Cleaning dies

[Reloadron]

Machine wash in Woolite and tumble dry. Seriously? I disassemble the die completely and run a .40 caliber brush wrapped in 0000 steel wool using Hoppes #9, then a clean cloth. If I want to polish them I use Flitz.

Ron

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

I just took the dies apart. It was super easy. I used wd40 and clp. I took qtips, barrel patches and the factory Glock brush.

The .38 special die had a lead ring fall off. Maybe because the thousands of semiwad cutters I have loaded. I did notice something peculiar to me. The 9mm die had a hollow seater plug, and the .38 special die had a solid seater plug.

I made a much larger deal out of this than I needed to. I was concerned about oil ultimately making my guns jam. I got most of the little I used wiped out pretty good.

Thanks again.

 

[Varminterror]

Looking for confirmation on throwing my .308, .357, 40 and 9 seating dies in my tumbler with walnut media.

Take them apart before tumbling, then yes. If you have a dynamic seater, you'll get media bound up in the dies and will have to take them apart afterwards anyway.

 

[orpington]

It seems like several references to problematic dies involve those produced by Lee. Not at all surprising. Much better off investing in dies produced by RCBS, Hornady, or Lyman.

 

[FROGO207]

As many choices as posters it seems.
I take them apart use carb cleaner and an oversized bore brush to get the big stuff off. Then I put the whole mess into the tumbler with corncob and Nu-Finish and run it til clean. Blow off with compressed air and reassemble. Only do one caliber of dies at a time to keep parts from getting mixed up or you will be playing with your calipers a bunch. This keeps corrosion off my dies for more than a year at least.

 

[Cannibul]

It seems like several references to problematic dies involve those produced by Lee. Not at all surprising. Much better off investing in dies produced by RCBS, Hornady, or Lyman.

Nothing wrong with Lee dies.

But due to price point they are more likely to be purchased by those just starting out or those who know the value of a dollar.

 

[fguffey]

I use a towel on a dowel. If want to know when the die is clean I use a white towel. I have little interest in starting over by cleaning the die to bare metal.

F. Guffey

 

[Zendude]

It seems like several references to problematic dies involve those produced by Lee. Not at all surprising. Much better off investing in dies produced by RCBS, Hornady, or Lyman.

Will other brand dies work on a Lee 1000 press? If so, do I back out the powder through die and the bullet seating die the same number of turns as the Lee dies when setting them up?

 

[kingmt]

I tear them completely apart to clean. Remove the decapping pin/expander and the retaining collet (Lee dies) and then clean them like a barrel, with a brush and citrus solvent that I get from work. Run a mop through to dry it all out. For the seaters and flare dies I do the same. Doing it this way allows me to completely see the inside of the dies and inspect internal parts like decapping pins/expanders. Also gives me an opportunity to polish some of the expanders. I've had a couple that were a little rough.

Once done, I coat them with either silicone or wax and reassemble. They could probably easily be cleaned by just spraying carb cleaner and blowing them off, but they really don't get cleaned often so I don't mind spending a little while doing it the more involved way.

Be aware that acid changes carbon steel. I once cleaned a expensive set of carbon steel taps & dies in vinger that broke like chalk afterwards.

Take 'em apart then soak the pieces in lacquer thinner, brush them out with big bore brushes, then rinse in that thinner again.

Blow 'em or wipe 'em dry.

Use Flitz on a rag wrapped on a bore brush in an electric drill, then run it in and out of your sizing die chambers. That'll smooth out the micro inch rough surface.

Clean them again the same way, they dry 'em.

Put a thin coat of rust preventing stuff on their outside, thin coat of sizing lube on the inside.

They'll now make sizing cases easier plus brighter and shinier than before.[/Quote]

Usually a rough surface is less likely to cause a interference fit. I'd hope this textured surface would help to keep from sticking a case. However I can see why it would make prettier brass.

It seems like several references to problematic dies involve those produced by Lee. Not at all surprising. Much better off investing in dies produced by RCBS, Hornady, or Lyman.

Really? Comments like this really discredit the people making them. It spreads disinformation. I personally have owned RCBS & Lee dies. It isn't that I think the RCBS are junk but I considered the brass size to much so I replace them all with Lee dies. I'm very happy with my Lee tools.

 

[SlowFuse]

Disassemble and throw them in the tumbler.

 

[hdwhit]

Didn't mean to post this.

Why?

I've found it quite interesting to see how others clean their dies. Other than disassembling my dies and swabbing out any excess/leftover lubricant, I haven't cleaned a die with brushes or solvent since I started reloading in 1977.

 

[orpington]

.
Really? Comments like this really discredit the people making them. It spreads disinformation. I personally have owned RCBS & Lee dies. It isn't that I think the RCBS are junk but I considered the brass size to much so I replace them all with Lee dies. I'm very happy with my Lee tools.

No, Lee products are clearly not of the quality of other manufacturers. You get what you pay for.

