My new Star finger pincher

[357Wheelgunner]

UPDATE 7-15 see post 27 for my version of semiautomatic Star sizer!

After lusting after a Star Lube Sizer for umpteen years I finally broke down and joined the Star club. Within half an hour of receiving my new Star I had it up and running and cranking out bullets like crazy, all was good. That is until I made the mistake of letting go of the handle as I was putting a bullet in place and the ram came down and pinch my fingers, damn that hurt! What idiot designed that mechanism without an over center to keep it up.

As I was nursing my sore finger over lunch I did a quick internet search and found that this is a common problem with a incredibly easy solution. Why on earth Magma has not installed a simple $0.25 spring and a nickels worth of cotter pins to keep that bloody Ram up is beyond me. A quick trip my handy spare parts bin provided a small lightweight spring and a pair of 1/16th inch cotter pins and presto the handle stays up. All in all the star machine functioned flawlessly for the first thousand bullets I put through it and I still have intact fingers despite Magmas engineering oversight.



As an aside, yes that is a heated base I am working on, waiting for the PID controller, design courtesy of information found on the forum. I also have added air to the top of the lube cylinder, works like a charm, again courtesy of multiple posts here on the forum. As always this is a fantastic source of excellent information on all things cast boolitz!

JMHO

357wheelgunner

[altheating]

That was a test. You only pinched your fingers once! Stupid people pinch them more than once before adding the spring. You passed th test. Welcome to the Star Club.

[lightman]

That is a really nice tool and is on my want list! Sorry about the finger, my Rockchucker got me once. Punched a hole in my thumb nail matching the depriming pin!

[jmorris]

It's an old design and I guess the influx of folks that grew up riding in car seats, bicycles with helmets and air bags haven't designed a sizer yet.

[VHoward]

Just be thankful your finger was not in the way while your were operating the ram to size bullets. It will either break your finger or take a chunk out of it. Some add the bullet feeder to avoid that.

[357Wheelgunner]

That was a test. You only pinched your fingers once! Stupid people pinch them more than once before adding the spring. You passed th test. Welcome to the Star Club.

I passed!

[Dennis Eugene]

You may have passed but the fact that you pinched you finger at all precludes you from a grade any better than a c. Dennis.

[Don Purcell]

Like my teacher told me "See me after class".

[mongoose33]

Someone sells a kit on Ebay with the spring and cotter pins. I just didn't want to wait, and my innate sense of "I can do this myself" took over and I began to look for springs and cotter pins.

I could not find cotter pins of the correct length and girth that would fit; neither Ace Hardware nor Menards had anything that would work. I ended up finding the correct cotter pin in a kit, but I had to buy the kit to get the correct pins. At least I have a ton of different cotter pins put away against the day when I need another.

And who knows what spring is right? So I bought several to try.

In the end, with gas, parts that didn't work, buying a kit to get two simple cotter pins, extra springs--I'm sure I spent double what buying that simple kit would have cost me.

But--*I* solved the problem instead of relying on others. I sure hope that feeling of self-reliance is worth paying double.

[Moral of the story: sometimes the easier route is the cheaper route. ]

[MT Chambers]

Those machines were designed in the old days when folks were a little bit smarter.

[Big Boomer]

Say what you will, but you ain't lived 'til you've had yore thumb resized! Big Boomer

[Jeff Michel]

You haven't lived until you cycle your finger at the de-prime step in a MEC 600 Jr. The downstroke wasn't too bad, the upstroke was magnificent.

[Springfield]

Right hand on the handle, left hand places the bullet. I have 3 and haven't pinched myself yet. Much faster than having the right hand do all the work.

[Leslie Sapp]

Hey, if we're gonna compare scars and stupidity, I'm posting the evidence of my recent encounter with a Ponsness - Warren 375 decapping pin.

[kens]

I thought the Lyman 450 was a pretty good finger sizer, you say the Star is better????

[Jonesy]

And here I thought I was one of the few that have given myself a fingernail piercing with a decapping pin. The worst part is when you bring the ram down and your finger stays attached to the press, the trepidation of knowing you have to rip your digit from the pin, and the pain that is sure to come from it. Thanks everyone for making me feel better about my moment of carelessness!

[357Wheelgunner]

Right hand on the handle, left hand places the bullet. I have 3 and haven't pinched myself yet. Much faster than having the right hand do all the work.

Problem is my left brain works much faster than my right does so my right hand keeps out running my left, with occasional painful consequences!

[VHoward]

Then the bullet feeder attachment is for you. I would save up for one.

[oger]

Take a lite coil spring and wind it around on of the shafts the ram rides on. No cotter keys or a spring hanging out for you to snag on.

[gtgeorge]

While I was born in an era of less legal warnings and idiot proofing I have to conceede that my speed sizing has given a finger pinch on my first SD Star within the first year and when the wife and youngest son started helping they also received one X2. I quickly learned it was not something I wanted to do a second time but took 2 for each of them to learn.

I sure hope Magma doesn't get lured into adding springs and/or guards etc. to these fine machines or even a warning disclaimer. My SD Star did come with the different bullet feeders but to me that is all they are good for is to keep your fingers away from moving parts unless you have a collator.