How much is a Used Star worth?

[MikeS]

Hi All.

I was bidding on a Star sizer on eBay that looks like it's almost in new condition. Well, the bidding has gone over $300.00 which is more than a new one costs! Is a used Star made any better than the current production Magma Star sizers to warrant spending more for one than a new one costs? Or is this just the usual stupidity that goes on with some eBay buyers?

[Springfield]

I have one newer Magma sizer and 2 older Star sizers and they all work exactly the same, absolutly no reason to pay more for a used one.

[cbrick]

Is a used Star made any better than the current production Magma Star sizers to warrant spending more for one than a new one costs?

Nope.

Or is this just the usual stupidity that goes on with some eBay buyers?

Bingo.

As some have mentioned, could be foreign buyers that have trouble getting some things at any cost.

Then of course there are the idiots that don’t bother to see what new costs and/or don’t care.

Rick

[MikeS]

When you buy a new one, does it come with a sizing die, or top punch? If you have to buy both of these, then it's possible that it's not actually more expensive than getting a new one. But really, once the price gets that high, might as well buy everything new, so you're not inheriting somebody else's problem. At least that's what I would do, and in fact might do. After all, I could get the die and top punch from Lathesmith, and have a better product at a cheaper price! (or so I'm told)

[fryboy]

according to some ( especially those on e-bay ) a used one is worth more than a brand new one ( must be trying to recoup all the lube and primers and powder used with the cast boolits :P ) and then you have the revenue enhancing words like "vintage" "rare" " no longer made" and even "mine so it's worth more" :P umm etc

[Springfield]

I have one newer Magma sizer and 2 older Star sizers and they all work exactly the same, absolutely no reason to pay more for a used one.

[captaint]

And here's the good news... No top punches - ever!!! Mike

[MikeS]

It's amazing, the Star sold for well over $300, then a couple of days later I buy a Phelps copy of the Star sizer for $133! Add to that about $100 to Lathesmith for a some dies and stuff, and I'm still way below what the Star sold for!

The bench that I bought at Harbor Frieght has these 7/8" diameter holes in the top that are for some sort of woodworking things, but will work perfectly for mounting the sizer, as I can put a container in the drawer below it, and have a nice neat setup for sizing boolits, and not have to worry about setting up bins, or worrying about boolits falling on the floor, etc. I'm a happy camper!

[KohlerK91]

[QUOTE=MikeS;1457850]It's amazing, the Star sold for well over $300, then a couple of days later I buy a Phelps copy of the Star sizer for $133! Add to that about $100 to Lathesmith for a some dies and stuff, and I'm still way below what the Star sold for!

Thats Phelps looked a little rough. It was cracked and had some pretty worn out pins. Hope it works out for you.

[BossHoss]

Yeah, the Phelps was beat,,,,hogged out holes, cracked casting....could be farmer'd and work for a long time. I was going to bid, but have made a deal with Napthali for his.

Now, for my second Star that beat up Phelps would have been a project...but I wanted a near new one with a heater to start. .....then air, ,,...then feeder....then ....rubber baby buggy bumpers.....then....well you know...lol.

[MikeS]

I never let a few blemishes keep me from something Cracked parts can work for a long time before they fail, so I'll deal with it when it does. As for the pins, I think I can handle fixing them too. Hey, it's not as nice as the Star was, but it's also less than half the price!

[MikeS]

Well, I got the Phelps sizer in today. Other than the cracked casting (which looks like it could stay cracked for the rest of the sizers life, and not matter), and being kind of dirty, it seems to be in better shape than I expected it to be. The one pin hole that looks really worn is something I can't figure out, the hole on the other side of that pin is fine, not worn at all. In fact, it almost looks like the hole was originally drilled in the wrong place, and then re-drilled below it, rather than being that way from wear.

I got the press cleaned up a bit, then went and cast about 150 SAECO #12's (the only 38 mould I have), added some NRA50/50 to the machine (that's what I've been using, and that's also the lube that was in the sizer from the PO), and proceeded to size/lube them without incident. The sizing die has 3 rows of holes, all of them open, but even so I managed to get the lube only in the lube groove, but the next time I use that die I will close off 2 of the rows. I was just curious to see how the machine would work, and it did great!

