Lube groove not filling! Urgh... Please HALP!(Star lubesizer)

[creature]

The right holes in the die are plugged and I have the punch set correctly. I tapped the bullet down into the die until the lube groove was visible through the holes. Then I lowered the punch to the bullet in the machine. Everything worked great for about 5,000 bullets or so and now it's not filling up the groove all the way.

The Air pressure setting is at 100psi and the heater base is at about the perfect level. Not too runny not to solid. I have no idea what the hell is wrong. Sometimes the first few bullets will be great and then it will start spitting them out with the groove only partially filled.

I know that the air pressure doesn't effect the lube filling the groove. What I'm wondering is how I would increase the pressure that forces lube into the groove? Can anyone give me some ideas on how to get this fixed?

I've tried turning up the heat and it gets too runny.

[ElDorado]

Do you need to add more lube?

[ReloaderFred]

If some debris got into the reservoir, it could have plugged the lube holes. Try pulling the sizing die and check the holes.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[creature]

Do you need to add more lube?

haha no, I've checked that.

[creature]

If some debris got into the reservoir, it could have plugged the lube holes. Try pulling the sizing die and check the holes.

Hope this helps.

Fred

I will do this as soon as I get home. Good idea.

[Brenden]

I've found when lubing a large batch sometimes I need to wait for the lube heat to catch up. It will start getting a whitish hue, so I'll take a 5 min break to let it get hot enough again.

[captaint]

That same thing drove me nuts for a while - until I realized the lube gets squirted at the very bottom of the stroke. I was short stroking mine. Lesson learned. Mike

[trixter]

That same thing drove me nuts for a while - until I realized the lube gets squirted at the very bottom of the stroke. I was short stroking mine. Lesson learned. Mike

You, me too. Watch the action of the machine and see that it is compressing the bottom spring where the long lever is. The bottom of the stroke compresses the spring and pushes the piston that pushes the lube into the chamber. Keep making minute adjustments till you get what you want (Punch depth).

[MT Chambers]

Further to what the captain said, you need to put emphasis on the bottom of the stroke sometimes, I do it all the time as it is a habit.

[razerok1]

perhaps your top punch has backed out a bit so your not activating the piston to open fully.

[6bg6ga]

The operation of the Star/Magma is very simple. First before operating with the die out push a bullet into the die and use a needle or very small pin to see that the bullet lube grooves are aligned to the lube holes in the die. Once this is done re-install the die back into the sizer and srew the punch into the ram so that it will NOT touch the bullet when the ram is in its lowest position. Once this is done and the ram is at its lowest then start to lower the punch by unscrewing it until it touches the bullet. At this point tighten the punch nut. Now you need to find the point in which the lube will flow without running out of the sizer in liquid form and when you find this record this temp and save it. Lastly the pressure.... you now have the correct height in the die for the bullet, the correct temp on the lube so now you simply adjust the working air pressure. Try 60 or lower for a softer lube as a starting point and higher pressure for a harder lube.

Lube not filling the grooves? Two things to look at once the basic height has been set and that is the temp of the lube and the lube pressure. When you have the lube temp correct the only variable left is the pressure. Your not going to blow up the cylinder or the air cylinder so don't be afraid to turn it past 100psi or more depending on the lube. Milkey color? probably the lack of lube in the cylinder or the temp needing to be cranked up a bit.

It took me a while but I recorded the open height settings for my different bullets. I do however have ONLY dies with single rows of lube holes that I specified to be made. Now, once this is done a person can simply make either a piece of dowel rod cut to the length that is the same as your open height or one can machine a gauge out of a piece of brass or aluminum.

[John J]

I'm going to keep watching as I have the same problem with mine and like your's it worked fine for about 4000 and I have not changed a thing and now its leaveing voids in the lube too

so I hope when you solve your problem it will help me solve mine too

John J

[kayak1]

I'm going to keep watching as I have the same problem with mine and like your's it worked fine for about 4000 and I have not changed a thing and now its leaveing voids in the lube too

so I hope when you solve your problem it will help me solve mine too

John J

Could it be an air bubble? I have times that happens to me then it passes (my star also makes bubble popping noise when it clears up).

I am still new to my star, I am just on my 10th stick of lube.

[Cadillo]

It may be as simple as just giving it a little more dwell time at the bottom of the down stroke. The lube needs time to flow.

[Cherokee]

When I get air bubbles, I operate the star several times without a CB to let the lube and air come out. Then resume normal use. Usually works but sometimes have to do it longer. The lube is not wasted as it goes into the melt pot for refilling when lube is low ( I refill with melted lube and let it harden in the star).

