wanting to buy a star, what do I need?

[toallmy]

I usually melt it and pore , refilling at the end of sizing so I'm ready to start with a full lubesizer . Some nice post about pouring cylinders the same size as your sizer , and cut to length in advance . Suggest spraying the cylinder with a nonstick spray first so it don't get stuck in the tube , I haven't tried it because I just melt and pore .

[toallmy]

Airborne tubes ,what are they ? Sorry I'm from the stone age .

[ReloaderFred]

Airborne is an immune support supplement that a lot of people take during the cold season to keep from getting sick. Here's a link for information: http://www.airbornehealth.com/shop-p...e-effervescent

The retail store version has 10 tablets per tube, but the Costco version has 18 tablets per tube and the Costco tubes are 5.5" long. I pour the 5.5" tubes about 3/4 full of lube and let them cool. I put the caps back on and when I'm ready to use the lube, I cut off the closed end with a PVC tubing cutter and just push the tube of lube out the end. It keeps them handy and dust free, and the tubes don't cost me anything, since my wife and I both take Airborne all winter long and would normally throw the plastic tubes away as they're emptied.

Hope this helps.

Fred

PS: We haven't had a cold during the winter in several years.............

[toallmy]

Good information , and thanks ReloaderFread .

[robertbank]

Kryogen you are a year ahead of me. Like you I had my fill of painted and Hi Tek bullets with the 9MM using WW alloy. Anyway back to the Star. What did you end up getting?

I intend to continue to use soft lube both Lars lube and Felix lube. Both have worked for me for years both in the winter and summer at over 100F - no issues.

I need to lube 9MM bullets at .358 diameter and .357. Since I intend only to lube 9MM and 38spl bullets with the Star, the RCBS will handle the low usage cartridges for now. I have a friend I cast for his Cowboy action shooting and he uses the 356402 Lyman in his 38sl Rugers and rifle sized .358. Lots of them!

Got all the info I think I need from this thread. Time to phone Magna and let the Queen breath.

I am just going with the basic model with two dies. Not enough years left to warrant spending much more than the basics.

Take Care

Bob

[robertbank]

Your English won't be a problem, nice older lady most likely will take your order. They have as many customers from all around the world as they do here in the U.S. I would go with the basic star, heater, lube, die and top punch. Add other items as necessary down the line.

No disrespect but with tongue in cheek I just have to point out to you that your Northern neighbours speak English just like folks down in Georgia, perhaps with a slightly different accent. That's cuz, like the US most of our founding folks came from England where English is spoken more or less fluently just like in the US of A.

Take Care

Bob
ps Slow Saturday and I just lubed 1500 bullets on my RCBS today, hence the interest on this thread.

[mozeppa]

if your wife will quit you over reloading she'll quit you over anything else as well.

man up....let her go.

[ReloaderFred]

Bob,

With the basic Star machine, you could have sized and lubed those 1,500 bullets in about an hour and a half, give or take a few minutes either way. That's with hand feeding them.

Hope this helps, eh. :<)

Fred

[robertbank]

Bob,

With the basic Star machine, you could have sized and lubed those 1,500 bullets in about an hour and a half, give or take a few minutes either way. That's with hand feeding them.

Hope this helps, eh. :<)

Fred

Hey thanks Fred. I am phoning Magna on Monday and order a machine. I probably will use it solely for 9MM, 38spl & 45ACP. I can use the RCBS for the other calibers where I don't cast as many or consume as much. I am retired as you know so I have lots of free time in the winter to do some of the other calibers I shoot eg 45 Colt, 44Mag.
With say two styles of 38 spl bullets each using one lube grove can you use the same die for both without having to knock out lead shot?

Take Care

Bob
ps My Oilers are 8 amd 1 so maybe the drought is over.

[ReloaderFred]

Bob,

You can use the same sizing die for both .38 bullets, but you may have to adjust the top punch either up or down, depending on where the lube groove is. Magma makes a lot of their molds with a similar base thickness so you don't have to change the top punch setting when changing from one bullet to another in the same caliber. Since I use their molds for most of my casting in .38, and most other calibers, it's seldom that I have to change the top punch setting when changing to another bullet. I have one Star set up just for .38's, and with it's current setting, I'm able to size and lube 105, 125 and 158 gr. bullets without changing anything. I use a .358" die for the .38's, too.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[robertbank]

Thanks Fred for the info. I suspect it will take some time to get the ins and outs of the Star figured out. I have a triend who goes through about 7,000 bullets for his Cowboy Action shooting. He uses the Lyman 356402 TC bullet in his Rugers and his rifle so I size his bullets .358 which essentially is as cast. Up until now I use soft lube. This may come to an end when I switch to the Star. I put the bullets into 9MM foam cases that come with factory cartridges. That way there is no mess. Not sure this will work well with the Star and the higher production method.

I use 5 - 10 thousand 356402 bullets in my 9MM guns and those get sized .357. The Star will be kept busy.

I will be back here on a new thread once I get my Star as I suspect this less than mechanically inclined Canuck will have a few questions.

Take Care

Bob

[dragon813gt]

The bullet feeder is worth the money. No chance of smashing your fingers and it speeds up production a lot. Even if you don't load up tubes I find it's quicker to drop a bullet in the short tubes they give you, then place one on top of the die each time.

[ReloaderFred]

I have 7 of the Star machines, three of which are set up with bullet feeders. One is set up for .38/9mm size bullets, one for .44 size bullets and one for .45 size bullets. Then I have two without bullet feeders, and the other two are on long term loan to two very good friends, who will end up with them. Those last two don't have bullet feeders, either.

