Soft lubes in the Star Lube sizer

[plaz]

I am new at lube sizers.

Can some of you folks give me your opinions on soft lubes used in a Star Lube sizer? I understand that soft lubes eliminates the need for a heater on the Star unit. Is that the only advantage for soft lubes? Are there any disadvantages to using soft lubes in the Star?

[MT Chambers]

I find that a very soft lube will "pass" easier and get on the front and rear of bullet until you play with punch depth and/or lube pressure. This happens more with slightly undersized or odd shaped bullets, that is why I prefer a somewhat harder lube.

[HeavyMetal]

The "real" advantage to soft lubes is the lack of a heater plus the fact you will need a lot less pressure on the handle to get it to flow.

To give you an idea I just changed the die in my star to do a few 358429's for one of the site members to try out. Die will not move on these if your using a hard lube until they have some heat on them.

So I fired up the heater and waited a while for the star to get warm. Once it was ready I pushed the last boolit out of the 40 cal sizer die inserted my puller and removed the die.

Be aware that I had cranked the handle back a dozen or more turns to relieve pressure on the lube but even then I got strands of lube coming out the holes leading to the die chamber.

If this happens with a lube like Carnuba Red just imagine what a soft alox lube will do!

Soft lubes are also sticky and have a tendency to run in high temp enviromnts like southern California.

Base your choice of lube on where you are and what you want it to do.

[thebigmac]

FWIW...Plaz; When you use a 'soft' lube, let them dry prior to storeing them. Whenever you get around to loading put a SMALL amount of baby powder in a container and put 35-50 boolits
in it. Swirle them around lightly until all are covered with the powder. This will keep them dry and keep the lube from getting all over your fingers and hands. Store 'soft lubed' boolits in a cool place... Bigmac

[lathesmith]

I like to use 50/50(soft) lube in my Star, because it is good for a wide range of velocities. Like Mac and others have suggested, there are ways around its disadvantages that work well for me. That hard waxy lube is fine for high velocity and/or high pressure rounds, but I rarely shoot these and for me the hard lubes lead like crazy at low to medium velocities.

lathesmith

[fredj338]

I've used both in my Star & pefer a lube that needs a little heat. CarnubRed needs just under 100deg to flow. BAC will go w/o heat on a warm day.

[cajun shooter]

If stored in a cool place even the BAC will not run as it should and requires a small amout of heat to start the flow. At room temp it is a good lube to use for all handgun loads. If you are going to have them left in a vehicle in a hot climate then it is Carnuba Red hands down.

[MtGun44]

50-50 is used in one Star, LBT soft blue in the other. Neither requires heat, both work
fine. Heating lube seems a lot like water dropping to me. Extra hassle and time
wasting for no appreciable gain. I do not lube hundreds or thousands of boolits to
load later. I lube just before I load, rarely leave lubed boolits laying around and if
so, they are in a cool basement so soft is OK.

Bill

[blikseme300]

When I started using my Star's I had no idea what lube would work best for me.

Here in deep south Texas hot, warm and cold are defined differently than in the colder north. In the summer days are typically between 80* & 100*. In winter it is considered extremely cold if it reaches 40*. Then there is the humidity...another story.

I did some experiments and found that a blend of LSStuff 1:2 BAC & Carnauba work well for all my pistol rounds. I don't need any heat, except in our very short winter. The lube stays in the boolit grooves even when stored at 100*. I don't recommend this, but I needed to know what the lube would do when at the range on a hot day.

The blend of lubes is done in a small pot on a hot plate. Don't let it smoke! I refill my Star's using a 60cc syringe using molten lube. Watch out for overfilling as the little hole will create interesting artwork in your shop.[smilie=p:

Bliksem

[plaz]

I just received my Star sizer with Javelina lube sticks and have not used it yet.. I live in San Diego and my Star is located inside my garage where the temperature is currently 92 degrees F.
At these temperatures what should I do with the Javelina lube sticks?

Question: Should I remove the lube sticks or the Star sizer to store it at a cooler temporary location when I am done using it and the garage temperature decreases, or should I just leave it where it is?

Question: Will leaving it where it is create a mess?

Question: Will the bullets come out of the Star with lubricant all over instead of locally in the lube grooves? Is it normal for lube to be all over the bullet?

[blikseme300]

Plaz,

Q > At these temperatures what should I do with the Javelina lube sticks?

I have never used Javelina so can't comment on this.

Question: Should I remove the lube sticks or the Star sizer to store it at a cooler temporary location when I am done using it and the garage temperature decreases, or should I just leave it where it is?

A > I store my Star in my workshop. After each session I clean and lube the sizer and then cover it using a cotton pillow case. Keeps dust off the sizer. Do remember to release the pressure on the lube before storage. Here with the humidity plastic is a bad idea as rust will quickly develop if it can't breath.

Question: Will leaving it where it is create a mess?

A > Should not, if you relieve the pressure when done.

Question: Will the bullets come out of the Star with lubricant all over instead of locally in the lube grooves? Is it normal for lube to be all over the bullet?

A . No. If the boolit is slightly larger than the die and the punch depth has been set then there will only be lube in the groove/grooves. It does not matter if you are sizing plain- or bevel base boolits. See a pic here: http://bliksemseplek.com/images/sizerdie/sizer9_lg.jpg These are .45 bevel base boolits.

Have fun with your Star

Bliksem

[Jack Stanley]

My setup is like MtGun44 , with fifty/fifty in one and LBT in the other . I do however tend to lube size several thousand at one time and some of those wait some time before they get loaded .

Each sizer is store without pressure on the spring at all and is store either in a cabinet or with a cloth over it if it's bolted to the bench . With the softer lube I do need to really adjust the depth for it to work well and I don't use near as much pressure on the spring .

Any lube not in the presses , I would store where it's cooler though .

Jack