Lathesmith's Star dies

[lathesmith]

Hello all, as many of you know, I specialize in making dies for the Star and Magma Star bullet sizing machines. You get what I consider to be a good value in die making--at a reasonable price! Currently, I offer the standard factory flange-style dies, these run $35 shipped. I also have a "buckshot" or c-clip design, named after our very own buckshot on the forums here, that uses a c-clip at the top instead of the flange. These dies are $30 each shipped. Both of these dies styles come with your choice of up to 4 rows of lube holes, and are hardened to better than 50+Rockwell. I have a "standard" lube hole design, that consists of 3 rows of holes spaced .125 or so apart. If you want or need something different, just send me a message and we can discuss your needs.

I also make punches for the Star; the regular flat punch runs $12, and a "dished" punch runs $14. Plain locknuts are $4 each, and the locknuts with setscrews are $7. These ship free if purchased with your dies.

Your dies normally ship about a week after I receive your payment; check or money order for payment is fine. If you wish to order or have questions about your Star die and punch needs, just send me a PM or email and I'll do my best to fix you up! I'll be adding and updating this listing in the next several days; thanks to all of you here at the forums for making this possible, with a special thanks to Ken.
Good shooting,
Chris

[rugerman1]

I've used lathesmith star dies and I'm a repeat customer.Top-of-the-line work.

[crabo]

Been there, done that, will do it again many more times. The locking nut is a great idea for quick setup when changing calibers and boolits. You can often find a setting that will work on a lot of different boolits with out adjustment. I have one setup that will do 2 45/70 boolits and 4 different 44 boolits without adjustment. too cool.

[ph4570]

Lathesmith dies = good product, good value and fast shipment.

[thebigmac]

Lathesmith makes g-r-e-a-t star dies. Having several, and going to get more, he's a gentleman to deal with.

[.30/30 Guy]

Lathsmith's dies are as good as or better than the factory dies. Outstanding service and communications. His claim of shipping in about a week is accurate.

[EDK]

The two dies you did for my STAR are excellent..oversized boolits are the answer to MARLIN Cowboy rifles AND seem slightly more accurate for generic ammo for "a herd of VAQUEROS."

Quick question: CAN you make custom seating punches for DILLON dies? I like the convenience of the DILLON design to clean the seater and crimp dies, but the generic nose punch is just a little bit off and mars the boolits.

[lathesmith]

EDK, Send me a PM with what you have in mind, and we'll see if that can be done.
lathesmith

[Mark]

Can you help a rookie?
What is the benefit of the snap ring as opposed to the standard flange? What is the best way to remove your dies from the Star sizer?
Thanks,
Mark

[Zbench]

I'd like to echo the comments about Lathesmith's work. I recently got a .452 and .401 die and thought I would test them for hardness and compare to original Star Dies and while I was at it I also tested Lyman and RCBS dies as well.

I used a Wilson TT tester and calibrated on a 62 HRC test block to ensure accuracy.

Here are the raw readings:

58.8 HRC
58.9 HRC
59.9 HRC
58.5 HRC
58.6 HRC
59.0 HRC

The average of the readings is 58.95 HRC which is very hard.

For comparison, I tested one of the Star made dies I had and it measured an average of 51.6 HRC

Conclusion: Lathesmith's dies could swage mild steel and not wear out. 59C is about as hard as woodworking chisels and plane irons. Hard! Star's while no slouch either were pretty hard as well. But, 7.5 points of hardness is quite a difference.

Here was the real shocker, both the Lee and RCBS dies measured a measly 12-14C. It's not a valid test because they are way too soft. It tells me that they are just mild steel, no hardening or tempering.

Just wanted to point this out so people could be educated. Lathesmith's dies are the best out there, the hardest and will last the longest. All that for a cheaper price.

Good Deal!

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Originally Posted by Mark

Can you help a rookie?
What is the benefit of the snap ring as opposed to the standard flange? What is the best way to remove your dies from the Star sizer?
Thanks,
Mark

I would also like to have the answer to this as I am getting ready to get a Star.

Sam

[Zbench]

While I'm no Star veteran, having just got one last month myself, I think the idea is to remove the snap ring and push the die out of the press.

Having said that, I find the easiest way to remove the die is not to use the gizmo that star sends to pull it out. That would require you to remove the bullet in the die which is the reference point to set the punch when you swap that die out and put another in.

