Done reloading? (cleaning and maintenance)

[Dahak]

Unfortunately, I am out of brass. No worries, I'll get more from the range next time I go, but that will likely be about 5 weeks from now. Then after tax season, it will be back to weekly sessions. Now seems like a good time for maintenance and cleaning. I use a Redding T-7 and a mix of dies (Lee, Hornady, and RCBS).

The press seems easy. Take a part, clean, dry, oil/grease on the rotating parts of the press, make sure everything without oil is really dry, then reassemble.

What about the dies? What's the best way to clean them? Any tricks or special concerns about taking them apart? I'm okay with doing the unnecessary, but I don't want to cross the line into messing things up.

 

[Sevens]

I'm okay with doing the unnecessary, but I don't want to cross the line into messing things up.

You said it!

 

[Racer X]

Something like spray brake cleaner then a wipe of CLP maybe?

 

[chief38]

I clean my Dies with Denatured Alcohol and use a wooden Chopstick to push a saturated patch around to remove debris, wax, Lead, etc.

 

[kraynky]

Just last week I took down my Dillon 550b and did a full disassembly. I cleaned out all of the lube holes, pins, ram & everything that would come apart. Soaked everything (that fit in a small coffee can) in Ed's Red for a day. Then re-lubed the pins and hinges with lithium grease and 30 wt. oil for the ram.

The dies are getting a cleaning in the same solution this week. Air hose everything dry and wipe them down with a clean rag.

That red solution sure turned brown after a while. And tooth brushes along with bore brushes left everything looking new again.

I wasn't having any problems, it had just run along trouble free for nearly 30 years. It was "Time" as they say. Everything is back together and spitting out a few .380's for a friend, then back to 38's & 357's.

I'll get to the Lee turret & single stage next. I'll probably load until I run out of brass too. Then empty a few. It was well worth the time

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Perhaps fortunately, my reloading days started before carbide dies became common. I learned very early in the game that dirty cases would damage good sizing dies, so I learned to clean fired cases before exposing my equipment to abuse.

I also learned to produce my own bullets. Salvaged lead (from ranges, wheel weights, print shops) had to be thoroughly cleaned, then fluxed and purified before good bullets could be cast. Proper sizing and lubrication also taught me about the need to keep my tools cleaned and properly adjusted. There is very little room for negligence without risking damage to costly equipment or expensive firearms.

Good working habits and attention to details. Good lessons for most of life's endeavors.

On the shelves above my workbench I see die sets with manufacturer dates as early as 1967, and the box for my Ohaus 10-10 scale says 1966. On the bench top is a Lachmiller powder scale purchased new in 1973, and my old RCBS Rock-Chucker press from 1972. Very few of my tools are less than 40 years old (some die sets, but little else), and everything continues to work as well now as it ever did.

Big box of Q-tips, bottle of isopropyl alcohol, couple of old T-shirts and shop towels, all have given me years of good service. Worst thing I've had to deal with in a long time was when I noticed a bit of surface rust on my dad's old Vernier caliper and had to polish it up with some 0000-grade steel wool. I avoid any kind of oil or penetrant around my reloading tools (too easy to contaminate primers or powders). If I were ever forced to put things into long term storage I might consider coating steel parts with a little Johnson's Paste Wax.

 

[Thomas15]

Very concerning to think that a handloader is out of brass.

 

[Kid Shileen]

I clean my dies like I clean my guns. Disassemble and clean like a gun. Same brushes and solvents. Finish with a very light coat of oil.

 

[stan v]

I noticed a bit of surface rust on my dad's old Vernier caliper and had to polish it up with some 0000-grade steel wool.

I was looking at dial calipers to get a better measurement for some bottle neck brass I'm working on and decided to go old school, didn't want anything from China. Picked up an older Swiss made Etalon 6" vernier caliper and it's the bomb. No battery, nothing to break, just accurate as can be. Nothing wrong with old tools if well maintained.

 

[GreyOwl]

Very concerning to think that a handloader is out of brass.

