OK more questions

[Swamprat1052]

I got my Star Sizer in today and it has a .310 die in it. How do I take it out? lol. I have no experience at all with this but have seen a die removal tool with one on ebay. Anybody know where I can get one?

Swamprat

[dragonrider]

You need a bolt of the same thread as the punch. lower your ram to the top of the die and thread the bolt in the ram from the bottom of the die up through the die, use a washer of sufficient size to grab the bottom the die but not larger than the die. REMOVE THE SCREW HOLDING THE DIE. Then raise the ram pulling the die with it. I don't know the size of the thread in the machine as I never removed the die in mine and I read this procedure somewhere but have never tried it. Hope it works for you.

[454PB]

You can remove the die without the tool, but it takes a lot of push. Loosen the die set screw (if it has one, the new ones don't). With the handle up and the base punch removed. use a wood dowel to push the die upwards from the bottom. It's tempting to use a hammer, but a strong gradual push is better.

[LAH]

The old models are harder to push out and came with a tool. The tool makes it easy but as 454 states, you can push them out with a dowel if you push hard enough. Heat will help.

The new models I push out with my finger if the die is a 100 degrees or so.

[Swamprat1052]

Thanks guys. I ordered the tool and die from Magma. Will probably ask more questions later.

Thanks.
Swamprat

[Cayoot]

The old models are harder to push out and came with a tool. The tool makes it easy

What did this tool look like? Was it a threaded bolt type item (as described earlier in this thread) that you threaded (up through the bottom of the die) into the punch slot?

I have an older model and don't have a changing tool....I'd really like to make one though!

[wills]

Have you checked the instructions http://www.magmaengr.com/pdf/StarSizerInstructions.pdf

[454PB]

What did this tool look like? Was it a threaded bolt type item (as described earlier in this thread) that you threaded (up through the bottom of the die) into the punch slot?

I have an older model and don't have a changing tool....I'd really like to make one though!

Here are some pictures:

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2339/stardieremoversmallcq4.jpg





http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/9571/stardieremover2smallyq7.jpg


The top picture is with everything screwed together. The bottom picture has it seperated. The knurled portion replaces the base punch, then the large piece is inserted into the die from the bottom and threaded into the knurled piece. Raising the handle pulls out the die. I have no idea what the extra threaded rod is for, but it has the same threads as the puller piece and screws into the knurled piece.

[Cayoot]

That's a pretty slick lookin outfit!

Thank you!

[utk]

The short rod is for pushing out the last boolit from the die.

[454PB]

OK, thanks for that info, but it's easier to use a smaller boolit. .44's push .45's out, then fall in your hand. Seems easier than removing the base punch to screw the other rod in place.

[Springfield]

454: So if you don't remove the base punch what do you screw the other rod into to the remove the die?

[LAH]

You have to unscrew the punch to use the die removal tool. The collar screws in where the punch is removed and the removal tool is passed up through the die and threaded into the collar. The handle is then moved upwards to remove the sizing die.

[Jon K]

swamprat,

If you're not going touse the .310 die, I'm interested. Let me know.

Jon:castmine:

[Swamprat1052]

Got the removal tool yesterday and it works great. I had to heat it up a little with a hair dryer cause mine had some real old, real hard black lube in it. But it came out easy enough.

Jon K, I sent you an email about that die.

Swamprat

[Jon K]

John,

While you're at it heat the sizer and get the rest of the old lube out. Start off w/fresh lube. No telling how long the sizer has been sitting with the old lube, besides, may not be what you use for lube.

Jon
:coffee:

[Swamprat1052]

Yeah I did that. I ran it all out and am getting just my new lube through it now. Looks like what I made is gonna need a little heat also. Am working on that. I went to the scrap yard yesterday and found a piece of 1" thick aluminum about 9x12 and some 2" alumimum square tubing. I am gonna mount the Star Sizer to the plate and the plate to some of the tubing and use an old iron my wife has to heat it up with. From what I have read that should work.

Getting all that old lube out was a chore but its done now.

Thanks,
Swamprat

[grumpy one]

Swamprat, I use an old iron to heat my lubesizer and keep it at constant temperature, having read of the idea on this board - it works very well. I suggest that your inch-thick aluminium plate is an overkill, though it should work quite satisfactorily. For comparison, I use a piece of 1/8 steel plate about 15" square and its conductivity is sufficient for soft lube - temperature is stable after warmup. (It has to be insulated from my steel bench). The warmup itself would be faster with something more conductive than steel, of course. My practice is to switch on the iron just before I start seating gas checks, which I do in the lubesizer. Depending how many bullets I'm processing, the warmup is well under way by the time I'm through seating the checks. However if I were using hard lube, I'd probably need to use an aluminium plate - though it wouldn't need to be an inch thick.