Star wars

[mpmarty]

Well a while back I got a Star lube/sizer and .460 and .309 dies and a few sticks of semi hard lube. Borrowed an old steam iron of the wifes and mounted Star on a steel plate bolted to bench. Put iron on plate set for 'cotton' and waited for it to warm up. I've tried several different times to make use of this thing and now surrender, unconditionally. The noses come out buried in lube, the grease grooves are nearly empty. I've used #6 shot to plug some of the holes in the die to no avail. The sticky mess this tool creates is more trouble than tumble lubing and I'm putting it up for sale. What's a decent fair price for me to ask? I traded a bunch of firewood for it years ago.

[contender1]

I can't help you on value,, but if the price is right,, I'd be interested in buying it. (Kinda hard to ship firewood,,, so I'll have to send green paper!)

[rockrat]

You need to run the punch down farther to push the boolit down farther in the die

[rodsvet]

Punch depth, incorrect holes plugged, too much heat, too much pressure. You need to play with all of those things and relax. Pull the die, clean it of all lube, then push a bullet into it until you can see the lube groove through the holes. Reinstall the die with the bullet in this position. Screw the punch all the way up into the ram and carefully lower it. then use your fingers to screw the punch down until it gently contacts the base of the bullet. Unscrew the pressure on the plunger. Do not heat the lube more than body temperature to start with. Give the pressure screw a few turns and size a bullet. If no lube comes out screw it down another turn. If no lube comes out after a few tries, then back off the pressure and warm the lube a little higher but not much. Wait till the temperature stabilizes and try again. It takes practice but once you experiment and find the right combination, you will understand the machine a lot better. Every one who buys a Star has the same experience as you. Don't give up, they are good machines. Good luck, Rod

[rodsvet]

The cotton temperature is way too high. Also make sure the diameter of the die is correct for the bullet. Make sure you plugged the holes that you don't need. Most guy I think start out plugging the bottom and top holes and using the middle holes for handgun but a combination may be needed if you are loading bullets with more than one groove. Rod

[Cherokee]

+1 what rodsvet said. You have to learn to use the machine, it operates differently than the Lyman 45-450-4500 and RCBS series of sizers.

[EDK]

There is a long and steep learning curve with a STAR. It also involves a lot of profanity. BUT do some reading, ask some questions, and you'll learn. Once you get it set up and going, you'll love it. I've had mine over 20 years and I'm still learning. 15,000+ of 357 or 44 lead boolits ANNUALLY have been run through mine.

You don't need much heat for most lubes. I keep mine low for the 50/50 and TAC#1 that I currently am using.

You'll notice the "friends" willing to pay to remove the cause of your misery.

:redneck::cbpour::guntootsmiley:

[crabo]

In the casting equipment section, there is a sub section on Star. It has a lot of good info.

[blikseme300]

mpmarty, don't give up on the Star. I routinely lube batches of pistol boolits at a rate in excess of 1000/hour. As others have pointed out, it has a learning curve. There have been a number of threads that have helped people get their Star up and running.


Bliksem
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[HighHook]

Kind of why a lot of us have several stars cause getting the right depth of top punch is the key to success.

[Oreo]

Perhaps you can find someone local to you with experience setting up a star who might be willing to lend a hand.

[captaint]

Marty, Marty, Marty....... When I got my Star I was having similar issues. But, I thought - If everybody loves these things so much, I must be missing something. If everybody else can figger it out, so can I. And I did. Persevere Marty. You'll work it out. Then, you'll love your Star too..... Don't sell it. Work it out. Ask questions. enjoy Mike