Need help with a Star sizer!

[Trout Bum]

I purchased a Star lubrisizer 2 years ago on the advise of dozens of postings.  I have yet to be able to get it to function as it is supposed to.

I primarily bought it to size large quantities of .452, .358, and .430 SWC's.  In addition to these, I also use it to size/lube smaller quantities of various LBT bullets.  There are two problems I am encountering and I am curious if anyone familiar with these presses has had similar experiences or, more importantly, knows how to correct them.

First I will state that I use LBT lube (Blue and Commercial, not Soft).  The problem is that each bullet collects a little lube on the forward edge of the SWC driving band (3 dots of it generally, which corresponds to the 3 lube ports on the die).  It is not as noticable on the LBT bullets as they have a continual radius vs. a pronounced lip as the SWC has.  I have tried backing off the pressure until the grooves won't fill, I have tried it with extreme pressure, and I have tried it with all pressures in between.  I have tried it with the lube so cold it would barely extrude, I have tried it with the lube so hot it was almost soup, and I have tried it at every temperature in between.  I have moved the bullet up/down within the die.  I have tried different levels of pressure at the bottom end of the stroke.  It does not matter what I do, the result is the same.  It almost seems as though the pressure is never shut off completely.  If I have no bullet in the die with the handle raised and I turn the piston screw, lube will come out of the die ports.  I would think no lube should extrude until I lower the handle and activate the piston at the bottom of the stroke?

The second issue involves the top o-ring.  Everytime I remove a die, it completely destroys the o-ring.  It has done this since the day it came from the factory.  I finally went and bought 150 of them from a distributor.

The first problem is really the vexing one, as you must remove the excess lube from each bullet or it will gum up your reloader.  I have spoken with Magma several times and they do not seem to know what the problem is.  Based on my experience, I really cannot see why the Star is considered the ultimate lubrisizer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Lloyd Smale]

i think that if you switched out to a soft lube and left it at room temp and with a lttle fine tuning of the punch dept youd cure your problem. My stars dont like harder lubes and its a fine balancing act of heat pressure and adjustment to get them to work. If your pushing lube without using the handle your lube is either to warm or under to much pressure. Try some lbt soft blue or javalina in it. There better lubes then the harder ones anyway

[Trout Bum]

Thanks Lloyd!  I do have LBT soft that I use in a RCBS but I never tried it in the Star as Veral Smith had advised against it.  Your thought is that it is a lube issue vs. a press issue?

Thanks,

[flintman]

 Try plugging some of the lube holes in the sizing die with lead shot,it can also be a big help.
 Jeff.

[rbwillnj]

OK, Problem #1

I assume you are sizing nose first...which is fine.  The problem you describe is generally the result of too much pressure in the Lube reservior.  Unlike a Lyman or other brands of Lubesizers, you only need enough pressure on the lube reservoir to keep the lube pump primed.   The pressure to inject lube into the bullet grooves comes from the lube pump, when it is activated at the bottom of the stroke, not the lube reservior.  Sounds like you have the pressure so high that the lube is flowing right through to the sizing die.   That's the way a Lyman works, but not a Star.   Back off on the pressure, and after a few bullets the problem should stop.   Of course, the hotter the lube is, the less pressure you need in the lube reservoir.

Problem #2

Can't help you.   The original Stars did not have O rings.  You must have a Magma Star.  Have you tried just leaving the O ring out?

[Lloyd Smale]

I cast in the north and temps in my barn swing from below zero to 100 degrees and what you have to do is get a balance between lube pressure lube temp and lube thickness and punch adjustment and it can change from day to day. YOu will get the feel for it very quickly and then it will come automaticaly to you. Dont by into the fact you cant use soft lube in a star. Its all i use and if i had to use hard lube i wouldnt use a star period!! Ive run felix lube in mine and its even softer the nra formula alox. In extreem heat you may not find the sweet spot for adustment and just have to give it up for a couple days till it cools off a little but 99 percent of the time it works fine. 

Thanks Lloyd!  I do have LBT soft that I use in a RCBS but I never tried it in the Star as Veral Smith had advised against it.  Your thought is that it is a lube issue vs. a press issue?

Thanks,

[LAH]

You know Trout it is a find balance of heat, pressure, and punch setting. Sounds as though you've done this. Also the correct holes in the die must be plugged. I've found the plugged holes do always stay plugged allowing lube to slip by the shot. I have 4 of these Stars and more than a few dies. I seldom have the lube nose/shoulder problem. With some bullet/die combos it's more a pain to find the proper setting and make the lube go away but with all but one combo I'm successful.

The o-ring gives me a problem with one of my sizers. It will cut with each die change so I leave it out. Lube leakage isn't enough to worry with unless I use the bullet feed. Just wrap the top part of the die with a little teflon tape. Works for me. If you haven't? lube the ring and die before pushing die in hole......Creeker

[gphillips6250]

Is the O-ring destroyed everytime you change a die or is a a particular die? If it is a particular die, try a new one (expensive option)
however if the O-ring is destroyed every time you change any die, then the sizer is obviously defective. If you can see where the
O-ring seats on the sizer and look for a burr or protrusion that is tearing up the O-rings, you might be able to remove it carefully
with a needle file or Dremel, etc.

