Hey Y'all,

I got a set of .308 dies and it's started scratching my cases. My guess is that I used too much lube or some crud got caught in the die. What's the best stuff to clean dies out with?

Thanks,
QD

Cleaning probably won't help.

You can try polishing, but remember that polishing removes die material and it is possible that your cases will no longer be within specs.

You are best off just buying a new set.

I use Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber. Remove the decapping rod and spray the inside of the die liberally.

Then try sizing some lightly lubed cases. If they still scratch, call the die manufacturer and see if they'll help you out.

George

Quick,

I had problems with crud getting imbedded on the inside of my die and scratching the cases when sized. It seems that some particulate material gets into the die then actually imbeds in the internal surface. I polished it out with a brass rod wrapped with cloth and with some polishing compound on the cloth. This was run back and forth several time with a hand drill, but as noted above, be careful as polishing compound will remove material from the inside of the die and can easily change the internal dimension.

The source of this particulate crud is most often from the carbon residue from the expended primer. I found it worthwhile to add another step in the sizing sequence and run the primer punch way down then punch out the primer first, clean the primer pocket, clean the cases, then size them. It is another step, but I haven't had any trouble with it since doing it that way.

Hope this helps,

Don Shearer

A easy way to maintain a die is to often use Carborator Cleaner . Spray is into the die prior to sizing thus removing any old lube that may clog the vents , as well as washing out other residue . If I still get problems I take it apart and run a cloth through.

Hope this helps
Ben

Being of the frugal persuasion, I ended up fixing a die that scratched by wrapping 0000 steel wool around an old brush, clamping the die in a vice, and polishing the die with the steel wool.

Worked like a charm, and I don't have to use near as much lube.

As far as enlarging the die, not that I could measure, but with most of my factory chambers, a little larger die would be a little bit better...... JMO, Dutch.

QUICKDRAW,
Your dies are made of the same material as your rifle barrel. Clean your dies the same way as you clean your bore. If you use a bore brush, be sure that it's a brass brush. I strongly suggest that you never use a steel brush, or any other metal material in your dies to clean them. You may just as well use sand. Solvents should be used the same way they're used in your rifles. I hope that this is of some help. Good luck.

Thanks for all the help!

I'm gonna try that and see if I can't get my die cleaned up! If not, a new Lee die doesn't cost that much. (Best thing about em).

I have seen a case where an individual did not use enough lube on his cases and brass began depositing in his dies.These deposits kept growing and as a result his cases were galled .Barnes cr-10 on a nylon brush removed the deposits and ended the problem.

Big Bob I might take your die cleaning method on board, to date I give them a wipe out with a cloth over a pen and then spray some gun oil on to them. But if you reckon a bronze brush will not hurt with some hoppes well maybe thats better.

Bigbob, yes, rifle barrels are made from steel, just like dies.

Different steels, but the biggest point is that most rifle barrels are tempered to a Rockwell hardness of about 30, whereas, for example, Forstner dies are heat treated to a Rockwell hardness of 58-62.

http://www.forsterproducts.com/Pages/dies.htm

Kinda like saying that one should be careful with graphite, since it is made from the same stuff as diamonds......

FWIW, Dutch.