Lubing Brass

Ganderite

Ganderite

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There are many ways to lube brass. This is the way I do it. When I load I tend to load, hundreds, if not several thousand rounds at a time, so my lube process has to be fast and fool proof.

The key tool is a round plastic container with a lid. This one is about the right size – a 2.4 liter ice cream container. I have also used a 4 liter container.

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Put the brass in the container. Fill it up to half full. Then take a half inch to one inch worm of lube and smear it around the top half of the container.

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Smear it as thin as possible. If a big gob is left in there it will plug the mouth of some cases. Then put the lid on and swirl the brass around. Then shake the container a bit and then swirl again. This entire swirling and shaking takes about 30 seconds. Open the container to see brass all uniformly lubed with a very thin film of lube.

I like to use Lee lube because it is cheap, and water soluble. It cleans up well, although I now just tumble my brass after it is loaded. A half hour cleans off the lube. An hour and a half shines up the brass.
 
I use a similar method but with RCBS Liquid Lube and a Large Ziploc Freezer bag. Load 100+ brass into the bag, Smear an inch - inch and a half string 1/2 way down the inside of the bag, smoosh the lube against the opposite side of the bag to "disperse" a little. Seal up bag with some air in there and start shaking the brass about.
 
I've been reloading for over 30 years and never heard, nor tried either method. I just learned something here, I'll have to give it a try because it's the only part of reloading I hate, lubing.
 
I only load pistol ammo so I don't know if this works for neck sizing and such. I read this tip elsewhere: 5-6 drops of Ballistol dropped into a freezer-size ziplock bag, smeared onto bag walls. Then about 100 9mm cases added and tossed around.

Best lube method I ever used, and cleaning loaded ammo is as simple as rolling them in a towel - even a paper towel will do. No chemicals, no tumbling.
 
I use Dillon spray lube. Lay the cases flat on their sides in a plastic tray, spray a couple of passes, swirl the cases around then let them sit for a few minutes. The lube works it's way all around. The film is so thin you can barely feel it. Doesn't get any easier.
 
Ok - I'll bite.

I've heard of these methods, but I've always read that you should be careful to keep lube off the shoulders?

You guys obviously know what you're talking about - so is this a myth or have I misunderstood it for the past couple of years?

PS - thanks for the ideas.
 
Excess lube on shoulders will cause dents. That is not a myth.

The swirl in a pail method uses realatively little lube and it gets distributed in a thin film. I use this system for both necked rifle cases and pistol cases. Have not dented a neck yet.
 
Viper26 said:
I use Dillon spray lube. Lay the cases flat on their sides in a plastic tray, spray a couple of passes, swirl the cases around then let them sit for a few minutes. The lube works it's way all around. The film is so thin you can barely feel it. Doesn't get any easier.
Click to expand...
+1....Every other method seems overly complicated....
 
Heres another method. Mix lee lube with 50/50 water/alcohol and put in a spray bottle. Use as you would any spray lube. Allows you to get inside the necks as well and super economical on lube.
 
one other thing i've read is that with bottlenecked cases you need to put a small ammount of lube inside the case neck to lube the expander. is this BS that i didn't need to be doing either???

One other thing, does this still work with rimmed cases? it seems the rim would interfere with the cases contact with the bucket. but you have me thinking now... maybe a lubed sponge or rag in a bucket to swirl with... hmmmm?
 
This is the same method I use, I let mine dry before sizing, though. I find it works better once the water has evaporated.
 
mikeystew said:
one other thing i've read is that with bottlenecked cases you need to put a small ammount of lube inside the case neck to lube the expander. is this BS that i didn't need to be doing either???

One other thing, does this still work with rimmed cases? it seems the rim would interfere with the cases contact with the bucket. but you have me thinking now... maybe a lubed sponge or rag in a bucket to swirl with... hmmmm?
Click to expand...

Method should work for all case styles.

Yes, you should lube the insides of the necks when using an expander die cause this can reduce neck stretching. I prefer to use a liq lube on a Qtip as I don't want lube INSIDE the case body

but then it is best if you can get that lube out.

Ganderite, great idea. I prefer to use spray lube, Body size, then tumble off, THEN neck size.

Loading thousands of rds at a time - man, you are taking this CQB thing way too seriously :D

Enjoy...

Jerry
 
I put everything in a bucket and from a distance spray in a little "whatever" lube....WD40, Fluid Film, or anything else I have on hand. Cheap, cheap, cheap. I shake them up for a minute and then put a little lube inside the case neck with a Q-tip. Don't spray too much into your bucket though. A little goes a long way.
 
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