i really like redding dies, but it is beyond me why they do not drill a vent hole in their fl sizers. especially on long tapered cases like a 300 h&h it is almost impossible to size a case without getting lube dents. easily fixed by drilling a small vent hole in the shoulder section, but a guy just shouldn't have to do that

IMHO, you're using too much lube.

Remove the decapping pin, thouroughly clean your sizing die, put a cleaning patch on a split rod with a bit of flitz, and spin it in the sizing die to polish it out.

Use lube sparingly, I'm partial to imperial sizing wax. A little goes a long way.

quote:

butchloc

Sizing with the primers in I take it , yea sometimes they trap air ; I fixed that by de-capping spent primers cleaning cases an polishing if necessary . I then set all my cases lying down in a shallow box that happens to be wax lined cardboard ( no real reason just is ) I then spray a light coat ( mist really ) of Boeshield T9 roll cases and do it again . Put my Nitrle gloves on while handling those cases .I Then run em through my Dillon 550 priming an loading . One thing I've personally noticed by doing this , I am now looking over cases much more carefully than I used to !. An happy to report have NEVER stuck a case while using Boeshield ,no matter how long they set in that box before ,I get around to reloading all of them up . Gloves keep my hands an cartridges clean and lubed . After I'm done wipe em with a soft cotton cloth ,then box em up . Boeshield retards tarnish and dirt and generally will go 6-10 times between Polishing . That's when I anneal an so far I couldn't be happier with the results !.

i just fix the die with a little carbide bit. just beyond me why redding refuses to put in the vent hole, it's a nothing job to do before the die gets hardened

Do you see any other dies with vent holes? I haven't, nor have I ever needed any.
Deprime, clean, LIGHTLY lube, size, wipe off (if you are shooting max loads), check case length and whatever, prime, charge, seat.

Several other brands have vent holes.

Andy

Forster, RCBS and Hornady have vent holes. Then again, I too use Imperial Sizing Wax and no dents no matter what dies I use including Redding.

It's all in what you prefer. I like forster, but I had a 308 die where the hole drilled (for positioning the expander or venting depending on who you listen to) had a burr that I needed to remove. It destroyed a good many cases before I managed to finally fix it.

I agree with the approach of less lube and I will touch the shoulder body junction with lube, but NOT the shoulder itself. Sure, a little gets on the bottom part of the shoulder, but I don't try to lube the shoulder.

Use something like Imperials dry lube for the necks and either the Lee or Imperial Wax on the body and you should be GTG.

My take is: stop using worthless snot for lube and start using Imperial sizing wax -as per instructions -vent holes get clogged after the second pass anyway. Looking at them with a borescope reveals the truth.............How much lube have you ever seen coming out of a vent hole?

I'm an old fashioned guy and still use a lube pad. I do however, use the Forster case graphiter that has the brushes. Never a problem with lube dents and no lube on the inside of the neck. I have Forster, RCBS and Redding dies. THe Forsters and RCBS dies have vents and I haven't used the Reddings in so long, I don't recall. My preference for dies is Forster.
Bear in Fairbanks

A TINY bit of snot lube goes a long long way. Heck I have even used STP on 45-70 cases, I just get some on my fingers and rub the case it doesn't take much at all.

Most die companies are starting to do away with the vent hole (and that is what is is, not an expander positioner ) and you don't need any kind of lube on the outside of the necks. You should clean the insides of the necks of powder carbon and lube them with a dry lube.

I used use to use all sorts of things to be cheap, but in the long run the specific made lubes are better. An example of a lube pad lube is RCBS's water base lube. That's the point. Easier to clean it off your brass and your hands...unlike STP. STP is too messy. How many of you have used 90 SAE gear oil? Takes forever to get the smell of that stuff off your hand and it never comes out of your clothes. Nope...use the stuff intended for case lube.

For the big, and bigger cases I use the Imperial. I do have a couple of stuck case removers around. But they remain unused .

All my rifle dies are Redding, as are almost all the rest except a very few Dillons and some Lee Factory Crimps.

I had a 7mm stw redding full length die that always gave me lube dents because of the lack of a vent hole. Nothing I could do would get rid of the lube dents, I cut down the lube to the point where I had some hairy moments almost sticking a case, still got the dents. In frustration I ordered a cheap set of lee dies and started using them, no lube dents and the ammo shot just as well.