Lube causing misfeeds, can I tumble it off ???

[Riss]

Started loading a new load. 180 Gr lead 40 S&W, good hard cast but the lube is getting caught around the case mouth and sometimes a little lead shaving gets in there also. Between the two I am getting some really nasty failure to chamber. Can I tumble the loaded rounds in some really coarse media to take off the lube or is that a no go ? I just had to hand inspect and clean enough to get me through a match for 10am today. I need a better way to do this. Cleaning every case by hand will not do, I need 2000 plus for a class in about 2 weeks. I already have new dies here (Fedex came today) so the issues with the lead shavings should be taken care of, but I still need to fix the lube issue. Any ideas ? Tumble it with corn cob maybe ?

 

[PotatoJudge]

I tumble to remove resizing lube, but bullet lube has to be wiped off. It normally just collects grime in the tumbler and comes off black.

Since you have two full sets of dies you can load in four stations. Make sure to flare the case mouths enough, then seat in one step and then crimp in another step. Doing this should get rid of your lube problems.

 

[Funderb]

uhh, solvent to remove the lube? spray lightly with pam or something after to keep away the corrosion monsters?
why not? I'm not a reloader, but it's how I clean and store bearings when needed. and wheel weights.

 

[Riss]

The lube is what comes on the lead bullets. Sticky blue stuff, hard like candle wax. If corn cob UNtreated in a large diameter might take it off I will give it a try. I already load in the 4 station, Dillon 550. Was advised by my teacher to do it that way, always load and crimp in 2 separate operations. Also just got a new set of Dillon dies to help accomplish that. Have to get them set up and running this week. Really need to crank out some loads the next 2 weeks.

 

[strat81]

You can tumble loaded rounds without ill effects.

You might want to get a Dillon Case Gage to check your rounds. It's basically a SAAMI-spec chamber that you can use to see if your rounds will chamber and headspace correctly. Other companies makes them, but Dillon's are stainless so they won't rust.

 

[PotatoJudge]

Riss, let us know how a coarser tumbling media works for you. You may also ask over at castboolits.com for an answer.

 

[evan price]

I tried that on some .45 acp's that had a soft wax lube that managed to get all over the bullets during shipping. Tumbling only made me have clotted black chunky stuff on my bullets. Had to give up and wipe down each one with an old rag and used my thumbnail on top of the rag to act like a shovel to scrape the crud off.
Tedious.

 

[Shoney]

Riss:
If you are getting lead shavings, that indicates a problem. The case is shaving the side of the bullet, and this results in lube ridges and/or lead ridges at the case mouth. The idea is to seat the bullet in one opperation, then as it is no longer moving, to crimp it in a second operation.

Either you are not belling the case enough, or the seating die is set to low resulting in the partial premature constriction of the bell. Make sure the crimp die is not over applying a crimp, as this may also squeeze lead and lube above the mouth.

 

[Riss]

Not sure exactly what was causing the lead slivers, BUT it will be corrected when I get the new dies set up tomorrow. I had actually increased the bell when the lead started to show up, so I am not exactly sure what was going on there. If anything there was not enough crimp and possibly was not enough bell. Will report back with any problems after the new dies are in and I run a batch. As for cleaning them by hand it has to go. Cannot do that all the time. ALSO had a neat little thing happen with my RCBS dies, had 2 rounds out of 600 where the primer got stuck on the pin, go reinserted and never got a new primer into the case. I caught 2 or 3 others, missed those 2. Found them after I chamber checked and boxed them to check the primer heights. 2 had no primers and I later found 2 used primers in the bottom of my bag.