How often do you clean your dies?

[Dave R]

I broke a decapping rod today (unrelated to what follows). When I disassembled the die to replace it, I was surprised to find a couple of pieces of corncob tumbling media in the shoulder area. Squished quite flat. I have my dies adjusted to neck-size, so there was probably room for it. But it was a good reminder to me that dies need to be cleaned periodically.

So how often do you clean yours?

 

[Car Knocker]

I batch load various calibers. I clean dies when I change to a different caliber. Give 'em a good shot of brake cleaner, hit with compressed air and then a coating of Hornady One-shot.

 

[ftierson]

I clean them every time I use them.

Doesn't everyone?

 

[Sunray]

"...I broke a decapping rod..." The rod or the pin? Ain't the same thing. If they're RCBS dies, call 'em. They'll send you a pack of 6 pins, no questions asked. Mind you, if your dies aren't RCBS, call the maker. The reloading/shooting industry really and truly understands and believes in the term 'Customer Service'.

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

Probably less than I should... the bullet seating die should probably be cleaned soon, since for both .45 ACP and .40 S&W I load a large amount of lead.

 

[Desert Dog]

I clean it the first time I seat a bullet and a bunch of lube comes out on the bullet... At that point I clean the whole set of that caliber.

I also load a lot of lead...

 

[theCZ]

Uhhh...Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Standing Wolf]

I clean them every time I use them.
Doesn't everyone?

I've got a hunch lots of people don't. I figure dies are like guns: they perform better clean.

 

[Dave R]

Sunray, I broke the rod. Already have spare pins. I bent the rod, and broke it while trying to straighten it out. If I called RCBS, it would not surprise me if they offered to replace it at no charge. However, it was my stupidity that broke it, and I didn't want to wait for Monday to call them, and then for shipping...

So I spent the $7.95 for a new rod, so I could finish reloading same day.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Do you mean really break them down completely and scrub them out???

I hate to admit it, but probably only once a year. I tend to load in large blocks, say 2000 to 4000 rnds of a caliber/reload at a whack. In so doing, I give the dies a quick cleanup (not broken down) at the setup and when I am done, I wipe them down and then flood them with water displacing oil.

I really only take them completely apart about once a year and then reset everything.

So are they "clean" at the start and end of the job? Yes, reasonably so. Are they "immaculate" only once a year.

 

[mparris71]

I only clean them when they either, start gunking up the bullets, or when I know I am going to be storeing them for extented amounts of time. I then spary them down with wd-40 which I have to clean that off of them when I use them next.

 

[Sam Adams]

I'm bad...I just cleaned my Lee .223 decapping/sizing die yesterday for the first time ever. I've probably put about 1,000 rounds through it, and I even got a case stuck inside about 6 months ago (due to lack of lube - and that cost me about $10 to have removed). Anyhow, yesterday I took it apart and cleaned it out well with some FP-10. I also cleaned/lubed the ram of my press with it, and the result is far less friction (gee, whodathunkit?). I feel like such an idiot - I change my car's oil every 3,000-3,500 miles to prevent dirt and metal shavings from damaging my engine, and the exact same principle applies here. I guess that I pay more attention to the car because new engines are just a bit more expensive than dies.

I've resolved to clean/lube every single die I use - especially the sizing dies - when I next use them. As for recleaning, I suspect that I'll either do it every 6 months, or every 500 or so rounds.

By the way, does anyone lube up their titanium pistol resizing dies, or is this unnecessary?

 

[Car Knocker]

Sam, I usually give the sizing die a quick shot of Hornady One-shot Case Lube and I lightly spray the cases. I use a progressive and find that lubing the cases, even for carbide dies, reduces the effort I need to put on the handle. I figure that saves wear and tear on both my shoulder and the press. By the way, this lube does not need to be removed after loading.

 

[Sam Adams]

Car Knocker

"By the way, this lube does not need to be removed after loading."

I also use the One-Shot case lube on my cases. I always clean it off of the cases immediately after depriming/sizing (through the complex mechanism of an old T-shirt). Should I be leaving the lube on after this step? I never crimp the .223, and thus I only use the bullet seating die (which involves little or no wear and stress compared to the sizing die, IMHO). IOW, are you telling me that I can save all of the time that I spend cleaning them off?

 

[Car Knocker]

I use the lube very, very sparingly. Its purpose is to decrease press effort, not to prevent stuck cases in non-carbide dies. I load .380 ACP, 9mm, .357 Magnum, .45 ACP for handguns and over the last several years and thousands of rounds of ammo have never removed the lube and have never experienced a problem. I haven't noted any abnormal shortening or lenthening of cases.

I realize that the can says to remove excess lubricant after sizing. You're using an old T-shirt for that process. Here's an experiment for you to try: Spray a clean window pane with One-Shot. While waiting for it to dry, go and wash your hands thoroughly. Now wipe the glass with a T-shirt using the same effort you put into wiping your brass. Run your finger across the glass. In the right light, you will see a fair amount of residue remains. My point? Even though you're wiping the lube off the brass, you're still leaving a significant amount on it. Probably not much more, or much less, than what's on my un-wiped brass. So why expend the effort for a relatively pointless exercise?

I also load .308 and .45-70 on a progressive. I apply considerably more lube on these cases and clean the loaded ammo in corn cob media in a vibratory tumbler for 10 minutes (I use a timer). Ammo manufacturers and commercial reloaders tumble their ammo prior to boxing.

EDIT: Here's a quote from Brian Enos:

OK, I'm gonna make a statement - If you're not using Hornady's One Shot lube (on straight walled cases), and then just forgetting about it, (meaning not tumbling it at all), you're not only loading slower, but with more strain on you, and the machine. In addition, I feel the case lube (left on from loading) may actually help feeding...

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5206

 

[Black Snowman]

I usually spot check them and clean periodicly. If they're bottle necked and/or steel dies I'll check them before each use cleaning out the dried lube and checking for stuck media. The carbide straight wall dies I just wipe out quick with a paper towel to make sure their clean.