Star vs. RCBS questions

[Forester]

Ok, for some background. I just started casting recently and used a lot of the advice I read here and the 1911 forum to guide what equipment I purchased. Everything has gone very smoothly and I have gone from the experimental stage to production mode pretty quickly.

I am only casting for .45 ACP currently since 99.9% of my shooting is .45 I also may cast a few (2-300/month) .38 special at some point. I am looking to produce anywhere from 800-1500 rounds a month total. Most likely I will cast 15-20K boolits in the cooler months and not cast during the summer. For the record, I got into casting for 2 reasons-escape from the hassles of work in the evenings and outrageous cost savings. I really enjoy casting when everything is working right and boolits are dropping from the moulds at lightning speed.

I bought a new RCBS Lube-A_Matic2 from Midway and its does an okay job sizing and lubing my boolits so far. The issue is I spend more time cleaning off the bevel bases than I would like. I hate to get rid of a machine this new but I really am not sure this setup is going to work long term for my volume of shooting (IDPA and some USPSA).

Getting to my question -finally- what is a lightly (2-4K rds.) used RCBS Lube-A-Matic2 worth in resale? $100-125? If I can get a fair amount out of it I would let it go and chalk it up to a learning experience. More importantly would a Magma-Star lubrisizer do a better job without having to wipe bullet bases? What about the add ons like the boolit feeder and lube pressure setup for an air compressor. Do they work well? What is a reasonable production number per hour with just the lubrisizer and no extras? With bullet feeder? Air pressure?

Thanks for all the help so far; I have sort of jumped into this with both feet and this forum has done wonders for making my landing only a small splash instead of a belly flop!

[Lloyd Smale]

Im probably 3 times faster with a star then a rcbs or lyman. The lube on the base problem will be history. I doubt though if your going to get anywhere near 100 bucks for a used rcbs. probably more like 50.

[Phil]

A much cheaper solution would to be to switch to a flat base bullet mold. I've never seen an advantage to bevel base cast bullets.

Cheers,

Phil

[dragonrider]

I think bevel base cast bullet were designed for automatic loading machines thus making sure each bullet get into the case easier. For a handloader they are useless and as you found out messy. It can be corrected but involves a machining operation on the ejector pin of the size die, which I have done because I have the equipment, but not so easy for most of us. I think were I you I would get another plain base mold.

[Marshal Kane]

I think you will find the Star a much faster tool as all bullets go through the sizer die once and drop out. It is also a heavier built tool and with care, should last several lifetimes. Would suggest you keep an eye out on ebay for a Star in good condition and bid on it should it appear that it will sell for a reasonable price. Even a new one is still affordable and you don't really have to have all the bells and whistles on it to turn out large quantities of bullets. All I have on mine is a heater for hard lubes. Should you wish higher production, you could add more accessories at a later time. I usually run 500 or so Saeco .45 ACP 200 grain SWC bullets at a time through mine. Can do this in one evening without working up a sweat and they come out with clean bases even though the bullets are bevelled based. I do have to make small adjustments to the ram to make sure the bullet's lube groove lines up with the lube ports in the sizer die for different bullets and to correctly adjust the lube pressure. This comes naturally after doing it a few times so this isn't an issue. Built a sloping ramp into a small cardboard box to catch the bullets and mounted it under the Star. I lined the ramp with styrafoam packing material to soften the drop and collect bullets when they gather at the low end. Hope this helps.

[GP100man]

forester

before chucking the rcbs, try adjusting bullet depth & lube pressure.
what kind of lube are you using? are you heating it??
i have a couple of bb boolits that are kind of finiky about depth, only moving
depth gage 1/8 turn at the time to find theeee spot where bases come out
clean!!

ive cleaned my 450 the last time ,i now use Lar45s carnauba red for all my lubing needs!!! it needs about 95f-100f to work for me.

GP

[bobthenailer]

i highly recommend the star, i have 2, i use hard lube , you can easley lube 800 to well over 1000 bullets per hour no problem , the only 2 options you my need is the heater for hard lube and i would also reccomend the roller shovel handel

[Forester]

Thanks for all the suggestions and information.

I am using a Lyman heater under the RCBS and Thompson blue angel lube. It seems to shoot well and not smoke too much.

I sat for a good while adjusting very slowly the depth setting on the RCBS. It is now OK, but nothing to write home about. I am also a little aggravated by having to hit the lube pressure a little bit after every bullet. When I get moving and follow what I think is the fastest way I can do alright at production but my hands suffer quickly from wiping bullet bases.

