My new Star finger pincher

[357Wheelgunner]

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

I do have a bullet feeder on order as I plan on adding a cylinder to actuate the ram and I do not have any desire to put my fingers any where near the ram when it punches a bullet through under air pressure!

[357Wheelgunner]

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.

Yup, that certainly would work but would require dis-assembly of the sizer to accomplish. Also the larger spring would cost more than the skinny little spring I used if you have to purchase one.
The little spring and cotter pins really do not hang out in the work area so there really is no concern about snagging on it plus installation does not require any dis-assembly and is easily reversible.

[FISH4BUGS]

Do we even need to mention M1 Thumb?

[blikseme300]

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

When I was a kid it was not uncommon to see older folks with digits partially or completely missing and most of those folks were smart as well as extremely skilled craftsmen. Stuff happens but equipment safety has improved as well as less hands-on fabrication so way less of these accidents seen today.

I saw a post here a few years ago regarding "Star bite" and I got a feeder for pistol CB's to prevent an accident as I value my digits. The feeder is impractical for rifle CB's especially when GC's need to be fitted. I don't have a safety spring setup but am aware of the risk of bite so I am careful.

[smokeywolf]

Just got my (new to me) used Star Sizer delivered today. Need to get a heater and a die and punch for .311. Think I'm going to have to take the barrel vise off the bench to make room for the Star Sizer.

[357Wheelgunner]

Got it finished, man is this cool!




1.) Heated base consists of a 6 by 8 by three quarter inch aluminum plate, a 100 watt cartridge heater, and PID temperature controller, all courtesy of eBay. less than $50 and a couple hours drilling holes in the aluminum plate to mount every thing up.


2.) Lube cylinder pressure system. I went with of a couple neoprene washers on top of the stock piston and spring set up with a pressure regulator, $4.50 from Harbor Freight, and some quarter inch fittings I had laying around. The adapter on top of the stock Lube cap was a three eighths flare fitting to quarter inch national pipe thread from the local plumbing store.



3.) The most complicated part was automating the stroke cycle. I accomplish this with a 5 inch stroke, 1-1/4 inch bore cylinder with built-in air cushions to keep it from hammering itself to pieces. This was another eBay purchase that cost me a whole 18 dollars with shipping. The most expensive part of the whole project was the assorted tube fittings, quarter inch plastic hose, and the hand control valve that I got from Automation Direct, they have really decent prices, all the stuff to hook everything together cost me about $68 again shipped, and I have several fittings left over for future projects. Took a couple of afternoons worth of tinkering to get the cylinder mounted and everything timed right.

4.) The final piece of the puzzle was the 1/2" od x 3/8" I'd Lexan tubing to make bullet holders. Got this in 6 foot lengths from Amazon, cut into 24" lengths and they hold about 45 of my 125 gr RNFP 38 cal. bullets. I load these in the evening while watching TV. Really speeds up the sizing operation.

Now, with just a flick of a finger I can lube bullets till my hearts content!

[novalty]

Wow you really worked that Star over! Simply amazing!

[gtgeorge]

Very nice air assist setup you have done. Really nice long bullet tubes too. I automated both of mine as well as one I installed my wife and the other my son

[blikseme300]

Very nice! So what are you going to do with the time saved?

[chloe123]

Nice job, looks great. You should consider linking a video of your take on automation to the Star Sizer sticky thread

[357Wheelgunner]

Very nice! So what are you going to do with the time saved?

Cast more boolitz of course!

[357Wheelgunner]

Nice job, looks great. You should consider linking a video of your take on automation to the Star Sizer sticky thread

I will have to think about that one, never done a video before.

[Tom_Highway]

Awesome!!!.
Video, please.

[RoGrrr]

This is why GOD invented that thingy called "an auto feeder", which keeps yor hand about 8 inches away from where your fingers get CUT OFF !



I spent very little (relatively speaking) in comparison to having to work with less than a full complement of digits/fingers.

[Springfield]

Nice air set-up, but I don't see how any time is saved, as you have to flip the switch for every bullet. Saves some effort though, but I am young enough that it is no big deal. My local TAP Plastics has all the tubes I need for my bullet feeders, no need for Amazon.

[357Wheelgunner]

Nice air set-up, but I don't see how any time is saved, as you have to flip the switch for every bullet. Saves some effort though, but I am young enough that it is no big deal. My local TAP Plastics has all the tubes I need for my bullet feeders, no need for Amazon.

Just wait, you will someday discover that it is not all about speed!

I Lube/sized bullets for half a century on Lyman 45 and 450 sizers and it never was an issue. However approaching 60 years at the bench, along with other activities, and advancing arthritis have left my hands pretty beat up so that anything that I can do to remove both repetitive and gripping movements is a huge plus.

Oh, I live on the North slope of the Olympic Mountains. No "local" much of anything out here except scenery so, unless you want to drive a couple of hours and a $40 ferry boat ride to get to any serious "shopping", Amazon is a must if you want anything out of the ordinary.

[oger]

You don't have to disassemble the sizer all you do is start one coil of the spring around the shaft and wind the rest of it on very easy to do.

[ombesb]

Took a slightly different approach. Got a roller handle from Lathesmith, got to looking and thinking..... it measures .375, that is 3/8. Cut 3/8 NC threads on the end of it, lightly filed it down just a tiny bit, ran it through the holder. Then got a long hanger nut from hardware, section of threaded rod, 2 nuts and stack of washers and basically built a bob weight on other side of handle. A little experimenting as to amount and location , works just fine.

[Pee Wee]

The bullet feeder also makes the handle stay down, will the cotter pin,sping kit keep it up with the bullet feeder
on it?

[357Wheelgunner]

The bullet feeder also makes the handle stay down, will the cotter pin,sping kit keep it up with the bullet feeder
on it?

No, the little spring that I have for the lift will not counteract the larger, stiffer spring that withdraws the bullet feeder. However it will hold it up about 3/4 of the way and keep it in place. I would think that a stiffer "lift" spring would be counterproductive since you would be fighting thee heavier spring every time you stroke the machine. In my case it was kind of a moot point since the air cylinder installation eliminated the handle entirely.