Magma Engineering Blue Lube

[pcmacd]

I've used nothing but this ME Blue stick lube in my Star sizer for the last 30 years. Tens of thousands of rounds.

I initially tried a few things such as Rooster Red, some very soft Allox based stuff, etc.

The Magma Blue stays mostly solid at Arizona summer temps exceeding 120F (but don't leave your rounds in the sun?)

It melts to liquid around 126F. I set my lube heater for around 118F- 120F. I'm about to pick up the ME pneumatic top for the Star sizer.

I use this lube for 380 acp, 45 acp and all manner of stuff in betwixt. Even on rifle loads of cast bullets.

It rocks. It rocks? It rocks and rocks.

ME makes all manner of other lubes now which I have not bothered to investigate. They might be worthwhile, but for me? Changing out lubes in the Star sizer is a serious PITA, so, I just don't do that.

The ME blue does it all for me.

Don't leave home w/o it.

~~~~~
I built a very simple setpoint controller to control the temperature of my heated bullet sizer base. The small coax wire from the box to the base of the heater is a 5K (? that's what I remember, a standard size) thermistor, cost around $0.50 from Radio Shack, stuck into the base of the sizer with "horse pucky", or window sealing clay.

I bypassed the Midway base heater tstat, and plug that sucker directly into my temp controller.

This whole shebang, including the wall wart inside the handy box to power the electronics, likely cost me less than $20 a long time ago.

it is not rocket science to make, but it is not for the novice, either.

Make sure the relay you use can handle the current of the full on heater by a margin of perhaps 4x if you plan to keep it a long time.

Ping me if you have questions.



https://www.dropbox.com/s/22ojfspt8j...oller.pdf?dl=0

[georgerkahn]

I, too, am a fan of the Magma Blue which I have in all three of my Star's! I applaud your ingenuity in your heat controller design and thanks for attaching a schematic. For quite a few years I used a $5.00 lamp dimmer switch directly wired to an aquarium-hood light bulb which I had in a roof-flashing (very thin metal) housing tight against the Star to accomplish similar. (I "graduated" to a designed heater -- but still use the lamp dimmer switch). You design is much more hi-tech -- kudos!
geo

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Most commercial boolit lubes work in most applications, this is true.
The trouble can come in, when your application delves into the extremes (heat or cold or speed).

As to switching lubes in a Star, easy peasy, just install a stick of the new lube on top of the old lube, you can either push out all the old lube (with Die removed), or just size/lube about 500 boolits, until the new lube coming out is uniform in color.

[gwpercle]

Soft Lubes Work Better :

Gary

[LenH]

I use a small oil pan heater and a lamp dimmer switch for a control. I built my own air cylinder, I found one for about $20, the regulator was about the same and I had some aluminum
1" round and cut a short piece to attach the washer from the plunger and the down rod of the air cylinder. I think with the drill bit and the tap I have about $60 i mine.

[pcmacd]

The Magma Engineering attachment for pneumatically pressurizing the Star wax reservoir is really impressive.

It is also a Science Project to set up?

I wish I had bought it a decade ago.

The web site shows $105 under the Star lubrisizer. If you call they will tell you it is $125, unless you mention the web site.

It is noted as an "air feed" accessory at $105:

---> https://www.magmaengineering.com/magma-star-lube-sizer/

Eric and the guys there at ME are awfully nice people, and are practically my neighbors.

I needed an impact tool to remove the screw from the bottom of the existing spring loaded contraption that the original Star configuration uses to pressurize the wax reservoir. Not even a 1/2" socket set "breaker bar" worked - even when coaxed with Kroil for an hour. It took an impact tool to remove that screw with rest of the assembly held in a vice. IN the blink of an eye, the impact tool got it done.

Also, you need to remove the PRESSED ON washer at the BOTTOM end of the very long screw for the conventional pressure system, so that you can remove the "acorn nut" type thing that sits at the top of the conventional spring fed attachment.

This is difficult to describe. Just consider you need to take the spring assembly apart to get the top "acorn" nut and the urethane washer at the other end of the spring assembly to add to the new pneumatic system.

You take the urethane "washer", also, at the end of the original contraption, to be placed at the end of your new pneumatic setup. You want the most narrow part of the urethane piece to be pointed DOWN in the new configuration.

After struggling with removing the conventional wax pressurization system for years on years? I simply put some high shear silicone grease (the kind you put on caliper brake cylinders) about the urethane plunger/washer, and it is now easy-peasy to remove/install the whole shebang w/o breaking either my nose or glasses.

I recommend the silicone grease treatment for the urethane washer, even if you continue to use the original screw/spring tube pressurization system.

Put the entire screw assembly nose down in a vice (so you can see what is normally the "south end" of the screw), very loose, hanging by that washer? Then bang the exposed screw end with a piece of wood and hammer. The washer falls off and you can get to the "acorn nut?" cap that you will need for the pneumatic system.

I don't know why ME does not provide instructions for this stuff.

Oh, and? The air fitting they have there is [ 1/8" pipe ] on the side that goes into the cylinder.

I use a different pneumatic connector than the one supplied, at was a living hell to find what I needed in a 1/8" pipe fitting at the manifold end.

Granger's has what you need. Plan on that incompatibility.

The ME guys are great, but for this product they sort of leave us hanging out in the wind?

They made this a Science Project, when it should have been just a simple procedure.

pcmacd