sizers

[srd]

What lubrisizer would y'all recommend; I am thinking of going with either an RCBS or Star.

Thanks for the input.

[Graybeard]

Never used a Star but hear they are nice. I use the RCBS myself. Had an older model of the Lyman and gave it away after it broke several times and I had to buy the parts to repair it. RCBS replaces broken parts at no cost.

[ron haralson]

I'd be inclined to size with lee bullet sizers and spend my money on other equipment. Lee sizers are nose first and probably size the driving bands closer to concentric with the bullet body. As well, they are a fraction of the cost.
                                                                                     Ron

[calvon]

The Star is a straight through sizer. Insert a bullet, pull the handle, it is sized and lubed, and it pushes out the bullet ahead of it. Much faster than the in and out sizers others make. Also, for each caliber only one punch is needed, a flat one as it acts only on the base of the bullet. With other sizers you need a nose punch that fits the nose of the bullet being sized.

Others say the Star is the Rolls Royce of sizers. I concur.

[Lloyd Smale]

Ive used them all and now just use a star. Its twice as fast as anything else and allows you to lube nose first which allows the bullet to start alot straighter into the die. Also no more problem with lube on the bases.

[rbwillnj]

Nothing comes close to a Star, I just picked up my second one.

[Forest T]

if you want the Cadillac of the lube machines go with the star i have used the rcbs and there warranty is if it  breaks they will fix it for free they sent me parts a few times then I got 2 star machines I would not trade them for nothing they are the best and and I would highly recommend then if you wont to order one new from Magma Engineering here is there phone # 480-987-3301 and talk to Mary

[Dave B.]

Will the Star let you put on gas checks? thanks Dave

[Graybeard]

I have to wonder about the Star, I really do. Yeah I've heard only good things about it. BUT when I recently asked Veral at LBT to make me up a couple of moulds one of which would be a plain base for my FA83 in .44 Magnum he wrote me back. Wanted to know if I were going to be using a Star sizer. Said if I was it needed to be a bevel base NOT flat base bullet. If this machine in some way is so quirky it must be used only on bevel base as opposed to flat base bullets I'd not own one if it were free.

[Lloyd Smale]

cant imagine why Bill. I know mine has sized over a half a million bullets plain base bevel bass gas checked you name it. Only problem ive ever had with it is with some longer water dropped bullets. I actually broke my handle sizing some. I know veral preached something about rounding off a top punch to seat gas check bullets with but ive never done that or saw a need for it. I sized on lymans and rcbs presses for years and never did see an accuacy diffence in bullets sized on any of them. Old veral better not tell all the commercial bullet casters hes sold molds to that they wont work on a star because thats what they all use either star or a magma which is just the same thing by a different company. Ive heard it the other way if anything that the lymans and rcbs press require you to base first size and it causes deformation of the noses and that base first is the right way to size. But agian i never could see the difference. Only diffences i see is the star is at least 3 times faster and doesnt leave lube on the bases.

[Graybeard]

I can certainly see a speed advantage to straight thru sizing. Is there a catch basin or something for them to accumulate in or must you remove them one at a time at the top? How do you seat gas checks on the Star? I use gas checks on most of the bullets I cast.

[Lloyd Smale]

when i bought my first one it came mounted on a block of wood that had a piece of pvc below the die and that had an elbow and another piece of pvc on it that allows you to have a box under the bench so the bullets are chanelled into the box. By the time they go through the pvc and elbow theyve slowed down enough so that there not dammaged as far as gas checks you can just sit them on the bullet on the press before sizing but i prefer taking a box of bullets into the house and just putting checks on all of them before hand. I can do it while watching tv and it makes sizing alot faster. For stubborn bases i made a tool out of a pair of vise grips that presses them on. I know Kelly brost (cast perfomance) has made a rig up that automatically feeds gas checks into his auto star. Next time i get up his way im going to check it out and see if something simular couldnt be done on mine. Ive got the neighbor working on an air pressure lube feed unit for one of mine right now. That is one other advantage to a star you can crank down the lube pressure and do alot of bullets without turning the screw. Crank down to much on a lyman and youve got lube everywhere and especially on the bases. Gussy on castingstuff.com has a spring loaded lube assembly for the lyman and rcbs units. I tested the prototypes for him and it did work pretty slick. Well worth the cost for you guys that use them.

[rbwillnj]

Like the Lyman and RCBS, you mount the Star on the edge of the reloading table with a little bit of overhang.  The Star doesn't have anything that projects below the loading table surface, so I mounted an AkroBin just below it.  Bullets drop about 1 1/2" when its empty, and less when its full.  No damage, works like a charm.  For anyone interested, I suggest you visit http://forum.starreloaders.com/  there is a section devoted to Star Lubrisizers.  Doesn't get a lot of traffic, but its got some good information.  

Also, if you think Star Lubrisizers are cool, you should check out the Star Reloaders.

[Forest T]

you have a pm

[haroldclark]

I have a Star sizer that I have had for over 30 years.  It is a great sizer for handgun bullets.

A while back, a bunch of the guys were talking about getting a sizing die for rifle calibers and pushing the bullets through nose first.  I bought the 30 caliber die and the flat type top punch.

There is no way that you can keep the bullet aligned and have the bullet come out on it's original axis.  You need a top punch to fit the bullet nose and put the base of the bullet in first.

I have a Saeco Sizer that I have used for rifle bullets for years.  I decided to test the Star sized bullets (nose first) and compare the accuracy to the Saeco sized (base first with proper nose punch).

The Star sized bullets were by far less accurate out to 200 meters than the same bullets sized in the Saeco machine.

For handgun bullets out to 50 and even 100 yards, the Star base first sizing is excellent with the proper top punch.  I will keep my Star machine for ever, but it has to be used properly.

Graybeard:  You received info that the bullets had to be bevel based types to fit in the Star sizer.  The information is incorrect.  The Star pistol type sizing dies are made to allow the plain base bullet to just drop into it and pretty much align itself in the die.  The top punch aligns it in the final stage and it pushes right through.

I have used my Star machine for over 20,000 pistol bullets.  No gas checks, though.  90% of my bullet moulds don't have the beveled base that has become so popular in the last 15 to 20 years.

I don't use my 30 caliber dies in the Star machine after testing them.

Harold Clark

[HL]

I went to the Lee push through sizers you screw in to the top of your press for all my sizing.

I use the 450 LUbrisizer to do all the lubing.

Just need to get a sizer .001 larger than the sized bullet when lubing.

I just take each bullet as it comes out the top and place in the pan I will be using for heat treating.

Some do and some don't, but I always size and gas check my bullets prior to heat treating. I have not seen any difference in dia. from when they were sized to after the heat treating is complete.

Good shooting.

[Lead pot]

I use a Star and RCBS. My Star is older then I remember mabe I got it over 40 years ago. It has never let me down like the Lymans I had that went out long ago with the scrap iron.
Pistol bullets I push through base first. But my rifle bullets that are long some 1.5" I have to push through nose first with a flat top punch. The reason is the Star die is just to short for the long bullet, The lube channel is to short to cover all grooves if you push nose first.
I have modified some dies and made the outside recess a little larger and put two more holes in the die wall to lube some of the 5 groove bullets that are 1.51 long. I never had a bullet deform unless I didn't pay attention and let one start crocket.
I cant see either why a bevel base base bullet is needed. I have Mr. Stillwell make the dies I need. I have a die for a .54 caliber for my 63 Sharps and that bullet has no problem going through the Star.

Kurt