Care and Maintenance of Loading Dies

[Ozarks]

I am at an impasse on preventing rust with loading dies. Obviously, one does not want an oily lubricant inside the die, or outside for that matter. I am sure something works, but what????

What is the best protection for storage where the humidity fluctuates at different times of the year?

Has anyone have any experience with using Hornady One shot spray cleaner/lubricant (not the case lube)?

 

[George]

die storage

die storage

Good question! Probably treat them as with any other metal tool- like guns. One thing I learned, the hard way, is to NOT store them in a sealed container like an ammo can, particularly in extremes of heat then cold, etc.!! I think some folks use BC Sheath. One good evaporative product I've used for a long time is LPS #1- for guns, fine machinery and tools. It comes in at least two or three weights with the heaviest acting something like cosmoline. The #1 is the lightest and most practical for most uses. Some hardware stores carry it or can be found on the web at various aircraft maintenance and supply company sites.

 

[mauserboy]

care of dies

care of dies

There is nothing wrong with putting some kind of rust preventative inside your dies to protect them between reloading sessions. Just be sure and clean out the dies with something like Gunscrubber before you use them again and run some dry patches on a short rod to make sure all is clean.

 

[Ronnie]

die care

die care

I coat the outside surfaces with sheath or a new one called ,believe it or not, BULLFROG firearm cleaner and rust blocker it acts pretty much like sheath then I drop a little sorb-it cannester in the die box and have had no rust since and it does get really humid down here in Louisiana.The little sorb-it cannester contains silca gel.These little cannesters are normally found in any medicines that are temperature sensitive so save them and put them in your die box and problem solved.If you don't take medicine any kind of commercial desiccant like humi-sorb manufactured by Culligan USA in a small packet will work just as well...Hope this helps good shooting Ronnie

 

[AK Bearcat]

Dies and One Shot

Dies and One Shot

I am not sure in what part of the country you are in but, where I am in Alaska I have had little trouble with dies rusting. I have about 15 sets of dies, all but one eing RCBS. The one odd ball is a Redding set for 30-06. Some of them are from the early 70's, so they have been around a while. All of them are stores in a 20MM ammo can in their plastic containers. They get wiped down, from time to time but other wise they get no special attention.
As far as the 'One shot' lube goes, I would not start a reloading project with out it. Years ago I was having issues with lube pads and crinkeling the shoulders of my 338 brass. Some of my problem washow much lube I was putting on the pad and some was due to the breather hole getting clogged. Since I switched to 'One shot' all is much better.
Hopes this helps.

 

[BrownBear]

The biggest killer in my book is fluctuating temp along with humidity. I used to leave the heat off in my shop when I wasn't using it. Everything rusted! Since I keep constant heat in there all the time, normal care is enough to keep everything spotless.