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Thread: Star Sizer questions

  1. #21
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    whoever told you that didnt know what they were talking about.
    Quote Originally Posted by snowwolfe View Post
    All seemed well and good about purchasing the Star untill someone told me you can not resize round nose or spire point bullets with one..
    Is there anyway around this?

  2. #22
    Boolit Master omgb's Avatar
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    The person who told you that was wrong. If you think about, sizing nose first fixes all of those problems
    R J Talley
    Teacher/James Madison Fellow

  3. #23
    Boolit Master
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    When you operate the Star it pushes the bullets thru nose first. Does the next bullet push the first one through?

  4. #24
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    snowwolfe;
    Gee, I wish someone had told me about this before I sized all of those tens of thousands of round nose bullets...

    Totally incorrect. You can resize any shape bullet in the Star. The only limitation is maximum bullet length. The large BPCR bullets cannot be sized in one pass simply because they are too long (45/70 522 gr for instance).

    I size all the bullets nose down in the Star so nose shape is immaterial.

    Dale53

  5. #25
    Boolit Buddy RANGER RICK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dale53 View Post
    snowwolfe;
    Gee, I wish someone had told me about this before I sized all of those tens of thousands of round nose bullets...

    Totally incorrect. You can resize any shape bullet in the Star. The only limitation is maximum bullet length. The large BPCR bullets cannot be sized in one pass simply because they are too long (45/70 522 gr for instance).

    I size all the bullets nose down in the Star so nose shape is immaterial.

    Dale53
    You are correct , you can size a round nose or spire point if you want either one to have a flat spot on the nose .
    Kind of takes the spire out of the spire point dosen't it ??

    (nose shape is immaterial )

    I own a star and it is useless trying to size a spire point with out it deforming the nose either nose first or base first .
    My round nose bullets have a slight flat spot on the nose of them after I size them , no longer a complete round nose !!!
    Can you instruct me how to do this and not deform the nose on either style of bullet ???
    Although I have not sized tens of thousands of spire points I stopped after only a few were deformed .



    RR
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  6. #26
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    snowwolfe, the Star was originally used to size base first, with the company providing nose punches to fit boolit samples. Recently, folks have gone over to the flat punch and nose-first sizing. In both cases, bullets in the die are ejected by the next boolit, with consequent nose-to-base contact. Fragile nose shapes can be flattened some.

    If this is a problem, some have overcome it by ejecting sized boolits with a cull boolit before inserting the next slug - does slow you some. Or, an aluminum or brass pin may be used. It can be cut to such a length that the boolit is ejected without activating the lube pump.

    Flat-nose slugs can be pushed through without worries.

    HTH, Mark

  7. #27
    Boolit Master omgb's Avatar
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    I'll be honest with you, I only size flat nose bullets so I've never had an issue with it. Well, wait a minute. I do size round nose bullets for the 45-70 from time to time and for the 45 ACP. I've never had a problem with nose deformation. I'm not saying it won't, I'm just saying that I haven't had a problem with it.

    As to long bullets, well, I shoot a 560 grain LFN I bought from LBT and it lubes ans sizes it in one pass without trouble. I also shoot the 45 cal Lyman Postel at 520 grains and it goes through without issue.

    So I don't know what to tell you other than it all works for me.
    R J Talley
    Teacher/James Madison Fellow

  8. #28
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    I sized some 45-70 520 grain bullets with 4 lube grooves just fine. Never had a problem with round nose bullets either, like some 45-70's and some 38's I just did. And my lead is pretty soft for BP.

  9. #29
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    A lot depends too on how much you are sizing your boolits. If you are forcing, say, .456 as cast slugs thru a .452 sizer, you are going to be exerting a lot of force to do this; this and boolit hardness could contribute to some deformation of more pointed shapes. However, for nearly all of my cast slug shooting, the sizer is actually sizing very little; it just trues up the slug a minute amount and applies the lube. I hate having to apply lots of force during sizing, it is really tiring and slows me down too. It just all depends on what your needs and expectations are...as always, your mileage may vary.
    lathesmith

  10. #30
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    I must confess that I have not sized spire point bullets in the STAR. My statement refers to round nose bullets. That has NOT been a problem. I do USE spire point bullets in my Schuetzen rifle but they are shot as cast.

    Dale53

  11. #31
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    I size spire points all the time with a STAR without deforming the nose. The boolit is a .30 cal. I size/lube one and then use a thinner boolit (6.5mm) dropped into the sizing die to push out the one that just got sized. Since this is a thinner boolit, it slides right out with the one that just got sized when pushed through. The lube pump never gets triggered.

    It doesn't really slow the process down much and I still prefer it to using a RBCS/Lyman sizer.

    I haven't had any issues sizing RN boolits getting deformed by the previous boolit.

