Ok, Here's one for ya!

[WildmanJack]

Recently I bought a used Star sizer/ luber. It's an oldie but goodie. It came with two dies, a .357 and a .454 and their respective top punches, and both dies fit perfectly. So I ordered a .452 die from Magma and when it arrived I tried to insert it in the machine. There was no way on God's green eaerth, that die would fit properly into that machine. I got it about half way in and it took two days to get it out. I guess I could have used a torch but man what a pain. After measuring the opening and the new die with a caliper I found that the new die was considerably larger in diameter than the die holder on the machine. I finally got a very fine cylindrical diamond grinder ( more of a file actually) and after about 2 hours it fit as it should. not to loose just tight enough to need to be pressed in and pulled with the die puller.
Anyone elsde have this problem or did I just get an odd sized lubrisizer?
Thanks to all you guys for the infinite amount of info on this web site.
All the best,
Jack

[square butte]

Sounds interesting and disturbing, Especially since I am about to order some dies from Magma. Do you know the diameter of the ones that fit, and did you happen to measure diameter of the magma die? What did Magma have to say about it?

[WildmanJack]

Well, like a jerk I didn't call Magma. The measurements were. origional dies .749 the new die was .7505. I realize that's not much but it was enough to keep the new die from sliding in even under a lot of pressure. Maybe if I had heated the aluminum base with a propane torch it would have fit but, I don't think that should be necessary.
At one point I thought mayber I put the die in crooked, but I checked with my calipers and it was going in staright as an arrow.
Jack

[LAH]

Magma has been known to ship some "out of spec" stuff now and then. However they have always handled any problems we've had. Considering how much comes from them, I'd say overall they do a fine job..............Creeker

[cbrick]

Anything manufactured is mfg within tolerances so its possible to get an odd fit. Machine on the small side of tolerance and the die on the large side of tolerance and it would get pretty snug.

I have an old Star and have never had any problems with old Star or numerous new Magma dies. I would have called Magma and said "what the hay". I have talked with them on the phone many times and met with and talked with them at the SHOT Show and found them to be right nice folks with a sincere desire to do right by their customers.

Rick

[WildmanJack]

Yup, you guys are right, I should have called them right away. It worked out in the end. Sometimes I get a bit impatient and blindly go ahead on my own. Thanks..

[9.3X62AL]

Yup, you guys are right, I should have called them right away. It worked out in the end. Sometimes I get a bit impatient and blindly go ahead on my own. Thanks..

Oh, I NEVER do things like THAT--not ME, not EVER. Welcome aboard, Jack!

[WildmanJack]

Thanks,
I've sent this website to a bunch of pals that live out of state and have just started reloading. There's a wealth of knowledge here and I'm gonna learn every bit I can. During my old reloading days, I loaded .45 ACP only! melted down swaged graphite covered boolits, and recast them with a H&G 68, loaded the same charge of Bullseye and shot Bullseye competition. So Loading for other calibers is completely new to me, and I have a lot to learn.

[lathesmith]

When making dies for my Star sizer, this outside dimension is the most critical--along with your bullet diameter, of course. Tolerance here is, in my experience, around .001, with .750 being a bit snug. Polishing that die down would still be preferable to me to sending it back; less hassle, and you know the die is fitted to your press. Just be aware that you don't want to force anything--if it don't fit right, DON'T get a bigger hammer, unless you like a leaky and troublesome press!
lathesmith

[WildmanJack]

Well, I guess that's pretty much what I did. In stead of polishing the die down to size I polished the machine opening to accept the die. It's a tight fit but not so tight that it jams, I can easily pull the die with the die remover. Today to changed dies to my .357 that came with the lubrisizer and it fit perfectly. So I guess I didn't take off too much. Of course I plugged the wrong holes in the .357 die and got lube all over the wrong end of the bullet but that was easily fixed.
Anyway, thanks so much for the input. I'm trying BAC lube instead of the old stuff that came with the star.
All the best,
Jack