Lube groove not filling! Urgh... Please HALP!(Star lubesizer)

[Socal147]

I used mine last night. I am very glad I read up on the operation prior to actually using the unit. From the start, I was lubing my .502 bullet perfectly. I did not realize I was bigger than 502 cast. Never bothered to mic after initially measuring at 501. Must have been a different mix in the pot. The Star preformed perfectly. I needed to learn my lube use rate(which is high for the 500 bullet), to maintain a good fill but the curve went quick. I caught myself short stroking and not pausing at the bottom of the stroke a few times. Once I got the cadence down, it was time to rock and roll. Need to cast some more 350 501's today. Waiting to get my 44 250 die from mountain mold. A 405 gn .460 mold is a future buy. The Star Sizer is definitely a top shelf item.

[RedHawk357Mag]

Definitely sounds like my issue lube voids... Using Randy Rat Green Tac, air assist on the Magna, 60-70 lbs of air, Magna heater plate, temp a good happy medium, lubing two groves on the base of a wad cutter bullet. I can process 10, 15, 20, maybe 25 bullets and get absolutely solid fill of grooves. Then a bullet will pop out with lube voids a smidgen short of 1/8" or maybe a Groove will be completely empty. I have to re-run the bullet once up to six times to fill the offending void. Random bullet count till a void, random reprocessing of said bullet to fix. When I add lube to reservoir it is liquid, I gently warm it in a measuring cup and fill the reservoir just short of the purge hole and reinstall the air assist. So I don't think it's air pockets. When filling the grooves are filled perfectly. Thought maybe I was out running the heater so I slowed the cadence down, thought short stroke added a pause at bottom of stroke to slow cadence, ensure bottom spring compressed. I cleaned the old lube out of the die prior to installing. The only thing I haven't done yet from this thread is generally warming bullets on a hot plate. Anybody got anything else? By the way even though this is a pain in the neck it is way better than pan lubing. Star/Magma Rock,

[6bg6ga]

Definitely sounds like my issue lube voids... Using Randy Rat Green Tac, air assist on the Magna, 60-70 lbs of air, Magna heater plate, temp a good happy medium, lubing two groves on the base of a wad cutter bullet. I can process 10, 15, 20, maybe 25 bullets and get absolutely solid fill of grooves. Then a bullet will pop out with lube voids a smidgen short of 1/8" or maybe a Groove will be completely empty. I have to re-run the bullet once up to six times to fill the offending void. Random bullet count till a void, random reprocessing of said bullet to fix. When I add lube to reservoir it is liquid, I gently warm it in a measuring cup and fill the reservoir just short of the purge hole and reinstall the air assist. So I don't think it's air pockets. When filling the grooves are filled perfectly. Thought maybe I was out running the heater so I slowed the cadence down, thought short stroke added a pause at bottom of stroke to slow cadence, ensure bottom spring compressed. I cleaned the old lube out of the die prior to installing. The only thing I haven't done yet from this thread is generally warming bullets on a hot plate. Anybody got anything else? By the way even though this is a pain in the neck it is way better than pan lubing. Star/Magma Rock,

Its a simple procees of either boosting the temp a little more or the pressure or both. A few years back I had the same thing happen and occasionally I will have it pop up again with my hand made bullet lube. All I do is turn the temp on the PID up a little and add a somemore pressure and in a few minutes the problem is solved. I don't premelt the lube and poor it in or worry about a possible air bubble.

[RedHawk357Mag]

Interesting. I buy my lube in a three pound cake. Too cheap to buy preformed tubes/cartridge. I will go get some more air in my bubble so I can increase the pressure. Green Tac is fairly soft so adding any more heat gets it runny in a hurry. Thanks for the tips.

[Pee Wee]

Thanks

[Thorsaxe]

I am new to the world of owning the star unit, I have the heating unit, Is there any thing you guys can advise me on before I make the Mistake of buying stuff I don't need? also what hard lube works the best as far as the flow rate when using the star?

[therealhitman]

I have no Air Assist on my Star. The same happens to me but I am in the habit of taking a break to let the lube heat up after each 1/4 to a 1/3 of a stick is used. The further up the reservoir you go the less heat the stick gets. So if you are running them through at a good pace suddenly the lube is too hard to get through the groove. I go fill my coffee (usually size in the morning) see what the wife is up to, annoy her a bit and go back to softer lube. YMMV depending on your lube's melt temp. For pistol boolits I was using Thompsons Blue Angel and Magma hard lubes, recently went to Glenn's Commercial Red and results are the same.

[Pee Wee]

Lathsmith makes the punch nuts with a set screw in it. I bought enough for all my punches and once set up you never have to worry about setting the punch depth again.

[u p mike]

had the same problem with grooves not filling in. was using a magma sizing die with 4 rows of 3 holes.found that the setscrew holding the die in was blocking one of the 3 holes. am now using a lathe smith die with 1 row of 4 holes.

[MT Chambers]

I never use more then 60 psi, in my cold basement I use Magma heater on one and Lyman on the 2 others, I keep the lymans plugged in while sizing, when lube starts to get where it shouldn't be, I unplug heater for a spell, when I start getting incomplete fillout I plug heater back in. I set my punches by sight on my first bullet, you get so that you can tell which way to adjust just by looking at the sized/lubed bullet. The idea of locking set screws on those punches is good except that I have over 200 molds.....

[wv109323]

Could it be that the lube in the reservoir is not flowing. I would add some heat to the reservoir via a hair dryer or just warm it with a propane torch.

[clum553946]

I want to thank all of the post'ers with info & advice on this thread. I too was having problems with incomplete lube groove fill in. After reading through this thread, I found that my bullets were too cold & I wasn't holding the down stroke long enough. Problem solved & thnx again everyone!

[CASTING MACHINE]

i want to thank all of the post'ers with info & advice on this thread. I too was having problems with incomplete lube groove fill in. After reading through this thread, i found that my bullets were too cold & i wasn't holding the down stroke long enough. Problem solved & thnx again everyone!

have been using the magama sizers for sometime. In winter with cooler temps in basement i also was getting partially filled lube groves. Found the only solution was what everyone else on this post suggested. I wanted to add a few more things to try. Turn on the heater well before you start sizing. I usually turn it on and leave it on for long periods in the winter. Minimal cost vs. Time wasted. I insulated the lube storage tube with foam insulating tape similar to that used by hvac techs insulating copper pipe. Sticky as hell and cheap. Use tie wraps on it as well. Increases pre melt temperature. Get as much tape on it as you can without conflicts. Second i insulated the casting section that holds the sizing die. I believe i used a 1 1/4 inch double eared pipe stap mounted it to the heater base. Fill with insulation tape prior to install. This insulates very well eliminates cold spots on sizer die from drafts. These two steps help me size for longer periods without lube flow troubles.