Sizing Problems with Star Sizer

[Chinook]

Has anyone had difficulties sizing bullets more than .002" larger than the diameter of the sizing die in their Star machine?  I have conferred with Veral Smith on this topic and he asserts that the Magma dies are not properly polished on the inside surfaces, causing bullets to hang up.  I note that if I run a lubed bullet through the die, the next couple go through with little effort but then the resistance occurs again.  Anyone have a simple technique to circumvent this problem?  (I am using nearly pure WW alloy)

Has anyone tried the Stillwell dies?  These cost a few bucks more, but if they're properly polished the extra expense would be worth it.  

Kind regards,
Chinook

[Lloyd Smale]

one way ive smoothed up rough dies is by pushing gas checked bullets through it. Just lube them first and run about a 100 through it and that will smoothen most dies up.

[calvon]

The problem with Star dies, aside from needing interior polishing, is that the sizing occurs before the lube is applied. The bullet is being sized dry. I solved the problem by simply running a previously lubed bullet through, followed by about five unlubed ones, then another lubed one.

Veral Smith, on his page, suggests dissolving a bit of Lee Case Sizing Lube in some water, using just enough lube to make the water cloudy. Dip the unsized bullets in this, allow them to dry, and size them. He says it solves the problem. I haven't used this technique yet but I will the next time I cast any bullets.

[LAH]

The Star's work best when a lube bullet is run through the die now and them. Calvon is correct on this point. Every tenth bullet is enough for most the bullets I cast. Some require every fifth.

All my dies seem to be polished fine.........Creeker

[calvon]

Today I finished a run of fifteen hundred 9mm bullets through my Star sizer. They were water dropped. I added some Lee Case Sizing Lube to the water. That helped some, but I still had to run a pre-lubed bullet through after every five or so in order to keep the die lubed well enough to avoid undue resistance.

Then I had what my Air Force son calls a 'brain fart'. I have some Tetra Gun Lube which is about the slickest stuff around. I put some of that on a patch and with a ramrod ran it through the sizing die, then wiped it clean with a dry patch, as per the instructions on the container. The sizing from then on was comparatively easier to do, less pressure on the operating handle. I could easily size fifty plus bullets without encountering too much resistance.

Here's Tetra's web site:

http://www.tetraproducts.com/mission.asp

[LAH]

Just a thought here.........if you're die's aren't polished properly call Magma. Every problem I've had there was handled to my satisfaction............Creeker

[bones22]

If I recall correctly the instruction for the original Star said to run a lubed bullet thru about every 5-10 bullets.

[LAH]

If I recall correctly the instruction for the original Star said to run a lubed bullet thru about every 5-10 bullets.

Yes Sir it does say something like that...........Creeker