Which Star accessories to get?

[Russel Nash]

Hi all,

Which accessories do you think are a must for the Star lubri-sizer?

I haven't casted before, but I am thinking about casting for 9mm, .40 and .45.

I am assuming I will also have to buy some sort of caliber specific punches.

From Magma Engineering's website, it looks like they sell the compressed air adapter, a lube heater, and a bullet feeder.

Is there anything else I have left out?

Thanks in advance, for your replies!

[BigSlick]

Get the air feed and the heater base for sure, skip the bullet feeder.

The punch that comes with the machine will handle all three calibers you mention. You'll need a size die for each caliber. Their standard three row dies will work with about any pistol bullet I am aware of. I've used em with 9x19, 10/10mm and 45 ACP with nor problems at all. Just plug the holes you don't need and get with it.

And lay in a big bunch of lube an some storage space, you gonna need it ;)
________
FIX PS3 (http://fixps3.info/)

[mtgrs737]

Not to hijack this thread, but does the air feed work well and is it hard to use?

[Russel Nash]

Just plug the holes you don't need and get with it.


Which holes are you referring too?

I'm clueless as to how the Star works or what doo dads it needs to crank out bullets, so I have to ask these things.


And lay in a big bunch of lube an some storage space, you gonna need it

I'm guessing you're talking bullet lube there, right?

Are you saying lube goes really fast when you are cranking pro-jo's through the Star?

Even more so when the air and the heater is on?

As I understand the Star pushes the bullet down and out through the bottom of the press, so what are you all using to catch the just lubed and sized bullets?

Me, being the newbie that I am, I can envision making a huge mess.

[Marshal Kane]

Picture the cast bullet as being pushed through a sizer die which is caliber specific in order to size them to the proper dimension and insure that they are round. Picture the sizer die as a short piece of pipe. About halfways down the circumference of the pipe, are three rows of holes which are openings to allow bullet lubricant to flow into the lube groove(s) of the bullet while the bullet is in the sizer die. Some bullets do not have three lube grooves so the unneeded hole(s) are plugged off with lead shot.

Lube: Bullet lube. The amount of bullet lube you use is dependant on the number of bullets you have to lube. Stock up according to what you need or think you want to keep on hand.

The air and heater just helps keep the lube soft so that it can flow. The lube going faster depends on the dexterity of the user. The faster you can lube, the faster the lube goes.

You can either mount the Star over the edge of your loading bench or provide a hole in your bench so that the bullets in either case are pushed through. You can either catch the bullets by hand as they exit the Star or you can use a container to do the same function. I use a small box with a ramp in it to allow the bullets to roll off to one side. Otherwise the bullets will fall on each other and possibly dislodge the bullet lube or cause small dents. I empty the box about every twenty bullets into a larger container.

I can understand the need for sizer dies, heater, lube, and a die installation/removal tool but unless you are lubing a lot of bullets all of the time, I am not convinced that you need the air pressure attachment. The Star comes with a lube pressure screw that can be turned by hand putting pressure on the lube in the reservior. The air pressure attachment does the same thing but at an additional cost. Turning the lube pressure screw by hand allows me to lube and size about 15 bullets before the pressure screw needs more pressure. I don't lube and size enough bullets to justify the cost of the air pressure attachment. Four to five hundred bullets at a time is what I do and I can do this adjusting the lube pressure screw by hand. Just my take on this and certainly not binding on any interested partys.

-edit- quick editing test

[mastercast.com]

I also recommend not purchasing the bullet feeder for the Star sizer. You can feed it quicker by hand.

The air cylinder attachment to provide constant pressure to the lube is very easy to use and I have never had a problem with them.

[Lloyd Smale]

I had an air feed and really didnt care for it. I size in the barn and temps run from -15 to over a 100 in there when im sizing and just juggling the heater temp can be a chore sometime and combine it with an air feed and i wasted more time ajusting then i did sizing. Plus i have one of those noisy diaphram air compressors and just got sick of hearing it run. A lube heater is about a neccessity unless your sizing in a controled temperature place like a basement. Ive got an extended lube tube on mine that holds about 3 times the lube and that is real handy but again made it more finiky with air. But if i had to choose id take the extended lube capasity over the air anyday. Seems like before it everytime i got rolling i had to stop and add lube. Now i can pretty much lube until my body gives out and maybe fill it once a day or so. To me a bullet feed would be a waste without a colator. It would be about like trying to run a 650 dillon without a case feeder. If youve never used a star before id just buy a heater and be done with it. You will be able to size so much faster then you ever did before that those expensive add ons wont seem nessisary.

