star bullet feed

[686]

i just bought a 2 nd bullet feeder fou a 2 nd star lubber i just found used. if any one has one of these bullet feeders , here is a fix i made. the factory bolt that pushes the bar over to drop the bullet is rugh on top and wares the bar it pushes wares out. i bought a harder steel bolt , ground off the markingh on top og it, then polshed it like a mirrow. i also polshed the tip of the bar it tuches. i put a littlr gueese on top of the bolt and it showes no ware after 10,000 bullets so far. i am thinking of baking the bar out of harder steel and widder on the tip where it tuches the bolt. this will make no sence unless you have one of these bullet feeders. you cad make your 45cal bullet feeding tubes from 1/2 in. cpvc pipe from your local hardware store. use a 1/2 in. cap on one end. i know this was to long. thanks

[Sundogg1911]

I was thinking of picking up a bullet feeder for mine. Do they really speed things up? Do you think they're worth the money new, if I don't find a used one?

[Springfield]

I love my bullet feeder. It works fine on regular sized 38 through 45 caliber bullets. It doesn't work well on really short fat bullets, like one 150 grain 45 Colt bullet I just started casting. I like to fill up a couple thousand bullets in the feed tubes and then size them all. I do the inspection while tubing, that way I can just size them later without too much inspection. The feeder probably doesn't really save all that much time, although anything is great when you are sizing 2-4 thousand bullets. It just is easier for me mentally and physically to load all the tubes at my own pace and then just crank them out on the sizer later. Also keeps you from getting your finger in the way of the punch. I do all my 45-70 and 38-55 one at a time. The volume isn't there anyway, not like 44-40 and 45 Colt. I felt is was an 85.00 well spent.

[686]

i agree with springfield it makes it smoother and safer . i had a friend using my star, they did not move there fingers fast enugh. took a little plug out of one. this was in the day when you were to lube nose up with a fitting nose punch, it had sharp edges. if i did not thinf it was wotrh it i would have not just bought a second one. i now have one set up for .358 and one for .452 .

[Sundogg1911]

do you need a different one for each caliber? or are they like the nose first punches, where they work for a small range of calibers?

[44woody]

sundogg 1911 it takes a while to load those tubes but then you can fly threw 1000 bullets a lot faster than putting them in one at a time plus you do not take a chance of taking a piece of your finger off believe me it can happen and it hurts if I were you I would get one 44Woody

[Springfield]

I do 38 thru 45 in mine. Even use the same plastic tubes. Sometimes the 38's cock a little in the tube but you just tap it a little and they drop down. I believe Magma makes a caliber conversion for the smaller calibers but I haven't bothered with it. What can I say, I'm cheap.

[686]

Having The 2 Sizers Keeps Me From Having To Chans From One Cal To Another. One For 38 Spl The Other For 45 Acp.

[bobthenailer]

ive used the speed tubes before i think it is not much of a time saver if any . the best accessory you gan buy is a lube heater and a roller shovel type operating handel. bob

[Sundogg1911]

what about the air pressure option. Is it worth the $$$?
There are many attachments and add ons for the stars, just not sure which ones are for me. (or at least which order to buy them in)

[Springfield]

I bought the air luber a couple months ago and I like it. I plugged up the overflow hole and now I can use 6" sticks, so a 50% improvement right there. Plus I am not tweaking the pressure screw every 25 bullets, so it saves some time. It seems as though the air doesn't have as much pressure as the spring though, sometimes I have to wait for the lube to catch up with me. And I have it set to 100 pounds. I do mostly Big Lube(tm) bullets so a 4" stick will only lube 200 45 bullets, even less in 45-70. For regular bullets it will last much longer and you won't save as much time, but if I lube 2000 bulets I had to refill the lube 10 times or more. As for the bullet feeder, it isn't much faster but it is more convenient for volume casting. I rarely cast less than 2000 at a time. If you do less and have lots of time than maybe you don't need it. I need to gain every minute I can. I have way too many projects going right now and not nearly enough time to do them. The feeder is only like 85 bucks, if you buy one and don't like it you can sell it to me, I been thinking of getting another one for my second press. I am a stay at home dad, so what I like to do is fill the bullet tubes in the afternoon while watching the kids, and then size the bullets later after the wife getes home. I call it using "free time". I can't really do any real work as I can't go into the shop, but I can tube bulets. So in this case I save"real" time and I can get more work done. Works for me. Sometimes I tube bullets while "watching" TV with the wife at night. I mostly am listening, not watching, but at least she doesn't feel so abandoned. So I am kinda killing two birds with one stone. Or for you computer types, I am multi-tasking.

[Springfield]

686: So what is the difference in teh two sizes. Do you have to use smaller tubes for the 38's? I have been running my 38's through the larger feeder, seems to work OK. Every once in a while a bullat cocks in the tube, I just rap it and they fall down and start feeding again. Didn't see the need for a different size.

[Lloyd Smale]

I had a buddy make an extension tube and longer screw for mine. I will hold the equivelant of 3 sticks of lube now. To me thats the biggest pain in the but with them there so fast that as soon as you get going your out of lube.

[Springfield]

Lloyd; How did you seal between the 2 tubes so that the lube doesn't blow by the plunger seal?

[Lloyd Smale]

just screwed a pipe coupling onto the top of the star and added the tup. He had to make the coupling on his lathe though so it would but up to the old threads perfectly. Also had to plug the old vent hole and drill a new one in the new tube. It works great the only problem i have with it is i cast outside in the mich. winters and when i gets real cold its a long colum of lube your putting pressure on. It helps to warm the hole tube. I use a propane torch lightly over it for a few seconds and a lube base heater and it runs great. I doubt if it would push hard lube in the winter though.

Lloyd; How did you seal between the 2 tubes so that the lube doesn't blow by the plunger seal?

[Springfield]

So what pressure do you run your lube tube at? I have found that even at 100 lbs I can outrun the lube with Big Lube(tm) bullets. And that's heating it with a 100 watt light.

[LAH]

So what pressure do you run your lube tube at? I have found that even at 100 lbs I can outrun the lube with Big Lube(tm) bullets. And that's heating it with a 100 watt light.

If the lube isn't flowing quick enough at 100 psi something isn't right. Perhaps the lube isn't warm enough.

But if you feel it is may I suggest something else. After a few sticks of lube the pressure screw seal will become dry causing it to drag on the sides of the lube tube. What I did was lube the seal and inside of tube with a little petro jelly every stick or two. This keeps things moving freely. BTW I only use 60-80 psi.

Creeker

[Forester]

I bought the air pressure setup with mine and couldn't be any more pleased with it. Lubes will flow at a variety of different pressures and temps. With a given lube I like being able to crank up the pressure to get it to flow early then relax it back as the temperature comes up to operating levels.

I used the loaded case chute I wasn't using on my Dillon 550B to make a chute for sized boolits. The Akro bin will comfortably hold 350-400 .45 ACP boolits.

I have been considering the boolit feeder as well, but I can size now as fast as I can pull the handle so I am not sure it will save me any time, and there are so many other size dies, moulds etc I would like to have...A roller type handle of some sort is definitely in the near future though.

Here are a few pics of my setup.

[LAH]

I like your set up Forester. What is the black thing [wire, pipe] going into the right side of the luber base [heater maybe]?........Creeker

[Forester]

I like your set up Forester. What is the black thing [wire, pipe] going into the right side of the luber base [heater maybe]?........Creeker

Thanks, both walls of my basement are lined with those shelves, so I figured turning some of them into benches was better than having to build new. I think you are refering to the power cord for the Lyman heated base.