I didn't take it as he is actually out of brass but has all his available brass loaded.

 

[Engineer1911]

^^^^^^^^^^^^ If you aren't reloading, you are out of something. ^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Kinman]

I was talking to an old boy at the club one day about reloading. He asked me "Do you cast your own bullets?" At the time I did not and told him so. His reply was "If you ain't casting, sizing and lubing your own bullets you ain't really reloading son."
I know pleny of guys that have never cast their own bullets and reload nearly every round they fire, often into the thousands of bullets a year. I'd say they were reloaders, at the same time...Casting bullets has given myself a totally different outlook on reloading where I believe I understand the old boy, may not agree with him but understand...yes sir.

 

[Rocket3]

Do whatever you feel lead to do. For me I keep things clean and a few drops of lube where needed. I don't disassemble much.

 

[torizus]

I started using the Hornady sonic cleaner about 8 years ago. At fist I used it for just parts but now it probably cleans more dies than anything else.

About every 18 months, I spend about an hour cleaning my most used dies. Usually 8 to 10 sets.
I drop them in, 3mins, dry with compressed air, wipe down and good to go.
I like to clean most used brass before loading so dies really don't get that dirty. The process seems so simple and doesn't require any effort.

 

[Dahak]

I found this video: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMHwOumYMZM[/ame]
and then decided to follow along, but with more qtips.

I did one turret this evening. 30-06 and 223. What I learned:
1. There was a surprising amount of brass dots in the dies - not shavings, they were too small to earn that word, but specks.
2. I use too much lube for resizing. I roll my cleaned rifle brass on a Lyman pad with the Lyman case lube that came it it. I think the excess lube was when I first started with rifle brass as I've been using less and less over time. I'm sure there is a point of not enough but there is definitely a too much point even before damage to the brass occurs.
3. RCBS dies are better machined that my Lee dies. The interior of the Lee dies were smooth, the RCBS dies were polished. The RCBS dies were heavier and more than that, they just felt more solid. I don't think I would have made this realization if I did not handle the sets back to back since I do use a turret press so I am not taking dies out very often.
4. Did craftsman used to make things like dies by hand without computer controlled equipment? Wow.
5. I don't want to do this frequently. I am not looking forward to re-adjusting all of my dies, that's kind of the point of a turret press, but it was a good exercise. I have a better understand of how the tools work. Not sure that my ammo will be better because of that understanding, but I enjoyed seeing how the different dies work internally.

As for being out of brass, yep, guilty. In my defense, I am about out of storage space, and I have gotten comfortable enough with reloading to start getting picky about which brands of brass I'll load (especially in 9mm) so I culled a fair amount recently. Which means I need to pick up more brass at the range and that I need to decide whether to balance my loading with my shooting from this point forward, or if I want to find new storage places (I've got a couple of spots already picked out, so I think I know my answer) .

Casting .... I'm starting to watch those videos and read the threads. The RSO at the indoor range I go to has already tried to hook me by saying that he'll sell already collected range scrap to me for real cheap by the 5 gallon bucket. So with that source in place, it is so very tempting, but when I think about melting, fluxing, etc, I hear Clint Eastwood's voice in my head saying that "A man's got to know his limitations." The real answer is that once I get my kids graduated from high school so that I am not coaching this and that and helping with homework, I'll have a bit more time on my hands and it will either be casting or something worse, like golf.

Thanks for all the input and guidance!

 

[Thomas15]

I was talking to an old boy at the club one day about reloading. He asked me "Do you cast your own bullets?" At the time I did not and told him so. His reply was "If you ain't casting, sizing and lubing your own bullets you ain't really reloading son."
I know pleny of guys that have never cast their own bullets and reload nearly every round they fire, often into the thousands of bullets a year. I'd say they were reloaders, at the same time...Casting bullets has given myself a totally different outlook on reloading where I believe I understand the old boy, may not agree with him but understand...yes sir.

