ok I'm done

[quickshot]

Well thats it. I am officially done with the pan lubeing method except for my low volume rifle stuff and load experimentation!!!!! I can't keep up with the high volume handgun stuff anymore without the thumb getting sore and the boolits turning into a blob of goo from from dropping them into liquid lube when forming the lube cake. I need a lubesizer which brings me to a whole list of questions. here we go

1) Can I seat gas checks and size/ lube at the same time or are these 2 seperate operations?

2) I use lars red in all of my loads pistol and rifle does the lube need to be liquid to flow or just soft?

3) Which of the sizers (used please as funds are short at the moment) would you reccomend?

4) How does a lubesizer actually work/is it faster than the lee push through system that I am currently using now?

5) How do I know what top punch that I need to use for each nose profile that I use?

6) Any tips or tricks that I might need to know about?

7) what are the pros/cons of the lubrisizer?

I'm sure that there will be more questions to come in the future, but thats all I can think of right now. Anything that I missed?

[Forester]

Well thats it. I am officially done with the pan lubeing method except for my low volume rifle stuff and load experimentation!!!!! I can't keep up with the high volume handgun stuff anymore without the thumb getting sore and the boolits turning into a blob of goo from from dropping them into liquid lube when forming the lube cake. I need a lubesizer which brings me to a whole list of questions. here we go

1) Can I seat gas checks and size/ lube at the same time or are these 2 seperate operations?

2) I use lars red in all of my loads pistol and rifle does the lube need to be liquid to flow or just soft?

3) Which of the sizers (used please as funds are short at the moment) would you reccomend?

4) How does a lubesizer actually work/is it faster than the lee push through system that I am currently using now?

5) How do I know what top punch that I need to use for each nose profile that I use?

6) Any tips or tricks that I might need to know about?

7) what are the pros/cons of the lubrisizer?

I'm sure that there will be more questions to come in the future, but thats all I can think of right now. Anything that I missed?

Cry once and find a Star, especially if you are needing high production, I run 25,000+/- a year through mine and love it. The higher cost is offset (some) by the fact that you only need one punch instead of one for every boolit shape. You can seat gas checks at the same time as you lube.

If you are using a hard lube you will need a way to heat it. Options range from cheap to $$$. If you do a search you will find all kinds of good ideas. I started with the Lyman heater ($25?) and Santa brought me a Magma base heater this year, it is expensive, but unmatched in ease of use.

The problem is a Star brings almost as much used as new so you may have a hard time finding one at a price that makes it worth not buying new. Size dies run $35 each new and the Star sizer is $250 new.

The only knock I know of for the Star is the cost initially and a little higher cost for dies. The star almost can't bend a boolit, it seats gas checks easily, and gives no problem with bevel based boolits. If you are casting bevel based boolits the RCBS/Lyman sizers will make you pull your hair out with lube all over the bases.

[quickshot]

so far Star-1 all others-?

I really don't shoot that much rifle (3-500/year) pistol is around (2-3K/year) I mostly shoot .38/.357 with a couple handfulls of .45acp thrown in the mix just for fun. The rifle stuff I forsee changing in the future because I have transitioned from condums to cast for all longarms. Lube on the bases doesn't really bother me. Great info and keep it comeing!!

[garandsrus]

Quickshot,

The Star is definitely the fastest and probably the best... I am in the process of converting most everything I size to the Star. With a Star you can lube and size 2-3K boolits in a couple evenings, not working too hard.

The Lyman and RCBS both work fine also and are much cheaper. If you shoot 2-3K per year, you can get by fine with either. They are equivalent and even take the same dies. You will need a couple different top punches, but if you only have a couple boolit styles, they won't cost too much, about $5 or $6 each.

You can find a list of top punches at Castpics (http://www.castpics.net/index2.htm)

John

[Maven]

1) Can I seat gas checks and size/ lube at the same time or are these 2 seperate operations?
You apply the GC's to the bases by hand and then insert into the lube-sizer to crimp and lube.

2) I use lars red in all of my loads pistol and rifle does the lube need to be liquid to flow or just soft?
Lars' Carnauba Red needs a heat source to soften it so that it will flow through the lube-sizer, but it shouldn't be molten.

3) Which of the sizers (used please as funds are short at the moment) would you reccomend?
Lyman #450's and RCBS' Lub-A-Matic I & II's can be found used for reasonable prices v. the cost of a new one. I have all 3 (the latter 2 were bought used on E-Bay), but find the Lyman just a trifle easier to work with. However, it is also prone to leaking or rather, extruding, lube from the bottom. A shirt-cardboard gasket fitted to the base of the #450 cures the problem 100%. The RCBS L-A-M-s have a solid base and can't leak. Btw, sizing dies for the Lyman fit the RCBS' & vice versa. Ditto top punches.

4) How does a lubesizer actually work/is it faster than the lee push through system that I am currently using now?
The machines are a bit faster than hand lubing. What they basically do is use pressure via a piston to force softened lube (Some are soft enough to use as is, i.e., without a heat source.)

5) How do I know what top punch that I need to use for each nose profile that I use?
Lyman & RCBS list them in their catalogs/website (RCBS). However, a given punch may fit CB's not mentioned by either or cast from other manufacturers' molds. Search our site for posts on how to modifiy a top punch to fit what you've got (very easy to do).

6) Any tips or tricks that I might need to know about?
If you use a heat source*, be careful not to overheat your lube. Also, it's best not to size overly hard CB's as you'll strain the linkage and possibly break some of the bolts and even bend the CBs. (Don't ask me how I know this!) I try to size my CB's soon after casting them. If they need oven heat-treating, I size, oven heat-treat and later use a 0.001" - 0.002" larger sizing die to lube them. If you buy a used machine, study it carefully to determine whether the ram is square (90 deg.) to the housing and die base. Out-of-square is not a good thing. Of the Lyman & RCBS, the latter has the better warrantee, namely full lifetime replacement.

7) What are the pros & cons of the luberisizer?
They can be pricey and you may wind up purchasing several sizes of sizing dies (H & I dies) before you find which dimension works best in a particular firearm. However, they certainly are more convenient and versatile than lubing by hand.


*You can fashion one from a piece of Al plate (~9" x ~12") that you mount the lube-sizer to (with cardboard gasket if a Lyman). A working elec. iron (for clothes) is plugged in and positioned on the plate as a heat source. Trial & error with a given lube determines the time & setting.

[454PB]

I have two Lyman 450's and a Star. Yes, the Star is the Cadillac of sizers, but I still use the Lyman 450's. With three sizers, I can have three different sizers all set up and ready to go all the time.

I also own several Lee push through sizers, and they are just the ticket for reducing very hard or grossly oversize boolits in diameter, and no risk of breaking any of the other sizer/lubricators. Both of my Lymans have been broken trying to force pure linotype and/or oversize boolits through. Run them through the Lee sizer first, then again through the less stout sizer lubers.