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

It could likely be trapped air. It takes some trial-and-error to get to where the grooves fill completly with one stroke. I have some bullets that I just run through twice. The length of time at the full bottom of the stroke, where the lube valve is opened, is key. And, it is a variable of lube hardness, temperature, and pressure. Part science, part magic, and lots of learning. Just like a mold, your lube sizer is talking to you.

[gunoil]

From eric:

are talking about running 120 PSI ran the temperature real low you would need that kind of pressure, 3 things to remember, heat, location and pressure, if the lube is too hot it will run, if the air pressure is to high you will be pushing the lube through the pump and in between the bullets (the lube passage is ALWAYS open from the lube tube to the die until you depress the pump piston, that is where the lubing pressure comes from, all you want to do with the air is replenish the lube you put on the bullets, if you are running a bullet with a very small lube grove you may run your pressure as low as 20 PSI, if on the other hand you are running a 45-70 with 3 large lube grooves you will need to raise the pressure) and the location of your punch can be a critical as 1/16 of a turn up or down on some bullets. You can look at the bullets and tell by where the lube is in the groove, if the lube tapers off to a point, either high or low, move the bullet punch the direction you want the lube to go.
Best regards,

[cbrick]

I've been using the Star for about 25 years but learned a new lesson yesterday. I have a .311" die that has 21 lube holes in it, lubing the RCBS 30 cal 180 FP with three lube grooves. I plugged the holes I didn't need, lined up the punch, pre-heated the Star, hooked up the air line & what the hay, very little lube in the grooves. Checked the punch depth & it was correct. Try again and little lube.

Unlike the OP in this thread where he had recently lubed a lot of boolits I hadn't used this die in years. What I discovered after a bunch of head scratching and a lot of cussing was that old lube had dried in the holes that I was trying to use. Cleaned it up well with a pick and brake cleaner and all is well. I had never had this happen before and it was a bit perplexing, frustrating and aggravating for a while. Just something for others to keep an eye out for.

Rick

[sagamore-one]

One more thing that can cause incomplete groove filling is the temp of the boolit itself. In winter I sometimes place a tray of boolits on a hot plate to warm them up a little to help the lube flow into the grooves.
just a thought.

[Inkman]

That same thing drove me nuts for a while - until I realized the lube gets squirted at the very bottom of the stroke. I was short stroking mine. Lesson learned. Mike

Same here.

Had me scratching my head and double checking everything before i realized i was short stroking on the downward pull just last weekend.

Al

[Socal147]

I used mine last night. I am very glad I read up on the operation prior to actually using the unit. From the start, I was lubing my .502 bullet perfectly. I did not realize I was bigger than 502 cast. Never bothered to mic after initially measuring at 501. Must have been a different mix in the pot. The Star preformed perfectly. I needed to learn my lube use rate(which is high for the 500 bullet), to maintain a good fill but the curve went quick. I caught myself short stroking and not pausing at the bottom of the stroke a few times. Once I got the cadence down, it was time to rock and roll. Need to cast some more 350 501's today. Waiting to get my 44 250 die from mountain mold. A 405 gn .460 mold is a future buy. The Star Sizer is definitely a top shelf item.

[RedHawk357Mag]

Definitely sounds like my issue lube voids... Using Randy Rat Green Tac, air assist on the Magna, 60-70 lbs of air, Magna heater plate, temp a good happy medium, lubing two groves on the base of a wad cutter bullet. I can process 10, 15, 20, maybe 25 bullets and get absolutely solid fill of grooves. Then a bullet will pop out with lube voids a smidgen short of 1/8" or maybe a Groove will be completely empty. I have to re-run the bullet once up to six times to fill the offending void. Random bullet count till a void, random reprocessing of said bullet to fix. When I add lube to reservoir it is liquid, I gently warm it in a measuring cup and fill the reservoir just short of the purge hole and reinstall the air assist. So I don't think it's air pockets. When filling the grooves are filled perfectly. Thought maybe I was out running the heater so I slowed the cadence down, thought short stroke added a pause at bottom of stroke to slow cadence, ensure bottom spring compressed. I cleaned the old lube out of the die prior to installing. The only thing I haven't done yet from this thread is generally warming bullets on a hot plate. Anybody got anything else? By the way even though this is a pain in the neck it is way better than pan lubing. Star/Magma Rock,

[6bg6ga]