 

[kingmt]

No, Lee products are clearly not of the quality of other manufacturers. You get what you pay for.

If Lee can make a die that produced ammunition that takes a world record for 1K yards then it most not be the tool that is the problem.

I don't shoot 1K I usually can't shoot over 100 so if it is good enough to produce 1K ammo it is good enough for me. I like the dies. That is why I went to them. For me they are better then the RCBS dies but I don't consider RCBS junk ether.

I also really hate the term "You get what you pay for." It is a ignorant arrogant statement. There is more items then I can count that is made exactly the same & sometimes are the exact same manufacturer. Ever hear of Black & Decker or Stanley? Other times plants are closed & just the name is sold or just leased. It's really hard to know what your buying anymore. Brand loyalty won't do you any good any more. So if you payed a $1000 for a turd & mine was free. I guess you did get what you paid for after all but does that really make your turd any better then mine? Or did they just put a prettier sticker on your turd?

 

[wiiawiwb]

I use a Q-tip with Kroil, dry, then apply Eezox.

 

[Cannibul]

No, Lee products are clearly not of the quality of other manufacturers. You get what you pay for.

The corollary to that is "A fool and his money are soon parted."

 

[375supermag]

Hi...

I clean my reloading dies whenever it seems prudent, although I inspect them before every use.
My cleaning regimen is pretty simple...spray them out with Gun Scrubber, let dry a few minutes and then lightly oil before returning them to their storage box.
Never a speck of rust or any other issues with reloading dies in nearly 40 years.

 

[Billyzz]

The only time I ever clean mine is when they get gooped up from using too much alox.
I have had some old dies that needed polishing
I did that but cutting a slot in a dowel and inserting 3000 grit sandpaper and using a drill.
It made them smooth as glass
As far as die brands go.
I have
Lee
Rcbs
Lyman
Dillon
Forster
Herters
And a few others i cant think of right now
They all make identical ammo and no one on earth could tell what made what

 

[doubleh]

I disagree about Lee dies being low quality. I have several RCBS dies and as just many Lee dies. I can't tell a bit of difference in the quality of the ammo each produces. The only thing I don't care for is Lee's locking rings and that is easily fixed with the correct size drill bit and tap. Add a lead shot and allen screw and I can tell no difference in the RCBS dies except the Lees are higher polished.

I just spray the dies with carb cleaner and blow them dry with compressed air. That's about as simple and easy as it gets.

 

[JohnhenrySTL]

I have had success with Lee dies. I get annoyed with adjusting the de-capper pin every x amount of rounds. I have tried other brands and had success, I still feel most comfortable and have a intuitive connection with my Lee dies. I also use their auto-disk charger which would only work with Lee dies.

I took all my heavily used dies apart and they were all nasty dirty in their own cute and special way. All I did was dissemble my seating dies. They all had strange funk. The worst was my .38 special die. It had this nasty lead ring that broke off.

I used my factory Glock cleaning brush, wd-40 and shooters choice bore solvent for the .38 special die. I put on a little oil and several patches. It took very little effort and Im getting better consistency with length then what I have had in years.

Thanks again.

 

[bcurry]

Some people drop them into their tumbler and let the media do the work.

+1 for this. Does a good job with minimal hassle.

 

[LiveLife]

Looking for confirmation on throwing my .308, .357, 40 and 9 seating dies in my tumbler with walnut media.

I usually clean my dies with Hoppes and bore brush.

I tumble them in walnut media treated with NuFinish if they have surface rust.

 

[LiveLife]

It seems like several references to problematic dies involve those produced by Lee. Not at all surprising. Much better off investing in dies produced by RCBS, Hornady, or Lyman.

No, Lee products are clearly not of the quality of other manufacturers. You get what you pay for.

Well, that hasn't been the case for me the last 25 years. The OP clearly is using Lee products and posting such comments won't benefit the OP. Besides, OP's question was cleaning dies not which brand die was better.

I was taught to reload on Dillon 550/Lee Pro 1000 and shot USPSA matches with rounds loaded on Lee dies. I currently use Dillon/Lee/RCBS dies on various brand presses (C-H/Dillon/Lee/RCBS) and find that Lee sizing dies with smaller radius opening on the carbide ring sizes brass further down the case base, especially for 40S&W.

I have done comparison range tests with rounds loaded on Dillon press vs Lee press (yes, the humble Pro 1000) and guess what? My match pistols could not tell the difference. As long as finished rounds' dimensions and powder charges are consistent, it does not matter which press or dies you used to produce them.

In fact, THR member ljnowell who shoots bullseye matches won first place in league with match loads loaded on a Lee Pro 1000 - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/first-place-in-bullseye-league.780168/#post-9906939

The corollary to that is "A fool and his money are soon parted."

I have another corollary - "It's not the arrow, it's the Indian."

 

[engineermike]

A little M-Pro 7 cleaner and some M-Pro 7 lube, but the last time I cleaned them they had some rust spots on them so instead of the M-Pro lube I uses some corrosionx. We'll see how that works...