Midway's heater base for Star just as good as Magma's?

[old_haidouk]

I need to get a heater base for a Star sizer. Midway sells the Lyman heater base for less than half of what Magma wants for theirs. If I wire a dimmer switch to it should I expect the same kind of performance as form Magma's? Thanks.

[runfiverun]

if it heats up and is adjustable you should do okay with it. if the star bolts to it.
i have seen everything from a lght bulb to aluminum plate and an iron used to heat lubri sizers.

if at some point you want to add the boolit feeder from magma you will need their heater base as the feeder bolts to it.

[old_haidouk]

runfiverun, thats what I wanted to know. Thanks a bunch. I am planing on getting the bullet feeder too.

[angus6]

So why not buy a heater cartridge and a piece of aluminum plate and make your own ? no need to buy the Magma setup to add a bullet feeder, BTDT and wished I'd known better at the time. Would have saved the $80 for other goodies

[old_haidouk]

angus6 you're probably right, but sometimes I give in and go the easy way. Also the sizer is a finicky machine as it is when you play with pressure, temperature etc. I don't want to add my own variables to what I am already dealing with.

[angus6]

old_haidouk if you deiced you want any measurements to do it yourself give a shout and I'll measure the star setup

[6bg6ga]

quote:
So why not buy a heater cartridge and a piece of aluminum plate and make your own ? no need to buy the Magma setup to add a bullet feeder, BTDT and wished I'd known better at the time. Would have saved the $80 for other goodies

I have a thread about making your own heater assy for the Star sizer. In it I listed a heater PN as well as the manufacturer. I also mentioned a Diy thermostat.

All of this can be put on a piece of aluminum plate. Its a piece of cake to drill and tap 3) 1/4-20 holes for the sizer and 1) for the feeder spacer block. I have $29.00 invested in my heater setup and I purchased a larger wattage heater.

[old_haidouk]

I don't have an aluminium plate.

[6bg6ga]

I went to a local metal shop and purchased a piece of aluminum that measured

11 1/4" X 9 1/4" X 1/2" for around $18.00 From there it was a 10 min job to drill

and tap the holes I needed.

[old_haidouk]

I am gonna look around to see what I can find.

[runfiverun]

airc the base measures 7.5 x 4 x 3/4"

[crabo]

Buy the Lyman heater and be done with it. It bolts directly up. I use a light dimmer to control my heat with some sharpie marks for several different lubes. I am only using CR right now, but I try to let it warm up for an hour or so, usually while I am casting and water dropping.

If you can find that magic spot and mark it, then you can do a long lube run without the lube getting too hot, then you turn down and it gets too cold and then you finally get it right as you finish the run. It also makes it easier to change your dies out if the lube is warm.

Another thing I learned is to take measurements for each boolit I lube, and write them down. I measure from the end of the punch to the bottom of the locking nut. It saves a lot of frustration when you change out boolits. You can also buy locking nuts and extra punches from lathesmith if you want to adjust them in advance and have them ready for a picticular boolit you do a lot of.

[GBertolet]

I have the Lyman heater base on my Star. It works fine for me as is, with no mods, using the hard lubes. I guess if you wanted to reduce the heat to the Star, you could put washers under the bolts between the base and the Star, limiting the heat transfer.