star lube sizer

[hedgehog]

where can i find one for sale? they don't seem to be around the sale section very much (good thing i guess). magna makes them now as i understand but they dont make it easy to purchase them either. Does some one sell them online? anyone have a line on a used one?

[dragonrider]

They pop up on ebay occaisionaly. Best bet is Magma Eng. The wait time isn't outrageous.

[cheese1566]

They are very easy to order!:bigsmyl2:

I did mine last month. Granted, they don't offer much info on the website, but they will happily answer questions on the phone. I called several times and corresponded by email with idiot questions. Call the number to order.
They told me they will not service pre-Magma Stars and Phelps in-house.

I waited for a used one and dealt on a couple. For what the used one's go for, you can get a new unit for a few dollars more. They don't come with sizers, so order what you need or get one from lathesmith. I figure I'll never sell it and wanted one to last, so I went new. Good quality unit. Any Star is a good tool; if you do a lot of pistol-you'll wonder how you did without!

[hedgehog]

pistol is my intended use, iv owned a 4500 before. it worked very well but slow. star looks much faster.

[101VooDoo]

They pop up on ebay occaisionaly. Best bet is Magma Eng. The wait time isn't outrageous.

Ordered one from Magma two weeks ago, shipped last week -

Jim

[cheese1566]

no comparison on speed, even if you do a leasure pace.

Plus no worries on lube on bevel bases or correct top punches.

Start basic and work your way up to fancy add-ons.

[Avery Arms]

If you need one soon I would order it new because used ones online cost almost as much as new and you don't know if they were cared for or were lemons to begin with.

I found one at a gunshow with 3 dies for a fraction of retail, however that was the only cheap star I have found in years of trolling shows. If you hold out for the absolute best price you have to be willing to do without for as long as it takes, even if that means half a decade.


PP

[hedgehog]

why how long do they take to get when ordered new?

[Doby45]

2-3 weeks. Mine came in 2 weeks. You can ask when you speak to them, they told me I had 14 in front of me and it took the two weeks.

[GLL]

My last one ordered a couple months ago over the phone (credit card) took ten days to my door !
Very smooth transaction ! Nice lady to deal with !

I order my dies from lathesmith !

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=62874

Jerry

[Shotgun Luckey]

I inherited one that was in very nice shape and bought one off e-bay that had been pretty well abused, given the condition I overpaid and would have been better off buying one new. Have never regretted the ease of use though.

OH, and Lathesmith make GREAT dies and punches at a great price

[blikseme300]

I got both of mine off fleabay. I make my own dies so I am quite independent. I have no idea how long it takes from Magma.

Bliksem

[cajun shooter]

Magma is the way to go as like all the other postings you will pay as much or more off flea-bay. Call in your order and talk to Mary. She is very nice and will tell you when to expect your order. Buy the shovel handle with it for a extra $27. Buy your dies from Lathesmith who is a forum member that makes better dies than what magma sells.

[Doby45]

Or get your roller handle from lathesmith when you order you dies. I think his is cheaper too, not by much but when your putting an order in to him anyway.

[hedgehog]

ordered the lubesizer today from magma. feel good about it. it will be nice to get rid of the rcbs.

does anyone make upgrades for it like magma? bullet feeder, air cylinder for the lube ?

[Artful]

Uh, you may want to keep your RCBS - Star does great on production but not as to do weird bullet shapes - I have kept my lyman 450 and RCBS in addition to my Star.

[malpaismike]

Glad you Ebay dudes won out. I paid $300 for a Star and never saw anything but an empty mailbox and hollow follow-thru from USPS. Got suckered in by all the extras in the deal. I will try to get my Star on my next trip to the valley. mw

[No_1]

Traded 2 octagon TC barrels for mine and the guy threw in a Bullberry 45 Colt barrel to make me happy. Consider it a great deal everytime I use it. Buy the air cylinder from magma. If you think a star makes sizing faster then get the air cylinder to pressurize the lube. I thought I could not live without a star until I bought the air cylinder then discovered I could NEVER live without a star that has a air cylinder.

