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Thread: Best way to lube 223 brass for sizing

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Best way to lube 223 brass for sizing

    I typically load no more than 50
    bottleneck rifle cases at a time. I have a project going for a friend and I that requires sizing and depriming a few thousand, mosty commercial, 223 casings. Typically is load up 50
    In a loading block, spritz with Dillon case lube, dry and away I'd go. Kinda tedious for this large amount and was looking for alternative methods.

  2. #2
    Boolit Bub
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    RCBS water soluable lube thin it get some sort of basket put brass in basket submerge brass shake out acess let dry and there you have it, I use to load them by the thousand also.

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
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    looking for alternative methods.
    Thin finger wipe with Bag Balm, lanolin based lubricant. 3-4 cases can be wiped without putting more lube on your finger
    Regards
    John

  4. #4
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    Get a medium size cardboard box, cut the walls off to leave about 3-4 inches tall. Line the bottom with 2 layers of paper towels. Pour in your brass (not too deep, be sure spray will get on all cases), spray with Dillon lube and swish back a forth a few times. This is how I do it...works for me.

  5. #5
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    Fingers with Hornady Unique case lube.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by jmortimer View Post
    Fingers with Hornady Unique case lube.
    This is what I do. I tried the RCBS case lube with the lube pad, and ended up pushing hydraulic dents into the case shoulders. I'm a bit ham-handed, I guess, but I couldn't get it right. With the Hornady Unique wax, it's too easy. Just dip a finger to get a tiny bit and it lasts several cases before I need another dab of wax on my finger.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master mtnman31's Avatar
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    I'd recommend the above mentioned process using the Dillon case lube spray. I've used the case lube spray for well over a decade. For smaller batches, I wipe the lube off with a rag and a splash of denatured alcohol. For larger batches, after sizing I wash the brass in the same solution I use in my wet tumbler; water, dish soap, and a sprinkle of Lemishine.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by jmortimer View Post
    Fingers with Hornady Unique case lube.
    Yes! or Imperial Sizing wax they are both excellent and a small tub is a lifetime supply.
    First reload: .22 Hornet. 1956.
    More at: http://reloadingtips.com/

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  9. #9
    Boolit Master DaveInFloweryBranchGA's Avatar
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    RCBS Lube die for that size cartridge. Works extremely well if you use the supplied lube and dropper the lube directly on the felt pad in the die. I sized and trimmed thousands of .223 cases this way. Leaves a thin coat of lube that is easily tumbled off when done. I like the dies well enough I got one for .223 and one for .308, then quit using all other methods mentioned above for those cartridges.

    Here's what I did in a progressive press:

    Station 1: Lee decap only die
    Station 2. RCBS lube die
    Station 4 Dillon size/trim die with Dillon 1200 trimmer on top

    Load lube onto/into lube die, soak reasonably well
    Run cases through, attach small shop vac to trimmer to vacuum brass trimmings up
    Allow cases to eject into progressive bin as normal

    Fast, clean and efficient. Brass are then ready to tumble to clean primer filth and the light coat of lube off. Once tumbled, brass area ready to load progressively or otherwise.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
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    All the pad and finger ideas work great, but for the volume you are doing, the spray on will be much faster and easier. My humble opinion is that the spray on lubes available today and not as good as they were ten years ago. I think what they can put out is impacted by the EPA Nazis. I cannot find a current product that works as well as a couple of the old ones, which are no longer available.

    What I have been using for the last six months is a home brew of Mobil 1 10-30 motor oil, mixed with 99% iso alcohol. I use Iso Heet and mix one part oil to four parts alcohol in a small spray bottle. I put the cases in a five quart ice cream bucket, shake the mixture bottle and give a spray, rotate the bucket a few times and repeat a couple more times. Let them sit long for five minutes so the it seeps over the entire area and let the alcohol evaporate. I am amazed at how little it takes and how well it works.

    Just my opinion, which when combined with five dollars will get you a cup of coffee in most cheap restaurants.

    Jackpine

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    For volume case lubing I treat a large terry cloth towel with case lube like RCBS case lube then work the lube through out the towel. Lay out the towel and dump a large pile of brass on it. Now fold the towel in such a way that the brass is trapped in it. Twist the ends closed and holding one end in each hand and pulling in opposite directions rock the towel back and fourth so that the brass inside the towel moves from end to end inside the towel cylinder. This works good for lubing a couple hundred at a time.
    This is not my original idea but I got it while watching a fella feeding three Camdex loading machines when I visited the Hunting Shack in Stevensville MT. They were at that time loading 0ne million per month each in 9mm and 223 for gov contracts.
    Anyway I stole the idea and that how I do it now.

  12. #12
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    Pure lanolin in my hands... Rub it around until they stink and are gooey..... Grab a handful.... roll them between my palms........ Drop in a clean container ...repeat until all are lubed. Easy & Cheap and puts a little of you in every case! Now, just size the little buggers
    " Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation: for it is better to be alone than in bad company. " George Washington

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master jmorris's Avatar
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    I use a cardboard box lid, throw enough cases to make a single layer with a little room, moving squirt x3 with dillon lube while giving a little shake. Let "flash" for 30 seconds or so and go to town.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master on Heavens Range
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    I use Hornady spray lube and leave it on the finished round
    Shoot'em If You Got'em...

  15. #15
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    Spray lube like the midway or Dillon product works best for me for large quantity of brass. I make my own by putting a golf ball sized amount of Lanolin in a jar that I have poured in a 12 oz. bottle of gas line antifreeze from the auto parts store, shake until dissolved and then pour in the pump bottle. You can also buy liquid lanolin which will mix quicker with the alcohol. You can make you own for about $4 per bottle or less.
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  16. #16
    Boolit Master


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    Hornady has some lube that far exceeds anything I have used. I use a RCBS lube pad. Product number is 50100 iirc.

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy nemesisenforcer's Avatar
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    Got some great ideas looking over this thread.

    Thanks guys.

  18. #18
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    When I had two fifty cal ammo cans full of rifle fired 5.56 brass, I ended up putting a couple of handfuls into a Tupperware container then giving them a light shot or two of WD-40. Let sit a minute or so, shake, let sit then start running them through a Lee RGB sizing die.

    I never stuck a case after starting to use the WD-40. I got intimately familiar with my stuck case remover, prior to that when I was using the purpose made spray lubes.

    After depriming and sizing using WD-40, I gave the cases a trip trough the vibratory tumbler to clean the oil off and out.

    Since I am not doing large volumes any more, I use Imperial Sizing Die Wax.

    Robert

  19. #19
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    i put a couple hundred cases in a shoe box and put a good sized dab of anhydrous lanolin or imperial sizing wax in the palm of my and and rub it around then stick my hands in the box and work it into the cases. Ive never had a stuck case doing it like that. Very few dimples from to much lube either.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by ShooterAZ View Post
    Get a medium size cardboard box, cut the walls off to leave about 3-4 inches tall. Line the bottom with 2 layers of paper towels. Pour in your brass (not too deep, be sure spray will get on all cases), spray with Dillon lube and swish back a forth a few times. This is how I do it...works for me.
    This is how I lube large batches also, but using homemade lube from red bottle HEET and liquid lanolin, mixed 12:1. I spray a couple pumps over the cases, shake, spray a couple more and shake. I then dump them in an Akro-bin and do another batch. Leave those sitting in the box to dry while you're processing the ones in the Akro-bin. From then on, dump the dry batch, mix a new one, process, repeat.
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