 hole in the end, then relieved the back so that it has a "plier" effect.
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/goodsteel/IMG_3720.jpg
I was mearely looking to make a tool that would hold a cast lead boolit by the driving bands without damaging them as I twisted a rag wet with mineral spirits on the tip to clean it. However, I immediately started thinking that this tool could be used as a "wiper" of sorts to replace the second trip through the sizer.:Bright idea:
Turns out that its a little bit of a PITA to dip a boolit in the lube, and then try to wipe it flush to the lube grooves. However, it just so happened that my lead pot was plugged in right next door, and I found that if I dip the tips of the tool in the lead for a second, it kind of melts the lube as I twist the boolit and works exactly like I envisioned! Ha Ha! Victory!
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/goodsteel/IMG_3718.jpg
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/goodsteel/IMG_3719.jpg
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/goodsteel/IMG_3725.jpg
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/goodsteel/IMG_3722.jpg
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/goodsteel/IMG_3724.jpg
As an added bonus, if I want to clean up the lube on the noses of the boolits I have already made, this tool makes a dandy pair of pliers to do that. I can hold the boolits without damaging the lube, driving bands, or GCs.
So now I can make sure that I have lube in the lube grooves, and nowhere else, which is what I was after.
Thanks for all the replies! You fellers got my wheels turning again. Sometimes I get "writers block" in the shop if that makes any sense.

[HangFireW8]

Sorry Hangfire, I wasn't trying to come across snide, and you are right about how to measure the seating depth. However, the problem is that the lube is pushing the boolits deeper into the cases as it gets built up on the seating punch, irregardless of how the cartridge is measured.
I think I have a solution though.

No problem.

I envy your ability to go into your machine shop and create tools at will!

[gcsteve]

Very nice solution, if you have the means to make such a tool.

In order to make it easier to use the Lee push thru sizer, I have it mounted in my Lee single reloader press, and have mounted the press upside down, under my bench. Boolits are easily loaded into the die, and when pushed thru, drop right out into a cup. In this fashion, boolits don't "stack" in the die.

[geargnasher]

BRAVO!

Gear

[warf73]

Very nice Tim, while your in the shop make another tool but .480" and send to Warf :)