metricmonkeywrench
07-19-2018, 08:57 AM
In procuring hardware for my reloading set I was able to obtain at low cost 2 sets of older RCBS .357 dies with the steel sizing die. Sizing some brass resulted in gouged and scarred up brass that was even painful to hear going into and out of the dies. The dies were put aside and a “modern” carbide die was obtained and put to everyday use.
Not satisfied to leave well enough alone, based on searches here and elsewhere over time I have tried many of the DIY solutions on the better of the 2 dies and got it down to the point where the brass was left semi scratched and satin finished, so still not good enough. A chance search on cylinder hones sent me to the Brush Research Mfg website and their Flex-hone product line. Though primarily intended to be used for shotgun bores, revolver cylinders and rifle chambers it seemed just like the thing to use as an experiment to clean up the pair of crusty dies. Given the choice of 400 or 800 in pistol length I erred on the cautious side and got the 800 figuring the finer grit would have less chance of ruining the dies in a hurry. I sized a few sacrificial pieces of brass and took measurements to have a record for before and after measurements.
I chucked up the hone in my drill press, lubed everything down and went to work at 375rpm the lowest my press will go, feeding the die up and down the brush at an even stroke like honing an engine cylinder. Brake cleaner was used to remove the oil and alcohol and patches were used for a final cleaning. The dies were pre-lubed and a pair of pieces of brass were sized. After the first couple of try’s the scratches and scoring was reduced and measurements taken, but the cleanup was not progressing along fast enough. I consulted the instructions and upped my speed to 975 rpm, the manufacturers recommended speed is 1000-1200 rpm but my drill press jumps from the 975 to 1350 and I again erred on the slower side.
The results were much better and after a few more hone/clean stages and without any other “polishing” the dies now produce acceptable brass and cases size with much less effort. Having never used steel pistol dies I am not sure how “clean” the sizing is compared to carbide dies. The worst of the two dies could still go thru a bit more honing as some faint scratches are still visible on the brass under magnification and just because I could, I sized a pair of nickel plated cases with no indication of any issues. The final measurements did not show any real increase in the sized shells.
In hindsight I probably should have gotten the 400 as well to start off with, which more than likely would have done a better job of the “rough” clean up quicker leaving the 800 to final polish. I may get one of the 308 models to tune up my 30-30 and -06 dies.
223904223905
Not satisfied to leave well enough alone, based on searches here and elsewhere over time I have tried many of the DIY solutions on the better of the 2 dies and got it down to the point where the brass was left semi scratched and satin finished, so still not good enough. A chance search on cylinder hones sent me to the Brush Research Mfg website and their Flex-hone product line. Though primarily intended to be used for shotgun bores, revolver cylinders and rifle chambers it seemed just like the thing to use as an experiment to clean up the pair of crusty dies. Given the choice of 400 or 800 in pistol length I erred on the cautious side and got the 800 figuring the finer grit would have less chance of ruining the dies in a hurry. I sized a few sacrificial pieces of brass and took measurements to have a record for before and after measurements.
I chucked up the hone in my drill press, lubed everything down and went to work at 375rpm the lowest my press will go, feeding the die up and down the brush at an even stroke like honing an engine cylinder. Brake cleaner was used to remove the oil and alcohol and patches were used for a final cleaning. The dies were pre-lubed and a pair of pieces of brass were sized. After the first couple of try’s the scratches and scoring was reduced and measurements taken, but the cleanup was not progressing along fast enough. I consulted the instructions and upped my speed to 975 rpm, the manufacturers recommended speed is 1000-1200 rpm but my drill press jumps from the 975 to 1350 and I again erred on the slower side.
The results were much better and after a few more hone/clean stages and without any other “polishing” the dies now produce acceptable brass and cases size with much less effort. Having never used steel pistol dies I am not sure how “clean” the sizing is compared to carbide dies. The worst of the two dies could still go thru a bit more honing as some faint scratches are still visible on the brass under magnification and just because I could, I sized a pair of nickel plated cases with no indication of any issues. The final measurements did not show any real increase in the sized shells.
In hindsight I probably should have gotten the 400 as well to start off with, which more than likely would have done a better job of the “rough” clean up quicker leaving the 800 to final polish. I may get one of the 308 models to tune up my 30-30 and -06 dies.
223904223905