[dmftoy1]

Me, being the newbie that I am, I can envision making a huge mess.

Well I can't speak for you, but I really made a mess the first few times I did it. (Lars Carnuba Red lube) I then figured out that I was running the heated base too hot and making the lube way too soft. I had envisioned running the thing at the same speed as I run a single stage press when reloading and someone on here mentioned "dwell" on the lube stroke and viola all of a sudden I got the heat right and quit making a huge mess. :)

Just my .02

Regards,
Dave

[brshooter]

I like the air lube, I have it hooked up to a regulator on a medium (Q) bottle of nitrogen. That tank of nitrogen has been on the sizer for a long time. Costs are min. compared to a compressor and no noise to contend with. My problem with it is I forget to shut off the tank sometimes and loose it through leakage. The heater is a must have, accurate and required with the hard lube I'm using.

[Forester]

Well, I have, and use just about all of the acessories they list. I like the air feed quite a bit and don't find keeping track of temperature and pressure that big a deal, you get the hang of it pretty quickly.

The boolit feeder is a time saver but its by degrees, I would say it has been good for about a 30% increase in production for me. I do not use it for rifle boolits that I am only doing a few hundred of though because I want to inspect them more closely. I do use the feeder for pistol boolits that I am going to size 25,000+/- of a year.

The heated base Magma sells is pretty expensive but is probably the best optional item they have. I used to use a Lyman heater, and it was functional but very slow to heat up and much harder to regulate. With some creative electrical work I am sure the Lyman could be improved though, so that is a consideration.

Bringing up what lube is best here is like kicking a sleeping Lion, but if you are ordering from Magma anyway I would give their lube a try. I have used it on everything from .45ACP and .38spl to 2000-2100fps 45-70 and 30-30 loads. It is also cheaper than most commercial lubes at $1 per stick last time I ordered, I keep 2 or 3 pounds on hand most all the time.

[Russel Nash]

mtgrs737 wrote:


Not to hijack this thread, but does the air feed work well and is it hard to use?

I have been surfing through a few pages here looking for "gouge" on casting and lubri-sizing.

From what I have read, all the people who have bought one have NEVER regretted it.

Some people would rather save the money and crank the thing down by hand every 20 bullets or so.

One or two interesting tips I picked up was:

1. Buy a nitrogen tank and a regulator and connect that to the air pressure gizmo

2. Buy one of those cheaper red air tanks at say Lowes, Home Depot, or Harbor Freight and fill it up at the air hose at the gas station. Then bring it back home and connect it to the Star's air inlet.

Both these tips alleviate the need for an air compressor and the sometimes startling noise it makes when they kick back on.

Two other neat and cheaper tips I picked up on was to use a long-ish block of aluminum mounted to a Dillon Strong Mount. Then mount the Star to it. At the tail end ledge of the aluminum block, sit a clothes iron on it.

The aluminum acts like a heat sink and warms the lube inside the Star.

Also, having it on a strong mount allowed the user to place a large Dillon Blue Akrobin right underneath the Star. That bin caught all the lubed bullets.

In surfing here, I have come across some names of lubes mentioned.

I should probably do some more surfing and searching, but I suspect somewhere here on this forum is a whole cookbook of homemade lube recipes??

Thanks again for all the replies.

[David2011]

Russel,

I'm another satisfied Star user. I use my Star for 9mm, .357, .40 and .45. Mine is mounted hanging over the edge of the bench with a piece of 1/8" x 6" x 12" aluminum sandwiched between the bench and the lubrisizer. I set a cheap household iron on the far end of the aluminum on its lowest heat and regulate the temp by varying the distance between the iron and sizer. I usually turn it on 30-45 minutes before I start sizing so it will be stable when I start. Getting things too hot is my number one source of messy bullets. I let the bullets drop into a 4x4x4 cardboard bullet box. I've had no trouble with lube coming out of bullets or denting bullets. My alloy is 20 lb wheelweight to 1/2 lb monotype. It makes a nice, shiny bullet that holds mold detail very well and is hard enough to not lead in .40 S&W IPSC major loads. I can fill 2 of those boxes in an hour; about 1000 bullets feeding and adjusting the lube by hand. Be sure to mount your sizer at a height that gives good leverage. If it is too high they are much more difficult to operate for more than a few strokes. I sit when sizing so mine's on a workbench that's a little lower than my office desk. I consider the temp of the lube correct when it is just warm enough to flow into the groove and doesn't have a whitish or milky look to the surface of the lube. That indicates it's a little too cool. I like the lube to have a hint of gloss to it. There is no question when it's too warm. It will get on the nose of the bullet and possible squirt out in significant quantity. Once you plug the holes in the dies with the provided shot and get the punch adjusted, measure the distance from the punch in the up position to the top of the installed die and record the measurement where you can find it again. That makes subsequent setups for that bullet much faster. The measurement may vary from one bullet to another in the same caliber. I adjust the lube pressure manually but I size in the house where the temperature is fairly constant.

