polishing expander balls, Imperial Dry Neck lube

[ctso030]

i saw a video on youtube about polishing the expander ball on your seating die. they removed the expander and stem from the die chucked it up in a cordless drill , used 1500 grit sand paper to polish it. it looked cool but i didnt have any 1500 so i used jewlers rouge and a buffing wheel. it worked very well smoothed the expander balls out like glass. next i bought some Imperial Dry Neck Lube ( ive never used it before). before i sized my brass i dipped the neck of the brass into the dry lube and applied my case lube to the rest of the brass with my fingers. next i sized my brass it seemed to take a lot less effort to pull the lever down, so i tryed a few without the neck lube , it made a big difference. before seating my bullets i dipped the bullet into the dry lube to about where it would be seated. then seated bullet into the case. im hoping this will make my velocities more consistent, just wanted to pass this on it was simple to do. i need to get out and chrono a few rounds and see how it goes.

 

[Sixfivesavage]

The dry neck lube will eventually gall necks. Might take a bit longer with the ball being polished but it will happen. I didn't think it would when people told me so, then it did. Use lanolin on a qtip in the neck. Eliminates the issue.

 

[AIAW]

i saw a video on youtube about polishing the expander ball on your seating die.

You mean decapping/FL die correct?

Personally I never use an expander ball on anything other than range pickup brass or brass that's been dented by ejection from a semi-auto platform. "Precision" bolt-gun brass - never.

 

[ctso030]

thanks for letting me know about the galling , i will skip it next time

 

[ctso030]

the decapping fl die

 

[J McGriddle]

In the interest of time, for FL sizing I dump all my brass in a plastic container and spray with the lanolin/alcohol lube. Mix it around and set them on my bench to dry. Fastest method I have found. I ran my own test for MV consistency with dipping bullets in dry lube. It didn't seem to matter. The best thing I have done for consistent MV was buying an annealing setup.

 

[ctso030]

i have the AMP annealer, was wondering if dry lube in the neck would help when the bullets set for a while after loadind them

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

The dry neck lube will eventually gall necks. Might take a bit longer with the ball being polished but it will happen. I didn't think it would when people told me so, then it did. Use lanolin on a qtip in the neck. Eliminates the issue.

What if I'm using an expander mandrel in my necks?

Could the neck gall during this process also?

 

[Steel head]

I throw mine in the lathe and hit them with 1000, 2000 and 4000 pads.
After you can run an impressively minimal about of regular imperial.

 

[Sixfivesavage]

What if I'm using an expander mandrel in my necks?

Could the neck gall during this process also?

It will eventually. Even with the coated mandrels.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

It will eventually. Even with the coated mandrels.

Old thread so thanks for the reply.

Any speculation on why that is?

Do you think if the brass is only ran through a mandrel once, it is less likely to occur? Or do you think it's due to the wear on the expander causing the galling?

I've got 750 cases of 308. I am running the RCBS does that I've removed the expander ball from, and have an expander mandrel on order to size them up to where I want them.

Then I'll switch to a bushing die.