Bud Hyett
posted this
22 February 2015
I've had the experience that Ric refers to, two lubes intermixed will leave a sticky residue that compounds the problem. Over the years, I've migrated to only two lubes, Imperial Sizing Die Wax and Groom and Clean.
Groom and Clean is for cases where the reloading is standardized; .308 and .30-'06 as examples for a developed and known load for competition. Rub a dab on the hands, rub four cases in your hands and size. Every so often, I clean my dies of the excess lube buildup that naturally occurs. Also, cleaning the vent holes is part of the routine because I have found, as you did, the plugged vent hole causes buildup which dents cases. Groom and Clean is water soluble and washes off the cases. It is also good for a hair tonic.
Case-forming lead me to the Imperial Wax; the thin coat of the wax with a slow, steady push worked best. Lubricity of the wax is high enough that a person can use a thin coat. Any other lube I've tried over the years did not work as well.
As for the company representative on the phone, there is a better approach for this. The person on the phone is there to field questions and may not have the depth of knowledge to gain an understanding of the problem.
The better scene is the NRA Annual Meeting (or similar show) and talking directly to the people who do the work. I realize not everyone gets to these meetings and shows, but you may know someone who is going and who can represent the problem for you.
The approach is ask for the design or manufacturing representative, not the salesman. Ask them for their help; this appeals to their ego and draws in their interest. Then offer to sketch the problem and talk as you draw. Explain the impact of the problem and gain their acceptance.
Keep in mind that the accountant runs the business, the accounting department will seek to save the cost of a vent hole to fatten profits unless the design person can show the utility of this feature. I've had some interesting discussions; and this approach usually works. I'm looking forward to the NRA Annual Louisville meeting in 2016.
Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest