simple Hi-Tek coating

[Ausglock]

Bloody hard on the gear, Dan...

[HI-TEK]

Do you guys with the star sizers wear out the steel link between the handle and the sizing ram?

Mine barely last 5000 bullets before its worn an oval hole or broken the pin holding it together.

Dan
I don't know for sure, but this wear could be directly due to huge forces required to size alloys. If that is the reason for wear, using something like Aqualube on finished coated cast should reduce significantly the loads required, so in theory, those links should last longer.
Aqualube can also be used to dry film lubricate all materials to reduce friction and wear.

[RydForLyf]

I was pulling your chain a little RydForLyf. If I had a Star I would also use it to size Hi-Tek coated bullets.

Yank away.

I’m glad you cleared it up.

[RydForLyf]

Do you guys with the star sizers wear out the steel link between the handle and the sizing ram?

Mine barely last 5000 bullets before its worn an oval hole or broken the pin holding it together.

Dinosaurs died to support the cause of lubrication. Please don’t let their demise be in vain.

[dansedgli]

I have always used lube with it. I'm at around 4500 projectiles through the latest pin and that piece and it has started rounding out already.

The top hole in the piece that joins the lever and ram rounds out and the pin breaks.

I bought 3 spares of each last time I bought things from magma.

[ioon44]

I have never heard of that problem, my Star is a pre zip code San Diego Ca and it was well used when I got it and have used it a lot and never have replaced any thing on it.

I have been getting really good results with Accurate 35-130-c bullets cast with 6-2-92 and two coats of Gold 1035. I was working up a load with Sport Pistol and several loads were showing an ES of 8 and a lot in the 10 to 15 range. This was out of a new Walther PPQ SF, the load leaves the poly barrel really clean.
















a

[dverna]

dverna
I was just wondering if you used cast in your rifles. I've pushed Hi Tek coated .308 beyond 2700 fps but it's not my most accurate load. My .223 Hi Tek has been pushed over 3000 fps with no leading. Again not the most accurate load. My best load so far in cast coated .308 is around 2600 fps four bullets in under 3/4" with the fifth making it a one inch group at 100 yards. This load is typically a 1 1/2" load at 100 yards. I've been meaning to take it to the Talledega CMP range and test it out to 600 yards. Just haven't made it yet.

Attachment 258142 Best

Attachment 258143 Typical

That is fine performance!!!! My cast bullet efforts with the .308 were dismal, and I gave up on it. Figured I had a couple of .30/30's if I needed to stay in the 2000 fps range to get accuracy with a hunting alloy. I think I am a very poor caster and pay the price when it comes to cast rifle bullets. My 148 gr H&G's would group 50 shots under 3 1/2" at 50 yards (10 ring NRA) from a Ransom rest out of a M52 S&W but I want at least 1.5 MOA out of a bolt gun. My jacketed loads are sub MOA...below is a group with my cheap Compass in .308 using the 165 gr GameKing. The cheap thing is amazing...shoots better than my M70.



Admire you guys that get accuracy with cast!! I took the easy road, and bought a lifetime supply (500) of the Sierras for $150.

Will be working on a 125 yard coyote load for the .357 carbines this year using cast. It would be nice to have one load for plinking and varmint control. Hoping the fatter and slower bullet will make it easier for me get a decent cast load. (158 gr at 1500-1600 fps)

Again, nice work on your part.

[TonyN]

I'm on my second linkage on my star. Its rounded also but still works. I just move the bolt up a little more when it does wear down. The springs at the end of the bullet feeder is what I break a lot. Magma said they special make them so I guess that size spring isnt available to buy local at a hard wear store? Iv put tons of bullets threw my star.

[TonyN]

Is the Tru Blu supposed to be a Aqua/blue green color? I figured it would be Dark blue not a blend of green/blue color. Is a dark blue in the mix to be maid?

[Avenger442]

Avenger442 what load you using in your 308 load mentioned, the 308 is one calibre I have not done much with as yet though I have 5 moulds in that calibre. I do get sub MOA from my 458wm and my 357 Max is just on MOA at 2400fps but I have dropped that load down to 2200fps with the Lee 158gr R/F nose. I intend to take a Red deer with my 357 max in next couple weeks. Regards Stephen

That was a once fired Remington case (cases were weight matched), CCI primer, Lee 309-160-R 14 BHN bullet (bullets also weight matched), three coats of 1035 gold one coat then sized then two more and coating was much smoother than my recent photos, 41.5 grains of H4895.

I've been trying all kinds of things to get it down to a typical 1" group instead of 1 1/2". I wanted it down to 1" to go to the CMP range. Changed to match Hornady cases. Tried prepping the cases by flash hole de-burring and primer pocket uniforming. Neck turning was, for me, a waste of time and effort. Or maybe I just didn't quite get the hang of it. Note on neck turning be sure and get all the grease of and out of the cases. Three different powders. One suggested by an ex FBI sniper. They were all either a little more than 1 1/2" or there about. Changed BHN on lead up to 17BHN. Nothing outside of 12-14 helps. Been thinking about volume matching the cases. And have some Federal match primers to try. The gun is capable of doing 1" and under with Federal Gold Match ammo.

Biggest challenge is keeping consistent in what I am doing for each test.

dverna
Yeah accuracy is a bug and once it bites you get a little obsessive. And I don't even shoot competition. I've sworn off for a while and started loading up stock for my handguns. Several hundred rounds in .45, ,38 special and .357 mag. I'm not as obsessed with accuracy in my handgun rounds but they still shoot well enough.

Tony
Glad to see you back.

[Ausglock]

I'm on my second linkage on my star. Its rounded also but still works. I just move the bolt up a little more when it does wear down. The springs at the end of the bullet feeder is what I break a lot. Magma said they special make them so I guess that size spring isnt available to buy local at a hard wear store? Iv put tons of bullets threw my star.

I use the Star bullet feeder to feed my auto sizer. It had done over 500,000 bullets and still going strong.

[kevin c]

Is the Tru Blu supposed to be a Aqua/blue green color? I figured it would be Dark blue not a blend of green/blue color. Is a dark blue in the mix to be maid?

If you read back just a few pages in this thread, folks have posted their experiences with this new color. The consensus seems to be that care is needed in the time and temp of the baking. Too much of either turns the polymer progressively more yellow, and yellow and blue mixed together make green. The coating still functions perfectly well, it's just the color that is off.

I haven't gotten to experiment with mine yet, but I expect to have to bake at lower temps for less time than I do now, may need to change the protocol depending on the season (affects the starting temp of the casts), may need a K probed bullet on the tray for fine tuning, and may need to reduce the number of coats (I haven't read it yet, but I'm wondering if baking a second coat will over bake the first to the point that the overall color goes green).

I'd tell someone new to HiTek to maybe start like I did: with a nonmetallic color like Black Cherry which is easier to get right. Once the training wheels are off a metallic like Old Gold is what I'd try next. I'd then try TruBlu as a challenging last step, not a frustrating first one.

[dikman]

I just cast about 400 .375 round balls to use with my slingshot. I decided to give them a coat of Hi-Tek to act as a barrier when handling the lead balls. I gave them a coat of Candy Apple Red and left them to dry in the sun for a few hours. The resultant coating, when dry, is sufficient to do what I want without baking them as it doesn't come off when handled. Pretty handy stuff.

[dansedgli]

I'm on my second linkage on my star. Its rounded also but still works. I just move the bolt up a little more when it does wear down. The springs at the end of the bullet feeder is what I break a lot. Magma said they special make them so I guess that size spring isnt available to buy local at a hard wear store? Iv put tons of bullets threw my star.

I just broke my spring an hour ago.

The local hardware and auto stores don't have the right size.

Looks like I'm up for another $70 postage to get a $5 spring. I hate this thing.

[HI-TEK]

[QUOTE=kevin c;4845745]If you read back just a few pages in this thread, folks have posted their experiences with this new color. The consensus seems to be that care is needed in the time and temp of the baking. Too much of either turns the polymer progressively more yellow, and yellow and blue mixed together make green.Right On the mark) The coating still functions perfectly well, it's just the color that is off.

kevin c and Tony N

All the HI-TEK coatings require, what ever load is placed into an oven, is that coated alloy load, gets to 180C and stays there, or close enough, for another 2 minutes.

