Star set-up problems!

[mac266]

I bought a Star lubrisizer from a guy on this forum; it has the heater, air attachment, and auto bullet feeder. I've been trying to set it up, and it's been nothing but frustration.

Either the bullet has gobs and gobs of lube falling off it, and covering the nose, or it's shortchanged with lube missing from one of the grooves.

What is the problem and how do I adjust it?

[HATCH]

What lube are you using?

Lube on the nose means the punch needs to be longer into the die

You trying to lube two grooves?

[skeettx]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtlW5czTpSM

[cainttype]

You didn't say whether you are sizing nose-first or base first, but if you are sizing nose-first the nose will be covered with lube if you are not positioning the cast deep enough at the bottom of the stroke (where the lever at the rear is pivoted to actuate the plunger at the bottom/rear).
As for having one groove without lube... Most Star dies have several rows of lube holes. The holes are plugged with soft birdshot BBs if they are not going to be used.
It might be that you do not have the proper holes open for the projectile style you are trying to use. The birdshot can be removed easily with a small drill.
Different cast styles will often require different set-ups. A single lube grooved projectile will most often not be set up the same as a multi-groove design.

Don't get too frustrated. The Stars are Cadillacs once you understand them and get familiar with their design.

[Bodean98]

First make sure your punch is adjusted for your boolits as in the above posted video. Plug all unused holes.
Loob on the nose can be from running too much heat and/or pressure. There is no seal when the smaller diameter nose passes the loob holes. If your running too much pressure and/or heat the loob will fill the void as the boolit passes causing the nose to load up with loob. This is a trial and error thing to get adjusted. Start at a low temp./pressure and adjust one up and then the other until loob just barely comes out of the loob holes without a boolit in the die. You should be able to look down in the die to see the loob come out. It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep notes for future reference also.
These things are the Cadillacs once you get over the top of the learning curve.

[mac266]

1- I'm sizing nose first.

2- I'm using Star's red lube.

3- Two lube grooves, the third row is plugged with shot just like the videos told me.

[mac266]

What is a good starting point for pressure?

[HATCH]

I do 115 degrees temp and 45psi

[cainttype]

Your heater temps and pressures will change with lubes. I'm assuming the lube you're using is actually Magma Red, so it would be a hard commercial type lube.
You can visually check and set any lube/heat/pressure before sizing, and I prefer minimums for both heat (if necessary) and pressure.
1st, start by putting something under your empty die to catch any excess lube. Place your thermostat at a lower setting (base of Star warm to the touch) and give it time to warm your hard lube.
Next, slowly increase pressure until lube begins to flow easily through the lube holes. If your lube is wet (too warm), or too stiff (too cold), you simply SLOWLY adjust heat in the right direction.
If you need to go warmer your required pressure will probably decrease. If you have to go cooler the pressure may need to be slowly increased.

When your lube feels slightly soft as it comes from the lube holes, and it flows well into the die (not squirting all over the place), you are in the right area. Minor tweaking from there will set things to your preference.

If your cast's lube grooves line up reasonably well with the open lube holes of your sizer die you're ready to adjust the seating depth of your base punch.
The spacing and location of your lube holes will determine where your base punch needs to be set.
It may be necessary to use the top holes instead of the bottom, or vice-versa, depending on your base-punch design.

[Bodean98]

I'm using the SL68B loob which is very soft. My temp is low @ 70 to 80 deg. F and my pressure setting is usually around 45 to 50 psi. Generally I will keep to the lower end of these pressures and temps. Much of the time I don't even run the heater with this loob. Your loob is probably much stiffer and will need more heat/pressure.

[floydboy]

I have had my Star for about 2 years now. I have had most of the problems you can find on this forum. I suspect most of us have. The Star does a great job quickly but is a little finicky to get set up sometimes. When you think about it there are only a few things going on in there. Here are some of the lessons I have learned.

The boolit has to be a tight fit or you will get excess lube somewhere. The Stars lube plunger creates a lot of pressure when it fills the lube grooves. I don't know how much but much more than other lubesizers. I do not have air pressure on mine. You can feel when you need to crank the screw a little to fill the lube chamber. It is the lube plunger that is activated at the bottom of the stroke that fills the grooves.

The punch has to be set at the correct height to position the boolit at the open holes in the die. I don't use lead shot to plug my holes. I cut a very narrow strip of electricians tape and tape over the row I want closed. It works and is easy to clean or change.

The lube has to be at the correct temp to flow into the groove. Too cool and it won't flow and too warm and it goes everywhere. Again tight boolit fit is crucial. I use a homemade soft lube. I make it soft enough that it doesn't have to be warmed under most conditions. I do have a heater and in the winter I may have to turn it on for a little while to get the lube to flow right.

Not trying to oversimplify this but in a nutshell that is it. Believe me I have spent many hours fooling with mine. When it is properly set up it is a thing of beauty. I don't regularly shoot a lot of different boolits. Less than 10 I'd say. I have purchased from lathesmith enough die punches to match every boolit I regularly load. Get the kind with the set screw. Once they are set you can simply change them out and your good to go. Boolits with big lube grooves are easier to set up than ones with small ones. Trying to fill one small lube groove on a boolit with three tiny lube grooves with no excess lube anywhere is not easy. I worked on that one for quit a while. You can bet when I got it right I won't change that punch.

Sorry I couldn't tell you exactly what to do to solve your problem but as you can see from the other responses there are a few things that can be causing you the grief. It just takes an understanding of how it works and fooling with it to get all the variables just right. As long as your machine is in good working order and your boolit is a tight fit in the die you can make it do wonderful things. Don't give up and just have some patience.

Good luck....Floyd