Neck lubing

[weasel 21]

What do you use to lube the inside of the neck when sizing bottleneck cartridges?

[ultramag]

Either a neck brush rolled across my lube pad every once in a while and run into the neck or just run a finger across the neck if I'm using the Imperial Sizing Die Wax. I usually only lube every other neck or so depending on how the expander feels when passed through the neck.

[P.K.]

Lee Resizing lube on a q-tip. PN#90006 It's wax based and won't foul powder. A little goes a long way and cleanup is a wipe with a cloth. I rub a squirt into my lube pad and then roll a q-tip accross it. Usually good for 25 cases or so before another pass over the pad.

[cephas53]

Have a few different size brass brushes from cleaning kits. Find one that fits the neck and roll across the pad to lube every fifth neck or so.

[44man]

Either Young Country or Unique case lube with a "Q" tip. Then I just wash the brass with dish soap and hot water.

[winelover]

Powdered Mica = RCBS dry case neck lube.

Winelover

[pt4u2nv]

Dip cases in Lyman mica and then run neck brush in case. Only have to dip about every 6 cases or so since the mica stays on brush . Brush also gets crude off of the inside neck and not on expander ball.

[blackthorn]

I use powdered Graphite. I have a small round tin that I bought years ago. I just dip every fith or sixth case mouth into the powder, lift, shake and size.

[GabbyM]

I use powdered Graphite also. Dip and brush depending upon the need to clean inside neck.
Have the little jar from Sinclair but if I run out I’ve a couple open pint bottles of black graphite planter seed box lube from John Deer. For our JD 7700 planter. I think it's about $10 for a bottle.
Also have the little box from Forster that screws down to the bench. Holds neck brushes and has a tray for mica or graphite to dip then brush. Nice little plastic unit with a storage cover. You can screw it to a piece of wood then clamp it to your bench if you don't want to drill holes.

On nasty mil surp or pickup brass I’ve chucked a bronze brush into a drill to spin out the corrosion. Wrapping 0000 steel wool around the brush as it wears out quickly. Messy business. Tumble the brass clean after.

[runfiverun]

bore mop and my home made case lube.
it works on the inside as well as the outside.

[ukrifleman]

Lee Resizing lube on a q-tip. PN#90006 It's wax based and won't foul powder. A little goes a long way and cleanup is a wipe with a cloth. I rub a squirt into my lube pad and then roll a q-tip accross it. Usually good for 25 cases or so before another pass over the pad.
+1, Lee resizing lube is non greasy and is great for F/L resizing.
ukrifleman

[calgunner]

For neck sizing I use mica. For full length sizing I use a spray mixture of alcohol and lanolin.

[Von Gruff]

On neck size only cases a quick dip in powdered graphite but on FLS cases I dont use the expander ball and expand in a seperete operation with the neck turning hardened expanding mandrel that requires no lube and keeps the neck straighter by expanding on the down stroke rather than the dragged up stroke.

[geargnasher]

I use one corner of my case lube pad, just twist the mouth on the pad and it comes away with a faint trace of lube about 1/16" up on inside and outside of the neck, just enough to lube the expander ball and neck of the die without making dents in the shoulder or leaving too much for powder to stick to on the inside of the neck. Homemade case lube is made from lanolin, castor oil, and neatsfoot oil.

Gear

[Bullwolf]

I use a RCBS neck brush bent at a 90 degree angle, or a Q-tip that's been dipped in powdered graphite. I gently tap off any extra graphite powder when I overdo it. I also polish any neck expander balls that I am going to use, seems to reduce friction.

Don't get powdered graphite on any clothing that you like. If you do spill it (especially on fabric) try to gently dust it off, don't rub it in.

While over spilled graphite will make quite a mess, it also works reasonably well as a dry lube for this application.


- Bullwolf

[Moonie]

I have an old medicine prescription bottle with #9 shot and powdered graphite, it applies just the right amount of graphite to the neck, inside and out, put the top on and give it a little shake every now and then to distribute the graphite. Occasionally add more graphite.

Read about doing that on this site somewhere.

[fcvan]

I have a buddy who swore by spray on lube so I tried it. I was full length sizing a bunch of .257 Roberts for a buddy and didn't want to mess with oily lube. His mix was anhydrous lanolin in rubbing alcohol. So, I bought the alcohol, lanolin, and a spray bottle.

He has liquid stuff but all I could find was a cream of sorts. I put the lanolin in the bottle with tha alcohol and heated it up in hot water. After warmed I shook it well (I threw a cast boolit in as I couldn't find a marble) and sprayed. The alcohol dried quickly and the brass sized nicely. I did wipe my fingertip over the case mouth to lube the inside as I used to do with oil. That helped with expanding the neck. There was no leftover oil and the thin film of lanolin did not seem to effect how the cases behaved in the chamber.

Later, I had about three 5 gallon buckets full of .223 to process and didn't want to spray all of those cases. So, I decamped and washed the brass as usual. Then I put the brass in a container and added some olive oil, shaking until all was evenly coated. After sizing, the brass got washed with hot soapy water, then a soap/lemon juice rinse, strained and thentossed into the vibratory case cleaner still wet. I also use a little Turtle Zip Wash (cap full or so) in the media. The moisture evaporates and the brass shines like new in 1/4th the time is used to take. The zip wash leaves a thin film too which keeps the brass from tarnishing so much.

I am not at the 'neck size only stage' yet but I will be getting there. I've been working up some cast loads for a 30-06 and once all of the brass has been fired in this rifles chamber I will neck size. I like the idea of the graphite and bird shot as I have plenty of both. Always good tips on this site.