I think the end game here for me is going to be to continue to use the RCBS for the time being until I can buy the Star. I will probably go ahead and get the air pressure setup for the lebe when I order as well. Maybe my yearly bonus will cover more than taxes this year

As deep as I jumped into casting, if this is the only part im dissatisfied with then I think it all went well.

If I am budgeting for the Star, will my Lyman heater fit the Star or should I plan on buying their version of that too?

Now...several thousand boolits to size and lube...and shoot

[Marshal Kane]

I am using a Lyman heater under the RCBS and Thompson blue angel lube. It seems to shoot well and not smoke too much.

If I am budgeting for the Star, will my Lyman heater fit the Star or should I plan on buying their version of that too?

I use the Lyman Heater #2745885 which is the plate with drilled holes for Lyman 450, RCBS, SAECO, and Star lubrisizers. Yes, the Lyman will fit the Star and as you already know, it is preset for temperature. If you wish a heater with thermostat control, the Star heater is available for about $90. The Lyman tends to get too hot for my lube so I use it along with a powerbar that has an on-off switch. This works well for me as I already had an extra powerbar.

[Forester]

I use the Lyman Heater #2745885 which is the plate with drilled holes for Lyman 450, RCBS, SAECO, and Star lubrisizers. Yes, the Lyman will fit the Star and as you already know, it is preset for temperature. If you wish a heater with thermostat control, the Star heater is available for about $90. The Lyman tends to get too hot for my lube so I use it along with a powerbar that has an on-off switch. This works well for me as I already had an extra powerbar.

Good to hear, the Lyman heats this lube I am using pretty well but not too much so thats $90 I dont need to spend when I get around to buying the Star.

[David2011]

If you're comfortable making electrical things a light dimmer can be used to vary the heat of the Lyman heater. Wire a dimmer to a 110V household socket in a metal electrical box with appropriate faceplate, attach a power cord and mount the control to your bench near the sizer.

[David R]

I used a Lyman 450 for almost 20 years. I tried to buy a Star on Ebone, but they sold for as much as a new one. I bit the boolit and bought a NEW STAR!. I love it.

The star has a spring in the resavoir. You can crank it a whole turn or two and just keep going.

I use an iron and piece of aluminum plate for a heater. Works fine. Has a thermostat too.

I mounted my Star on a workbench that has drawers in it. I open the drawer, put a coffee can in it and it catches the boolits.

David

[Sundogg1911]

im tired of buying top punches for everything. It looks to me like that won't be an issue when I get a Star.

[Forester]

If you're comfortable making electrical things a light dimmer can be used to vary the heat of the Lyman heater. Wire a dimmer to a 110V household socket in a metal electrical box with appropriate faceplate, attach a power cord and mount the control to your bench near the sizer.

That’s a good idea; don’t know why that didn’t occur to me before. If I switch to a softer lube I will do that.

I think I have made up my mind. If a lightly used RCBS with a couple top punches and a .452 size die is worth $100 to anyone give a shout. It may not be worth that, but if I can’t get that out of it I would rather keep it just in case I ever want to set it up for some other caliber.

[Marshal Kane]

im tired of buying top punches for everything. It looks to me like that won't be an issue when I get a Star.

Yes, the old Star (San Diego) manufacturer used to sell a top punch to go with their dies and the bullets were sized base first. Later, they found bullets sized nose first shot just as well. I now size nose first and have a single top punch which I use for all calibers. Not having to buy separate top punches is another feature of the Star.

[ELFEGO BACA]

I just bought a Star sizer/luber off of e bay. It will be reserved for black powder lube for my 45 Colt. It came with a .452 sizer, but I already have one.

This is my second Star in possession. They can not be beat for 'production' lubing. If you are in a hurry it is probably better to buy one from Magna Engineering direct.

For heating I use an old hair dryer - a little noisy but effective in the colder months.

[EDK]

I have an older Star lubricator--dies are marked Star also. I bought it from Gil Hibbard back in the late 80s or early 90s. It's been set up for Lyman .44 cowboy bullets and prior to that, H&G 68s almost exclusively. Now I'm working with Lyman 358665 with some problems getting the lube groove filled.

After reading the threads here, I think the problem will be solved with a phone call to Magma and a new die. I was unaware of custom hole spacing.

Thanks guys for showing me the answer. After almost 40 years of casting and reloading, I still learn something every time I come to the CAST BOOLITS site.