Thinking of a Star Sizer

I hate to say it but my favorite boolit is a bevel base and my new RCBS LAM2 just aint liking that one bit. I should of listened to everyone that said get a star...Anyway, the RCBS may end up for sale and go towards the Star.

Question, how does the star work by not getting lube into the BB of the boolit? Is it just because it feeds nose down? Do you get any lube on the BB at all? For some reason lube on the BB drives me wonky!

Also, when using the star, do you have to twist a handle or something for lube pressure every other buulet or something. Saw a few videos but never saw what gives the lube pressure.

Thanks million

Joe

the star sizer uses a pump at the bottom of the stroke after the boolit is in place to pump the lube into the groove.

Yes there is a handle you turn at the top to put pressure on the lube .
Most people just switch it over to air instead.
You end up with a more repeatable setup.

The bullet is aligned with the holes the lube flows through, with the lube holes in the middle of the lube groove. At the bottom of the handle stroke, the lube pump is activated and the lube is pumped into the groove, and only into the groove.

The pressure screw is turned down to apply pressure to the lube reservoir. The amount of pressure (and heat when hard lubes are used) determines the flow of lube. Depending on the size of the lube groove and size of the bullet, the number of bullets that can be lubed before pressure has to be reapplied will vary from as few as 5, to as many as 20.

I now own 8 Star Sizers, and none of them have been converted to air feed. They work just fine as originally designed.

I do also own a Magma Bullet Master commercial sizer that uses air pressure for the lube and is motor driven. That's a high volume machine and requires the air pressure to keep up with the volume.

Hope this helps.

Fred

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Originally Posted by ReloaderFred

The bullet is aligned with the holes the lube flows through, with the lube holes in the middle of the lube groove. At the bottom of the handle stroke, the lube pump is activated and the lube is pumped into the groove, and only into the groove.

The pressure screw is turned down to apply pressure to the lube reservoir. The amount of pressure (and heat when hard lubes are used) determines the flow of lube. Depending on the size of the lube groove and size of the bullet, the number of bullets that can be lubed before pressure has to be reapplied will vary from as few as 5, to as many as 20.

I now own 8 Star Sizers, and none of them have been converted to air feed. They work just fine as originally designed.

I do also own a Magma Bullet Master commercial sizer that uses air pressure for the lube and is motor driven. That's a high volume machine and requires the air pressure to keep up with the volume.

Hope this helps.

Fred

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Outstanding

Stars are sweet!!!! I have two of em and they are fast! (no air though, I'm a low volume luber)

I agree with all of the above, except I like the air/cyl., I just switch it between the 4 Stars I use.

You can also size base first on the Star just need a nose punch that matches the nose profile. Most Star dies have three rows of lube holes. You use a piece of lead shot to plug the holes you aren't using.

Does it have any issues with lube on the base? Not sure why that bugs me so much.. :roll:

The lube method is different than what you're used to with the RCBS. The bullet doesn't sit on a rod and depend on the seal to keep lube off the base. The alignment between the lube ports and the lube groove do that. As long as the bullet is larger than the die, and the holes are aligned with the lube groove, the base will be clean. Oh, and as long as the pressure and temperature are correct, too.

Hope this helps.

Fred

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Originally Posted by lablover

Does it have any issues with lube on the base? Not sure why that bugs me so much.. :roll:

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If you have the lube holes in the die lined up with the lube grooves in the boolet and don't have die holes positioned where they can pump lube into the base, and if you have the lube at the correct temp and not too hot, well then you should not have lube getting into the bevel area. Mess up the hole positioning or the lube temp and by golly, even the Star will get some lube where you don't want.

Sounds good. Thanks for the replies. Will be calling Magma in the A.M. to place my order. Hope it doesn't take too long. :)

lablover;
You will LOVE the Star after you get up to speed adjusting for each different bullet design. Most all of my bullets have a single lube groove. That simplifies adjusting the Star for different calibers.

I use a heater and White Label Carnauba Red Lube. CR requires heat to flow through the sizer properly. However, I prefer CR as it has a relatively high melting point and if ammo is left in my car on a hot day, the lube doesn't run ruining the load. Yes, I have had that happen "back in the day".

FWIW
Dale53

you usually get lube on the nose.
that's a heat problem and easily fixable.

WOW, 4 weeks for delivery....Waaaaaaaaa. :coffee:

It will be like Christmas when it gets there.........

Fred

One of the often unmentioned advantages of the Star is not needing different top punches to match the CB profiles. Back when I was researching what to buy this factored a lot as I was already quite deep into casting and reloading. The pennies quickly add up and the overall costs became very similar.

I bought my first Star with a heater, air kit and feeder. Soon after I added a second bare bone one and I found that the air kit added very little advantage.

The feeder is useful for pistol CB's and really shines when a collator is added. I pre-fill 4'x1/2" tubes and then it is a breeze to lube/size many pounds of CB's in a session. With experience a feel develops on when to crank the lube pressure and a good cadence is easy to develop.

Long rifle CB's are a little tricky, especially when it is a spire point design. I made a number of brass rods to push out the sized/lubed CB before doing the next CB. This prevents the spire point from being damaged. Yes, it is much slower than doing stubby pistol or FP rifle CB's but my rifle shooting volume of this kind of design is low enough that this does not matter to me.

Oh and as I make my own dies I don't care what is available commercially.;)

Now thats good motivation for sure. I only cast for pistol and having so much lead I almost have to. I'm on a very tight budget but gathered a few more funds over the weekend so I need to get one.

Christmas Present..Now thats a novel way to look at it...LOL....Love it

Order it and find something else to amuse yourself for 4 weeks. It'll pass in no time. It's college football season! (and baseball is still full on as well)

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Originally Posted by Beagle333

Order it and find something else to amuse yourself for 4 weeks. It'll pass in no time. It's college football season! (and baseball is still full on as well)

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Now thats an idea..Heck, I could just cast more boolits till I'm blue in the face...THEN, have a butt load to lube up. :mrgreen:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lablover

Now thats an idea..Heck, I could just cast more boolits till I'm blue in the face...THEN, have a butt load to lube up. :mrgreen:

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You'll need a buttload if you want to use it long enough to feel like it was a good investment. Haha. You can lube a LOT of boolits in a good weekend.


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