Tooling Marks on Necks From FL Die? Problem?

[Troutslayer]

I have been resizing a bunch of .300RUM cases with a RCBS full length resizing die. The necks of the brass have the faintest lines running down them. Taking the die apart and inspecting it revealed that the area that resizes the neck is not mirror smooth, rather it is the tiniest bit coarse. Couple of questions. Is this going to weaken the brass? The tooling would not be measurable in depth, but the neck is no longer as smooth as the body, if you run it along your fingernail it is a little "sticky" when compared to the smooth body of the case. I doubt that I could return the die set. Is this going to cause any problem with safety or with my chamber or is this common? I am pretty new to reloading. Thanks.

[boomtube]

" ..the neck is no longer as smooth as the body, ... is this common? I am pretty new to reloading. Thanks."

It's common, if not normal. And it's unlikely to be from machining. It is most commonly a result of microscopic bits of "galled" case brass that has adhered to the die's neck wall, or the body for that matter. The bits will accumulate with more use. Eventually, the case scratches can cut deeply enough to make necks fail early but that's sorta rare and not dangerous anyway.

Rubbing any dry metals against each other hard pressure without lube can cause the softer to attach itself to the harder as firmly as if wielded. After galling occurs we can remove it with a simple home made lap but that can be tricky unless you are mechanically inclined. If you aren't comfortable fixing it yourself either live with the scratches or send it to the maker for lapping. Best thing is to prevent it.

A LOT of folks say not to lube necks at all to prevent lube dents on the shoulders during FL sizing. That works, but it also opens up the potential for galling! I prefer to apply a very tiny amount of lube on the necks. There is no need to load them up with any oily stuff, just a trace is sufficent.

[Winchester 69]

Copper solvent is effective for removing the galling.

[LRHWAL]

I lube necks with the Redding / Imperial Dry Neck Lube.

I think the shoulder is really the area to avoid the "oily" or "thick" lubes.

[Jamie6.5]

I made a neck luber with a large diameter pill bottle, some 7-1/2 lead shot and a half of tube of graphite.
Fill the pill bottle half-2/3rds with the shot and dump in the graphite. Place the lid on the bottle and give it a thorough shake.
When you are ready to resize simply jam the case(s) down into the graphite coated shot a few times rapidly and tap off the excess. The tapping also sheds any shot that might get stuck in the neck.
Wipe off the outside after resizing, you know how dirty graphite can look.
Replace the lid and shake periodically.
The neck gets lubed inside and out and shoulder slightly. Never dents and won't contaminate powder. You can even skip the process every 3rd shell or so, after the graphite has coated the inside of the die.

[boomtube]

"I made a neck luber with a large diameter pill bottle, some 7-1/2 lead shot and a half of tube of graphite."

Ditto. Works good too, lubes both the necks inside and outside well enough. Gets my fingers a bit dirty but I know how to fix that.