New guy with some luber sizer questions

[Springfield]

Buying dedicated dies for your Star is fine if you have more money than time, but I really don't see the dies getting ruined by removing and installing soft lead pellets. The Magma dies are hardened, I'd love to see someone try to drill out the hole and see what happens.

[6bg6ga]

I did try to drill out the holes and ended up with a die that scored my bullets. I used a drill that was slightly smaller than the hole that was plugged and despite my 40+ years of experience I managed to have trouble. So, it can and does happen.

[cal50]

It's not the die off center, it's the fit of the nose punch. A flat punch against a flat boolit base will start the boolit straighter and push it through the die more concentrically than will a nose punch on the nose of the boolit.

Rick

Flat on flat is great if you are worried about parallelism but has zero to do with the center line of the die and top punch concentricity.

[cal50]

I simply don't buy that at all. I owned one of those pieces of junk. The die was put in correctly and not off center and it had too much slop to size anything correctly. Yes, I could have re-machined and rebuilt it but the big question is simply why. Why put money into a dead horse? That is why I bought a Magma and then a used Star. In reloading equipment you get what you pay for. This is why people are going from the anequated single stage presses to the up to date presses like the lock-n-load or the Dillon 550 and 650.

Just because you think so does not make it a fact.

The Lyman and RCBS lube sizers do a good job IF set up correctly. I can not say if you had a defective unit / die / top punch but I must have been just lucky with the two units I have owned and use. Bias opinion and a toolmaker by trade so I do have an eye for detail and if something is junk I will call it as such.

My RCBS rock chucker sits near my Dillon 1050 and each has its own limitations.
To call a precision single stage press antiquate is funny in itself.

[cbrick]

Depends on how you have it set up. Its the same principal and alignment as setting up a reloading press with a sizing die.

If you set up your sizing die slightly off center it can affect the concentricity.

Please explain how a Star sizing die could be set up off center? Have you ever used a Star? Have you ever seen a Star?

I checked the concentricity of rifle boolits sized with a SAECO in & out sizer and with a Star on a comparator, boolits on a lighted grid at 50X magnification. The difference is remarkable.

Rick

[cal50]

Please explain how a Star sizing die could be set up off center? Have you ever used a Star? Have you ever seen a Star?

I checked the concentricity of rifle boolits sized with a SAECO in & out sizer and with a Star on a comparator, boolits on a lighted grid at 50X magnification. The difference is remarkable.

Rick

I was referring to the RCBS / Lyman style sizers as to centering the die with the ram / top punch.

........and yes I have used a star and its a great machine if you want to do volume with the added cost of the machine and dies vs a conventional sizing system.

[6bg6ga]

The Lyman and RCBS lube sizers do a good job IF set up correctly. I can not say if you had a defective unit / die / top punch but I must have been just lucky with the two units I have owned and use. Bias opinion and a toolmaker by trade so I do have an eye for detail and if something is junk I will call it as such.

My RCBS rock chucker sits near my Dillon 1050 and each has its own limitations.
To call a precision single stage press antiquate is funny in itself.[/QUOTE]

I'm so glad that being a toolmaker you have superior knowledge to me a machinist of some 40 years. Its nice to know that I have no eye for detail ..thank you for that and I suppose the fact that I was a lead quality control person doesn't account for anything either.
Based on the fact that I have had experience with a number of the Lyman and RCBS sizers I will keep my opinion that they aren't worth much thank you. If its all the same to you I will also keep my opinion on the aniquated single stage presses.

[cal50]

.

The Lyman and RCBS lube sizers do a good job IF set up correctly. I can not say if you had a defective unit / die / top punch but I must have been just lucky with the two units I have owned and use. Bias opinion and a toolmaker by trade so I do have an eye for detail and if something is junk I will call it as such.

My RCBS rock chucker sits near my Dillon 1050 and each has its own limitations.
To call a precision single stage press antiquate is funny in itself.

I'm so glad that being a toolmaker you have superior knowledge to me a machinist of some 40 years. Its nice to know that I have no eye for detail ..thank you for that and I suppose the fact that I was a lead quality control person doesn't account for anything either.
Based on the fact that I have had experience with a number of the Lyman and RCBS sizers I will keep my opinion that they aren't worth much thank you. If its all the same to you I will also keep my opinion on the aniquated single stage presses.[/QUOTE]

Not a problem.

[dh2]

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/333...ProductFinding
why have a sizer die made Lyman and RCBS will inter change
what brand of press you use I don't think will matter , I only use a lyman because the dais and top punches are easier to get

[Edmrb]

I hope this is in the right place, I am as knew to forums as I am to casting. I picked up a Lyman 45 the other day for $25. and it was frozen solid with rust and old lube that looked like cold tar. I boiled it out and soaked it in Mystery Oil. The problem I have is that I don't if it's a complete assy:. I read that the model 45 has a brass band on the pressure plate but what I don't know is if you put your lube in the tube first and then screw on the pressure plate. Or am I missing parts. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ed B.

[Wayne Smith]

I hope this is in the right place, I am as knew to forums as I am to casting. I picked up a Lyman 45 the other day for $25. and it was frozen solid with rust and old lube that looked like cold tar. I boiled it out and soaked it in Mystery Oil. The problem I have is that I don't if it's a complete assy:. I read that the model 45 has a brass band on the pressure plate but what I don't know is if you put your lube in the tube first and then screw on the pressure plate. Or am I missing parts. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ed B.

Since you are new here you don't know this. You probably ought to start a new thread down in the section for equipment. Pics would help as you are not very clear about what parts you actually have and thus it is impossible to tell what you are missing.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I hope this is in the right place, I am as knew to forums as I am to casting. I picked up a Lyman 45 the other day for $25. and it was frozen solid with rust and old lube that looked like cold tar. I boiled it out and soaked it in Mystery Oil. The problem I have is that I don't if it's a complete assy:. I read that the model 45 has a brass band on the pressure plate but what I don't know is if you put your lube in the tube first and then screw on the pressure plate. Or am I missing parts. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ed B.

Welcome to the best cast boolit website.
Everything you need to know is in the following two threads.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...p-instructions

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...for-a-Lyman-45


and to answer your first question.
YES, put the lube in the reservoir, then install the pressure Nut and tighten.

I'm pretty sure you will have more questions, once you read through the threads above, you'll have an idea on what to ask.
Good Luck,
Jon

[Edmrb]

I apologize for the misplaced posting. I'm still not that familiar with the ins and outs. I would venture to say that I may have repeated this error in a couple of other postings. Again I'm sorry if I stepped on anybody's toes. Ed B.

[Wayne Smith]

Ed, it's not a matter of stepped on toes. It's a matter of increasing readership and the likelihood of useful answers. Although Jon gave you everything you need in one post!