case lube

[gatorbone]

Saw a recipe for case lube using STP and ATF and for the life of me I can't remember the proportions or where I saw the recipe. Anyone use this stuff?

[musketshooter]

Forget all that stick-gooey-waxy crap. #80-90 gear oil is the best lube. It is for high pressure applications and it is very easy to wipe off. Apply to stamp pad and go for it.

[Hefights]

I just use RCBS water soluble lube, goes on easy, works wonderfully, and comes off very easy. No messing with nasty chemicals or oils or alcholol etc.

[gatorbone]

Thanks guys, don't know what I'll try. Also saw where someone used cable pulling compound, it's supposedly water soluble.

[joem]

The best case lub I found was Dillons. I bought a product called "Fluid Film". Mix it with alcohol solvent (from a hardware store) and spray it on. Looks like Dillon cases lub but way cheaper.

[mikld]

The cable pulling lube you mention works, and Lee case lube is reported to the same stuff (I worked for a large city utility company and had access to some). I don't think I'd try ATF and STP, seems like it would be pretty slickery, but also messy and hard to remove. I like Mink Oil Boot Dressing for case lube. It is easy to apply with my fingers, very little is needed, and it wipes off easily with a paper towel or rag. It can be found anywhere that shoe polish is sold, and I haven't stuck a case (,44 Magnum, .223/5.56, 30-30 or 30-06) in a die yet...

[gatorbone]

Thanks again, believe I'll put the STP in my truck where it belongs. It is really sticky and the old '93 GMC needs some of that.

[psteinmayer]

I use Hornady One Shot! Fast, effective, and does NOT affect powder and primers. Spray it on, size, wipe off the excess... Done!!! Oh, and it's inexpensive too!

For what it's worth, I have used PAM cooking spray, which works amazingly well. Just make sure to clean everything very well afterwards. I put the cases in a colander and submerged them in Palmolive detergent, which cleaned the heck out of them!

[joem]

I had very little luck with Hornady One Shot. Stuck quite a few cases but all I load is mil spec cases and they seem to be tougher.

[Tuna]

I'm like Paul using the One shot lube. Have had no problems with stuck cases. Just about anything a little slick can be used as a lube. One old timer told me he used Crisco as a lube. Hey what ever works for you I would say.

[psteinmayer]

I load several different rounds Joem... I don't have problems with Mil-Spec 30-06. What I do have problems with is 7.7x58 Jap. The case neck expands quite a bit when fired, which makes resizing tough. I really have to lube the heck out of the cases... and even spray a generous amount in the die itself, which seems to help.

[JimF]

. . . . One old timer told me he used Crisco as a lube. . . .

That would be me, Tuna . . . .

I've used it for YEARS!

Cheap, readily available, and harmless to your skin . . . .what could be better?

Only down-side is, it has to be applied (to the stamp pad) more frequently.

What I really like is . . . . NO MORE scratched cases! --Jim

[Litt'le Lee]

I also vote for the RCBS water soluble-afterwards its a hose in a metal pan then a collander and a towel in the sun or a hair dryer--this also cleans the case very well

[Matt Anthony]

I load several different rounds Joem... I don't have problems with Mil-Spec 30-06. What I do have problems with is 7.7x58 Jap. The case neck expands quite a bit when fired, which makes resizing tough. I really have to lube the heck out of the cases... and even spray a generous amount in the die itself, which seems to help.

My choice in case sizing lube varies, hunting rifles use RCBS case lube and my bench rest rifles use Imperial sizing wax. Both lubes are slick, clean up easy and both non toxic.
If the chamber on your Arisaka is that generous and causing sizing difficulties, be forewarned that the brass is being over worked and can become work hardened. This will cause brass failure, however with the action being one of the strongest in the industry, you probably would not damage the receiver, but this should be an alarming note.
I say this as I have a 7.7 that I had rebarreled to 22-250 5 years ago as I was tired of the cost of the Norma brass and the oversized chamber and barrel. Years trying to find the right mould for cast bullets, and honestly never getting the results I wanted. It took a while to find a gunsmith that was willing to cut the metric threads on the barrel and the bolt recesses, but the project turned out perfect using a Douglas heavy varmint barrel. It will print 1/4 inch groups at 200 yards using VMax bullets. I have had extensive work done to the trigger and 2 lbs is the lightest I can make it. Once I got use to the trigger, my groups came down to the above.
Good luck, but consider fixing that chamber!
Matt

