what luber sizer to buy?

[lead4me]

I have been cruising evilbay looking for a lube/sizer to buy, question is which one? I think I have looked at 6 different ones maybe more. If the best is an older model and you cant get dies for them no problem, I'm a Toolmaker and can make anything that I would need. I just don't have ANY experience with these and need you with ownership of these to help a new caster out. I know that I have read that most don't bother to size but my Dan Wesson CBOB .45 has a match barrel and it is tight at .452 I'm shaving my boolits when they chamber, this may not be a problem as I have not shot any of them yet...soon though soon.
I just want to get some input so if a good one shows up I can act and have confidence that I'm picking the best one for my needs. I shoot around 100-150 rds once a week will be more once I get this loading thing down pat.

[Dale53]

lead4me.
At the rate you are shooting, and considering future expansion of your shooting, then you really should look at the Star press. That is, if you are doing handguns.

I prefer the RCBS first, and the Lyman second for rifle bullets (they seem to work better for me with gas checks).

I have no axe to grind as I have all three.

If most of what you shoot is handgun, then I would definitely get a Star - quite often they bring more on Ebay than what you should spend for a piece of used equipment. The Star is about two times faster in operation than the other two.

Then, keep your eyes open, and when you see a real deal on an RCBS or Lyman you can add that later, if you feel the need.

Dale53

[rob45]

Dale53 pretty much summed it up.

The Star is a good investment with which you'll be very pleased.
When shopping for it, keep in mind that buying used involves the chance that you may be purchasing the headache of someone else. Broken/missing parts, etc.
Stars obviously hold their value very well, so the used market may command prices not much lower than buying new!

Sizing is kinda' like prepping brass- it's one of those "chores". But the Star is at least twice as fast as the others.

I use everything from the Lee sizers and tumble/pan lube to the RCBS to the Star. They all have pros and cons. But if you're a handgun junkie (and why wouldn't you be if your DW has a match barrel?), consider the Star if you need to size and lube in one operation.

Good Luck.

[Lloyd Smale]

star if your time means anything to you.

[lead4me]

Thanks, ya know I should have seen that coming! The Star is ALWAYS the most expensive one on evilbay. Ya get what you pay for I guess, I started looking because when checking my reloads I cant seem to get 100% of them to cycle through the chamber "by hand" seems like I get a .474/5 in the mix every time. What a PITA when one of those slams 95% of the way in and stops[smilie=b:
It could be just me (loading mixed brass) or some other newbie reloading thing that I'm doing wrong, but I was thinking that by removing the boolit size I would be moving in the right direction.
Thanks again for the input, anybody got a good used Star for sale??

[blikseme300]

Lead4me,

You will not be disappointed with a Star. As a toolmaker you will appreciate the quality and you should have no problem making your own dies.

See my humble attempts to make my own Star dies here: http://bliksemseplek.com/boolits.html

Bliksem

[lead4me]

Nice job on the sizer die & the melting pot!! I'm just wrapping up on my bottom pour pot at work, it should hold (if full) around 50Lbs +/- used SS & Ampco bronze for all the fittings and shafts.I filled it with water last night and it didn't leak a drop through the spout I'm hopeful that water is thinner than the lead, we shall see.