Graphite for neck lube
- Thread starter rooster22
- Start date
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
It gets rubbed away. I haven't found graphite to cause any problems with inconsistent neck tension.
I just use the normal sizing lube. I have not found any benefit to graphite lubes. The neck is a small surface area and doesn't require much of anything IMO. As for left over lube when done resizing, just toss all the case into your tumbler to clean them up. You can get a Lyman tumbler for under a hundred bucks if you don't already have one. Its not imperative that you use one, but it does make loading much cleaner and nicer to work with.
OOPS- Not quite right.
Graphite is is a very soft mineral, with the hardness of 1 to 2 on the hardness scale.
Diamond is the top mineral, meaning hardest, on the hardness scale, with a hardness rating of 10.
Graphite is an excellent lubricant, especially for cold weather.
graphite when used to lubricate bullets will remove material from your bore(make it nice and shinny)....Lubing the inside of the case neck will send some of it down the bore no?
I agree on moving parts, will not hold dirt etc. Still not a good thing to pass down your bore
I agree on moving parts, will not hold dirt etc. Still not a good thing to pass down your bore
"...graphite is diamond dust..." No more than coal dust. Like H4831 says, graphite is a mineral. Has nothing to do with diamonds.
Graphite won't bother anything, but it's just as easy to push the case mouths into your lube pad when a bit of lube is required.
Graphite won't bother anything, but it's just as easy to push the case mouths into your lube pad when a bit of lube is required.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Graphite is also used in many propellant coatings, so it might already be there anyway, depending on which powder you use. I use it because I dislike particles of powder being stuck to a wet lube in the neck.
I don't think there is a need for any of it. I like my cases clean, and if sized properly, there is no problem to seat the bullets. This is maybe a good hypothetical topic but as far as I'm concerned, a clean case is the way to go every time.
Redding makes a great graphite neck lubing system,I have been using it for a couple of years now. I always throw my brass back into the tumbler before I reload them so there probably wouldn't be any reside on the brass anyway.
Lubricating the inside of the necks is not done to facilitate bullet seating.
If the necks are dry inside, albiet clean, the ball resizer coming out that opens up the neck to take the bullet, sometimes comes out so hard that it stretches the shoulder of the case out. Some shapes of bottle neck cases are much worse than others for this.
If this happens, the loaded cartridge will not go back in the chamber of the rifle, or at least, only go back with greater than normal pressure.
When reloaders write in to these threads stating their reloads will not go into the chamber, this stretching the neck out on resizing is probaly the most common reason for it.
I started using this about 2 weeks ago. Prep for necksizing is now a snap.
No more q-tips and messy lube to clean up. I don't bother tumbling after sizing. I can't see anything left on the case from the dipping process and graphite is pretty benign anyway. $12 for the little jar with the beads - cheap at twice the price.
The problem that is being addressed here is not seating bullets but the "drag" of the expander ball when removing case from the sizing die. Other factors are at play, such as brass thickness at the neck, if the brass is on the thick side you may have a tough go of it. Using a "bushing" style sizer will rid you of this "expander drag".
Sorry, I did not see H4831s post before i answered.....Ben
Sorry, I did not see H4831s post before i answered.....Ben
rooster22
CGN Regular
Now that looks smart. That looks like 71/2 bird shot with graphite on it.
Redding makes a great graphite neck lubing system,I have been using it for a couple of years now. I always throw my brass back into the tumbler before I reload them so there probably wouldn't be any reside on the brass anyway.
rooster22
CGN Regular
Talking about the inside only. For resizing. And I'm addressing the question about cleaning the mouth before charging the case. I'm not sure if it will effect the charge or not like regular lube where you have to wipe it out. I'm trying to save a step and not have to wipe out accessive lube. But I don't want to jepardize the load iether.
Good question, here is how I handle it.
As a background, my usual way to lubricate the cases on the outside, is to roll a group of them on my lubricating pad, that has lubrication on/in it.
For the inside of the necks I take a bore brush of about the right diameter and very lightly roll it over my lubrication pad. A very minute amount of lubrication, usually automotive STP, sticks on the brush, nylon or brass, but when the brush is pushed in and out once of the neck, it lubricates it sufficiently, and one rolling on the pad will do quite a few necks. After the resizing ball goes through the neck, any extremely tiny amount of lube that is left can be completely ignored.