Good luck. It's a great tool that will last a lifetime. Mine's over 20 years old and good as new.

[Forester]

mtgrs737 wrote:



I have been surfing through a few pages here looking for "gouge" on casting and lubri-sizing.

From what I have read, all the people who have bought one have NEVER regretted it.

Some people would rather save the money and crank the thing down by hand every 20 bullets or so.

One or two interesting tips I picked up was:

1. Buy a nitrogen tank and a regulator and connect that to the air pressure gizmo

2. Buy one of those cheaper red air tanks at say Lowes, Home Depot, or Harbor Freight and fill it up at the air hose at the gas station. Then bring it back home and connect it to the Star's air inlet.

Both these tips alleviate the need for an air compressor and the sometimes startling noise it makes when they kick back on.

Two other neat and cheaper tips I picked up on was to use a long-ish block of aluminum mounted to a Dillon Strong Mount. Then mount the Star to it. At the tail end ledge of the aluminum block, sit a clothes iron on it.

The aluminum acts like a heat sink and warms the lube inside the Star.

Also, having it on a strong mount allowed the user to place a large Dillon Blue Akrobin right underneath the Star. That bin caught all the lubed bullets.

In surfing here, I have come across some names of lubes mentioned.

I should probably do some more surfing and searching, but I suspect somewhere here on this forum is a whole cookbook of homemade lube recipes??

Thanks again for all the replies.

I have the Star mounted above a loaded cartridge chute off of a Dillon and it works great, 1 akrobin holds about 400 200gr LSWCs. I attatched a picture.

You are right about the lube recipe. Here is what I would have to say is the "local" favorite: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=17548&highlight=felix+lube

[hammerhead357]

Well I am going to differ here with a lot of the other posts. I like the bullet feeder and can feed the star just as fast with it as without it.

The reason I like the feeder is it keeps your fingers out of the die and the bullet punch will go thru your thumb or take a big chunk out of it. I know this because my first wife cut a 38 cal. chunk out of her left thumb. It cost me 800 dollars to get that repaired and that was about 22 years ago.

The speed at which you get to working is what gets you in trouble. She could run about 2000 bullets per hour feeding directly into the die but that is what got her thumb in the way. While she healed up I purchased a bullet feeder and that removed the danger of the thumb in the sizing die. It also did not slow down the rate of processing bullets.

I also think the heater is a must have but you can make do with an aluminum plate and a clothes iron just start low on the heat setting and work up until you find the correct temp....Wes

[454PB]

You might want to look at this old post, just to show you what can be done for no money, just some time invested:

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=5615&highlight=star+heater

[mtgrs737]

Even with the soft lubes in my cool basement I need a heater to make the lube flow in my star. I just happened to have a Midway adjustable heater from years ago when I sold them at gun shows, and that is mounted under my star. I consider the adjustable heat feature a much needed feature. I also have a Lyman heater for my 450 Lubersizers and it is not adjustable for temp. so I made a temp control for it from a 600 watt light dimmer and it works perfectly at controling the temperture of the Lyman unit. I can run it up to max temp at the start to speed up the heating up of the unit and then turn it down to a level that will not overheat soft lube for continued lubing.

[Springfield]

I have bullet feeders on 2 of my Stars, but then I do mostly soft BP lube so I put all my bullets in styrofoam trays. When I do a run of smokeless bullets I just feed them by hand and let them drop into a bucket. I have also mounted my sizers to an aluminum plate and use an iron. One thing I have found is that the smaller travel irons don't get so hot ands are way less likely to overheat your lube,. Easier to fine tune the heat also. And I love my air feed. The best thing is you can plug the overflow hole and up your lube capacity by 50%. It is also much faster replacing lube with the air feed compared to the stock setup. I hooked mine up to a small 250 psi portable compresor, you know, the kind you put in your trunk and fill up your tires with. Got it at Sears, works great. Have it hooked up to an old car battery, not good enough for the car but runs the compressor fine

[Forester]

I have bullet feeders on 2 of my Stars, but then I do mostly soft BP lube so I put all my bullets in styrofoam trays. When I do a run of smokeless bullets I just feed them by hand and let them drop into a bucket. I have also mounted my sizers to an aluminum plate and use an iron. One thing I have found is that the smaller travel irons don't get so hot ands are way less likely to overheat your lube,. Easier to fine tune the heat also. And I love my air feed. The best thing is you can plug the overflow hole and up your lube capacity by 50%. It is also much faster replacing lube with the air feed compared to the stock setup. I hooked mine up to a small 250 psi portable compresor, you know, the kind you put in your trunk and fill up your tires with. Got it at Sears, works great. Have it hooked up to an old car battery, not good enough for the car but runs the compressor fine

I fill the lube reservoir all the way up without plugging the overflow hole. Using sticks of somewhat hard lube it doesnt seem to be a problem...I have been thinking about at extension on the reservoir to be able to hold more sticks.

