First batch

codenamepaul

Lee Classic .50 kit arrived yesterday. Set it up. Full length resized and decapped about a dozen .50 BMG shells as a test. Very easy (so far) Got another classic enroute for the rest of my ammo. Dies are already here.

Questions-

After resize and decap, there is lube left on/in the shell. Do I throw these back in the tumbler for cleaning or what?

What is the recommended lube for the press? The book says any light machine oil will do-Any sage advice here?

How about corrosion protection for the dies? Keep them oiled too?

Many more to come, I'm sure.

jonk

To remove the lube, the tumbler is fine. If a water soluble lube, I usually just shake in a bucket of hot water and purple power and let dry in the sun for a day or two.

I use Remoil on the arm and ram of my presses, but any oil will do. On the dies, you can oil the outside if you want but don't get any on the inside as some oils contaminate primers (ie wd 40). If you want to lube the inside of the dies, Dillon resizing lube is lanolin based and should do nicely. A quick spritz and all is well.

codenamepaul

I figure the resizing dies will essentially take care of themselves inside, no? I am using Lee's case lube that came with the kit. Any suggestions for something better. A friend says spray is the way to go.

I figured with all the handling, the outsides will need to be wiped down with some oil, likely Remoil or the like since it's right there anyway.

SW 357Mag

Spray lube is much easier to use and much faster. You don't need to buy any though. I had a thread on here several weeks ago about spray lubes. A couple people suggested mixing rubbing alcohol with the Lee lube like you have. It works FANTASTIC! Pour that lube into a spray bottle and then add enough alcohol so it will spray. (Shake it up of course) Very easy to make, and much cheaper than buying a spray lube.

franksremote

quote:Originally posted by codenamepaul
I figure the resizing dies will essentially take care of themselves inside, no? I am using Lee's case lube that came with the kit. Any suggestions for something better. A friend says spray is the way to go.

I figured with all the handling, the outsides will need to be wiped down with some oil, likely Remoil or the like since it's right there anyway.




You'll need to clean the crude out of resizing dies once in a blue moon, other than that, they're really low maintenance.

Hornaday One-Shot Case Lube is the way to go.

codenamepaul

Spray lube sucks for .50 BMG-not recommended. Put all my Lee lube in an oil sample bottle with a 1/2 inch paint brush. 100 rounds later, not a stuck case or anything.

BHAVIN

I agree sprqay lube doesn't cut it for 50's. I use Dillon spray lube for all of my rifle cases (biggest is 300 win mag). I load 3-5000 a year (mostly 223) and have never had a stuck case.

codenamepaul

The hornady One-Shot works okay, but halfway through a batch of shells (any caliber) I have to reapply to keep them from sticking. Bought a bottle of the Frankford Arsenal stuff from midway. I'll let you know how it works.