Users have to work out, after setting required temperature on the oven, how long it takes that specific load to get to 180C in their oven.
Then record that bake time at those settings and load.
Then continue to bake for about 2 more minutes after load reaches 180C.

If your oven is set at 200C, and thermostats can swing plus or minus 30C from set point, this could easily over heat load well above the 180C very quickly, as load will continue to heat up well over 180C in less than 1 minute. So what this means is, in simple terms, after reaching load to 180C, and oven is set to 200C, it is very possible to get coated cast to 200C plus after it has reached 180C and in much less time than 2 minutes.
That is why colour changes occur.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide advice on every oven being used.

With temperatures, it is not oven temperature that is critical, but the load temperature governs how long it takes to get a specific load to 180C by a specific oven.

Each oven produces different heating controls and results. User must determine ovens ability to raise a specific load to required temperature, and not exceed heating past required times after the load reaches correct cure conditions at 180C..

Some ovens cannot control accurately enough the set temperatures and these can easily allow over shoot of load temperatures.

Using higher temperature settings, simply gets the load there to the magic 180C much more quickly, but the downside is, that you can quickly over shoot load temperatures well over to what is required.

With most colours, colour change is not as much noticeable with over bake, but with some colours, overbake is more noticeable.
All of these details were published on this blog many times. It is simply quality control to obtain reproducible colour results that are acceptable to user.

[HI-TEK]

I just broke my spring an hour ago.

The local hardware and auto stores don't have the right size.

Looks like I'm up for another $70 postage to get a $5 spring. I hate this thing.

I found that in Bunnings they have springs. Is it compression spring or extension spring?
What is specifications/measurements of your spring? (picture may be also useful)
I had a spring maker make new ones locally for a Car rear brake that was no longer available.
This would be much cheaper than importing it. You can get a few made after they do their measurements.

[dansedgli]

I found that in Bunnings they have springs. Is it compression spring or extension spring?
What is specifications/measurements of your spring? (picture may be also useful)
I had a spring maker make new ones locally for a Car rear brake that was no longer available.
This would be much cheaper than importing it. You can get a few made after they do their measurements.

It's an extension spring. Smaller than 1 inch but pretty strong. The ones from bunnings are a tiny bit long but don't have the strength to pull the bar back.

I'll take some measurements and do some googling through the week. There should be some available somewhere locally.

[HI-TEK]

It's an extension spring. Smaller than 1 inch but pretty strong. The ones from bunnings are a tiny bit long but don't have the strength to pull the bar back.

I'll take some measurements and do some googling through the week. There should be some available somewhere locally.

There are many spring makers, and, possibly locally nearby. If you ask, they to make it a little stronger, they simply use thicker wire to coil up the spring.
It is a case of shopping around, hopefully near you, you may find someone who can do it.
For my spring, I have had quotes from numerous makers for my spring from $30.00 each to $75.00 each, so they do know how to skin customers. It was a two stage tension spring, and a bit more tricky to make. I eventually got 6 made at $15.00 each. (I have a lifetime of spare springs for this old car.)
If it is a straight forwards spring, it should not be hard to make. Most do have springs in stock, so it may be possible that they can supply something that will work.

I found Bell Springs in Victoria. tel:+61394646611

https://www.bellsprings.com.au/

https://www.bellsprings.com.au/category/tension-springs

The have a list of springs that show length, diameter and other specifications. They are about AUSD $5 to about $8 for ones similar to your diameter. You can make contact with them and give them details of your spring. Hope they can supply ex stock. Good spring hunting......

[dansedgli]

Thanks Joe!

[Ausglock]

Thanks Joe!

Dan. attach another spring from the base bolt of the Alloy bar that has the pivot point, up to the arm the lifter pushes against. I have this on my feeder. works fine. See Vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6h-iTHjP0

Pause the vid. you can see the extra spring...