I turned a piece of wood down which is just under the diameter of the die. I then drilled a .500" hole in the end for clearance for any bullet that might be in the die sticking out. When I am ready to remove the die, I just push up with the dowel and it pops right out.

It doesn't disturb the bullet inside the die, it is wood so it doesn't mar the machine and if you use a heater to warm your wax, it comes out easily with just a push.

While others may differ, I think that having the flange integral to the die is a good thing...no play in any snap ring and it's just a solid set up.

That's my take...other's may have different opinions.

Pete

[lathesmith]

What is the benefit of the snap ring as opposed to the standard flange? What is the best way to remove your dies from the Star sizer?
Thanks,
Mark

The snap ring die is a little cheaper; that's the benefit. Think of the snap ring style as a lighter-duty version of the flange design. The snap ring design is best for more experienced users, who know their Star sizers and the machine's quirks and limitations. The flanged die will handle anything the Star press is capable of doing.

As Pete and others have said, there really isn't a "best" way of removing a die, although I do prefer the die puller tool personally. I take a caliper and measure from the punch face to the die face, and write that down somewhere--preferably where I can find it again! Keep your notes handy, and you can swap out dies and punches with little or no re-adjustment when you re-install them later.
And, some guys like to get multiple punches, and then get nuts with setscrews, for the "set it and forget it" mode.
lathesmith

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Sent you a PM.

Sam

[ph4570]

Die removal -- I use the dowel method described by Zbench. On rare occasions I have had to turn on the heater for a breif time to warm up the lube allowing easier extraction.

[Down South]

Another vote of confidence and craftsmanship to Lathesmith for his dies from me too. I have several of his dies and top punches. I just ordered another die and top punch this morning from him.

While I'm no Star veteran, having just got one last month myself, I think the idea is to remove the snap ring and push the die out of the press.

I was once told not to remove the die this way because there was a slight taper to the die and it may damage the machine. I haven't used a micrometer to see if that is true or not.
I use the tool shipped with the Sizer unit but I understand the wood dowel works well.

[Zbench]

Sam,

Intrigued by your mention of tapered dies, I measured both Star originals and Lathesmith's Both measure .750 exact on both bands.

The tool I made is undersized...it won't touch the machine casting at all.

I like to leave the last boolit in there since then it is a snap to set the top punch.

Insert the new die, screw in the top punch as far as it will go, bottom the stroke out and then lower the top punch until it stops against the boolit.

This causes it to be set to perfection each time. The tool that comes with the Star requires you to remove the boolit each time which causes you to loose the reference. I just hate the constant fiddling to get it set right...once it's done it's done forever with the method I use.

Of course, if you change boolits, you have to start over.

Pete

[Down South]

I really like your idea of leaving the last boolit in the die for reference for the top punch. That’s one of those I wish that I had though of that ideas.

About the die taper, that was something that I read here on the forum once. Like I said I never verified it. I’m glad you checked it.
I once stuck a boolit in one of Lathesmith’s dies and popped the C-Ring off. I was scared to try and push it on through because of what I had read so I tapped it back out with a wood dowel.
Sticking the boolit was my fault. It was the first boolit of a new run and I should have used a little lube on that first boolit.

[walltube]

but another fine example of lathesmith's handiwork. Had him open a Forster case trimmer bushing inside dia. to accept L.E. Wilson case trimmer tools. In this instance a 45deg. neck champher\de-burr tool. Wilson's military crimp remover (at the trimmer base' left) may also be installed in the bushing.

Lathesmith does some very slick work for a reasonable price.


My Stuff 039.jpg

[lathesmith]

Walltube, thanks for the pic! I had hoped that bushing worked out well for you. I was able to bore it without having to anneal it, so the temper is just as it was when you sent it. That looks like a handy setup you have there, and now it is even more versitile!

Sam and Pete, I think there was speculation at one time that the bore of the Star sizer might be tapered, not the die itself. That is the reason I didn't recommend that you could just pop the C-clip off one of those dies and push it through. A guy could easily check this-- you could remove the C-clip and take a dowel and put it under the ram and see if it would go all the way through. If you feel growing resistance, STOP! Otherwise, just check to be sure you don't have any nicks around where the C-clip goes, and it should push all the way through. To be honest, I've never tried this, so you are on your own here. Hmmm, guess I might have to give it a go...
Of course, this talk of a possible tapered bore is a mute point with the newer sizers, as the dies "float" in a pair of O-rings. This way, they can loosen the tolerance on the sizer where it is bored for the die, and can speed up production and lower their costs this way.
lathesmith