New Star Sizer..No fun.

[jpsw44]

Well, Im having a little trouble with my new Star sizer..Im consistently getting lube on the nose of the bullet. Not that its a big deal but it bothers me. I know its from lube leaking out after a bullet is sized and the next one comes down..Ive tried adjusting the top punch up and down..Backing out the pressure to the point where i get almost no lube in the grooves..Ive tried heat, no heat nothing seems to work..Im using Javelina 50/50 which I didnt think would need heat but at 60 deg in my basement the plunger returns veeery slowly without a touch of heat..I backed out the the lube pressure pretty much all way and looked down inside the die..Lube is always coming out of the holes..Of course it's a little more with a bit of pressure but it does slowly ooze out..Im at a loss. I did a search and came across a few threads regarding this issue but ive pretty much done everything suggested..Any thoughts?

[280Ackley]

I have the same problem with certain boolits. The 311165 ranchdog comes to mind. With this boolit I have gone to pan lubing. I think certain shapes just are not well suited to the general or generic sizing die and would require a special design. What design boolit are you working with?

[jpsw44]

The old standby H&G #68 clone (RCBS)..I definitely get it more with this bullet..I sized some Keith style .38's and its still there but not half as bad..I can live with that tiny bit..

[lathesmith]

jps, if you always have lube coming out the die holes, your sizer is not working properly, and/or you are not truly backing off on the pressure all the way.. Once you back off all the pressure, with a properly working Star, the lube stops flowing, period. Heck, even with some pressure, you should get no lube flow at all until you bring the sizer handle all the way down and activate the lube pump. It sounds like you may have a sticky piston, or other problem, that will need to be fixed before your Star will work properly.


lathesmith

[Doby45]

Depends on how soft the lube is also. If you are using soft lube and heat you will get excess lube on the nose. I have that happen when I heated my 50/50 mix of BAC and Carnuba Red. But, when my 50/50 mix is at room temp it lubes just the lube groove and nothing else. Speaking of adjusting the Star. The brass screw on the side, what does it do?

[Roundnoser]

Heat and Pressure....Heat and Pressure.

[jsizemore]

Operate the sizer without a boolit in the sizer. If it keeps oozing lube you have too much pressure. If not enough comes out to fill the lube groove, you need more pressure. Only turn the lube screw handle in 1/2 turn increments until you get a feel for the pressure. If the piston is slow to return on the pump, you need more heat. If your ram is adjusted correctly and you get lube run out byond the driving bands and the pressure screw is at the right pressure then the heat is too high. Practice without a boolit to get the feel for the adjustments. Good Luck

[Edubya]

I'll admit that I had similar problems when I first started with my Star. I got frustrated and was cursing the advocates that recommended the Star but I kept on fidgeting with the heat, pressure and depth adjustments and now own two Stars and wouldn't recommend any other lubri-sizer. I do own a SAECO also, it's good but for the quantity and quality of boolits that my Stars produce, they're the best.

EW

[BigCheese]

If the lube groove is not aligned with the holes in the die, you will have problems with lube where you don't want it. Maybe this old post of mine will help you filling out the grooves.When properly aligned, minimum pressure and temperature are needed. I lube base first (have old Star with separate punches for different bullet noses). For a bullet that has one lube groove:

First, use a vernier to measure distance from the base of the bullet to the center of the lube groove Call this #1. Then measure the distance from the base of the die to the lube holes. (The die will have to be removed from the Star and lube removed to access the holes). Call this #2. Subtract #1 from #2. This is the amount the base of the bullet should be recessed up from the bottom of the die when the lube is forced through the holes.

Use the depth gage at the end of the vernier to span the hole at the bottom of the die. Start a bullet high; keep turning down the top punch and operating the handle (no lube pressure) until the base of the bullet is at the calculated distance above the bottom rim of the die. Once you do this, keep the dimension in a notebook so the Star can be reset when you change bullets.

To make resetting easier, after the setup is complete, you can raise the handle all the way up and use the vernier to measure the distance from the top of the die to the bottom of the punch. Next time you use this die & bullet combination, just screw the punch up and down to repeat this distance.

Hope this helps.

[btroj]

I have the same trouble at times. I find it is usually, with carnuba red, too much heat. If I back of the temp it goes only In the grooves no matter how much pressure I use.
I really need to find a better way to regulate my heat but even then I love the speed of the sizer.
Brad

[cheese1566]

To make resetting easier, after the setup is complete, you can raise the handle all the way up and use the vernier to measure the distance from the top of the die to the bottom of the punch. Next time you use this die & bullet combination, just screw the punch up and down to repeat this distance.

I found this little tip works great! I print the measurement and bullet on my label maker and place it on my air cylinder. I also print off my current PSI and temp setting that is getting good results.

I found it took some time and sessions to find the balance between heat and pressure. I am fortuneate to have a PID controlled heater base and air feed.

Just remember that heat adjustments take quite a while to balance during one session.

[dragonrider]

Somthing else to check, If the top band of your boolit is a tad small lube will leak past and collect at the nose.

[SWANEEDB]

Yup I went thru the thing, fustrating to say the least, but after taking all to heart the suggestions form this forum I got it going as perfect as can be. One thing I did do is ordered a bunch of flat nose punches with locking nuts from Chris @ Lathesmith, set the punch, label it to the bullet and it's ready for the next session, to help out with the confusion I use the top row lube holes on all my dies, if I need more than 1 row I know that only the top is lubing so just remove the shot from the ones I need to lube, I think I have about 16 dies, my memory bank is just not that good enough to rely on as to what the dies were set for. So, now I just cast up a bunch of what ever, change die and grab the punch that is already pre-set for the bullet to size & lube, works great for me.

[mtgrs737]

Brass screw on the side is a lube clean out port. Back off the heat with 50/50 and the pressure screw too.

[runfiverun]

it's getting it on it's way into the sizer back down the heat and or the pressure.
i'd go with heat first, then adjust the pressure.
then monitor the heat for just enough flow of the lube to fill the groove.
i'd rather have a higher pressure than a higher heat.

[jpsw44]

Thanks for all the replies..I've been tinkering with it a bit and Im getting the hang of it. I do have another question though..Regarding the lube piston..Do you guys get a full in stroke(spring compresses all the way)? I noticed that when lubing the H&G clones i do not..It feels like there is resistance..But with the double lube groove Lyman SWC i get a full stroke. Lube groove too shallow?

[runfiverun]

as long as it's filling up, don't matter really.
you might be pushing more lube into the double and need the longer stroke.
i have to double pump some of mine.

[dragonrider]

"I noticed that when lubing the H&G clones i do not..It feels like there is resistance..But with the double lube groove Lyman SWC i get a full stroke"

That resistance can indicate that the lube groove is full.

[Fixxah]

If you plugged holes with the shot provided from Magma I suggest having lathesmith make you a better mousetrap. Worth every penny.

[John@JCDLESales]

Found these Vids from Magma while surfing may help someone here.

http://magmaengineering.com/products/54-magma-star-lube-sizer

[jsizemore]

Thanks for all the replies..I've been tinkering with it a bit and Im getting the hang of it. I do have another question though..Regarding the lube piston..Do you guys get a full in stroke(spring compresses all the way)? I noticed that when lubing the H&G clones i do not..It feels like there is resistance..But with the double lube groove Lyman SWC i get a full stroke. Lube groove too shallow?

Yes. That will happen when the lube is a little on the cool side and the pressure screw is a little high. Keep an eye out for lube groove not filling out completely. Raise the lube temp about 3-5deg and back off the pressure screw1 turn and you get the full stroke. But both conditions work and I use both.