lube needed on 9mm using Loadmaster?

B

basicbill

Regular
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Location
Interior BC
I have upgraded from a Lee turret press to a Loadmaster. (what can I say, I'm a tinkerer) I know that on the turret I would always get a 'sticking' on the powder through/expanding die.
Now that I'm going to use a progressive, I expect that there will be a lot more friction processes going on at the same time.

Does anyone use case lube while loading 9's on a progressive?
 
I would lube 1 out of 20 cases sometimes with my lee pro1000, but it's not required, just helped when doing alot of rounds.

As for the sticking on the powder/expander die it happens with most of my lee dies, I just take the expander out and put it in a drill press and polish it to a mirror shine. It will sometimes stick, but it was a drastic difference.
 
basicbill said:
I have upgraded from a Lee turret press to a Loadmaster. (what can I say, I'm a tinkerer) I know that on the turret I would always get a 'sticking' on the powder through/expanding die.
Now that I'm going to use a progressive, I expect that there will be a lot more friction processes going on at the same time.

Does anyone use case lube while loading 9's on a progressive?
Click to expand...

I think the slight sticking in the expander/powder through die is deliberate design on the part of Lee. It assists in shaking all powder out of the powder dispenser disk. I recall that Lee used to advertise this fact in their literature.

I have never used lube when doing 9mm on my Loadmaster & have never had a problem. You will notice more resistance because the tapered 9mm cases require a little more effort to resize than straight walled cases.
 
I use lube because it makes sizing easier, and then I will SS tumble it clean, and then prime each brass on the single stage, and then powder/bullet/crimp in the loadmaster.
Tedious process, but the loadmaster priming system is a complete fail on my press, and sizing without lube sticks too much with lee dies in the LM

I don't shoot enough 9mm to buy a dillon press for now. Maybe when they open the indoor range, and I'm still not sure.
I only shoot maybe 1000 rounds a year, so the LM works okay for now. I bought a case of 2280 rounds of tokarev ammo so I probably won't even reload 9mm this year.
 
I have the newest priming system on my Loadmaster and it has been flawless so far. The Loadmaster works best when you run cleaned, deprimed and resized brass through it. I use a sizing die with the decapping pin removed in station 2 to center the case over the priming pin.
 
Glenzo said:
I have the newest priming system on my Loadmaster and it has been flawless so far. The Loadmaster works best when you run cleaned, deprimed and resized brass through it. I use a sizing die with the decapping pin removed in station 2 to center the case over the priming pin.
Click to expand...

My Loadmasters (I have two, one set up for large primer cases and one for small,primer cases) have the older priming system and to be honest they have both worked quite well. The key is to keep the primer chute and slider assembly CLEAN. As soon as I start to get flipped or canted primers I know it is time to clean the assembly. Once I do that the problems go away. They are no different than any other progressive - keep 'em clean & lubed & they will run well.
 
Last edited:
disassembled and cleaned mine multiple times, still fails... maybe it's just a defective assembly. lee will not send a new one to me for free. I don't feel like paying for another junk priming system.
The issue with the lee system is that it's too much of a gimmick and it has too many places where it can fail.
Then when it fails you end up with a press jammed in wasted powder and dummy rounds that you have to pull. No crap, I prefer to hand prime every cartridge by feel on a single stage, and be sure they are all primed fine.
I don't like the LM priming on the upstroke anyway, you can't feel it, and if you reload mixed brass, some primers are crushed a bit, and some are just not totally in. Reloading is a hobby that I like, and I am a bit OCD, so I hate it when I reload rounds with uneven primers....
I like to feel my primers and seat them all to perfection regardless of mixed brass.
One day I'll just get a dillon xl650 I guess, but until then, I tumble brass, then lube, then batch deprime and resize on the LM, then tumble, then individually prime (pain), then batch powder bullt crimp on the lm.

I just don't really shoot enough to justify a dillon press for now, and I don't have much spare money to waste for now so I keep my lm and it works.
 
I give a single quick spray into the top of the bucket of brass. So there is just a few spots of random lube on random cases. It makes it much easier and smoother. When the force increases after a hundred or two rounds, another shot of spray lube fixes it again. There is so little lube used you don't even feel or see it. I don't clean the brass afterwards.

I've found the LoadMaster works very well with either the old priming system kept clean and degreased. Important to make sure there is no film of oil or grease on the priming system/path. After figuring out those tricks, it goes thousands of rounds without a problem.

Also have a Hornady LnL, and it's smoother and feels nicer, but the Loadmaster still gets used and left set up for a specific calibre. And a short spray of lube on top of the bucket of brass is also used with the LnL.

One thing with the Loadmaster I've noticed is that the LM works best when it is VERY solidly mounted, to a heavy table with zero movement or vibration.
 
Last edited:
Hornady One Shot is a good lube for pistol reloading that does not have to be removed afterwards. Of course, it isn't usually necessary to lube cases with carbide dies, but it does cut down on effort required.
 
Kryogen said:
disassembled and cleaned mine multiple times, still fails... maybe it's just a defective assembly. lee will not send a new one to me for free. I don't feel like paying for another junk priming system.
The issue with the lee system is that it's too much of a gimmick and it has too many places where it can fail.
Then when it fails you end up with a press jammed in wasted powder and dummy rounds that you have to pull. No crap, I prefer to hand prime every cartridge by feel on a single stage, and be sure they are all primed fine.
I don't like the LM priming on the upstroke anyway, you can't feel it, and if you reload mixed brass, some primers are crushed a bit, and some are just not totally in. Reloading is a hobby that I like, and I am a bit OCD, so I hate it when I reload rounds with uneven primers....
I like to feel my primers and seat them all to perfection regardless of mixed brass.
One day I'll just get a dillon xl650 I guess, but until then, I tumble brass, then lube, then batch deprime and resize on the LM, then tumble, then individually prime (pain), then batch powder bullt crimp on the lm.

I just don't really shoot enough to justify a dillon press for now, and I don't have much spare money to waste for now so I keep my lm and it works.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of really good videos on YouTube and other sites (see below) which will help get your Loadmaster up & running well.
http://loadmastervideos.com
http://www.titanreloading.com/help-videos
http://ultimatereloader.com
https://fsreloading.com/catalogs/lee-precision/how-to-videos.html

They are almost indispensable because I'm the first one to admit that the manual that comes with the Loadmaster is worse than useless. For example there an oil lube port for the press ram that the manual doesn't even mention and I never noticed it until I watched some of the videos.

As for priming, no system will give you the feel of a hand primer. The problem isn't really the priming systems as much as manufacturer variations in primer pocket size. Some of my friends won't even pick up S&B 45 ACP brass at the range because the primer pockets are definitely tighter than most other brass brands and high seated or crushed primers will result on any progressive no matter who makes it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom