School Me on the Star

[Danderdude]

Well, I understand how it works, but have a few questions concerning the accessories.
I plan on getting dies in .225, .309, .314, .356, .358 and .452 to start, to give you an idea of my plans.

1. Is their super-special heater worth the money they're asking for it? What alternatives exist?
2. Can you explain the bullet feeder options better? Are there just Large, Small, Large Short and Small Short or are they bored to order? If bored to order, would a .36 cal version work with a .30 cal rifle bullet? Is it better to get used to the system sans feeder first?
3. Is there a cheaper alternative to their air feed adapter?
4. Is the shovel handle all it's cracked up to be?
5. When one orders a die, are the holes drilled to customer spec, or are the holes generic and need plugging?
6. Is the punch a one-size-fits-all or do you need a new one for every significant jump in caliber? How much are punches?
7. Does it accept the normal 1x4" lube sticks or the commercial size 2x6"?
8. What parts wear out and how fast?

Thanks for any input.

[NoZombies]

1. Don't know about their heater, but the $40(ish?) Lyman "universal" heater works fine.
2. someone else will have to answer
3. There are some experimenters here who have had luck with pressurizing the tube, it's cheaper, but requires some cobbling
4. Yes
5. When ordering from Maga, the holes are generic. But order them from board member lathesmith, and he'll make them to order.
6. I only really use 3 punches from .22-50 caliber. ($12-$15 each from lathe smith I think)
7. 1x4
8. You can wear things out or over stress the castings, but the only ones I've seen that weren't still in good usable shape had been badly abused (too hard a lube without heat, sizing down grossly oversized bullets in a single pass, etc.)

[rodsvet]

I made several air set ups as did other guys. In the long run the factory air cylinder and gauge system worked more reliably and was about the same as all the experimenting we did. The main problem with the home made system was air getting past the piston and causing air in the lube. Bullet feeder is just large and small. It keeps your finger away from the punch but does need a little cleaning from time to time. I used a Midway heater but finally bought the one from Magma. It seems to give me more even heat. Depends on your climate and type of lube. You will be discouraged the first time you use it, but once dialed in, you will really appreciate the speed. Rod

[sergeant69]

me too!!!
NOT trying to hijack the thread but also wanna know..........

1. the bullet feeder......worth it? hows it work?
2. air feed....lots of tweaking?

any U tubes on this stuff?

THANKS

[bslim]

I've run just a little over 100,000 bullets thru my Star. When I purchased it, I purchased the heater, and air cylinder with the sizer. Once set up, I find it virtually problem free. My biggest problem is overfilling the main tube with lube and having it squirt out the vent hole. I buy my Carnuba Red in the 2" sticks and melt them down to refill the Star. My sizing dies were made by Lathesmith along with individual top punches and lock rings for each sizing die. They stay as a set and changevers are a treat because set up height changes are eliminated.When I started, I was green as grass, so I tried to eliminate as many variables as possible. With the information I got from this forum, along with a quality piece of equipment, life is great.

[cbrick]

1. Is their super-special heater worth the money they're asking for it? What alternatives exist?
I've not used the Magma heater but a heater is well worth while and if your in a cold climate really needed with many lubes.

2. Can you explain the bullet feeder options better? Are there just Large, Small, Large Short and Small Short or are they bored to order? If bored to order, would a .36 cal version work with a .30 cal rifle bullet? Is it better to get used to the system sans feeder first?
Not used the bullet feeder either.

3. Is there a cheaper alternative to their air feed adapter?
Yes if you want to do a lot of fiddling and fabrication. I highly recommend the air pressure, every time I start sizing I keep asking myself over and over . . . What did I ever do without this.

4. Is the shovel handle all it's cracked up to be?
Some swear by it, I've not seen a huge benefit but I don't do thousands of bullets at a time.

5. When one orders a die, are the holes drilled to customer spec, or are the holes generic and need plugging?
Whether you get the dies from Magma or Lathesmith get dies with three rows of holes and plug the un-needed holes. That way if some time down the road you start doing a different bullet with different lube grooves you can still use the same die rather than buying a new die for the same diameter. Plugging the un-needed holes is not a biggie, buying several dies in the same diameter is.

6. Is the punch a one-size-fits-all or do you need a new one for every significant jump in caliber? How much are punches?
I try to keep the flat punch close to the die diameter so I don't cup the bullet base with softer alloys.

7. Does it accept the normal 1x4" lube sticks or the commercial size 2x6"?
1 inch sticks or melt the lube and pour it in. A piece of rubber and a hose clamp will block the vent line and you can get more in.

8. What parts wear out and how fast?
Dunno, I've been using it for years and haven't worn out anything on either of my Stars.

Thanks for any input.

Hope this helps . . .

Rick

[ReloaderFred]

The shovel handle is well worth the money. I have one, and switch it around on the 4 Stars that I work with the most.

The bullet feeder is also worth the money for handgun bullets, since that's what it's set up for. I have one Star set up for .38/9mm bullets, another set up for .40/.41/.44 bullets, and one set up for .45 bullets, each with a bullet feeder of the proper diameter. I also have one Star that I use for small batches of other calibers and for rifle bullets, mostly .45-70 and .45-120.

I have had over the years several of the Lyman heaters, but finally bought Magma heaters for my machines with the bullet feeders. The Magma makes it easier to mount the bullet feeder without a bunch of Mickey Mousing around, and they seem to be more consistant in holding the temperature.

On my Star machines, I've replaced Hycar washers and had one fulcrum break. Magma welded the fulcrum for me and I'm still using that machine. I have another Star machine that was given to me that I'm in the process of refurbishing. It must have been used by the Peruvian Army and left to rust in the jungle after they wore it out..........

Hope this helps.

Fred

[HATCH]

I use a roller handle from lathesmith. It gets bent from time to time. I need to make a replacement that's stronger.
I use a hone made air setup that duplicates the factory. If i had to do it again i would use the factory setup.
For the heater i use a universal one with a pid controller to control the temp. Its set for 115 degrees. I run 80psi on my air cylinder. If i remove the die you can see the lube just flowing.
I just run the magma lube. It works for me and its a hard lube. I can store the boolits in my garage during the hot Carolina summers and they will not get soft.

sent from my mobile.

[sergeant69]

is the air cylinder problematic?

[rodsvet]

I have no problem with it. You just need to experiment with lube, temperature and pressure setting just like you do with the spring and screw set up. Record what works best for each boolit and lube if you do multiple calibers and you can return to it and be right on every time. Once set you can concentrate on sizing and stop worrying about adjusting the pressure screw every few boolits. Rod

[cbrick]

is the air cylinder problematic?

No, just the opposite, once set at the proper pressure for the lube temp there is no fiddling or adjusting anything. You will run out of bullets or lube or time before anything needs messing with. None of that pesky crank the handle every few bullets, just keep dropping bullets into the die.

Rick

[HATCH]

is the air cylinder problematic?

Regardless of the boolit size, I know that when temp hits 115 degrees and air is 80 lbs that i can size.
If you run different lubes then yes each one will have a setup that works so you will have to adjust each lube switch.
But with magma lube i never change anything.
With the pid controller i don't have to worry about leaving it on and having a huge mess from it overheating.
Keep in mind that 115 is what my setup requires based on where i have my pid sensor located.
Its more of a reference temp then the true temp of the lube itself.
I know once that corner of the heater hits 115 that i am good to go.

sent from my mobile.

[sergeant69]

ya'll need to stop this. if you don't i'm gonna have to get one and i've been talking myself out of it for awhile now. i just dropped a grand on tires for the rednek cadillac and i need a new bandsaw, and xmas is coming up. so stop.
how long does it take to set up? i have one athose pancake air compressors, wonder if that will hold enough air?

[cbrick]

Well Sarge, you answered your own question . . . Christmas is coming right up.

That pancake compressor will hold enough air by a factor of about 50. It takes no air volume, only the pressure.

Set up ain't nuthin. Load with lube, install die & adjust punch, screw in the air pressure cylinder & hook up the air line.

Start sizing boolits.

Ok, next excuse?

Rick

[captaint]

I have the unit with the factory base heater and factory air cylinder. I would not go without either one again. I have the standard handle - it doesn't bother me at all. I think I have a total of 3 punches. All of my dies have been produced by our own Lathesmith. They're great. Just tell him what size you want YOUR boolits to come out. More often than not, I order dies with one row of holes. Plugging holes is not problematic, I just don't want them if I don't need them. I have used 4 or 5 different lubes - each needs it's own temp range. Not a big deal either. Once we learn to adjust and own this thing it's literally a joy to size & lube boolits. Really. I absolutely enjoy it. That's my .02 enjoy Mike

[Danderdude]

I have nothing to add, I just want to thank everybody for their replies thus far.

As far as automation, is it at all necessary? Fun? Is there an easier way? More trouble than it's worth? I've read the threads, and looked at both air cylinder vs rotary cam (pulley/linkage). I have old motors to start with and the facilities for a rough farmer-quality fabrication.

[sergeant69]

I have nothing to add, I just want to thank everybody for their replies thus far.

As far as automation, is it at all necessary? Fun? Is there an easier way? More trouble than it's worth? I've read the threads, and looked at both air cylinder vs rotary cam (pulley/linkage). I have old motors to start with and the facilities for a rough farmer-quality fabrication.

oh yea, i forgot. this is all YOUR fault! i had successfully pigeon holed this "want" that is now a "need". thanks a lot, buddy. now i need to find a project thats need doing tomorrow so that i can stay away from the phone while the wife is at a drs. appt thus giving me free reign on the phone.

oh yea, forgot to ask, will the bullet feeder work w/CG boolits? not that i care ya understand.