Magma Star Lube Sizer Arrived Today!!

[jleneave]

I just got my Magma Star lube/sizer this afternoon!! It has been on back order for about 3 weeks now. I also ordered a .452" and .430" sizer dies and the heater base. It took me a little while to get it set up thier manual don't go into a lot of detail. After I finally got it set up to size the RCBS 45-270-SAA .45LC I ran 50 bullets through it and it works like a champ!! I am going to try and post a picture with this post, but I am not real sure how to do this and I am sorry if it doesn't work. The pic may not be all that great as it was taken with a Motorola Razor cell phone.

I would also like to thank 10mmFreak. If it were not for the video that he posted of him sizing bullets with the Star I would have went with a RCBS. I would also like to thank him for making my wallet a lot lighter again caused by the video.

[willwork4ww]

Congrats. You will love that machine. Yeah, their manual sucks. Rule of thumb is, if it's threaded, it has purpose. Other rule of thumb is disregard their bullet punch setting instructions. Set buttet to be sized so it lines up with the lube holes you're gonna use. Measure from base of boolit to top of flange on die. Subtract this figure from 2", that is your bullet punch setting. 270-SAA should be 1.25". Enjoy.

[Sundogg1911]

i remember when I bought my first Star. I had it about a week and decided i needed a second one. Now I have 3. [smilie=1:
I still use my Lyman 450 from time to time for some odd ball stuff, but those Stars never set still very long. You will never look back!

[IcerUSA]

Still waiting on mine to get here , not a new shiny one like yours but still a Star , should be here next week sometime as it's coming in from Hawaii . Also waiting on a thread die so I can make top punches . WOOT

Keith

[xcrider]

Still waiting on mine to get here , not a new shiny one like yours but still a Star , should be here next week sometime as it's coming in from Hawaii . Also waiting on a thread die so I can make top punches . WOOT

Keith

Sounds like you scored one of *bay last week.

[xr650]

That is a beautiful machine.
I have an old rusty crusty coming. I can't wait. Hoping everything works when it arrives.

IcerUSA,
If you single point your threads you will end up with a better product. If you don't want to thread to depth, starting your thread single point and finishing with die is easier to get die on straight.

[454PB]

Nice machine, you'll love it. Nice picture, too!

[mtgrs737]

I have two Star Lubersizers and two Lyman 450's and they are all good machines. I like the 450's because they are easy to set up and do small amounts of boolits. I like the Star's because they will size and lube thousands in the time it takes the Lyman lubers to do hundreds and they are unique in design. I have added the air cylinder lube feeder and the Roller shovel type handle to one and I can recomend both up-grades as they make them even more pleasant to use. The handle helps reduce the wrist discomfort because it rolls in your hand and that is nice when doing large numbers of large hard alloy boolits. The air cylinder provides a more constant flow of lube to the injection plunger without having to turn the reseviour screw handle every so many cycles. I have a small air compressor that I use but a portable air tank that you fill from a compressor would work fine as the cylinder does not really use a "volume" of air but more like the "pressure" of the air. I also recomend a heater that is adjustable for temp even if you use the soft lubes so that the lube will flow easily, I keep my heater adjusted to around 90 degrees as I am in a cool basement.

[jleneave]

Thanks for all the positive post, I appreciate them.

Willwork4ww, thanks for the info on setting the bullet punch as that is where I had most of my problems. I tried to go by Magma’s instructions and measure the distance from the bullet base to the top of the die (end with flange) while the bullet lube groove was lined up with the lube holes in the die. But I couldn’t find anywhere in the manual how to use this measurement.

Sundog, I could barely stomach the price of this one, I can’t imagine dishing out the money for 2 more of them!!

IcerUSA, mine was on back order for 3 weeks so I know how you feel. I was like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. So far I think it was well worth the wait.

Xr650, thanks for the complement and good luck with yours.

454PB, thanks I wasn’t sure how the pic would turn out since it was taken with a cell phone camera.

Mtgrs737, that is a nice set up that there. I may end up trying the shovel handle but I am not sure about the air cylinder. I will have to wait and see. WW are getting really scarce around here. All the good locations that I had to get WW have dried up. I had one place tell me that they are now contracting with a guy that gives them $1.80 per pound!! I can’t see someone giving that much for them but a couple different people that works there says it’s true and this was my best source for WW.

[mtgrs737]

I don't know if I believe the $1.80 a pound thing, the scrap price last time I looked was .38 cents a pound for weights. The trick to finding WW's is to never give up. In the last year I have had 3 out of 5 places dry up on me, but I didn't give up and now I am approaching the one ton of ingots mark. I can tell you the lead is out there, you just have to keep looking and not give up! :drinks:

[jleneave]

I don't know if I believe the $1.80 a pound thing, the scrap price last time I looked was .38 cents a pound for weights. The trick to finding WW's is to never give up. In the last year I have had 3 out of 5 places dry up on me, but I didn't give up and now I am approaching the one ton of ingots mark. I can tell you the lead is out there, you just have to keep looking and not give up! :drinks:

I agree with you 100% about not giving up. I have found them at the most unlikely places. I also doubt that some one is giving them $1.80 per pound for WW. Maybe the guy was trying to tell me that I couldn't get them there any more or that maybe he was trying to get more $$$ from me. The local recycler around here is only buying them for .25 cents per pound. Later.