It does not sound like a pressure problem if you have tried all of the pressure variations you say you have.

Otherwise, it sounds like more hassle than it is worth if your Lyman and/or RCBS Lubesizers work well.

Kind of off the subject: I normally use a Lyman Lubesizer and have never had any problems. I love the Lee bullet sizing dies you
mount in a reloading press. Now if they could just come up with a gadget to lube them as you size, it would be great. Since they
size base first they are superior to the other sizers, except in the lubing department. I don't care for the Tumble Lubing they
offer. You have to keep your rounds very clean or they collect every piece of dust and dirt in the vicinity.

I especially like the Lee dies when I am sizing soft cast hollowpoint bullets that a nose first caster would deform.
I cast almost all of my handgun bullets, .44 caliber and above from soft alloys, usually 1 to 20 tin/lead and never have any
leading problems. I seldom cast with Linotype or other hard alloys as they are really not needed and handgun velocities/pressures.
However, the .357 Mag is one exception and it seems to lead badly unless the alloy is harder. Probably a function of bore size and
pressures. I shoot few .357's anyway as I prefer the larger calibers, .44 and up.

I bring all of this up because if you are sizing hard alloy bullets in your Star that could be part of your problems. You might find
that bullets cast of softer alloys size and lube better.

If you think I am off track about bullet alloy hardness, note that Elmer Keith seldom cast bullets of any alloy harder than 1 to 10
tin/lead. I have read his books from cover to cover (Sixguns, etc) and that's what I got from it. He did not mess around much with
Linotype and Wheel weights, etc. and he got excellent accuracy.

Sorry for getting off the subject...

[LAH]

Welcome to the board gphillips6250. Could you explain in a little more detail your statement: I especially like the Lee dies when I am sizing soft cast hollowpoint bullets that a nose first caster would deform. Thanks and God Bless.............Lynn

[rbwillnj]

Like I said, It's a pressure problem.  I have four Stars, and have sized many many many thousands of bullets with them.

[gphillips6250]

This is for LAH. First, are you familiar with the cast bullet sizing dies that Lee sells. The dies screw into
a standard loading press and you insert a punch into the shell holder. You set the cast bullet on
the punch and run it up into the sizing die. As you size more bullets, they exit out of the top of
the sizing die and into a plastic chamber. One of the obvious advantages in base first sizing which is
also an advantage of the Star sizer. I normally use a Lyman Lube Sizer and it is fine for harder cast
bullets but I cast hollow point bullets of a much softer alloy and sometimes pure lead. If I use the Lyman Lube Sizer I find it can deform the bullet nose whereas the Lee sizers do not have this problem. However, I do not like Lee's Tumble Lube sizing method.

Thanks!

[carpediem]

I have two star lube sizers and the big commercial sizer.  I have encountered the same problem re. lube blow-by.  In all cases the culprit is the bullet diameter.  Measure your bullet diameter around the area just behind where the lube is squeezing past.  It could take as little as half of one thousandth of an inch undersize for the lube to slip past.

The other problem I have with one set of molds is the bullets are cast out of round.  The bullets in question are the 10 mm 180 grain round nose flat point bevel base.  Asw cast the bullet varies from .400 inch to .402 inch.  When I run the bullets through the .401 sizer die, I get lube blow-by on the .400 side of the bullet.  To fix this I will have to lap my bullet molds.

I hope this helps.

Good luck,

Carpediem

[BD]

Lube hardness, temperature and punch adjustment all need to be in sinc on the star to avoid lube "squeeze by".  However there is another, often overlooked, adjustment.  That is the lube pump "stroke" which can be adjusted via the bolt which the lever linkage acts upon.  Like Lloyd I use Felix lube exclusively in my star.  I tend to keep the pressure on the low side and the pump bolt backed out a bit giving me a slightly longer pump stroke. This pretty much eliminates the lube squeeze by, as well as lube coming out the top of the die even though I quit replacing that O-ring years ago.  Setting up the die and punch for a particular bullet the first time can be tedious, but there's no comparison in rate of production between the Star and the Lyman/RCBS/Saeco type lubsizers.
BD

[bobthenailer]

ive used only stars for 25 years , as stated eairler pressure screw adj , and temp adj with a heater is criticul ! i have only used hard lubes in my stars ie thompson, red rooster, lbt comercial,magnama eng lube,  with out any problems.  i drilled a small hole in my {ADJ TEMP }  c & h base heater and installed a auto mechanics a/c temp guage to moniter the temp, yep they all have a sweet spot  !    .  also put some white litheum greas around the outer sizer die body befor installing die and it will come out alot easier as i had this problem with 1 of my stars ,  ive sized at least 450,000 bullets with my stars. bob

[LAH]

Thanks gphillips6250 I have the picture. I have a couple rifle bullets I size base first on one of my Stars.

Tell me carpediem, Which auto sizer you have? I have a Ballisti Cast........Creeker