When I use the bullet feeders, I normally load the tubes while watching TV, which means watching the news, since I don't watch much TV.. I've figured out the time difference between hand feeding vs. tube feeding, and it's pretty much a wash, depending on the bullets. Some bullets are harder to get hold of than others, particularly small lightweight ones, and some of the .45 bullets are like handling marbles (185 and 200 gr. RNFP).

The upside of using a bullet feeder is the speed of actually sizing and lubing. I've got about 100 tubes for the .38 size bullets, each of which holds 62 of the 125 gr. FP bullets I use the most of. I can go through a tube of those in about a minute and a half to two minutes, depending on how fast I want to crank on the handle, but it takes a whole lot more time than that to load the tubes. One would have to factor that time into the equation, too.

One thing that will help, Bob, is the shovel handle, or one of Kyle's roller handles, once he gets his shop set back up again after his move. The standard handle that comes with the Star isn't conducive to long sizing sessions or speed of operation. I've got a pile of them on the shelf that I don't use anymore, since I've converted all of mine to either the shovel handle or Kyle's roller handles. That's the only upgrade I would strongly recommend, since the original design probably came over with the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock.

Hope this helps.

Fred

PS: I probably put about 30 to 35 thousand bullets per year through my Star machines, and maybe 100 thousand plus per year through my Magma Lube Master, but that's another story entirely....

[robertbank]

Fred thank you for your sage advice. I think I can leave the auto feeder for another day. I will get a roller handle though. I can see the advantages.

I have been using soft lubes and quite prefer them over the hard lubes. That said, I appreciate how messy the soft lubes can be when dropping the lubed bullets in bulk into a pail. Presently, using a RCBS lubricator I simply place the bullets in Styrofoam containers that come with 9MM factory ammo which works well. Have you any ideas regarding avoiding the potential mess of soft lubes or should I just go hard lube and be done with it?

Take Care

Bob

[ReloaderFred]

Bob,

I use hard lubes almost exclusively, since I bulk pack my bullets in boxes of 1,000. Soft lubes would result in a congealed mess if I tried to do that, so it's hard lubes for my uses, except for the bullets I lube with SPG for some blackpowder shooting friends. Those have to be carefully stacked in smaller boxes, and are done on a Saeco sizer, which is more conducive to soft lubes.

I use mostly Magma lube, and I get no leading in either my handguns or rifles using it. Some people don't like it, but I do, and it serves me well. I've also used the Rooster and Blue Angel hard lubes and they work well, also.

I've got heaters from Magma, Midway and Lyman, and I like the Magma base heater the best. It's not the least expensive, but it does a great job of holding the proper temperature and I like the pilot light that lets you know when it's cycling the heat. Another plus for the Magma is if you later decide to add a bullet feeder, it's already drilled and tapped for it, but that's really only a matter of one hole, but it's in the right location.

When I order bullet lube from Magma, I normally order a couple pounds of it. For the Star, a pound is nine sticks of lube, and the cost is competitive with the other brands. I've made my own lubes in the past, and to me it's not worth the extra effort and time involved. When I was younger, I didn't mind messing with it, but now that I'm no longer young, my time has become more important to me.

If you do decide to go with the hard lubes, you might as well order the heater at the same time. It will save you a lot of aggravation if you get it all together, even though that drives the price up another $100+. The initial cost is up there, but when you amortize it out over a period of time, the annual cost isn't so bad, and it's more than made up for in the convenience of use.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[robertbank]

Fred I think I will go with the heater from Magna. I do have the Lyman heater under myRCBS but I am not sure it is drilled out for the bullet feeder. I did't realize the bullet feeder required another base- nobody said this Canuck had any mechanical skills.

I will order a pound of lube as well. Postage from the US is terribly expensive so going elsewhere when this unit is coming up anyway doesn't make any sense. I am going to go with two Magna dies initially. (.357 & .358). I will source out any others later if I decide to do more of my lubing for other calibers on the Star.

You have been a great help and I do appreciate the information. Don't go away I likely will have a few more questions when the machine arrives.

Take Care & enjoy Halloween. We are expecting about 150 Ghosts and Unnamed creatures tonite. We enjoy the little ones.

Bob

[ReloaderFred]

Not a problem at all, Bob. I'll PM you my e-mail address so if you need more information, it will be easier.

As for Halloween, we live in the boondocks and haven't had a Trick or Treater in over 30 years. They'd be afraid to come up here........

Take care,

Fred

[robertbank]

Ordered mine today, Expected shipping date three weeks. Time to do some casting.

Take Care

Bob

[ReloaderFred]

Better cast up lots of bullets. Once you get it dialed in, you'll go through them fast......

Fred

[robertbank]

Just an update. Canadian Tire had their smallest Mastercraft Air Compressor on sale for $58.Cdn. It has a two US Gallon tank on it with a cut in PSI of 75 and a max PSI at 100. The unit fits nicely under my reloading bench. It comes with 25' of hose so I ordered through Amazon a 6' replacement which should work out just right.

I went with the air for convenience. This lubricator has consumed some of my boys inheritance but they will get a decent reloading set up when I am gone. :>).

Taking Fred's advice I have been busy casting using two, four cavity molds for the 356402 bullet, a four cavity Lyman 230gr RN and a RCBS two cavity 158gr RN. If I get them all going at the same time I don't need a fan to cool the molds.

I have to say it can get boring after awhile so to lesson the weight I an going through all 127 shows of Dragnet radio shows on Old Time Radio. Been awhile since I heard, "put the hot sheet on the tele type will ya Joe". This is after listening to 63 episodes of "The Adventurers of Phillip Marlow". After Dragnet comes "I was a Communist for the FBI". Now that is a program that used to scare my brother and I crazy when it came on late at night on our Rocket Radios. ...."I walk alone".......pillows over head scared stiff.

Take Care
Bob