Another rookie question

I'm resizing my first cases. The down stroke is smooth. The upstroke is difficult. Feels like it is hanging up on the neck of the die. AM I doing anything wrong or is this normal? Cases are lightly lubed. That is not the issue.

case neck brush + lube will help;
or dip neck in graphite

Inside the neck is where you're getting friction. I use a neck brush and silica powder that's made for this. The lube you're using or, as stated above, powdered graphite will work.

So are your saying put lube on the brush and run it through a couple of times?

I use the rcbs case lube, and I spray the neck on a case about every 50 pieces

What caliber are you loading and what type of lube are you using? How are you lubing the case?

Hornady makes tub style lube that works well for this. I typically will put enough on the inside neck to remedy this. I get my fingers greased up about the way it would be after eating a chicken wing and that will get around 5-7 cases.

Lyman lube, on the pad. 30-06

Imperial Sizing Wax if you want to look like you know what you are doing...

[url=Link on Midway]http://www.midwayusa.com/product/519525/imperial-case-sizing-wax-2-oz?cm_vc=wishList[/url]

Goatkiller is right about the Imperial Sizing die wax. I load 4-5ooo rds a year with it. Get yourself a Q-tip and LIGHTLY rug Imperial Sizing die wax around the inside of the neck. IF you are neck sizing you can take out= if possible the expander die and swap it for a smaller size. Redding S dies , come with a smaller expanding die. You can also open up the = dented case mouths with a Mandreal, THEN resize. This will take away the need for an expander button.

As said, lube inside of neck. But the resistance on the upstroke is normal. Down stroke squeezes case and neck down to size. Actually usually squeeze neck down too small. So on the upstroke, the 'knob' on the decap pin (on most dies) opens the neck just enough to accept a jacketed bullet.

Rebelman - get a stuck case remover if you don't already have one. Nothing sucks worse than getting a case really stuck good. We've all been there.

Yep, they hit the nail on the head. You need a small dab of lube inside the case neck. I use the Lee lube. It's wax like. I put some on my finger then just wipe my finger across the case mouth. A little is all you need.

Not on all dies. Bushing dies= redding, forster, hornady,rcbs, and harrels precision and others . A bushing die allows the user to control the amount of tension put on the neck. They DO NOT squeeze the neck to tight. Here is an example. A loaded 308 Lapua brass with bullet has a .337 loaded neck. So if you have a bushing die with a .336 bushing it CAN NOT be smaller than .336. So you end up with 1 ths neck tension. ALso the "knob" you are refering to is called a expander button, so a perminatly attached. Some are interchange able, so you can swap them. They even make a tapered expander ball. A tapered expander ball can be from 1 caliber to another, I use a 6.5 to 7mm tapered expander ball to make 6.5x284 lapua brass into 284 brass. The decaping pin DOES not open up anything= the expander ball does not have to be used= except for crimped or out of shape brass mouths. But most common hunting type reloading dies Do have the expander ball that you can change. Not trying to be an ass or confuse anyone, just trying to give you the whole truth, correct names for parts, and explan the process better and give you options!