I'm really new to casting and I just inherited an old Star sizer. It seems like a great machine, but I am having some problems. They are probably really easy to fix, IF you know the answers, unfortunately, I'm having a bit of a time figuring them out.
#1 How to adjust the punch to line up the grease grooves with lube holes in the die. Does anyone have a copy of the set-up and adjustment instructions? I'm sure I could work it out from there. I've set and e-mail to Magma asking if they could sell/give me a copy but I haven't heard from them.
#2 I am casting mostly for .38/.357...luckily I received a .357 die with the machine. My alloy is wheel weights with 2% tin added and I'm dropping them from the mould into a 5 gal bucket of water. The bullets "as cast" are dropping at .362 -.363. After sizing the bullets are ending up at .3655 to .3570. This all seems good, but here is my big question....the base of some of the bullets are ending up with a "tail fin" on the base that goes one third to half way around the bullet, I presume from the extra lead the is being swagged. I'm afraid this is going to un-balance the bullet in flight. The punch I have is .355 in diameter that was designed for sizing base first SWC. Do I need a different punch, goto a larger die, or something I haven't thought of yet. I can probably get a guy at work to make me a new punch, but he doesn't do much real precision work (he is a hobby machinist) and he said it wouldn't be cheap. (plus, with his limited resourses at work he wasn't able to figure out the thread size and pitch)
I would be grateful for any thoughts and advise.
Shotgun