I’m new to hand loading. Books don’t cover all questions.
I’m resizing 35 Whelen “Remington†tumbled cases. Using Lee tube lube.

First, It is a two die RCBS set, I adjusted the shell holder “full cam up position†touching the bottom of the Re-sizer die with the expanding ball high enough to not touch the inside web of the shell and the decapping pin deprimes no problem. But I notice that when pressing, it becomes very tight about ¾ ways up so that it takes more strength to send the hole cartridge all the way up into the die. Ok, if that’s the way a rifle case is to be resized? Is it supposed to be that tight?
AM I ON THE RIGHT ROAD to SUCCESS?

I did 38 and 357 shells with lee dies and they didn’t even need lube to resize but they are straight walled rimmed cases.

This thread will stimulate lots of discussion about case lube and lubing technique. I favor Imperial Die Sizing Wax over anything else. It is easy to use and you don't need but a smidge (highly technical term....smidge).

What kind of press are you using? If you are using a press with good mechanical advantage (which is just about any of the ones from the major manufacturers) you shouldn't have much trouble. I handload 25-06 without difficulty and it is the same case family as the Whelen.

If you notice it is sticking you may want to try a different lube. There is no joy in getting a case stuck in your die. You will develop a feel for the sizing step and you should strive to resize the case in one continuous motion. You didn't say anything about the expander ball sticking on the up stroke of the ram. It is good practice to lube the inside of the case neck too. Here again I use just a small amount of Imperial....residual lube on my fingers that is applied to the inside rim of the case neck.

Regarding your 357...if your sizer die is a carbide die you will not need lube but many people use lube with carbide dies and claim better results. If not you will need to lube the cases or risk getting one stuck in the die.

This may be of interest to you.

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/49

Lube is important but, remember you are also moving a lot more brass doing your 35 whelen cases then you are with 357 handgun. The amount of leverage needed increases with the size of the case.

I’m using the new Lee Breech lock press kit.
All my other Die sets are Lee.
But
I purchased the RCBS 35 Whelen Die set in the late 80’s knowing that one day I would get into reloading. I don’t know why I waited so long seeing that this seems as though it is very rewarding and a great hobby.

It is A, (F L DIE SET .35 WHELEN) p/n 30701
A 2 die set- Full length / so what does the inside diameter of the die press the shell into a smaller diameter also?

It was tight lowering the ram also on the exiting of the expander ball.
It looked like the ball was free the whole length down the case until it expanded on exit.
So it looked like only the top of the shell above the shoulder was resized.
Does that make sense?

I have had very hard cases to size using 22-250, but the important thing is to use enough but not too much lube. I usually only lube the bottom part of the case, and a little in the necks. I have found in my case that using lube on the neck/shoulder area doesnt really help and you run the risk of dented cases. But this is the important thing about reloading, you learn much by your mistakes and problems.

Yes it's okay to be tight. As you push the case further into the die, you're resizing more and more of the case. Make sure the die is clean inside. If it's not leaving any marks on the case you're good to go.
You can try a little more lube if you'd like. See if that helps any. If you start getting small dents around the shoulder of the case, you're using too much lube and need to back off a bit. It's no harm done however as they will blow out when you fire the cartridge.

You may be over-working the brass and unnecessarily shortening their lifespan. Suggest you lube the outside of your case with Imperial Die Wax of another quality case lube, and the inside of the neck with mica, graphite or such.
It should be more difficult to press than a pistol cartridge but not so hard that it takes noticeable effort.

And too, what kind of press are you using? The linkage matters. I've a RCBS Jr press among others and it has a rather short handle and direct linkage so it takes a noticable amount of umph to F/L resize a 30-06 or larger case. Also, how solid is your reloading table? That can make it seem worse than it is if it's not real solid.
I think you're doing okay.