Definitely sounds like my issue lube voids... Using Randy Rat Green Tac, air assist on the Magna, 60-70 lbs of air, Magna heater plate, temp a good happy medium, lubing two groves on the base of a wad cutter bullet. I can process 10, 15, 20, maybe 25 bullets and get absolutely solid fill of grooves. Then a bullet will pop out with lube voids a smidgen short of 1/8" or maybe a Groove will be completely empty. I have to re-run the bullet once up to six times to fill the offending void. Random bullet count till a void, random reprocessing of said bullet to fix. When I add lube to reservoir it is liquid, I gently warm it in a measuring cup and fill the reservoir just short of the purge hole and reinstall the air assist. So I don't think it's air pockets. When filling the grooves are filled perfectly. Thought maybe I was out running the heater so I slowed the cadence down, thought short stroke added a pause at bottom of stroke to slow cadence, ensure bottom spring compressed. I cleaned the old lube out of the die prior to installing. The only thing I haven't done yet from this thread is generally warming bullets on a hot plate. Anybody got anything else? By the way even though this is a pain in the neck it is way better than pan lubing. Star/Magma Rock,


Its a simple procees of either boosting the temp a little more or the pressure or both. A few years back I had the same thing happen and occasionally I will have it pop up again with my hand made bullet lube. All I do is turn the temp on the PID up a little and add a somemore pressure and in a few minutes the problem is solved. I don't premelt the lube and poor it in or worry about a possible air bubble.

[RedHawk357Mag]

Interesting. I buy my lube in a three pound cake. Too cheap to buy preformed tubes/cartridge. I will go get some more air in my bubble so I can increase the pressure. Green Tac is fairly soft so adding any more heat gets it runny in a hurry. Thanks for the tips.

[Pee Wee]

Thanks

[Thorsaxe]

I am new to the world of owning the star unit, I have the heating unit, Is there any thing you guys can advise me on before I make the Mistake of buying stuff I don't need? also what hard lube works the best as far as the flow rate when using the star?

[therealhitman]

I have no Air Assist on my Star. The same happens to me but I am in the habit of taking a break to let the lube heat up after each 1/4 to a 1/3 of a stick is used. The further up the reservoir you go the less heat the stick gets. So if you are running them through at a good pace suddenly the lube is too hard to get through the groove. I go fill my coffee (usually size in the morning) see what the wife is up to, annoy her a bit and go back to softer lube. YMMV depending on your lube's melt temp. For pistol boolits I was using Thompsons Blue Angel and Magma hard lubes, recently went to Glenn's Commercial Red and results are the same.

[Pee Wee]

Lathsmith makes the punch nuts with a set screw in it. I bought enough for all my punches and once set up you never have to worry about setting the punch depth again.

[u p mike]

had the same problem with grooves not filling in. was using a magma sizing die with 4 rows of 3 holes.found that the setscrew holding the die in was blocking one of the 3 holes. am now using a lathe smith die with 1 row of 4 holes.

[MT Chambers]

I never use more then 60 psi, in my cold basement I use Magma heater on one and Lyman on the 2 others, I keep the lymans plugged in while sizing, when lube starts to get where it shouldn't be, I unplug heater for a spell, when I start getting incomplete fillout I plug heater back in. I set my punches by sight on my first bullet, you get so that you can tell which way to adjust just by looking at the sized/lubed bullet. The idea of locking set screws on those punches is good except that I have over 200 molds.....

[wv109323]

Could it be that the lube in the reservoir is not flowing. I would add some heat to the reservoir via a hair dryer or just warm it with a propane torch.

[clum553946]

I want to thank all of the post'ers with info & advice on this thread. I too was having problems with incomplete lube groove fill in. After reading through this thread, I found that my bullets were too cold & I wasn't holding the down stroke long enough. Problem solved & thnx again everyone!

[CASTING MACHINE]

i want to thank all of the post'ers with info & advice on this thread. I too was having problems with incomplete lube groove fill in. After reading through this thread, i found that my bullets were too cold & i wasn't holding the down stroke long enough. Problem solved & thnx again everyone!have been using the magama sizers for sometime. In winter with cooler temps in basement i also was getting partially filled lube groves. Found the only solution was what everyone else on this post suggested. I wanted to add a few more things to try. Turn on the heater well before you start sizing. I usually turn it on and leave it on for long periods in the winter. Minimal cost vs. Time wasted. I insulated the lube storage tube with foam insulating tape similar to that used by hvac techs insulating copper pipe. Sticky as hell and cheap. Use tie wraps on it as well. Increases pre melt temperature. Get as much tape on it as you can without conflicts. Second i insulated the casting section that holds the sizing die. I believe i used a 1 1/4 inch double eared pipe stap mounted it to the heater base. Fill with insulation tape prior to install. This insulates very well eliminates cold spots on sizer die from drafts. These two steps help me size for longer periods without lube flow troubles.