Farm Boy Has Epiphany... or >>> a slick idea ...

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  • Last Post 13 June 2023
Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 11 June 2023

for years I have used for case sizing ...  a special killer castor oil that we used in our racing two-strokes ...  easy peasy, nary a stuck case ...

but yesterday, while expanding 30-06 brass up to 35 whelen in one step ... using a 1.5 inch tapered ( 1 degree per side ) expander plug I  made ... ....  even after annealing, half the brass were squeaking and complaining ...  

ok, what do the experts use /?? ... Lanolin ... Waxes ....   I have read ...  in Guns &Ammo ...  crap! ... I have neither .... 

oh wait ! ... (  BOOM ! ... THUNDER AND LIGHTENING )  ... I use Fluid Film in our shop as an excellent anti corrosion coating .... it's main ingredients are ..... Lanolin ! ...and Wax ! ...

duh! ..

i sprayed a little in a dish and rubbed a tad inside a case neck ...   ok, a 100 per cent less effort is a good thing !! ...  and as a bonus it is a very handy preservative almost as good as RIG grease ... ... comes as a spray can from NAPA ... 

ken, learning as I go ...

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RicinYakima posted this 11 June 2023

Never found anything that would work for than long of neck in one operation. I use a Q-tip with Imperial sizing die wax first, 8.15mm expander then a .336" expander, then Hornady full length expander. FWIW

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JeffinNZ posted this 11 June 2023

Lanolin is great stuff.

Cheers from New Zealand

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Aaron posted this 11 June 2023

^^^^^^ What he said  ^^^^^^   I mix lanolin with 99.999% alcohol for case lube. Works like a champ.

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

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porthos posted this 11 June 2023

sometimes i think that people are trying to re-invent the wheel.  IMPERIAL SIZING DIE WAX. sold under the Redding logo!

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TRKakaCatWhisperer posted this 11 June 2023

I've used Imperial, but I much prefer to use something mixed up with anhydrous lanolin.  Usually it's a high-tack grease, but several other things work wall with the lanolin. 

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beagle6 posted this 11 June 2023

I started reloading in 1965, using Towsend Whelan's book " Why Not Load Your Own?" as a guide. He recommended lanolin as a case lube and I remember going to the local drug store to get it. Over the years I've also used sizing die wax and STP. They all worked.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 12 June 2023

thought I would show he tapered expander rod I made to bring 30 necks up to 358 in one pass ... note the 1.5 inch length.  after annealing, using lanolin+wax, the trick is to " peck " up the expander.

this expander threads into a loading press ... a con is that it's length puts the press into a poor leverage position ... not too bad tho ...  at the top of the rod is a 0.362 button for cast bullet seating.

a neat thing about the Lee Expander body is that you can easily make gadgets for special needs ... make from 9/16 stock and no threading necessary ... i also show a stock Lee piece and a couple tapered expanders that I made that work in the Lee  body ...  308 and 358.. both have oversized top diameters for cast bullet seating.

 

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 12 June 2023

I must mention an interesting expander project ..

me being a cheap skate, in my search for '06 brass to convert to 35 Whelen ... I found 4 of 25-06 brass ... actually converted 30-06 brass headsamped FA 34 !! ..so cool ...

for only 4, i ok'ed a quick and dirty method I have wanted to try ... i used a 1/2 inch ALUMINUM rod and lathe turned a long tapered expander .....left the rod in the lathe and pushed the lubed case ( annealed ) on the rod wih the tailstock ...  then pulled it off with the tailstock drill chuck....

it actually worked ... rock paper scissors ...... I guess the aluminum is harder than the brass ... didn't scar the aluminum ... i will have to make another rod more useful and see how long it might last ...

sorry to be kinda boring, but this is good for tinkerers because aluminum is very easy to turn in a hobby lathe and doesn't put slivers into your fingers ... 

oh ... after the drastic necking-upo, the annealed brass was hard again ... i had to anneal it again before sizing in my Lee full lengh 35 Whelen dies.  unexpected ...  keep this in mind if you are doing similar conversions ...

some BR shooters anneal every reloading cycle ...  hmmmm ...

ken, getting softer as I age ...

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Glenn R. Latham posted this 13 June 2023

Ken, not boring at all!  My problem is remembering all these neat tips.  Got little pieces of paper all over the shop with notes on them.  Think I can run across the right one at the right time?  HA!

Glenn

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