R.

[Smokin7mm]

Got my Star in a gun transaction from a friend. I was buying a XP-100 from him. When we met to make the deal he he said he had this casting equipment he wanted to get rid of also. Told him I had most I needed but asked how much he wanted for it. Said you can just have it cause he wasnt using it. Contained a Star sizer, .356, .358. .430, .452 dies and punches, Lyman 20lb (older) bottom pour pot, can of lyno, several molds (lyman 9mm 4 cav, NEI 7mm, handles etc. Said he wanted 300-400 for the XP and 200 for a Browning Buckmark silhouette IHMSA commerative. Said OK to it all, how could I pass it up.

[hedgehog]

so im guessing by the responses that only magma makes accessories for the sizer? Besides Lathesmiths dies and handle of course

[hedgehog]

One more question , sort of on the same lines.

iv ordered my star with .453 sizer die, because my my sti spartan barrel slugged at .452 what happens if my measurement is off slightly and my barrel is really .451 negative effects? boom?

my mold drops .453-.4535 measured with a mic.

[No_1]

What accessories are you looking for?

Robert


so im guessing by the responses that only magma makes accessories for the sizer? Besides Lathesmiths dies and handle of course

[No_1]

If it will chamber your barrel will make it the right size.

Robert


One more question , sort of on the same lines.

iv ordered my star with .453 sizer die, because my my sti spartan barrel slugged at .452 what happens if my measurement is off slightly and my barrel is really .451 negative effects? boom?

my mold drops .453-.4535 measured with a mic.

[hedgehog]

bullet feeder and air cylinder would be nice upgrades. maybe a heater but i dont think ill need it for the lube i run.

[hedgehog]

If it will chamber your barrel will make it the right size.

Robert

ill test that right now

[hedgehog]

chamber fine, and i haven't sized them yet. .4535 dropped size. loaded case size at neck is .448"

they don't fit my dillion case/ammo checker , but i feel no resistance with these dummy loads in my Spartans chamber.

[No_1]

Load a couple magazines worth of test rounds to make sure it functions correctly and if it does have at it!

R.

[No_1]

The Dillon case gauge is designed to ensure ammo is per "spec" so it will load in any gun who's barrel is within industry standard dimensions including those that have tight chambers.

Are you using Dillon dies? If so, you may not want to use the factory crimp die because it will swage your case down to the point it will fit the Dillon case gauge which means it will also swage your loaded slug down too.

Robert

[hedgehog]

no, im using lee carbide dies. when my star comes in ill load 50 or so and give them a test. i should order a .452 sizing die as i would like to make boolits for my friends too.

[Echo]

Again, FWIW, my recommendation is to load the fattest boolit that will reliably chamber, and let the bbl size it down perfectly. If .453 chambers, and shoots well, have at it...

[Smokin7mm]

bullet feeder and air cylinder would be nice upgrades. maybe a heater but i dont think ill need it for the lube i run.

There is a bullet feeder with heated base on *bay right now. only 22 hrs to go. Not sure what they go for new but it is at about 201.00

[hedgehog]

im Canadian and the seller wishes to sell to Americans only.

[MaxJon]

Traded 2 octagon TC barrels for mine and the guy threw in a Bullberry 45 Colt barrel to make me happy. Consider it a great deal everytime I use it. Buy the air cylinder from magma. If you think a star makes sizing faster then get the air cylinder to pressurize the lube. I thought I could not live without a star until I bought the air cylinder then discovered I could NEVER live without a star that has a air cylinder.

R.

Hi No.1, do you know if i could rig up air to my RCBS LAM II ??
Can't see why not??:?::?::?:
BB03

[trevj]

Are there any check valves or other valving to stop the lube from free flowing when the bullet is changed out? Or is that the job of the bullet that is to be pushed through the die by the next one on the Star? The plunger only stops the flow when it is forward, like a grease gun. Nothing but the bullet in the die keeping the air pressure from feeding the whole tank full through the dies, is there?