On the other hand, if you are gainfully employed, working full time and handload 10,000 bullets/year and actually shoot all of those loaded rounds during the year, plus you have some kind of life not associated with shooting, then you are not in all probability casting your own bullets.

 

[Thomas15]

............
Casting .... I'm starting to watch those videos and read the threads. The RSO at the indoor range I go to has already tried to hook me by saying that he'll sell already collected range scrap to me for real cheap by the 5 gallon bucket. So with that source in place, it is so very tempting, but when I think about melting, fluxing, etc, I hear Clint Eastwood's voice in my head saying that "A man's got to know his limitations." ...........

I have roughly 70,000 pcs of 9mm range brass that I have picked up over the years at no cost to me. So when I think about casting bullets the only considerations for me are:

1. a plentiful source of free or low cost lead

2. the cost of decent casting tackle

3. the time needed to do the work.

Item #1 is the reason I buy coated bullets.

 

[rockquarry]

Some general comments after reading the posts here...

I handload a variety of rifle and handgun cartridges and shoot considerably, usually a couple of times per week. Most of my equipment is old, presses, dies, etc. The press I load all of my handgun ammunition on is from the '60s. Periodic lubing of presses is beneficial. The only presses I have ever had that benefitted from disassembly and cleaning before lubing were a couple of Stars.

Cleaning dies - hurts nothing and may be worthwhile but my experience hasn't shown this to be a necessary procedure except in a few instances. One example: in loading cast bullets that are conventionally lubricated, the seating die will eventually have a lube buildup that can alter seating depth. The buildup needs to be removed occasionally. Same for a taper crimp die.

Sizer dies and expander dies: I seldom, if ever disassemble and clean them. If your brass never hits the ground after firing, or it has been been wiped down or tumbled prior to sizing, you won't scratch or damage a die. If you find time to disassemble and clean dies regularly, you have a lot more time than many.

Range brass... it's not really free if you look at the whole picture. Mixed brass that you don't know the history of will never shoot better than new or once-fired brass with the same headstamp and lot. Often, it will shoot as well, but don't count on that. With pistol ammo particularly, different case wall thicknesses at the neck can be felt when seating bullets. Not the best starting point for accuracy, but if you shoot handguns at very close distances like many do nowadays, you won't see the difference. I realize brass is hard to find now, so many have to use what they can get.

Cast bullets... with handguns, there is absolutely no advantage to a jacketed, plated, painted, or coated bullet over a cast bullet of the proper alloy that fits your gun and is lubed conventionally. None. But that takes some work and experimentation.

YouTube... some good stuff there but much of it is not and many of the self-anointed experts aren't. Still best to learn from paper manuals put together by true experts and the material has been edited for good content. I know, YouTube is quicker for the new schoolers who don't mind a substandard handloading education, most of whom find this out later if they become seriously interested in handloading rather just reloading.

 

[Thomas15]

What you are saying about range brass is absolutely true. I will save up range brass in a pile until I get about 10K pcs. Then I get rid of the steel and alum cases and anything that looks beat up. Then tumble in lots. As I finish tumbling I sort by caliber. 9mm gets sorted into 4 piles, Winchester is what I use for my 929s, Federal and Blazer for match ammo in my autoloaders and everything else used for plinking or practice. It takes me weeks to clean and sort out 10k pcs of brass by hand but once done I keep it sorted.

 

[Kinman]

One more item concerning casting your own bullets. I know plenty of guys including well known journalists that talk on about how well they shot with wheelweights. All is well and good but if you are truly going for a quality product, garbage in garbage out. I would recommend to anyone to get a good quality pure lead and add your own tin to get to the appropriate hardness, stay away from antimony, it is not good for your health. You can get a quality lead product at local recylclers with a little knowledge you can discern between whats good and what is not. Stay away from anything suspect, if its not in a sheet or an ingot from Bunker Hill I stay away. Look out for someone's fishing weights...get your alloys on-line from a number of outlets, weigh your ingredients and go from there.