Is this a tungsten carbide die?

You can tell a carbide sizing die by looking into the opening of the die. A carbide die will have a ring of bright shiny metal pressed into the steel of the die. It will be about 1/8" thick.

If there isn't a carbide insert, then it's a steel die and will require lubrication to size brass.

Hope this helps.

Fred

did rcbs make carbide dies in 1975?

The 75 indicates the year of manufacture, which they don't put on the dies anymore.

Carbide dies have been around longer than a lot of the posters on this board. I bought my first one in 1969, which was a Lyman that I'm still trying to wear out. It gets an average of about 12,000 rounds of .38's through it a year, and it's still going strong. I still have the steel die it replaced around here somewhere...

Hope this helps.

Fred

pedantic point: tungsten carbide is a ceramic and not a metal.

Tungsten carbide (WC) is an inorganic chemical compound containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. (from Wikipedia).

Fred

I don't know about mandatory lubing for steel dies but it would probably be wise to keep the lube of your choice handy. The argument can go on for days with the members here on which lube is best, so I won't open that can of worms.
The pistol dies I have are all tungsten carbide, and no lube has ever touched a pistol case in my possession since I started loading.

"...Mandantory..." What?
RCBS carbide dies are usually stamped as such.
"...what about lubing..." Essential for steel. Not required for carbide.

Not only will they get stuck in a steel die without lube, they will also be deeply scratched.

You can either just lube your cases or spring for a carbide sizing die and not worry about the lube, though a touch of lube on about every 5th case will make sizing even easier in a carbide die.

Hope this helps.

Fred

Sediment said:

I don't know about mandatory lubing for steel dies but it would probably be wise to keep the lube of your choice handy.

Click to expand...

Lubing with steel dies is optional...so is removing the stuck case...unless you wish to use the die again.

Tungsten carbide

Tungsten carbide is not a ceramic. Tungsten carbide is a compound of tungsten and carbon. By atomic composition it is 1:1, but by weight it is about 94% tungsten, 6% carbon. Tungsten & carbon are combined at high temperature. The carbide is then ground to a fine powder, usually in the range of 1 to about 10 microns. To make carbide tools, the particles are mixed with a binder, usually cobalt (about 6-10%) and heated until the cobalt just melts. The attached photo shows a typical microstructure (1500X). The gray, angular particles are carbide, the white is cobalt.

RCBS carbide sizing dies have "CARBO" marked on the top of the die. Cases require no lubing when sized with dies marked "CARBO." If they don't have that marking they are not carbide and cases most definitely do require lubing prior to sizing in these dies. And yes, if you look inside the carbide dies you can easily see the carbide ring.

On straight walled ammo, lube is not mandatory. It is a good idea to lube the first one and then every 4th or 5th case. A stuck case will usually not scratch a die, just ruin the case, but it is a pain to unstick a case.

Lube is not "Mandatory" it's just a matter of how well you like to remove stuck cases and bad scratches.

As for lubing with Carbide Dies, don't forget to lube when using Dillon's .223/5.56 Carbide Die. It's an exception to the rule.

I don't lube any of my 9mm cases when putting them through my Dillon progressive. Used to lube .357 cases on my single stage. Less effort required. Rubbed some lube between thumb and forefinger of my left hand and then gave the case a slight rotation as I placed it in the shell holder. It was enough for 20-30 rounds.

I'm pretty sure I won't starve if I don't lube my cases.

Ok, dont lube your cases and find out. Even a large case in a carbide die may need lube like a nickel 45-70.

I have carbide sizing dies in .308 Winchester, 9x25 Dillon and 357 Sig. You can use the 9x25 and 357 Sig sizing dies without lube, but if you try to run a .308 case into a perfectly clean .308 Carbide die, it will make you say "heck and darn" quite a bit. Then you spend some time getting the case out of the die.

Theories are great, but application may be entirely different, which many an engineer has discovered over the centuries..........

Hope this helps.

Fred