I'm not seeing an easy way by the need for an interrupter of some sort to prevent the lube from going everywhere while you are looking for that next bullet to feed in the sizer.
Now, you could set up an air valve to put the pressure on and off the lube each time you seat one home, but it'd get old fast, listening to the air compressor kicking on and off, keeping such a system running.

Cheers
Trev

[MaxJon]

Are there any check valves or other valving to stop the lube from free flowing when the bullet is changed out? Or is that the job of the bullet that is to be pushed through the die by the next one on the Star? The plunger only stops the flow when it is forward, like a grease gun. Nothing but the bullet in the die keeping the air pressure from feeding the whole tank full through the dies, is there?

I'm not seeing an easy way by the need for an interrupter of some sort to prevent the lube from going everywhere while you are looking for that next bullet to feed in the sizer.
Now, you could set up an air valve to put the pressure on and off the lube each time you seat one home, but it'd get old fast, listening to the air compressor kicking on and off, keeping such a system running.

Cheers
Trev
Thanks Trev.
Not sure about the valve bit, gunna have a good look at a mates star which has air and heater on it. I know it runs at 60 PSI thats about it.
BB03

[cajun shooter]

Trevj, You don't need nor use a air compressor for a Star that has the air cylinder. The Star only uses the pressure to keep the lube flowing and if all your fittings have tape as they should then no loss of air. I have had 3 Stars and run all of them off of air tanks that are sold at Walley World. The one Star has run for over 4 months without me adding air to the tank. You need a compressor to fill the tank and that is it. I happen to use air tools and have a shop size compressor that is outside. You could just go to the local station and fill your air tank. Mine holds 125 lbs of air and as I stated has been used for 4 months without loss of air. I run my Star with my lube at 90 lbs. Each lube will be different. Later David

[David2011]

Or is that the job of the bullet that is to be pushed through the die by the next one on the Star? The plunger only stops the flow when it is forward, like a grease gun. Nothing but the bullet in the die keeping the air pressure from feeding the whole tank full through the dies, is there?


Cheers
Trev

Yep, that's the job of the boolit that's still in the die. Once the spring or air pressure is released you can change dies without lube giong everywhere.

David

[trevj]

Thanks David, that's pretty much what I thought. It makes it a bit of a non-starter to mod an RCBS sizer to duplicate the Star, as they operate on a fair bit different principle, what with the need to remove th ebullet on the RCBS.

Cajun Shooter, I was commenting on the possibility of using air on an RCBS to duplicate the Star air setup. I think it is a bit tough to pull off. There would, I yhink, be a need to cycle the pressure on and off, or to add some way to stop the lube flowing when the bullet is removed from the RCBS sizer. That's where I was thinking that the air would have to be bled off, then re-applied. Lots of wasted air.

Course, one might always re-rig a RCBS sizer to push through operation. Gonna be a minor PITA, but it could be done...

A bud has a Star that he really likes. I have a couple Lyman 45's and am not too worried about volume throughput yet, so they will do. :)

Cheers
Trev

[6bg6ga]

Received my Magma after a week. Ordered my punch and dies from lathesmith.
I have never run a Star before. Is it supposed to spit out a sized and lubed bullet with each cycle or does the next bullet push out the first bullet that was inserted?

[Ugluk]

Received my Magma after a week. Ordered my punch and dies from lathesmith.
I have never run a Star before. Is it supposed to spit out a sized and lubed bullet with each cycle or does the next bullet push out the first bullet that was inserted?

I'm real new to mine as well, and mine keeps the last boolit in the die.

I have another strange thing going though.
I put the magma supplied Javelina stick in mine when I got it and has since recieved my shipment from Lars, so I figured there wouldn't be much left in the tube and added a stick of BAC.
The Javelina seems to last forever however. I'm at more than 2000 boolits now and no sign of any BAC.
Except that is, the worm of lube coming out of the vent hole in the tube.
Did I overfill?
Is it supposed to come out of the vent hole?

