? of those who do not like magma star lubesizer?

[gunoil]

???? Members and casters who have give up on magma star lubesizer, or love-hate relationship with it?

Even with no lube its a heck of a sizer.

[VHoward]

What are you doing? Trolling? :-)
Just kidding. No machine is perfect. I get frustrated with mine occaisionally, but I won't go back to the Lyman 4500 I had before.
Ballisticast makes a similar machine for those looking for an alternative. I won't be buying one though.

[MT Chambers]

This must be a setup.......the Star lube/sizer is the best piece of equipment in all of reloading/casting, and everyone that ever used one will agree.

[45 2.1]

This must be a setup.......the Star lube/sizer is the best piece of equipment in all of reloading/casting, and everyone that ever used one will agree.

I've used several..... the one I had and a couple that a friend has. I won't have one........ way to finicky for me.

[gunoil]

My buy will take place, i have gone to coating bullets, still need sizer. I want be using lube and heater. For Now(can add later).. if needed! I want the boolit feeder action of the MS LUBE-sizer. If you were a coater instead of a luber, how would your set up be using the MS lube-sizer. I need your ideas.

edit: i did order tube heater air hook-up & lube.

I'll add this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJOkb3RxrZE

Everyone dont spend 800 bucks on a lubesizer.

[Brenden]

you could try something like this, he sizes using a Star toward the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiFxAPtx4c0

[MT Chambers]

While there will always be naysayers, the ability to size nose first for perfect alignment, and lube at a rate 10X faster then most, benefits most of us, you can't go wrong......

[mroliver77]

I have a couple of Stars, couple Lymans have had RCBS. I personally love my Stars. The others have the niche too.
I am not a "fan-boy" (new word) for any maker but appreciate good tools. I could really care less about Ford vs Chevy adolescent arguments but am always open to intelligent reviews and idea.
J

[Grump]

Let me add my questions.

First, what, if any, notable differences are there between the original Star Machine Works version and the Magma Engineering version?

Other than you pay for them with today's deflated dollars?

What are the trivial differences for that matter?

45 2.1: Please elaborate on what you mean about the two (or more?) you used being "too finicky" for you?

Understand that this comes from a guy who has used and still uses the progressive reloaders by Star, RCBS, Dillon (mostly 550-B but some brief experience with the Square Deal-B), and borrowed a Lee 1000 back in the college days. I recognize the shortcomings and strengths of each of them, and wish to learn similarly about the lubri-sizer world. Current experience is only on an original Star and a Lyman 450.

[45 2.1]

45 2.1: Please elaborate on what you mean about the two (or more?) you used being "too finicky" for you?

The Star I had used the lube heater Star sold and a name brand solid stick lube reputed to be the lube they recommended (another recommended lube failed in the same respects also). No matter where the heater was adjusted, it either was too cold and it didn't flow or it ran too easily. It could be used to fill about half the lube groove reasonably well, but not full... when it was filled full
(or close to it), it deposited a small glob of lube on the boolit nose. The dies were set up for each individual boolit correctly too....ie the extra holes were plugged and those left fit the lube groove spacing. Not being able to fill the grooves nixed it for me as well as the extra lube globbed on each boolit nose. A real PITA system. As for my buddies Stars and Phelps, they did fairly well, but he didn't fill the lube grooves up full with his either. My Lyman 450s performed perfectly at half the speed of the Star.

[Alan in Vermont]

The Star I have came from a friend after it had been abandoned at his place by another shooter who moved away and never came back after it. My friend had no idea what it was, how it worked, or if it was even complete. It had a .429 sizer in it and what appeared to be Alox/beeswax lube.

I brought it home, cleaned it externally and figured out how the lube pump worked, then figured out how to adjust the depth to get lube in the groove on some 429421 boolits that came with it. It wasn't hard to figure out and I had it going before I even tried to get information on it. I can't understand how some guys have so much trouble with them. I have since added more sizers and top punches and, while not quite as easy to switch calibers as my old LAM I (now sold to fund more dies) it is so much faster that any time lost in setup is easily regained in a couple hundred boolits sized.

