Clean & Lube

[Hickory]

Just curious, how often do you disassemble your reloading press and clean and lube it?

I use to do this once a year, but, realized that I have neglected it for almost 3 years.

[Pete44mag]

I do a complete clean and lube after about 5000 rounds, which is usually every 6 to 9 months.

[onelight]

It depends on the press ,on single stage the ones I have used the most a Lyman Spartan about 45 years old and orange crusher about 35 I may have totally torn down once each usually just worked the lever and spayed moving parts with a penetrating lube (like Pb blast or. Hornady one shot ) wiping off the dirty lube until it was coming out clean blow it off with air hose and then use a spray grease like white lithium on the pins and lube the ram wipe off all the excess this takes me 2 or 3 minutes I do this when it feels like it needs it. Same process on the Lee turret plus before each session wipe off the turret mating surfaces and lube with Hornady one shot or some other non greasy lube.
Progressives depending on model get more complete tear downs and lube more often they let you know when they need it and it depends a lot on case prep.
On all of them if I get any accumulation of spilt powder , brass particles or primer residue I clean with shop vac or blow off with air hose during or after the session.
Probably way more info than anyone needed or wanted :razz:

[kir_kenix]

Handheld vacuum cleaner is a god send!
Single stage or turret I just give them a wipe down/lube when they get really grimy.

I have 2 dillon 550's that get alot of use (1 small primer, 1 large). I wipe them down and lube them up really good every time I change the shellplate...maybe every 2-3,000 rounds. I try to completely tear down each machine at least yearly and do a full cleaning.

[dbosman]

I'm almost ashamed to admit I've never taken a press completely apart. I use a penetrating spray to thin what lube is still present and flush the pivots. Then I wipe everything with old rags to remove that. I finish up with a light oil for the pivot points and a very thin, light grease for the ram. I'll try to remember to revisit this in another twenty years. Or so. ;-)

[375supermag]

Hi...
I wipe down my RockChucker after every use...lightly grease the RAM and lightly oil the linkage as needed.
Hornady LnLs get pretty much the same treatment. Completely tore one LnL down last year after a bad water leak...that was before I bought the second one.
Haven't done any maintenance on the new RockChucker Supreme yet...it only has a few hundred rifle rounds loaded on it so far. It does get wiped down after each use.

Haven't mounted the used Dillon 550 yet....got a new bench to mount it on but too many projects going on to take the time to mount it right now. It will be completely gone over and any maintenance will be done once it is mounted on the bench.

[Land Owner]

At the start of a day's use, which could be months apart from the last day's use...but NOT disassembly. I just wipe it down.

[Walter Laich]

I do a complete tear-down of my Dillon SDB every 12-18 months.

try to do it in Fall/Winter as Houston summers are not fun in the garage

[Kevin Rohrer]

I oil the ram a couple times a year w/ Breakfree, and go over any bare steel w/ Breakfree to prevent rust.

[EDG]

I do not decap on my presses so there is no primer ash or abrasive debris to worry about.

I simply oil and wipe the bare ram surfaces about every 6 months for the last nearly 50 years.
There is no reason to tear down a press if you keep it clean.

[Bohica793]

You have to clean them?!?! Wow........

[joe leadslinger]

Isn't that a winter project? That's the only time my reloading slows down. So I clean and lube my 550 once a yr, single stage just wipe the ram down and a little oil every time I use it, I deprime on the single stage. Could be a bad case of OCD [smilie=s:&

[Demeter’s_Workshop]

I think I have taken the 9mm apart once to clean it and lube it due to dust / junk buildup but all other presses haven't been touched since purchase. When it starts to impede function clean it, otherwise not worth the time.

[Green Frog]

You have to clean them?!?! Wow........

^^^ THIS ^^^ Unless it starts to malfunction in some way, I figure I'll do more harm than good taking it apart and putting it back together. External lubing of moving shafts, etc is easy enough to accomplish but I have to admit I only do that when I think of it or when I start to feel some sign of malfunction.

Froggie

[tankgunner59]

I don't reload as many as a lot of you, but I clean and lube once a year. But I too have left mine go for a couple years without a problem, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[lightman]

About every other year for me. I do wipe the ram off and apply a light coat of oil after a heavy session of depriming brass. I have thought about buying a cheap press just for this but it looks like my Rockchucker will out last me!

[Drew P]

I don’t think they ever need disassembly unless they are abused in some way. That’s definitely ocd, which is okay, and if it pleases you to think that you’re helping the press or something then go for it, but no, just keeping lube on and rust off is all you’re really responsible for.

[gwpercle]

Disassemble ....Never !

Spray clean and spray lube...when the mood strikes me .
Once every year or three .
But my presses are all single stage and one Lyman A-A Turret...
not much to them .
Gary

[GONRA]

GONRA sez 30 wt. automotive oil is yer friend for most any reloading stuff. (Not bad for yer gun either.)
BUT - use Molykote "G" MoS2 paste on sliding rails, etc. for STAINLESS-ON-STAINLESS sliding surfaces.

[Petrol & Powder]

Off the top of my head I can't give an accurate schedule but I would say it depends a lot on use and condition of the press. The intervals are pretty long.

The Dillon 550 gets disassembled about every 1 1/2 -2 years +/- ? a little. The ram is cleaned and oiled with straight 30 weight oil. The pins for the linkage are cleaned and greased with wheel bearing grease. The center bolt for the shell plate get wheel bearing grease. Various small pivot points and sliding surfaces get light oil (Cleanzoil) and white lithium grease.

Single stage presses get straight 30W on the ram and wheel bearing grease on pins/pivots.

Presses don't operate at high speeds and high heat so the demands on the lubrication aren't very high.

My 550 has loaded 10's of thousands of rounds and is as tight today as the day I got it.

[smithnframe]

I lube as needed.......I only disassemble if I'm going to re-paint the press!