Star will not lube grooves

[plaz]

I need your help on my problem with the Star unit. I am using my .454 die, Javelina lube and Lyman 454190 bullets.

I had trouble getting my lube to come into the grooves of my bullet. I checked and rechecked all the key dimensions and I am sure I got them right. It appeared that the lube could not get through the little holes in the die. So I assumed I had to heat the Star. I heated it for about 7-8 minutes with a hair dryer and the lube came out all over the top and bottom of the bullets but never in the grooves.

I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I tried it again and again by reducing pressure or increasing pressure and nothing helps.

Can someone help me?

[cheese1566]

-Punch not adjusted enough to get the lube groove aligned with the proper holes in the die

Is this a new Star? I know mine took a while to get the lube to the die on first use.

Sounds minor and more than likely an easy fix. We're here to help and get this solved!

[casterofboolits]

You may not have the punch adjusted correctly. Try adjusting the punch up or down in small increments to line up the lube grooves in the boolit with the ports in the size die. Quarter or half turns are what I use to get final adjustment.

If you are getting partial fill out in the lube grooves, this can tell you how far off you are. If the partial lube is toward the top of the lube groove, you need to back up the punch a bit. If towards the bottom of the groove, you need to go down a bit.

[cajun shooter]

Try setting the bottom of your punch with the handle all the way up to where it is 1 1/4 inches away from the top of your die.If you don't have lube by then lower in small amounts until you do.

[HeavyMetal]

you also need to keep in mind this is not a "pressure" luber like the Lyman or RCBS when the ram hits the "bottom" of the easy stroke you need another 1/4 inch of movement to activate the "pump" to inject the lube into the grooves.

This you most likely already know but thought it worth mentioning. I have found that you may need to bleed the air out of a new star and several set screws are located on the side of the sizer the screw that holds the ie in will work fine remove it add pressure to the lube and then heat and let a bunch of it squeeze out.

Keep it clean you can put it back in.

Then fiddle with ajustments as needed and keep in mind this unit was never designed to lube more than one groove at a time so if your using a multi lube groove boolit your pounding your head against the wall.

[cbrick]

keep in mind this unit was never designed to lube more than one groove at a time so if your using a multi lube groove boolit your pounding your head against the wall.

Huh? I guess I'll need that explained to me because I do it all the time including a 5 lube groove bulllet, works very well.

Only with a die that has only one row of lube holes. Order ALL of your dies with four rows of lube holes and plug the un-needed holes for a given application.

I only have about 60 molds and the Star will lube every groove in every one of them in a single pass and seat the check too.

Rick

[cbrick]

plaz, there is a learning curve with the Star but it's really not bad. As was already suggested, you simply need to learn the tricks of adjusting the punch for each different bullet you size. Also, as HeavyMetal said, once the handle is at the bottom of the stroke push it down a bit further to compress the return spring of the lube pump.

Stick with it, the Star really is a superior machine. Once over the learning curve it will be the joy of your casting/loading process.

Rick

[Doby45]

I lubed about 200 40s with my dad sitting there watching and then he wanted to try his hand. He was not getting any lube in the grooves and it was exactly as HeavyMetal said, he was not hitting the final bump at the end of the stroke to allow the lube gate to open.

[BigCheese]

Lyman 454190 has 2 lube grooves. You will probably have to remove lead plugs from the die so that 2 adjacent levels around the circumference are open. ( I believe there are 3 plugs at each level). Next, you have to adjust the seating plug so that the lube grooves are aligned with the holes. Here is an old post of mine to eliminate guesswork:

If the lube groove is not aligned with the holes in the die, you will have problems with lube where you don't want it. When properly aligned, minimum pressure and temperature are needed. I lube base first (have old Star with separate punches for different bullet noses). For a bullet that has one lube groove:

First, use a vernier to measure distance from the base of the bullet to the center of one of the lube grooves Call this #1. Then measure the distance from the base of the die to the lube holes. (The die will have to be removed from the Star and lube removed to access the holes). Call this #2. Subtract #1 from #2. This is the amount the base of the bullet should be recessed up from the bottom of the die when the lube is forced through the holes.

Use the depth gage at the end of the vernier to span the hole at the bottom of the die. Start a bullet high; keep turning down the top punch and operating the handle (no lube pressure) until the base of the bullet is at the calculated distance above the bottom rim of the die. Once you do this, keep the dimension in a notebook so the Star can be reset when you change bullets.

To make resetting easier, after the setup is complete, you can raise the handle all the way up and use the vernier to measure the distance from the top of the die to the bottom of the punch. Next time you use this die & bullet combination, just screw the punch up and down to repeat this distance.

Since you are using a bullet with 2 lube grooves, you can pick either the upper or lower groove, as long as you use the corresponding ring of openings in the die.

Hope this helps.

[HeavyMetal]

Cbrick is correct I should have mentioned I was ordering sizer dies from Lathsmith with a single row of holes at a specified depth from the top of the die.

I stopped buying molds with more than one lube groove for pistol use long ago and strictly for the ease of lubing in my Star.

[cajun shooter]

If you lube bullets with more than one lube groove then it's best to order a die with at least three rows of lube holes. This way if you need the extra holes they are there and if not a 7 1/2 shot will block it off. I havce used Stars to lube bullets which have 5 lube grooves in one stroke. It is the design of the die not the machine. You also will open up a new world of lubing and sizing if you add the air cylinder. It may be run on a air tank not compressor as many think. You only use the pressure not the air. I have been using the same air tank fill for over 4 months.

[cbrick]

You also will open up a new world of lubing and sizing if you add the air cylinder. It may be run on a air tank not compressor as many think. You only use the pressure not the air. I have been using the same air tank fill for over 4 months.

Absolutely. I can guarantee the air pressure system will be the best $100.00 you ever spent on your casting/reloading equipment. Try it once and the only question you'll have is . . .

Why didn't I do this years ago?

Rick