[psteinmayer]

Yes, I am concerned about the brass being taxed in expanding and resizing. Fortunately, I anneal all of my rifle brass these days (except mil-spec cases, which are already annealed), which helps with brass life. I would not consider re-barreling my Arisaka... It's got a pristine Chrome-Lined bore, and is all matching with a full mum. I don't hunt, so I'm not worried about having something that is easier to reload/shoot/hunt with.

[holdover]

i have been using Kroil on my stamp pad for years, never a problem

[Matt Anthony]

Yes, I am concerned about the brass being taxed in expanding and resizing. Fortunately, I anneal all of my rifle brass these days (except mil-spec cases, which are already annealed), which helps with brass life. I would not consider re-barreling my Arisaka... It's got a pristine Chrome-Lined bore, and is all matching with a full mum. I don't hunt, so I'm not worried about having something that is easier to reload/shoot/hunt with.
Mine too was pristine, except the bore was almost .318, however you appear to have a very loose chamber which is quite normal for the 7.7. I remember making brass from 8MM Mauser and 30/06 when I could not afford the Norma. I enjoy it now, taking it on PD hunts and gettting alot of compliments on the custom stock and trigger work. My regret is touching it to begin with, but once you start pouring money into something, you either finish it or dump it! Would I do it again, NO!
Matt

[glockbox]

I make and use my own. I bought a bottle of Lanolin off of Ebay, a bottle of 90 percent alcohol and a empty spray bottle from walmart. I pour a small amount of lanolin into the spray bottle then add the alcohol. I leave and inch or two of space to allow for mixing, shake well then spray on cases, the alcohol evaporates quickly and is the best lube I have ever used. It's a lot like Dillon's case lube but a whole lot cheaper. Plus it works great for dry skin too.

[Allen]

I make and use my own. I bought a bottle of Lanolin off of Ebay, a bottle of 90 percent alcohol and a empty spray bottle from walmart. I pour a small amount of lanolin into the spray bottle then add the alcohol. I leave and inch or two of space to allow for mixing, shake well then spray on cases, the alcohol evaporates quickly and is the best lube I have ever used. It's a lot like Dillon's case lube but a whole lot cheaper. Plus it works great for dry skin too.

I'm assuming you use the lanolin oil and not the butter since you state you pour it into the bottle. How much do you call a "small amount" and what kind of alcohol is 90%? Did you buy the alcohol on ebay as well?

[fguffey]

Jack O'Conner wrote in a book published in 1954 he used lanolin, he found it convenient because he always used it on his hands and it worked as a case lube.

I doubt Jack O'Conner had the same problems reloaders have today when it comes to picking a case lube because he did not create additional problems. I am also convinced he tumbled after sizing to remove to remove lube.

There were lubes offered then that are not offered now, makers of reloading equipment did not make lubes then nor do they make lubes today.

There are lubes that that work, most of my reloading/sizing requires nothing more than what is offered by Dillon, Hornady and or RCBS but some of the work I do gives Imperial, and Dillon in a bottle and or can a work out. Most of the problems I experience happen when I help someone else form cases. There is never something suspect about the press but there are times when the case offers more resistance to sizing than the die/press can overcome.

In the old days I started with Reslone, & Marvel Mystery oil, I did not mix the two then tried a few others, for the tuff stuff to size I settled on something like the lube Lyman used. What I use is not on anyone's list of approved lubes, there are reloaders/builders that have got too much time invested in singing the praise of Imperial and Dillon Lube they make it very clear, they are not interested in knowing what works better.

When forming Wildcat cases from anything larger than a 300 Win Mag we screwed the die down 2 additional turns after die contact with the shell holder, after raising the ram there was a gap of .017" between the top of the shell holder and bottom of the die. Point, if the case is not pushed into the die the part of the case that is protruding prevented the case from being sized.

F. Guffey

[milboltnut]

lanolin and rubbing alcohol