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mtgrs737
12-31-2007, 03:07 PM
For all you Star Sizer owners out there I have a couple of questions on the operation of the Star sizer. I am concidering a Star Sizer to speed up my most used sizes.

!. Because the Star sizes nose first without a nose punch and using a flat base punch do the bullets ever size non-concentric (crooked)?


2. Do the boolits ever damage themselves when they fall from the sizer die, and if not how do you prevent them from being damaged?

3. What is a good price for the machine and dies?

Forester
12-31-2007, 05:32 PM
For all you Star Sizer owners out there I have a couple of questions on the operation of the Star sizer. I am concidering a Star Sizer to speed up my most used sizes.

!. Because the Star sizes nose first without a nose punch and using a flat base punch do the bullets ever size non-concentric (crooked)?


2. Do the boolits ever damage themselves when they fall from the sizer die, and if not how do you prevent them from being damaged?

3. What is a good price for the machine and dies?


I think the Star actually may be better for long thin boolits that other sizers may bend. Nose first sizing is the way to go.

I mounted an unused "loaded case chute" from a Dillon 550B to catch the falling boolits and deposit them in an Akro bin. I have not seen any damage from them falling such a short ways. I think a lot of people just catch them in their hand, you need ti either do that or rig some way to catch hem.

The machine new runs ~$250 and like everything else the accesories add up. Dies are ~$35 air pressure lube setup(which I highly recommend) is ~$100, and boolit feeder is ~$ 120 their heated base is ~$105. It totals up to a LOT of $$$ but you can get started very well with just the machine, size dies and either their heater or a homemade version if you need it.

garandsrus
12-31-2007, 10:10 PM
mtgrs737

!. Because the Star sizes nose first without a nose punch and using a flat base punch do the bullets ever size non-concentric (crooked)?
Answer - I guess that you could size crooked, but I don't remember ever doing it. I think the small bit of a taper at the top of the die allows the boolit to center pretty nicely. I have sized crooked boolits with a Lyman sizer.

2. Do the boolits ever damage themselves when they fall from the sizer die, and if not how do you prevent them from being damaged?
Answer - I catch the rifle boolits and put them in a tray for future loading. I drop the non-gas checked pistol bullets onto a towel that is held at an angle. The boolits hit it and roll down into a pile. I haven't seen any signs of damage.

John

Swamprat1052
12-31-2007, 10:28 PM
I dont think I have sized one crooked either, course I am fairly new to all this but I have sized a good many 45's. I catch mine for the most part but when I am being lazy I have a box mounted under where they drop. I never found any damaged bullets doing this either. I dont let em drop far. I catch em cause I heat my lube a little and if I catch and stack em on the bench til l they cool, they dont try to stick together and get messy.

Swamprat

Lloyd Smale
01-01-2008, 07:38 AM
only problem ive ran into is sizing larger bullets cast out of soft lead you about need to get a top punch that is the right size for the die. Using a smaller one will distort the bases a little.

Hi-Performance Bullet Coatings
01-01-2008, 10:29 AM
Those star luber-sizers are great machines. I drop my bullets into a sturdy cardboard box or a 50 cal ammo can postioned under the sizer. I use an old bath towel folded/wadded up and postioned to cushion the fall of the bullet, then they either bounce or roll onto the other bullets.
I just ran 105 lbs of 175 gr. .40 cal bullets thru mine in the last couple of days.

mtgrs737
01-01-2008, 12:23 PM
Thanks for the replies guys, as I expected there seems to be no problems with star sizers or their performance. Now if they were more affordable.

Mark
01-01-2008, 12:53 PM
I credit the Star sizer as the reason that still cast. I HATED sizing with a Lyman sizer. The Star is a breeze once it is set up. To answer your questions: I don't think I have ever sized a boolit crooked with the Star. I drop my boolits out of the Star into a bucket from table height. In the bucket is a piece of the soft underlayment that you would find under a quality carpet set at an angle. The boolits hit the piece and roll to the side of the bucket. Price-I purched mine from ePay but I purchased the heater and dies new. Price both options but the new heater is much better than the Lyman heater. I have encounter the situation that Lloyd speaks of. I contacted magma for a flat die and they recommended that it be quite a bit smaller in diameter than the die. The end result on a flat base boolit a small "cupping" effect.
By the Star and don't look back,
Mark

felix
01-01-2008, 01:02 PM
Mark, it might be even better to use a "rock-n-roll" centering alignment by using a convex base (top) punch rather than a flat one. Instead of a flat cupping, you'd get a quasi hollow base which would aid the alignment of gas expansion within the gun. ... felix

miestro_jerry
01-01-2008, 01:12 PM
I have never had a bullet go thru my Star Sizer incorrectly, and I have used it for more than 10 years. Best sizer I ever had. Expensive, yes, but well worth.

Get the heater if you buy one, it helps a lot with cold lubes.

Jerry

Marshal Kane
01-01-2008, 03:56 PM
1. Have never had this happen.

2. I use a small cardboard box with a ramp inside. The ramp is covered with a piece of bubble wrap. The bullets hit the ramp and roll to one end. I empty the box every 25-30 bullets to avoid having bullets fall on top of one another.

3. Used lubrisizers show up on eBay etc. This machine is built so well that even the used ones are in great demand. If buying used, just make sure the machine is in good condition.

This is the fastest lubrisizer on the market. I found mine at an estate sale at an unbelieveable price. Almost passed on it since at the time, I was buying my cast bullets from a local caster. Having the Star made me buy an entire casting outfit and started me casting my own bullets. Now I can't stop.

miestro_jerry
01-01-2008, 05:30 PM
I put an old cigar box under mine and then made a small draw that fits the cigar box, so the bullet drop into it.

Jerry

Intel6
01-04-2008, 05:34 PM
I was slowly casting less and less due to having to use my Lyman sizer which I really didn't care for. I finally picked up a used Star and it opened up a whole new world. I now cast a lot more than I ever did and I am branching out into other caliber's due to enjoying it more.

crabo
01-04-2008, 06:18 PM
I place a bar stool under my star sizer with an edged cookie sheet on top of the bar stool. I lay a towel on the cookie sheet and the boolits drop about 2" onto the towel. I roll the boolits over with the towel and inspect that I have good lube fillout.

I then pick up the towel, and pour them into another container. Spread the towel out and start again. It is an easy way to check for lube fillout and moving the lubed bullets from the pan to a container.

I cannot imagine using any other kind of sizer and luber for mass quantities of pistol bullets.

Crabo

Lloyd Smale
01-04-2008, 06:22 PM
On the 8th day God created star and dillon!!

Orygun
01-04-2008, 08:59 PM
Years ago I had drilled a hole in the bench for my Star to drop boolits straight through and rigged a PVC tube to funnel them down to a box or bucket on the floor. I have tried dropping them onto towels using a foam pad (or something) to initially deflect then from landing directly on each other and have had no problem with deformation after thousands and thousands of boolits.

You do need to make sure that they don't bounce out of the container, and my next try will be as the photo shows which is a plastic bucket with an old bicycle seat to take the impact and let them roll onto a towel in the bottom of the bucket. Pretty quick and easy to crank out many in a short time period as long as you check for lube fill-out every so often.