What are these lines in brass after sizing?

[Soundguy]

Another thing that some people do is they will have a Lube pad by their reloading bench and just touch their fingertips to it every now and then and just the small amount that your fingertips transfer to the cases you put it in and out makes it much easier generates less Heat also some people may only touch their fingertips with Lube on them to every 5th case Etc this works fine too would have noticed running pistol brass they run fine without Lube but they do generate a little bit of heat once you add a little bit of lube even every 5th case or just on the fingertips they run just the same as looped brass as long as you're using a carbide or titanium nitride die so just find out whatever works for you there's no wrong way really.

[Mint]

By the way, I’ve not tried using flour for dust in sizing, since I have a tumbler. But i expect it to work the same and suggested it to you off the cuff. I don’t have any new or squeaky clean cases to size to experiment on. Just a bit of fine dust is all it takes to prevent that galling.

Post script
I went just now and took several cases. Cleaned them as well as I could with lighter fuel. Cleaned my die. Then dusted them with flour and sized them. They felt just like it does when when sizing cases that have tumbler dust on them.

Amazing! Thank you for that data point

[uscra112]

If there was actually brass bonded to that carbide die, the cases that left it there should have been lubed.

[Bazoo]

If there was actually brass bonded to that carbide die, the cases that left it there should have been lubed.

No sir, not exactly so. Something needs done, but lube is not the only, nor the best answer. A fine dust is not lube, but is sufficient to keep new cases from galling the die. Lube is a grease or oil of some sort that should be removed. The dust can be ignored once it serves its purpose of keeping the brass from galling.

[Mint]

No sir, not exactly so. Something needs done, but lube is not the only, nor the best answer. A fine dust is not lube, but is sufficient to keep new cases from galling the die. Lube is a grease or oil of some sort that should be removed. The dust can be ignored once it serves its purpose of keeping the brass from galling.

I'm not trying to be overly detailed, but how much flour did you use out of curiosity. If I have 500 brass and a big plastic bag or bucket...... like 1 teaspoon of flour?

[uscra112]

Yes, exactly so. To get transfer of brass to the die required intimate metal-to-metal contact. Lube would have prevented that.

Organic dust IS a lubricant, if it's performing that function.

[Mint]

Yes, exactly so. To get transfer of brass to the die required intimate metal-to-metal contact. Lube would have prevented that.

you gon n done it now

[Rockzilla]

Old steel pistol dies (pre-carbide) were known for this.
Galling.. brass specks, dirt in the dies, you will notice it a little more on nickel cases
All Dies when you get them clean them good, denatured Alcohol, Acetone, a good
clean Cleaning patch, remove the decapping stem, run the soaked patch through
the dies, several times, if you want you can put a very little lube on a case and size
What generally happens when the dies are polished internally, the cleaning process from
the manufacture may not of cleaned them. Also dies for bottleneck cases have a "vent
hole" that sometimes gets plugged, this is where a paper clip comes in handy. So clean
the dies, when you get them and clean them after your done. Saves a lot of #$$$@@$%
in the long run.

-Rock

[uscra112]

However superannuated I may be, my engineering career stays with me.

BTW in some contexts, even sand can be a lubricant.

[Soundguy]

However superannuated I may be, my engineering career stays with me.

BTW in some contexts, even sand can be a lubricant.

Correct... To state the lube is only grease or oil is incorrect.
Anyone have case prep centers that ship with talc as a neck lube?.. My Lyman case prep center supplied powdered talc as a neck lube.

[Bazoo]

That makes sense. I was forgetting about graphite too.

For 500 cases, I’d do 1/8 cup in a baggie and shake it up well. For the 4 cases I did in my test, I dipped my fingers in flour and wipes the outside of the case. When cases come out of a tumbler, they have enough you can blow it off. I generally roll them on a rag before sizing and that leaves enough.

[375RUGER]

Same thing happened to me back in the 90's when I bought my first set of carbide dies. First time I used them, I bought into the sales pitch that "no lube is needed". Without the lube, the inside edge of the carbide ring chipped off causing the same striations like the OP.
It only takes an extremely small amount of lube on the cases to prevent this. I put just enough case sizing lube (Imperial or Sharp Shoot R) to leave a thin film on my fingers and palms. I work my hands/fingers through a few hundred cleaned cases, just enough to affect about 30-50%. That's enough lube for a carbide die and not so much that you have to clean the cases afterwards.

[Soundguy]

Exactly. Just a little Lube on your hands and fingers is enough to transfer to the Brass to make carbide dies fast and pain free without overheating and overworking anything

[243winxb]

Tumbling for a long time in liquid can peen the case mouth. Makes like a burr. Knocked off when sizing. Marks the brass.

[Winger Ed.]

Anyone have case prep centers that ship with talc as a neck lube?..

Not talc-- But before the price went crazy, powdered mica was pretty common for a neck lube.
I used it for the necks on all my .50BMG cases back in the old days.

[kevin c]

My experience with galling: https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...hlight=Lacquer. I’d made the mistake of trying to skip case lubing.

My Dillon die was galled, not dirty; I could see lines of metal that could also be felt by running a metal edge around the interior of the carbide ring, and that solvent cleaning did not affect. All the cases were identically scratched, with multiple lines looking just like the OP’s example.

It took diamond paste on paper over a dowel, followed by more on felt, very cautiously applied, to get rid of it. And I’ve gone back to (light) case lubing, which, in any case, makes reloading easier and smoother on my progressive.