[runfiverun]

the next boolit pushes the sized and lubed one out, then in turn is sized then lubed.
the little lube worm coming out will stop after the cylinder gets below it.
some guy's cover the hole with rubber and a hose clamp, i just let it go and recycle the lube and keep the level down by the hole when filling.

[R.M.]

Yep, you overfilled it.
I melt my lube and pour it in the reservoir, so I get a real good fill, and yes sometimes I get above the vent hole and create a mess, but I figure I can lube about 1000 double grooved .45s per fill. You should be getting real close to the Lars lube soon.

[Ugluk]

Thanks guys, that's what I figured.

I guess the test of carnauba red will have to wait a few months..

[mtgrs737]

I have three stars, one from a member here, one from ebay, and a new old stock from a lube customer of mine. The first two were in pretty good shape, one needed a paint job and few small parts, one needed an oversize lube plunger that Lathesmith made for me and the new one needed nothing of course! I do like the roller handle and air cylinder upgrades but neither is a have to have. I have both star and lathesmith lube dies and I prefer lathesmith's dies as I order them with holes 90 degrees apart instead of 120 degrees for better groove filling with large dia. boolits. I pour in melted lube using a cut off top of a 2 liter pop bottle as a funnel, it just fits and you don't have to clean it afterwards, just toss it in the trash and cut a new one. Good luck with your star, they are the best lubersizer for high production IMHO!

[needcoffee]

How do gas checks work on the Star? Lathesmith mentioned he makes a rounded bullet punch for gas checked bullets? Will the Star seat the gas checks?

Regards

[cajun shooter]

Yes, The only thing that changes is for the punch to be very close to the base diameter so that it seats even all around the bullet. The punch supplied by Magma is universal and not meant for seating of GC.

[101VooDoo]

needcoffee,

Here's some GC's being seated on a Star, using a Lathesmith die and punch.

Middle pic is a check sitting on a boolit, ready to be sized.

Jim

[casterofboolits]

When I first ordered a San Diego Star luber, I also ordered a full range of base punches. 9mm, 38/357, 40/10mm, 41, 44 and 45. I even have two punches for sizing 45 RN and 38 SWC base first.

My Magma Lube Master came with a universal base punch that works for all sizes.

[Fixxah]

Do the shovel handles have bearings in them? If not, I may just make a couple for my presses.

[6bg6ga]

Just received my Auto Feeder Assy today. I am somwhat dissapointed with it as the bullet punch doesn't work with the new bullet nut collar and actuator assy. I run out of threads when trying to adjust the height of the punch. Anyone have the same problem?

[bslim]

I'm just getting into lube sizing my own bullets with a Star Lube Sizer. Any recommendations on a lube I could use for Cowboy bullets, no more than 750 ft/sec. The area I work in is heated and I ordered the air assist cylinder for the Star sizer. Thx.

[LabGuy]

I know this sound silly but I would use 50/50 bees wax Alox so it would smoke a bit, for cowboy shootin.

[Roundnoser]

I'm real new to mine as well, and mine keeps the last boolit in the die.

I have another strange thing going though.
I put the magma supplied Javelina stick in mine when I got it and has since recieved my shipment from Lars, so I figured there wouldn't be much left in the tube and added a stick of BAC.
The Javelina seems to last forever however. I'm at more than 2000 boolits now and no sign of any BAC.
Except that is, the worm of lube coming out of the vent hole in the tube.
Did I overfill?
Is it supposed to come out of the vent hole?

Yup! Overfilled it!

[Fugowii]

Anyone got any hints for removing the lube plunger when refilling? The only thing I hate about the
Star is the effort required to remove that thing. Am I doing something wrong?

[Roundnoser]

Anyone got any hints for removing the lube plunger when refilling? The only thing I hate about the
Star is the effort required to remove that thing. Am I doing something wrong?

I heat the Star first, then slowly remove the plunger. Even if you use lubes that are soft, its much easier when heated a little.