Im having a problem with my star sizer.....i have loaded the lube into the barrel and pressurised it, i have lube comming out of the port when the die is removed from the sizer, so all is well there, however when i place the sizer die in the sizer, and start sizing bullets, it will not lube the bullet groves......when i bought the sizer, i sent the people at magma engenering a few bullets to plug the holes in the sizing die which they did, so unless they screwed up i cannot work out why the lube is not getting through to the lubing grooves
any ideas/help would be much appreciated

Daniel

I would email the folks at Magma, I've found them to be helpful in the past.

The Star/Magma is famous for doing that if mis-adjusted. And as little as half a turn on the punch will sometimes make all the difference in the world. What is happening is that the full diameter portion of the projectile is blocking the lube port when you reach the bottom of the stroke, and it is stopping the lube from coming out. It can't, because there is no where for it to go.

What are you trying to size? It sounds as if maybe a single grease grooved projectile?

Keep playing with it; you will eventually find the sweet spot. FWIW, my Star operates most of the time with the top punch (actually mine is a base punch since I feed the bullets nose down) almost completely bottomed out in the press. Another way is to say screwed "up" into the press almost as far as it will go.

I hope that makes sense...

D
its a 2 groove 400gn 416 proj....i got a bit of advice /help from ERIC from magma engennering....and now im lubing both grooves...but now i have encountered another hiccup, the top grove is a bit patchy with lube, and i can t work out why im not getting full circumfrencial lubing of the groove
i to feed the bullet nose down....i thought thats the only way to size/lube bullets in the star sizer

Daniel

Are you using a heater with your Star. Some lubes also work better than others. Don't give up. The Star is a fantastic lube sizer. If mine isn't adjusted 100% I get patchy fill out in the top groove. Pull your die out and set the bullet on the outside diameter of the size die lining up the lube groves of the bullet with the lube holes in the die. Set the bullet stem on the base of the bullet and carefully put a black line on the stem at the top of the die. That should give you a pretty good idea of where to start the adjustment.

What brand of lube are you using?

SLV
im useing veral smiths lube , the medium soft one

Daniel

M98, it has been almost six weeks... did you get the issue with your Star taken care of? I just read your last post, and if you are not careful and go completely to the bottom of the stroke with the punch, lube will be "patchy" as you say it. So make certain you bottom out the handle every stroke.

The only other way I can think of that would give you incomplete lubing of a bullet is if there were gas pockets in the lube stick. That will do it as well...

D
I starting to sort things out, I found out to get lube into all the groves I had to adjust the punch...which I did, and then the proj were getting lube in all the groves, how ever im still getting patchy fill not always, but sometimes, and I think I just need to do my sizing and lubing in warmer weather.....the LBT lube which I have got is the medium hard lube, which veral said should flow pretty well, however as you have seen im having issues, I have tried lubing when it was really warm in my shed , and the lube was softer, and what difference that made....the fill of the groves was really good....so I think I might just have to lube when its a bit warmer...leave the sizer in the sun a a bit , and let things soften up......the other thing veral said is to leave the bullets in the sun and have them warm , so when the lube hits the warm bullet it flows and fills the groves really well...so yes things are looking better
And whats good the few shots I have shot with the cast bullets seem to be pretty accurate

Daniel

Well, for whatever it is worth, I run a heater under my Star. They are available, and a rheostat will help you control the heat. The only question is whether or not you have access to the retailers (like Midway) that will sell you the base heater.

Good luck, and keep plugging away. You will get there!

If it is not a warm sunny day when you decide to do some bullet lubing and can sit the sizer in the sun until it warms up nicely, just use a hair drier for a few minutes to achieve the same thing.

I have always done this with my Lyman sizer and it gives a far better result, filling the grooves without having to overpressurise the lube reservoir.

The down side, if you call it that, of heating the lube in the sizer is that the lubed bullets are a bit stickier to handle so I usually stand a tray of them in the freezer for a few minutes before putting them away or before loading them in cases. The lube doesn't come off on your fingers then.

D
I think magma engeenering have got the heater set up, I might have to get one of those, but I have not heard of the rheostat....must look it up.....when the lube is warm, after I leave the sizer it in the sun, I can lube a few hundred bullets pretty quick, but its when its not warmed up I seem to get the hiccups......anyway I think im just about there sorting the lubing issue out...might try verals soft lube and see how I go with that

Danel

quote:

Originally posted by M 98:
D
I think magma engeenering have got the heater set up, I might have to get one of those, but I have not heard of the rheostat....must look it up.....when the lube is warm, after I leave the sizer it in the sun, I can lube a few hundred bullets pretty quick, but its when its not warmed up I seem to get the hiccups......anyway I think im just about there sorting the lubing issue out...might try verals soft lube and see how I go with that

Danel

Rather than use soft lube which will need more care when handling the bullets, isn't it easier to stick with harder lube and heat your sizer as you have tried and found works well.

Soft lube may not last the bullets passage down the barrel either especially in warm conditions where the cartridges will already be at a higher ambient temperature.

Magma's heater is the way to go.

EAGLE
if one uses LBT lube it dosent matter if you use soft or hard lube , as the lube stays on the bullet, thats why you dont get a star shape at the muzzle of your rifle with LBT lube.....i guess if i get my self the heater i will solve all the lubing issues
Daniel

The control they are referring to is simply one of the ceiling fan speed controls. You can usually pick them up at the hardware store along with a double fixture box then add a duplex plug next to it. Wire the incoming power to the switch and the outgoing leads to the plug. This way you can use it for other things should you want to.

There is also a Universal heating pad which I think Lyman sells. It has a heater element set inside an aluminum base.

You can find those elements on Ebay pretty cheap if you wanted to build it yourself. Just drill the block for your mounting holes first then determine where the best place to insert the heating element would be under your Star sizer. Drill a hole in the base plate to the proper depth and mark the position so you can drill and tap a set screw hole to hold it in there.

I purchased one of the universal plates for my 4500 but I made one for my Saeco. I set them to the lowest setting on the controller. Just make sure if you go this route that your controller is one good for the wattage, some for lights (dimmer switches) don't work as well.

Or you could just use a clamp on light fixture with a 75 or so watt spot light in it shining on the back of your sizer for 15 or so minutes to warm things up.

Hope that helps.

MIKE
thanks....have you had much to do with the heating pad that the people at magma engenniring sell...

Also , on the Star, the part that goes from the front of the sizer to the large lever on the back, has what looks like to hexagonal ends. You can adjust either end to make it longer and you will get a longer lube stroke for bullets that use alot of lube.