[fivegunner]

WOW! here I thought the star was the best , I have 7 of them , and also 2 RCBS sizers , I only cast 10,00 to 15,00 handgun boolets a year, at least till I retire then I can shoot alot more!!:Fire:

[captaint]

I'm a poor kid. I only have one Star. I did find it WAAAAY easier to adjust after taking off the punch lock nut. Gone. Based on advice I got right here. I even mark the punch with a Sharpie to be sure it doesn't move. It never has. So much easier to adjust. I love my Star. Mike

[sergeant69]

I've used several..... the one I had and a couple that a friend has. I won't have one........ way to finicky for me.

you actually have a good point. the thing is....everyones frustration level reached the full mark at a diff. point. I was frustrated as hell w/my star and shelved it for a few years. then I retired, had more time to play w/it, and using only the advice I got here (the stars instruction sheet/manual is ****) I had it up and running in half the time I had messed w/it b4 I gave up on it and stored it. the star has to have 2-3 things adjusted just right at the same time, as opposed to working up a load where you never change but one variable at a time. i'm talking about lube viscosity, heat, die hole relation to boolit lube groove etc. it IS frustrating at first. but when the light finally came on (for me), it was like xmas as a kid. after it all comes together you kick urself for not doing it sooner. but you are absolutely right, it is frustrating at first, although i'm sure there are those among us that could set one up in 10 minutes right the first time. not me!!

[45 2.1]

you actually have a good point. the thing is....everyones frustration level reached the full mark at a diff. point.

I had the darn thing for 9 months or a little more.......... I talked with my friend who has three, the Star factory guys etc. Nothing they told me worked, not from lack of trying either. It was a machine used by a commercial caster who finally went out of business, so may it was worn or needed a major overhaul... on that I don't know. It did not work for me though.

[skeettx]

I have 4 Stars, 10 Lyman 45s, and 2 SAECOs,
Best production is with the Stars
I do rifle bullets with gas checks with the Lymans
and the Saecos just sit around

One of the Stars I have is air operated and air lube pressure
What a sweet device !

Mike

[Love Life]

I had one, thought it sucked, and sold it.

Switched back to a Lyman 45 and Lyman 4500 and was happy.

[DougGuy]

gunoil have you used Felix lube? This might be OT about the sizer, but I don't like the hard lubes, I can shoot hard lubes on hard cast and gather a fair amount of leading rather quickly and going to Felix was a night and day difference in how much effort it took to clean the barrel, so just from that I know it's working better than hard lube and I get smaller groups with it.

Can you use Felix in a Star? That would be a good setup it seems.

[gunoil]

Not using lube rite now. Useing HI-TEK-SUPERCOAT. I'll try blue one day. I gotta run nother air line in shop.

[A pause for the COZ]

Still kinda new to my Star. When its on a roll its the best dang thing I have ever seen. You can lube and size a whole bucket of bullets in no time flat.
When its in a finicky mood. It can be very very annoying. With the harder lubes it seems to be a very fine line for the pressure and heat. Some times your just chasing your tail. Better to just have a cup O coffee and try again latter.

[engineer401]

I am very happy with mine. I use BAC lube from Lar45 who is a vendor sponsor. It takes a little heat.

[hermans]

Been using my Star for 2 years now. Before I started to use it, I spent may hours reading up about the do's and the dont's....right here on Cast Boolits. So, mine worked just fine, right from the start.

[HATCH]

Like everything in life if you don't learn the way it operates then your gonna just get frustrated with it.
I have a lyman 45. Yes its a excellant machine and does what it was designed to do. Problem is that its slow.
You have to remove the boolit after it is sized. you have to have the correct top punch. It doesn't like BB boolits.

I switched to the Star. yeah some times when I am setting it up, I swear I could throw it in the trash. But once its setup its does a great job.
What I have done is I purchase a top punch and lock nut from Lathesmith for each design of boolit I size.

Also I do everything in batches now. i don't just cast up 100 boolits of one type and size them. I cast up 500 to 1K min and then size them.
For time saving the Star beats any other hand operated sizer hands down.

[AR Man]

i been reading the stuff on this sight for about two yrs. everything from lube making to the star press. just started using the star press this month. everything i read about it on here has happened. i still have the partly lubed bullet half the time. so i ground out a larger area around ea hole on the 45cal die. seems to fill the two lube rings most of the time now. lowered the air down from 115 to 60psi but still that lube on the nose stays. i think its time for a lathesmith die that i been reading about. i read about getting a couple extra holes added to the lube ring. at this my wife can do more on the lyman than i can on the star because i take ex time going over the half lubed bullets and wiping the nose of lube.