[bobthenailer]

ive had stars for 25 + years and in my opinion all you need is a heater and the optional roller shovel operating handle

[crabo]

Where do you get the extension tube for the Star?

[hammerhead357]

Guys about 20 years ago I had a Star that had a extension tube that was 2x as long as the stock luber. I plugged the vent hole on the luber and had a machinest (sp) cut an adapter that allowed me to screw another Star tube together with the one one the luber. I used a piece of all thread for the lube screw IIRC and it worked great.

I think if a person looked around and found a small air cylinder that had a rod length about twice of the one that Magma sells that it would be possible to do it all with air....Wes

[Lloyd Smale]

ive done just the same thing and it works great. Its a big time saver as the stars so fast that you can run it dry in no time with the stock resivour. Mine will hold about the equivelent of 3 sticks now. Only trouble is, out in the cold barn it takes some serious spring pressure to make the lube move or even more heat juggling to get it to work just right. Overall though i love it!

[colbyjack]

where do you get the roller handle and how much? pics? -chris

[mtgrs737]

Magma Engineering lists the roller handle on their websight. Part number S117A Shovel Handle $33.95 :castmine:

[buckndee]

Could someone show some pictures of their extended/modified lube tube set ups with required parts list? Will these adapt to manual and air lubing? I have two standard star sizers but haven't got a clear picture in my mind to start building from scratch.

[hammerhead357]

buckndee, first plug the vent hole on the tube. You can place a piece of old innertube over it and then us a hose clamp to seal it off or tap the hole and put a very short screw in it.
Then I took an old sizer apart and had the tube cap cut off to form a threaded coupler and screwed it onto the tube on the sizer and then screwed the spare tube on to the coupler with the vent hole towards the top of the tube. I then made a long lube screw from allthread to replace the original lube screw and threaded two large nuts on the top of it and used a ratchet to put pressure on the lube in the sizer. Sorry that the best I can do. A lot of this is fly by the seat of your pants stuff. I am sure someone will come up with a better description and a list of what you need...Wes

[Russel Nash]

Forester on the first page wrote:



You are right about the lube recipe. Here is what I would have to say is the "local" favorite: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ght=felix+lube


Wow! DUDE! That thread is 8 pages long. Holy cow!

As I get closer to actually casting bullets, I'll get back to that thread.

Some other dumb noobie questions for you all:

1. Once you make up your lube, all the ingredients are melted down and it's still in a liquid state, then what do you with it?

2. How do you get the lube from whatever or however state you're storing it in, into the lube reservoir of the Star?

3. I have a Dillon 550 with the roller handle. Do you all think the roller shovel handle for the Star is as good an accessory as the roller handle is to the Dillons?

Thanks!

[Forester]

Forester on the first page wrote:



Wow! DUDE! That thread is 8 pages long. Holy cow!

As I get closer to actually casting bullets, I'll get back to that thread.

Some other dumb noobie questions for you all:

1. Once you make up your lube, all the ingredients are melted down and it's still in a liquid state, then what do you with it?

2. How do you get the lube from whatever or however state you're storing it in, into the lube reservoir of the Star?

3. I have a Dillon 550 with the roller handle. Do you all think the roller shovel handle for the Star is as good an accessory as the roller handle is to the Dillons?

Thanks!

1. Either pour it directly into the sizer, or if you are making a large batch for later use pour it into short pieces of PVC pipe and let it harden.

2. put the hardened sticks in the reservoir and screw on whatever pressure assembly you are using (air or spring)

3. I have both. The Star handle is nice but not as required as the Dillon...on a Dillon they should not even sell one without the roller handle.

[runfiverun]

thats funny i love the shovel handle on the starr
and hate it in the dillon
course my dad is the opposite

on the starr set it so you are pushing down on it somewhat you will discover the size....lube
cadence.
ilike to put mine over a drawer and catch and inspect as many as i can
just to keep up on little adjustments.

