Die rust in turret press

[26Charlie]

The Maine summer has been cool, rainy, & foggy this year. My shop is unheated and uninsulated. I had occasion to pull a die out of a turret press, which I normally have set up for .44 Mag and leave it alone. Rust on the threads! Cast iron turret, steel die. This caused me to check all the dies, and also the dies in a Lyman Truline Jr. press I bought at a gun show all set up for .41 Mag and I had never even taken the dies out to begin with. Same thing! WD40 time for sure. Evidently moisture or condensation can seep into the threads on the press turret. I don't leave dies in the single-stage presses, so the thought never occurred to me, but there you have it.

Looking at rust on those blued Truline r. dies caused me to open up the couple of boxes of Lyman 310 dies I have, and yes, rust patches on them also - so I am disassembling, cleaning and oiling dies.

[Dale53]

There are a number of lubes that work well in this situation. WD40 would not be one of my first choices. My favorite (an extremely sophisticated mix of superb oils combined to make Dexron II or III Automatic Transmission Fluid). It is a GREAT firearm lubricant and a GREAT rust preventative. It has one more enduring quality - it is inexpensive. It was developed as a synthetic sperm oil for aircraft instruments in WW II. For the youngsters, sperm oil had/has almost magical lubrication properties - non congealing, excellent rust preventative and such a good lubricant that is what was used in mechanical watches (never thickened, turned to gum or dried out). These same qualities are in Dexron II & III.

FWIW
Dale53

[Dale53]

There are a number of lubes that work well in this situation. WD40 would not be one of my first choices. My favorite (an extremely sophisticated mix of superb oils combined to make Dexron II or III Automatic Transmission Fluid). It is a GREAT firearm lubricant and a GREAT rust preventative. It has one more enduring quality - it is inexpensive. It was developed as a synthetic sperm oil for aircraft instruments in WW II. For the youngsters, sperm oil had/has almost magical lubrication properties - non congealing, excellent rust preventative and such a good lubricant that is what was used in mechanical watches (never thickened, turned to gum or dried out). These same qualities are in Dexron II & III.

I live in a climate controlled house and, normally, nothing rusts in my basement shop. However, I have had "100 year rains" put moisture in the basement and temporarily create problems. I gently wipe all of my dies with an oily rag with Dexron on it and pay particular attention to the threads (after all, the Lee Turrets and Dillon die body are aluminum and the dies are steel).

FWIW
Dale53

[felix]

And now Dexron VI. It is even thiner with the same viscosity as previous versions. Required for the new 6 speed trannies. Why the smaller tolerances in those trannies? Maybe because the engines using them produce twice the torque. Maybe Joe StarMetal knows. ... felix

[Bret4207]

On the advice of some old guy I knew years and years ago I bought a couple big jars of store brand vaseline, the cheapest stuff I could find. For things like steel dies in aluminum presses, coating threads, even waterproofing boots, it seems to work as good and most other run of the mill solutions. I'm still using the original 8 oz jars and they look like they'll last another decade. Real handy to have in the shop.

[26Charlie]

Well, never let it be said that I am one of those guys who is immune to instruction. I have one of those long-spouted oil cans with the handle and thumb squirter made of shiny steel, that came to me after a friend passed on a few years ago. I didn't know what to put in it - all the oils I use like 3-in-1 and Marvel Mystery Oil come in plastic bottles with little spouts, and it seemed foolish to put motor oil or something like that in it. After this discussion I filled it with Dexron III ATF oil. Its just the ticket!

[docone31]

The fly in the ointment with petroleum based products, oil floats on water.
I live in humidity special. When I use anything petroleum based, I get pitting rust very quickly. There is nothing to describe one day useing a Rolling Mill, and the next day, after protecting it from corrosion, pitting! 900$ down the tube, right there! The rollers are high speed steel, manufactured to strict tolerances. You cannot turn them down either. They are a done deal.
Same with my Gravers.
I use Wax.
In some places, I have gotten away with oils. Transmission fluid is good. Here, faget about it!
Moisture gets under the oil. I wax all my blued rifles, browned rifles, pistols. No rust. I oil em after cleaning, then wax. Silicone spray is another good one down here. Spray it, forget about it. WD40 soaks up moisture here.

[StarMetal]

And now Dexron VI. It is even thiner with the same viscosity as previous versions. Required for the new 6 speed trannies. Why the smaller tolerances in those trannies? Maybe because the engines using them produce twice the torque. Maybe Joe StarMetal knows. ... felix


They had to develope a fluid with a more consistent viscosity profile comparred to the older Dexron, that would perform more consistently in extreme conditions and would degrade less over time. They did this by raising requirements for oxidative and shear stability, foam performance amd protection against pitting. Hey,maybe Docone can use this stuff. At any rate Gm wanted a more consistent shift so customers wouldn't complain, after a six speed auto tranny shifts a lot. By the way Felix I'm still driving stick shifts.

Joe

[hobbylink1]

I use a wax lube that is used for case sizing and just light coat the die. I had got the idea off a wood working site. But I am in a area that is not as moist. It works for me.