[lathesmith]

Icer, where did you find a die that cuts the top punch threads? I don't believe I have ever seen a 1/2-27 tpi die.
lathesmith

[Jon K]

Icer, where did you find a die that cuts the top punch threads? I don't believe I have ever seen a 1/2-27 tpi die.
lathesmith


lathesmith,

Good question, odd size, although 1/2-27 is an American standard.

Try Tapco:
http://www.tapcousa.com/about.asp
They will make it any configuration round, square, etc.

Although, probably just as easy to single tool with that nice looking thingie in your avatar.
You could also make a die otu of O1 and HT.

It will be good info to keep when Icer tells who has it in stock, cause I couldn't find one readily available.

Jon

[Jon K]

mtgrs737,

Shovel handle looks great, ergonmically friendly or easy on the hands when doing a lot! I'll have to try it.

jleneave,

Did you see the rubberband in the pic? That is a must have. I have 2 Star sizers and always have a rubberband near-by. Can't walk by and not bump the handle otherwise.

Jon

[jleneave]

mtgrs737,

Shovel handle looks great, ergonmically friendly or easy on the hands when doing a lot! I'll have to try it.

jleneave,

Did you see the rubberband in the pic? That is a must have. I have 2 Star sizers and always have a rubberband near-by. Can't walk by and not bump the handle otherwise.

Jon

I didn't notice the rubberband until I looked at the pictures again after reading your post. Since I don't have the shovel handle or the air pressure attachment what would I hook the rubber band to so that it will pull the handle back up. I tried hooking one from the handle to the lube screw pressure assembly and it don't work very well. Thanks for the tip.

Jody

[mtgrs737]

Before the roller shovel type handle and the air cylinder I just wraped it around the pressure screw and the stock straight ( file) handle, keeps it up out of the way.

[lathesmith]

Jon, yes I have made several top punches on the ol' lathe, it has a nice change-gear setup and I can cut about any thread I need to with it. Changing gears is kinda old-school slow, but I don't thread that often so it's not a big deal. For the Star, I like to thread about six inches of rod at once and then make the punches from the threaded rod; it's much faster than making them one at a time.
Thanks for pointing out the rubber band, that is a good idea guys! Seems like the handle always "flops" over, the band is a good fix. I also like the looks of the air setup, I may give that some serious consideration.
Jleneave, congrats on your new toy, I am sure you will like it once you get it going. The learning curve with the Star is a little steeper,but it is well worth the extra initial effort.
lathesmith

[IcerUSA]

Lathesmith , here is the link for the thread die . Look under special thread . http://www.icscuttingtools.com/Dies.htm

I need the thread die as my 9X20 import lathe will not cut 27 TPI , 26 and 28 it will do , go figure . :)

Too many projects and not enough time .

[mto7464]

What are these going for these days??

[jleneave]

What are these going for these days??

I gave a total of $451.21 for my setup new from Magma Engineering. It breaks down as follows:

Star Sizer W/O Die......................$250.00
Heated Base...............................$105.00
.452 Star Size Die.......................$37.50
.430 Star Size Die.......................$37.50
Shipping, Handling, Insurance....$21.21

It also came with the tool to remove the sizer die, a tube of Magma's lube, a small top punch that looked to be about .358", they also threw in a .400" top punch for free, several pieces of lead shot to plug the lube holes in the sizer die.

The lady that I spoke with when I placed my order was super nice and very knowledgable about thier products. When I placed my order they had to back order it and she told me that she could have it at my door in about 3 weeks. She called back a week and a half later to advise me that my order was ready to ship and I gave her payment info and the unit arrived 4 days later (weekend). She was actually a couple days early. I have to say that thier customer service has been great so far. As I stated before, the manual is not near enough detailed and needs to be rewritten, but other than that everything is great and I am very pleased with my purchase!!

[lathesmith]

Jleneave, that sounds like a good haul! It will take you a few days to get everything set up and going, no doubt. As you observed, the manual is not very useful, but luckily using these machines are pretty straightforward. Keep the die remover handy, it will come in very useful.

Icer, your lathe will no doubt cut 27 tpi, but....it would require a different switch gear, maybe even an odd size. Luckily, my little lathe comes with a whole mess of gears, and after some "extrapolating" I simplified and made a useful thread calculating formula from my lathe's manual. 27 tpi is not one of the listed pitches, but with the formula I can cut darn near any thread I can dream up. This does come in useful on the odd occasion.
I'm glad you were able to find a die, at least that is better than nothing, for sure. For a custom die that is really not as expensive as I thought it might be.
lathesmith

[mto7464]

then why in the heck are people paying upwards of $250 for a used one on ebay?????