[Shotgun Luckey]

when I got my Star, the previous owner had replaced the stock handle with with a simple ball about 2" in diameter on a length of rod....works great

[HDS]

I got a dumb question, what is a two piece punch and what is the point of it? I get the impression its supposed to help make caliber switching easier, but how does it accomplish that?

[454PB]

I'm guessing that you're asking about the die removal tool. It is two part....an adapter that replaces the normal boolit punch, and a threaded rod that comes up through the sizing die from the bottom and screws into the previously mentioned adapter. Once installed, you simply raise the operating handle and the sizing die is pulled out the top.

[HDS]

No that's not it, that is normal equipment that comes with the press and I've used that to remove the bullet die. So nothing special about that.

This two piece bullet punch is supposed to be a punch, except it's two-piece and that helps for some reason... I keep reading about it in threads here and there but I've seen no detailed info on it.

Examples
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=1439327&postcount=9
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=1439389&postcount=10

[sagamore-one]

I have a pair of factory Star Tall Boys , one with home assembled air cylinder, but I need help posting 2 pics. Help please if you want to see pics. I think I can send as e-mail , but cannot figure out how to post direct to site.
.

[Springfield]

HDS: this is a pic of 2 piece punches. It is especially handy on a Star with a bullet feeder as you never have to play with that bothersome lock-nut when you change out the punch. It uses a standard base and only the punch section gets changed out. It is much easier to switch out longer, thinner, fatter, whatever punches, only take 10 seconds. Star doesn't make them, I had mine made by a local machinist. Lathesmith could make them, I'm sure. The top half is the original punch with the punch shaft cut off and a hole drilled and threaded. All 3 of my stars are so equipped.

[wymanwinn]

HDS: this is a pic of 2 piece punches. It is especially handy on a Star with a bullet feeder as you never have to play with that bothersome lock-nut when you change out the punch. It uses a standard base and only the punch section gets changed out. It is much easier to switch out longer, thinner, fatter, whatever punches, only take 10 seconds. Star doesn't make them, I had mine made by a local machinist. Lathesmith could make them, I'm sure. The top half is the original punch with the punch shaft cut off and a hole drilled and threaded. All 3 of my stars are so equipped.

what a GREAT system Mark....may i ask what thread size you used for the tapped hole in the base (looks like 5/16-24)....???

wyman

[454PB]

Here is a picture of the die removal equipment that came with my Star.

The piece in the center is the thread adapter from 1/2"X27tpi to 1/4"X20tpi that fits into the ram where the boolit punch is normally located. Theoretically, you can make your own punch, and place 1/4"X20 tpi threads on the "pushing" end. In fact, the piece on the left that is used to push the last boolit from the sizing die is an example of that, and could be used as a punch for any boolit over .250" (although it's way too long).


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/eddard49/StarDieRemover2.jpg

[chloe123]

Hope you don't mind bringing this archived post to the front.

I wanted to show a picture of a newly purchased Magma roller,or shovel, handle for the Star Sizer. I now consider this a worthy accessory.

*** Edit 9/20, re. the below, I think 454PB misquoted the tpi on the 1/4" rod. Pretty sure it's a 1/4-28***

But has anyone followed the 454PB/W. Winn comment above regarding attaching a homemade punch to the thread adapter base of the die removal tool? After viewing this thread I tried to turn a 1/4-20 die over the threads on the--stated--1/4-20 die extractor rod, but was successful. It seems to be the wrong size. If it had aligned properly, I was planning and buying some aluminum rod to thread and cut to size to see if it would hold up


Regarding the Star sizer, Magma just replaced the sizer heater that would occasionally run on tilt. I took a chance on the handle as I liked the equivalent for the Dillon. I just slipped off the standard, and slipped on the new one. I went thought the vertical motion and, no joke, it just felt natural--and easy. Immediately, you realize there's no need to clinch/tighten a grip around the handle. It fits the hand well and the rolling makes it ergonomic


In my opinion, it's constructed well
116910

[454PB]

Dang.....reviving this old thread cost me a trip out to my shop to check.....

Yes, those are 1/4" X 28 tpi threads!

[MT Chambers]

Those folks that are using an air unit from Star to put even pressure on the heated lube....if your compressor comes on after the initial start-up, you are doing something very wrong. You should not need any more air and the compressor should not come on!!

[chloe123]

I recall hearing an air compressor turn on while watching one of the embedded vid's;however, I simply amounted it to a leak,maybe a loose fitting, lack of plumbers tape, etc.

[HATCH]

I have a leak connector on my air line so once every couple hours it will kick the compressor on.
It only leaks when its hooked up to the star.
I is because I have the wrong mate to my connector and it doesnt seal well.

It doesnt matter any more because I am coating all my future production so the star will just size only.