It has the standard spring to pressurize the lube, and I'm wondering, how often should I turn down the screw? I downloaded a copy of the Star manual, and it doesn't say how often it's supposed to be turned, so I just gave it 1/4 turn for every 10 boolits I sized, is that about right, or should I turn it more/more often, or less? Now I just have to wait for the dies I ordered from Lathesmith to come in so I can size my 45's. It will be nice being able to size/lube bevel based boolits without getting lube in the bevel!

[BossHoss]

Glad to hear the bargain turned out well. I was eyeing that machine, but since I don;t have my first one yet, I didn't bid. I wanted my first to be new or near new.

NRA 50/50 is great lube.....kept my barrel the cleanest of anything I have tried yet. I have many sticks of WL BAC that I have not tried yet, though. Carnuba red has been in my leak o matic for a month now, and I like it. But, my barrel is not as clean with it, just my fingers are not sticky anymore when loading. lol.

The BAC seems to be a middle ground. I wont try it until my Star arrives.

NRA 50/50 suprised the heck out me, and everyone at my private range who looked down my barrel after 200 240gn Keiths in 10.5 Ruger Blackhawk 44. Looked like I just scrubbed it, honest.

[beanflip]

Price for any thing is what the buyer and seller agree upon and both parties are
happy.

[lathesmith]

Hey Mike, glad to see that you got a decent deal on that Phelps. As for how often you crank down that lube screw, you will find that it will vary a bit depending on how much lube the bullet you are lubing requires. Wide, deep grooves obviously will require you to crank down the screw more often than narrow, shallow ones(such as you find on many Lee molds). Sounds like you have found the sweet spot for what you are doing, if you get good groove fill-out and nothing else, and can keep a good, steady sizing pace, you have hit it just right.
I guess this is another reason lots of guys go for an air setup, you just hook up the air and go, and you don't have to fuss with the screw at all that way.
I'll have your stuff finished over the weekend and on its way to you early next week.

Good sizing,
lathesmith

[MikeS]

Lathesmith: Gee, now I feel bad, seeing that you'll be working on a holiday weekend! If you want to take the weekend off, and just have to ship my dies a few days later, that will be alright with me too.

BossHoss: If I only bought things that were new, or in near new condition, I wouldn't have half of my reloading equipment. In fact, after I mounted the Phelps to my bench, I looked at it, and thought I could take a picture of my reloading bench, and the only thing that would give away the fact that it's a current picture is the fact that my Lyman 45 sizer is mounted on a Lee benchplate! I have a Lyman Tru-line Jr mounted to the left side of the bench, then the Phelps sizer is to the right, and slightly back from the front edge of the bench, then the Lyman 45 sizer is in the middle of the bench in the benchplate. Of course if I mounted my Lee reloader press in the benchplate, that would be a dead giveaway!

[MikeS]

Well, as always, good news / bad news. Good news: I got the dies and die puller I ordered from Lathesmith today, and they look great! The bad: While I had sized/lubed a few 38cal boolits while waiting for Lathesmith to get me the dies, and had no problem with them, once I installed the new die, the sizing was on, and so after sizing a few hundres boolits I'm happily sizing along, when I hear a 'CRACK' and the handle goes all the way down. Ok, so I'm looking around, and sure enough, that crack that I said looked like it would stay that way forever, well, I was wrong! It cracked all the way thru, and the casting moved over to the right. Well, I was able to get the casting to where it belongs, and I mixed up some JB Weld steel epoxy, and I opened up the crack with a screwdriver, stiuck some epoxy in the crack, then put a clamp on the part, and squeezed it mostly closed, then put more epoxy on the outside, trying to smooth it out as best I could, and that's where I'm at now. It's 5 minute epoxy, and it says it sets to usable condition in 1 hour, but just to be on the safe side, I'm going to leave the clamp on it overnight. Hopefully that will fix the problem.

If that doesn't fix the problem, will Magma work on Phelps sizers? Or I should say, how hard is it to replace that part? If it's not too hard I think I could do it myself, but if it's very hard to do I would let Magma do it, assuming they'll work on Phelps machines.

[beanflip]

Find some one who welds aluminum ...the cost would be cheaper than sending it to Magma.

[MikeS]

Well, looks like it's either weld it, or replace it. How hard is it to remove that part? I wonder if I could have the part welded while it's still on the machine, that would save a bunch of work getting the part off the machine. Heck, I don't even know how the top piece is held on, the star manual shows that it's threaded on, but being that this is a Phelps, they might have done it differently.

[beanflip]

Magma probly has a jig so its press on to measured depth.

I think once you get it welded you should be good to go.

Got any pics of the broken part?