    John

  12. #32
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    I have two DIA of spire point that I have tried in my star . Those bullets are now sized in my RCBS Lam 2 .
    The smaller bullet is a 400 Grain .500 Dia bullet . Cast size is .504 sized to .500 and gas checked .
    The other taller bullet is a 500 Grain .458 Dia . Cast size .460 sized to .458
    There is a bit of pressure applied to the bullet when sizing thus deformed noses .
    No biggie I have many sizers to use .
    I bought the star for increased speed not to use spacers or smaller bullets to push the other bullet out , that is just insane .

    For the round noses I did get small flat spots on the bullets while sizing with the star .
    No big problem for me or most casters that use their own product except when a customer orders a round nose bullet that is what he or she wants !!! Not a round nose with a flat spot on it .
    Customer gets what the customer wants plus repeat customers is what you want so a round nose is a round nose and a spire point is a spire point .

    RR




    PRACTICE DOES NOT MAKE PERFECT !!! PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT !!!!!!
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  13. #33
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    I keep a couple of short pieces of hardwood dowel in holes drilled in the table top next to the star. They are cut to the correct length so that if I hold one under the ram while lowering the handle the boolit is pushed out of the die without me losing my grip on the dowel. I hold it under my pinkie while picking up the next boolit. I size the pointy nosed boolits one at a time and push them through with the appropriate sized dowel so as not to blunt the tip. This does slow down the process some, making it only about twice as fast as a Lyman or Saeco.
    BD

  14. #34
    Boolit Master Sundogg1911's Avatar
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    Snowwolfe, I resize round nose bullets all the time with mine. My only spire points get sized with a Lyman 450 because I don't do many rifle, and I already had the sizing dies and top punches with the Lyman
    I only hope that someday I can be half the Man that my Dogs already think I am!

  15. #35
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    Nice looking boolits Ranger Rick. Wouldn't even look out of place sitting in one of the old Minute-man ICBM silos.

  16. #36
    Boolit Buddy RANGER RICK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shotstring View Post
    Nice looking boolits Ranger Rick. Wouldn't even look out of place sitting in one of the old Minute-man ICBM silos.

    shotstring
    Well maybe but this one surpasses the previous two bullets .
    This is a 975 Grain 512 DIA.
    This is a 50 BMG and a 50-140 loaded with the 975 the little one is a 500 magnum with the 400 Spire Point . True Minute-man .

    RR


    PRACTICE DOES NOT MAKE PERFECT !!! PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT !!!!!!
    HOME OF THE 500 MAGNUM TYRANNOSAURUS THUMPER'S.........

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  17. #37
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    Ranger, I would love to have a mold that puts out boolits like the ones in your very first picture but in 30 cal, but it appears that no one makes one.

  18. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by lathesmith View Post
    snowwolfe,
    What Sundogg said x2. The Star in my experience is MORE than twice as fast as a Lyman or RCBS. They are a little finicky to adjust but once dialed in you can crank out a pile of bullets in a hurry. For me, the four- to six- cavity molds and my Star sizers is what makes casting worthwhile! As others have stated, if you are sizing very hard and/or oversize bullets you may have to do two passes. I'm perfectly happy with the twist screw for lube pressure, but if you are a very large volume caster the air option is worth considering.
    Depending on price differences in the various heaters, you might be able to make you a box with a dimmer switch to adjust the temperature with a non-adjustable heater. I hate paying fifty bucks extra for a three-or four-dollar part. A little creativity pays off!
    lathesmith
    Lathesmith, Here is what I found on the internet that works good and is reasonably priced. Found it on Ebay, the thermocouple comes with it,
    110V 1 Relay Digital Fahrenheit Thermostat Temperature Controller. I currently use one to control the heater for my lyman. had a little learning curve but that was short.

    Ebay Seller ECCOBOX from Walton, KY
    Measure range: -4°F~+220°F
    Slew range of temperature control: 1°F-25°F(max temp span between cut in and cut off)
    For DIY incubation, aquarium, sous vide, etc.
    Power supply: 110V AC, 50/60Hz
    Power consumption: less than 3W
    Relay contact capacity: Cool(10A/250VAC);Heat(10A/250VAC)

    /www.ebay.com/itm/10A-110V-Digital-Temperature-Controller-Temp-Sensor-Thermostat-Control-Relay-US/141731449329?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.S EED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3Df7833 625f6ff4b32a494ab9681289d54%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D 3%26rkt%3D8%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D253341794337%26itm %3D141731449329&_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042

    Works for me really well once you figure the temp you need, plus you can adjust for different temp lubes, from very little to runny hot, you should find a temp between -4 and 212 degrees that works, mine is set for 110 with +or- 2 degrees.

  19. #39
    Boolit Man
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    is the bullet feeder worth the investment for a star sizer. don't know much about the feeders.
    does it work with multiple calibers.
    KW
    Lifetime Reloader
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  20. #40
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    by the way ANeat,
    that is an awesome ideal I have plenty of acrobins for just that.
    KW
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check