[Old Caster]

I have used the new and old Stars and see no difference. I have an old adjustable heater on my old Star and can install hard lube with no problem but think that soft lubes, even though they are a pain getting on everything while in the container including the bottom needing to occasionally be wiped off, are better and are what I generally use. Sometimes when starting up, even the soft lubes like NRA 50 - 50 might stick in the tube where the spring will not push hard enough making you crank on the pressure a lot, and after it breaks loose, depending on what bullet you are lubing and how many grooves, it might go 100 bullets or so before it is necessary to apply more pressure and will work fine until you are out of lube. When it is time to apply more pressure it is easy to feel this on the last pull of the handle at the bottom of the stroke because it will suddenly feel soft. The worst thing about the sizers like the 4500 is having to take the bullet back out each time and it being necessary to crank the pressure virtually every stroke. They are easier, cheaper, and quicker to adjust but much slower.

[Ozarklongshot]

OK Now ya'll are makin me a bit nervous. Star called friday to tell me that my sizer was being shipped (a month early at that) After some fast PM's with lathe smith my dies will be on the way soon. I'm worse than a kid at christmas and probably wont sleep much. After years of using a couple lyman 45's and my wife helping keep up with the lube/sizing to feed a pair of dillon 550's. I figure this magma star will be the ticket for higher volume/ no muss / no fuss lube sizing. Buckets full O' cast ready to lube and now I hear that they can be problematic ? Tell me I haven't made a very expensive mistake...

[HATCH]

You will not have a problem. I sized up 800 45 230 rn in less when a hr.its all about setup.


1/2 lubed boolits is setup.
Need more heat or more pressure or both

[engineer401]

Tell me I haven't made a very expensive mistake...

You made the right choice. It took me awhile to get things set up properly. It now works perfectly. I also have the roller from Lathesmith. I also have an aftermarket air pressure kit I purchased through a Cast Boolits member. Both are nice additions.

[357maximum]

I would fight ya viking style to keep the STAR bolted to my bench....never had a single issue setting mine up with alot of die changes under my belt, pretty simple once ya done it a few times. JUST DON'T EVERFILL THE RESEVOIR.....bad...all bad...like code brown hershey squirt bad.

With appropriate dies from Lathesmith I cannot see someone having an issue, but there are those out there that should not be allowed to operate a hammer or a marlin 336 for that matter. :lol:

[engineer401]

I would fight ya viking style to keep the STAR bolted to my bench....never had a single issue setting mine up with alot of die changes under my belt, pretty simple once ya done it a few times. JUST DON'T EVERFILL THE RESEVOIR.....bad...all bad...like code brown hershey squirt bad.

With appropriate dies from Lathesmith I cannot see someone having an issue, but there are those out there that should not be allowed to operate a hammer or a marlin 336 for that matter. :lol:

Well said. I can hardly type because I am laughing so hard.

[RoGrrr]

What I've found is that changing from one type boolit to another, use not only the appropriate sizer die but its own dedicated matching punch nut WITH SETSCREW.
Once you have it set for the lube groove, lock the setscrew and change them both together. Yes, it's extravagant to have so many extra punches but they are always adjusted for your next use.

The real extravagance is that I still need one more gun. NOT !

[gmsharps]

I typically use 3 different lubes for different occasions therefore I have 3 star sizers. I would not get rid of any of them. I also have a Lyman 45 and it workss great also. They all have a purpose and place and work for my purposes. All of them can be a pain in the butt at times but I have learned to deal with it. it's just part of the game.

gmsharps

[FishingFool]

Sized and lubed 1k 45-70 rounds with 50/50 mix. No problems. Haven't tried harder lubes but I can see how getting the pressure and heat right could be frustrating.

[Ozarklongshot]

My new star arrived earlier this week. It's beautiful ! Dug around in the shop and pretty sure I have all the stuff to fit air pressure lube. While I was at it, I took a look at a gear reduction motor I have. After I get the hang of manual operation I think I can fit it with an electric motor drive. I don't care for the way the air cylinders slam on the operation cycle. Then maybe a bullet carousel and ... Haa haa Lots of grand plans.
Anyway Its a very nice sizer and I can see acquiring more. It would appear that older ones would be relatively simple to refurb.

[gunoil]

To much noise, pedal power:
http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/E64A8E23-6BF6-477A-A87D-90AC85A2CD10-867-0000010785995337_zpsbd6c9d1b.mp4