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chrisx1
06-04-2008, 09:42 PM
I just got my Star sizer today...

all is well except I'm getting "fingers" of lube on the nose of the boolit. I know that I have seen this question here before, but I couldn't find it on a quick search. what do I need to move....the top punch, or use different holes in the die?

Help!

HeavyMetal
06-04-2008, 10:00 PM
The Star dies come with three or four "rings" of Lube holes depending on who made the die.

First question have you blocked lube holes with shot? I usually block the top holes and lube with the bottom ring as this gives me the most adjustment of the punch.

If you have blocked the holes then it's an adjustment of the punch to get the holes completely coverd by the boolit.

It also depends on type of lube and boolit style as to weather you can get this issue to go away.

If you nose sizing and not using a soft lube like alox an adjustment of the punch will fix the problem. As long as your using a soft lube you will have an "oozing" problem.

I have a star that has soft lube in it, I took all the pressure off it 2 weeks ago and I still see "strings" of lube coming out of the die area today!

Hope this helps.

R.M.
06-04-2008, 10:25 PM
I have found that I get the "Fingers", when I have too much spring pressure on the lube.
It is a balancing act to get the temp and pressure just right, as well as the depth.

chrisx1
06-04-2008, 10:58 PM
thanks for the tips guys....

I am using soft lube...I had waaayyy too much spring pressure.

I backed all the pressure off and ran boolits thru until it was not filling the groove completely, then turned it up a couple of turns and it is working much better now.

Interesting comment about the soft lube and always having this problem. is it worth the expense of a heater to not have this balancing act?

The Star is so much better than using LLA, I don't mind this issue at all. I will be able to go much much longer between cleaning the gunk out of my seating die!:-D

Marshal Kane
06-04-2008, 11:58 PM
www.magmaengr.com should be able to give you some specs on how to adjust the flat bullet punch so that it places your bullet at the optimum position for lubing. If you're putting the bullets into the die nose first and getting lube around the nose it sounds like bullet is not deep enough when the lube starts coming into the die. If the bullets are going in base first using a nose punch, it sounds like the bullet is a little too deep when the lube starts coming. Another possibility is that the bullets are on the small size with relationship to the die and the lube is just flowing past the bullet in which case, it would not matter if you're sizing nose or base first.

Apparantly you've solved your problem by backing off on the lube pressure but are now aware that there is some adjusting to do to get things right. The more you use your Star, the quicker you'll be in diagnosing problems and getting solutions. I agree that the Star is much better than LLA (IMO) inasmuch as one pass through it and you're done. As for hard lube and a heater, I've had good service with the Lyman heater which is less expensive than the Star but it needs some form of power regulating like a powerbox rigged with a dimmer switch. You might research this site as one of the posters explains how he did it quite clearly. Best wishes.

dmftoy1
06-07-2008, 06:56 AM
The hard lubes with heat have to be balanced too. (Don't ask me how I know. :) )

Echo
06-08-2008, 09:07 PM
Trapped air in the lube column can cause this problem, too. It compresses and continues to provide pressure even if the pump didn't stroke.

EasyEd
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