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Thread: Does the star sizer leave a flash of lube on the bullet?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Does the star sizer leave a flash of lube on the bullet?

    I did some pan lubing today with 2500+, the issue is that the cake cutter leaves 2 mils of lube all around the bullet.
    So, when you insert the bullet in the case, that extra lube is shaved off the bullet and ends up on the nose of the bullet, and you have to wipe the bullets after loading.
    That's a waste of time and an annoyance.

    Does the star sizer do a really clean job without surplus lube on the bullet?

    (1 groove pistol bullet)

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Love Life
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    Yes as long as your heat and pressure are right.

  3. #3
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    it will if you do like Dick say's.
    they work by sizing the boolit down.
    then they stop pushing.
    and the lube stroke is initiated.
    that all happens in one down stroke of the handle.
    then the next one pushes the first one out.

    now if you over heat and melt the lube you get a wet glob but you can just cool the machine down and start all over without a huge mess.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master freebullet's Avatar
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    Yeah it can be made to do a nice clean job. Much less headache than pl.

    Don't overfill the lube tube with liquid lube or it will be a massive urination of lube on your whole world though. It'd be akin to dumping your whole pan lube setup on your bench.
    If you think your a hammer everything looks like a nail.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by runfiverun View Post
    it will if you do like Dick say's.

    now if you over heat and melt the lube you get a wet glob but you can just cool the machine down and start all over without a huge mess.
    Or use a soft lube that does not require a heater, some options are 50-50 Lithi-Bee, Ben's Red, ect. Lars 2500 should not need a heater but YMMV depending on climate. Conservatively, a STAR is good for about 750 boolits an hour. They take some initial set up, but if you follow the directions, it's fine and it runs like a champ. Yes I have one.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    I'll see how my new 358-125-RF mold sized 358 does with 45-45-10 and 2500+, and then I see I guess.

    if it does work with 45-45-10, end of the story.
    If it does not, and 2500+ works, then we will see I guess.

    but if I am going to get a star and everything, I might just try canauba red for the convenience of no stickyness lube.

    PC works, but it's such a hassle to hand pick all those bullets....
    hitek didnt work for me yet, but I still didnt have a load that worked with lube, so expecting PC or hitek to fix that is unrealistic.

    But honestly, they are all techniques that take some time, and processing once through a star would just be faster no matter what.

    Goal #1 is to get a load that doesnt lead.
    If that new mold still leads my glock, I'll order the aftermarket barrel and see.
    Last edited by kryogen; 01-03-2016 at 09:22 PM.

  7. #7
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    the carnuba red can be a little bit tacky [Glen also makes a commercial version that's less tacky]
    I just tumble a little motor mica in with the boolits and it stops that.
    before I had the mica I just gave them a spritz with some rubbing alcohol and it skinned the C-red over without affecting the lube underneath.

  8. #8
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    I would NOT even entertain the idea of a bullet feeder with cast bullets and traditional lube if I were you. From what little I have read on that, the only ones who have made it work had to do some gentle filing and adjusting of the feed lips on the die. This would be a pretty advanced bit of tinkering and since you have been struggling for two years to get cast to work without leading, I'd not add this level of complexity. Without any feeders you should still be in the 3-400 round/hour range not counting reloading primers, taking eye breaks, etc. Add a case feeder and it goes up a bunch without the frustration that cast with a bullet feeder will entail.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    I believe that the OP was asking about the bullet after sizing on a Star, and the Star allows you to use harder lubes (with a heater) and no mess is left on the bullet. Sizing 1,000/hr. is entirely possible, and they will reload without getting lube everywhere.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by MT Chambers View Post
    I believe that the OP was asking about the bullet after sizing on a Star, and the Star allows you to use harder lubes (with a heater) and no mess is left on the bullet. Sizing 1,000/hr. is entirely possible, and they will reload without getting lube everywhere.
    Yeah that would be the goal. Least amount of trouble possible, fastest processing possible.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by kryogen View Post
    Yeah that would be the goal. Least amount of trouble possible, fastest processing possible.
    Getting things adjusted properly can be a PITA, but you learn as you go and things go a lot smoother with experience. (You never stop learning with a STAR.) I'm using the LEE 357-120 TC but want to go to the NOE 135. I really liked BEN'S LIQUID LUBE and 357 push through die, but my GLOCKS didn't. Things are going better at 358 and WHITE LABEL 50/50 in the STAR.

  12. #12
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    I recently switched from Lars Carnuba Red to his BAC. With the CR, I was having small accuracy problems in my slower pistol rounds. What was happening was some of the CR would stick in the lube groove after the boolit left the barrel, this would throw off the balance very slightly and affect accuracy. I do most of my shooting in cool and cold weather, so ymmv. The BAC doesn't give me the same problems and works well in rifle boolits too.
    I was a dog on a short chain.
    Now there's no chain.
    Jim Harrison

  13. #13
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    I've owned about 10 Stars in my lifetime and my first use was in 1971. I can't understand why certain people make it sound as if you are doing something that requires several degrees including a PHD in bullet lubes to have success.
    First thing is to use the proper lube and have the machine set up correctly before starting. If you are shooting standard velocity and up handgun bullets then a lube like White Label's BAC is perfect. Just because you see some posting on You Tube that is using some home made lube does not mean that is the one for you. Lubes like BAC don't require heat nor lots of pressure to fill the normal lube rings on a standard bullet. The use of an air kit that is sold by Kyle is also helpful but not needed to start. Keep your first set up simple, no heater, no air, no bullet feeder and no 5 lube grooves bullets.
    If you read the directions, "FIRST"!!! and don't advance until that step is set correctly before going to #2, it will be so simple, you began to wonder , what has all the talk been about, making it being a real PITA!. It really is a very simple machine that requires very little adjustment to work to perfection.
    Start off by using a store bought lube that requires no heat, or high pressure to fill the lube grooves and you will be in high cotton from the git go. Take Care, David
    Shooter of the "HOLY BLACK" SASS 81802 AKA FAIRSHAKE; NRA ; BOLD; WARTHOG;Deadwood Marshal;Bayou Bounty Hunter; So That his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat; 44 WCF filled to the top, 210 gr. bullet

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    cant wait to try my new bullet next monday with 2500+. If it does work, I'm ordering a star.
    Looks like a dream to lube and size cast bullets that fast.

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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