[xpshooter]

I am planning on ordering a Star soon; and I was wondering if the heated base has a temp setting or is it on all the time? And Is the .400 punch bing enough to size for .432?

Thanks

[EDK]

People on eBay go a little crazy..."I ain't lettin' that SOB outbid ME!" It was a lot more fun when they left the names of bidders recognizable...you knew who the crazies were!

Some people think the original STAR is superior to the MAGMA. I have an oldie that I got from GIL HEBBARD, Knoxville IL (?) back in the late 80s/early 90s. I'd buy a used one for under $150 in a heart beat...but so would evereyone else!

I bought the generic heater base from MIDWAY. Even with a soft lube, it helps get things going quicker.

MAGMA sent me a .420 punch when I ordered a .432 die earlier this year. They don't exactly give away the punches or jam nuts....but who's got a 1/2 by 27 die or a length of threaded stock? The punch has worked well for the boolits I've processed so far.

The die removal tool is nice. AND they go nuts about them also on eBay!

Enjoy your MAGMA/STAR.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[jleneave]

Lathesmith, actually it only took me a couple hours to get it up and running with the .452” size die. The part that took the longest was getting the top punch set properly so the lube went into the correct groove, it was a trial and error type thing. Thank you for your input.

xpshooter, the heater base has a recessed screw that you use to set the temp, but there are no numbers, marks or anything of that nature to go by. When the heater reaches the temp where the screw is set it cuts off and when it starts to cool it kicks back on. There is a light that tells you when it is on. So I guess there is a thermostat of sorts that regulates the heat, I just wish it had a dial with some sort of marking to let you know what it is set at. Then again I guess when you get the heat set where you want it there is no need to change the setting and since the screw is recessed it’s not like you will bump it and accidentally turn the screw. Don’t get me wrong here, I am not B!t*hing about it. The heater base also had a off/on switch mounted in the power cord so you don’t have to continuously plug and unplug it. I have used the .400” top punch to size .452” bullets and it worked just fine.

[msg.drew]

Hi Guys

Andrew from Canada here after a long wait my Magma Sizer came on monday...
I am sizing lee 200 Semi wad .452 from a comercial 6 cavity mold... I have been messing around with this thing for 3 days now and I know what the bullets are suposed to look like perfect like this fellows that started this post but mine are getting wax lube all over the place mainly on the top they are a mess... I went through the stick of javalina that came with it... some spg lube and I am now trying lyman gold because I used that before with my lyman 4500... but its looking like I need to buy a heater now.

I have opted for the bullet feader that magma offers and its way faster then my lyman... but if i could get it going to lube only the single grove and produce something good then i would be happy.

any tips or ideas what I can do...

[AnthonyB]

Drew, did you close off the unneeded lube holes with lead shot? Tony

[msg.drew]

Yep I left the middle lube holes open... there are 9 holes 3 are suposed to be left open... I took a measurement where the bullet should line up with the lube holes its .750 of an inch down in the sizing die.

[cajun shooter]

Are you adjusting the punch in or out so that the bullet goes deeper or more shallow in the sizing die? With lube on the nose it sounds as if they are going too deep

[FN in MT]

Ordered mine on Monday. So it should arrive shortly. She stated they had sixteen sizers on the way.

FN in MT

[msg.drew]

Actually I got it working pretty good... it was partially the soft lube the stuff is like lip balm consistancy. This harder lube is working better

I think the problem might be related to the plugging of the holes... its 3 little dabs on the sholder of the semi wadcutting part of the bullet not the tip... these dies are really expensive or else I would weld the holes shut... I was under the impression from magma they would send me a custom die that was designed for the exact bullets I was sizing. I can see why guys have 3 and 4 of these because if it takes a week to get it setup once its working I guess you dont want to mess with it to switch calibers i was planning on doing 40 and 44 too with this machine

[GabbyM]

Once you get the hang of it setup is simple. Three dabs of lube on the leading edge sounds like to much pressure on the lube. they will squirt out a bit in the short time no bullet is over the lube holes then the new bullet picks up the dabs as it goes through. the softer the lube the less pressure you can get away with using.

You should have some lead shot that came with the dies. for pluging the unused holes.

To find the hole to use just hold the bullet and punch together in one hand up beside the die and visualize the proper hole to leave open. How ever far above the die the punch sits is where you adjust it to in the machine. I always just eyeball them.

lube leakage is usually to much heat or to much pressure. Undersized bullets will allow lube to push past the bands.

[billyb]

Back off on the pressure a little and the excess lube will go away. Had the same problem with mine until i lightened up a little on the pressure screw. Bill

[msg.drew]

Thanks guys... I need to get a heater base and then I can back the pressure off... I lubed about 1000 last night that where pretty near perfect what I expected the machine could do...

Anyone have one of the master casters the hand operated casting machine they make? I been thinking about getting one...