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Posted: 12/30/2012 1:13:09 PM EDT
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Hi all,
I have a Hornady LnL AP reloading press. I got a set of Hornady Series 1 .223 Remington dies. I set my press up with the full length sizing die in station 1, the case activated powder drop in station 2 and stations 3 and 4 empty so I can look into each shell for powder and bullet seating die in station 5. Everything is adjusted properly and the reloading goes fine. My question pertains to lube on the inside of the neck and powder sticking to it. The first batch I reloaded I lubed, sized and decapped. I then had to remove the primer pocket crimp with a pocket reamer. So, while i had them out and performing that, i used a q-tip to dry wipe off as much lube as possible prior to putting them back in the press to complete the reload. The powder dropped into the cases fine. But now that I have reamed the primer pockets, that step doesnt need to be performed any more. i would like to be able to load the spent cases then run them all the way through the press in progressive steps as its designed. But I notice as they move through stations 3 and 4 that there is powder sticking to the lube in the neck prior to me seating the bullet. I am using Hornady Case Sizing Lube. I know that as I seat the bullet into the case it will push this powder down. My question is, does this affect or contaminate the powder? I assume that this effects everybody who reloads? What are people here doing? Thanks! |
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I do all the case prep first.
-Polish the brass in the tumbler with corncob. -Deprime in a Lee Universal die. -Hit the primer pockets and sqaging as needed. -Spray with a light coating of the Dillon case lube. Let is set for 5 minutes as directed. -Size the casings in the single stage press. -Trim to minimum size and debur. -Run them through the tumbler again to remove any lube and rough edges from trimming. Package the brass into clear plastic boxes (shoe boxes from Target). This gives me brass that is neatly processed and ready to load when needed. I can skip the deprime/size step when loading as the casings are all ready to go. |
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All bottleneck cases need to be processed in two passes. I use a LNLAP for .223. First pass: 1. I dump the brass in the tumbler for 20 minutes or so, to clean off the range dirt. 2. Lube the cases using Lanolin/Isopropyl Alcohol in a 1/12 mixture. Let sit for a minute to let the Isohol evaporate. 3. Run through the LNLAP press set up as follows: 4. Station 1 has Universal Decapper die. 5. Station 3 has Dillon 1200 sizer/trimmer. This is adjusted to FL size and trim to length every case. 6. Station 5 has Redding FL size die, backed out to not size, only expand using carbide expander. 7. Back into the tumber to remove the case lube. Then I inspect the cases, deburr flash holes, deburr case mouths, if needed. I'll often stop here and store the prepped cases until ready to load. Second pass: 1. Run through the LNLAP press set up as follows: 2. Station 1 has a Universal Decapping die, just to make sure the flash hole is clear. 3. Station 2 has my powder measure. 4. Station 3 has the Powder Cop die. 5. Station 4 has the bullet seating die. No crimp here. 6. Station 5 has the Lee FCD, if used. No crimp unless the bullet has a canelure, ie., FMJs. 7. Shoot. 8. Repeat. |
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Thanks for the input guys. My initial feeling was that I would have to remove the lube somehow. I get the feeling here that the consensus is that after lubing, decapping and sizing, most people here tumble again immedately.
I read the tutorial several times and I notice in it that it states that you can tumble immediately after the decapping and sizing step to remove lube or wait until after the entire cartridge is complete, then tumble to remove lube at that point. The way I read that is that the power was added prior to de-lubing the interior of the neck. The tutorial states "Step 6 - Removing tumbling media from the primer pocket This step is required if you've elected to tumble the lube off your sized cases. You can avoid having to remove media from tha primer pocket though, and that's to not tumble your cases to remove lube until you've actually finished reloading them. That works for some lubes, such as the Dillon Case Lubricant, but it's best to remove the other lubes such as the RCBS lube because it's more "sticky" than the Dillon lube." I'll probably start tumbling after sizing and decapping. Even though it means it takes much longer and having to run them through the loader two separate times which kind of defeats the purpose of having a multi-station progressive loader. |
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Quoted: Thanks for the input guys. My initial feeling was that I would have to remove the lube somehow. I get the feeling here that the consensus is that after lubing, decapping and sizing, most people here tumble again immedately. I read the tutorial several times and I notice in it that it states that you can tumble immediately after the decapping and sizing step to remove lube or wait until after the entire cartridge is complete, then tumble to remove lube at that point. The way I read that is that the power was added prior to de-lubing the interior of the neck. The tutorial states "Step 6 - Removing tumbling media from the primer pocket This step is required if you've elected to tumble the lube off your sized cases. You can avoid having to remove media from tha primer pocket though, and that's to not tumble your cases to remove lube until you've actually finished reloading them. That works for some lubes, such as the Dillon Case Lubricant, but it's best to remove the other lubes such as the RCBS lube because it's more "sticky" than the Dillon lube." I'll probably start tumbling after sizing and decapping. Even though it means it takes much longer and having to run them through the loader two separate times which kind of defeats the purpose of having a multi-station progressive loader. That's just the way it works for bottleneck rounds. Prep cases first, then load in progressive. Straight wall pistol rounds and carbide dies run through press in one pass.
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Quoted: I read the tutorial several times and I notice in it that it states that you can tumble immediately after the decapping and sizing step to remove lube or wait until after the entire cartridge is complete, then tumble to remove lube at that point. The way I read that is that the power was added prior to de-lubing the interior of the neck. The tutorial states "Step 6 - Removing tumbling media from the primer pocket This step is required if you've elected to tumble the lube off your sized cases. You can avoid having to remove media from tha primer pocket though, and that's to not tumble your cases to remove lube until you've actually finished reloading them. That works for some lubes, such as the Dillon Case Lubricant, but it's best to remove the other lubes such as the RCBS lube because it's more "sticky" than the Dillon lube." I'll probably start tumbling after sizing and decapping. Even though it means it takes much longer and having to run them through the loader two separate times which kind of defeats the purpose of having a multi-station progressive loader. When I started out reloading I used the RCBS lube and pad method. If using spray lube like Dillon or equivalent you can tumble the lube immediately after sizing or when the round is completely loaded. Dillon lube dries up nicely and any lube inside the neck won't cause a problem with powder sticking and bridging. RCBS lube, the type you use for the lube pad, doesn't dry up nicely, stays sticky forever. Ever see a dried out lube pad? If you have excess lube inside the case neck and try to drop powder, the powder may bridge, causing a mess. Since I don't use RCBS lube anymore I didn't mention how to remove it. Tumbling works to remove RCBS lube from the outside of the case, but I would still run a Q-tip through all the case mouths to make sure all the RCBS lube is removed before dropping powder. Loading rifle through a progressive is almost always a 2 step process. Most people trim every time after sizing. This is what ends the first pass. Then the cases are trimmed and pass 2 completes the reloading process. Even if your cases don't need to be trimmed (and how would know unless you measured each case immediately after sizing anyway unless you're using a RCBS X die), you might have crimped primer pockets to deal with. In practice you can remove each case right after it's sized, decrimp the primer pocket, then put it back on the shell plate to complete the reloading cycle. This slows things up since there's all that extra hand movement. Better to just do all the steps you can in bulk, then prep the cases in bulk, then finish loading them in bulk |
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