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RCBS die trouble

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:11 pm
by majcl5
I am reloading my friends .223 for him and he has a RCBS (i am a redding guy) and i took brand new brass lubed them and the first one i tried was really hard to press in and then got stuck , and broke the belt . So then i got brass out tried the next one and dito did the same thing. 20 years of reloading never had a brand new die and brass do this . Any help or suggestions? Do I have to use a small base die set for a semi-auto?

Re: RCBS die trouble

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 7:55 pm
by Hawkeye Joe
My sticky case issues always were lube related. I ditched the One Shot and now use the good ole RCBS lube pad.

Re: RCBS die trouble

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:32 pm
by acloco
All of the dies have an rust inhibitor sprayed in them. The inhibitor that RCBS uses seems to be especially good and hard to remove - carb cleaner will be your new friend.

Remove the decapping assembly, spray some carb cleaner in, let it dry, spray a shotgun bore mop with carb cleaner, chuck it in a drill (low speed), and start cleaning.

Re: RCBS die trouble

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:02 pm
by Lenard
Years ago, an old gunsmith friend told me to throw away all the commercial lubes and try mineral oil. I have been using it since the mid 60's. The nice thing about it is that it will dry and does not need to be wiped dry, unless you are going to shoot the ammo in the next day or so. It also does not effect the powder when lubing the inside of the necks.

I use an RCBS pad and it only needs to be refreshed about once a year.

Lenard

Re: RCBS die trouble

Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:16 pm
by majcl5
What i cant firgure out is its the same lube i always use and have never had trouble. And its brand new brass they should size like butter. Sportsmans said they would give me instore credit i will see if its the die that is the problem.

Thanks Guys

Re: RCBS die trouble

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:04 am
by Rambler
I never had a problem unless i didn't lube.. go figure!!

Re: RCBS die trouble

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 2:20 pm
by futuretrades
i have to agree with acloco. do like he said and clean the inside of the die out. i have also found carb cleaner to be a friend, for cleaning up a lot of things. also make sure you have enough lube on the pad. after sitting for a while, i have found my pad has a tenancy to dry out, even if it feels like it is good to go. also, make sure you lube those necks. i have switched to imperial sizing wax, and haven't looked back. i still have my lube pad, although i don't really know why. :shock:

Re: RCBS die trouble

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:51 pm
by majcl5
Thanks guys i will see what i can do