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Star Lube Sizer questions


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I'm curious about whether the spade handle and compressed air lube feed are worth the extra cost. How often do you have to crank the standard lube feed handle without the compressed air feed? Do you recommend getting dies from sources other than Magma? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

Finally, do you have one you want to sell? I have a WTB on the Classifieds but not everyone goes there. PM me if you have one to sell.

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Howdy BD,

 

I have a stock star and this is how I lube my big lube snakebites. Two revolutions on the lube compressing handle and then run 25 bullets through....repeat as many times as necessary. I nave a friend that has the air hookup and swears by it......but I can put a big pile of bullets out by the time he loads up his feeding tubes, plus to me not worth the extra expense. Hope this helps.

 

Muck

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Hey Buffy:

Next time you see Split Rail, ask him how he likes the compressed air gizmo.

I got one when I bought my star & traded it off to him.

 

There is a guy on the Cast Boolits Forum named "Lathesmith" who makes any diameter die you want.

Well made & reasonably priced.

I have several of his & they work really well.

& like I said, he'll make them up in oddball sizes.

--Dawg

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i used my star for a couple of years without the air feed system. it worked fine. then i got the air feed system...it works GREAT. depending on the size of the lube groove i cna go 1000 rds without any change in pressure or in the feed amount of lube. before i had to size 15-20 then turn the handle, load 15 to 20 then turn the handle. this stopped all of that.

i don't have the spade handle...the stock handle works fine for me.

just my own opinion...hope it helps,

cbj

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Howdy

 

I size Big Lube bullets with mine. The Big Lube lube grooves eat up a whole lot of lube. I never stopped to count, but I probably get somewhere around 20 or so bullets for every couple of turns on the handle with mine. Never even considered the auto-feed stuff, the Star is so much better than my old RCBS Lubesizer. I can run tons of bullets through my Star in much less time than with the RCBS, even without the fancy compressed air dohickey.

 

Star

 

Now all I have to do is stuff these all into cartridges.

 

bullets waiting to be loaded

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I do not have the spade handle my pard has one on his,tried his and I prefer the standard one I have on mine. We both have the air feed ,bought mine used and it came with it,pard liked it so well he added it to his Star. I think the air feed is the best money spent on a Star,JMO. Adios Sgt. Jake

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BD, we have a non star pressure system hooked up on the one we use for Slim-Pony and it speeds up process a bunch. No change to the handle, Sixgun hasnt seemed to need it. When we get the 2nd machine it will most likely have the same system but instead of being hooked up to a compressor it will be on a pressure tank instead.

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I don't have the air, but am considering it because without it you will get some percentage of your bullets only partially lubed if yer working right along. The speeed is not so much an issue to me though, as one crank every handfull of bullets ain't a bad time waster. But the consistency would be worth it, especially in commercial operations, where folks sometimes get goofy about a bullet missing a little lube (which they ought not, as in smokeless use, if ya only lubed every other bullet, yer guns wouldn't care).

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If your planning on lubing bullets for other people you may want to go with air, but I can lube around 1,000 an hour with the plain jane star lubsizer. Just give it a crank every 20 bullets or so.

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If no one has one to sell, perhaps we could trade. I'll trade Jesse Nelson even up. He smells funny and eats a ton but he's really fast. He carried us to a win in the Family Team event at the 2003 EOT.

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BD you can watch ebay or other auction sites for them, everyonce in a while you'll find a deal if you are patient. They usually go high enough where you might as well get a brand new unit from Magma.

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Similar experience as others already posted. First couple of years without air, then added air and never looked back. Best thing I did to machine. I run almost all the big lubes, though mostly 44-40 and bullets for use in ROA's. My biggest remaining issue is that my home-made lube is sensitive to temperature changes. For best feeding/lubing results I adjust air pressure depending on ambient temp for best flow. Once set right, I can crank em out til the lube runs out. I really like that I can adjust air pressure one the machine without having to fiddle with compressor pressure. I set compressor pressure to about 100-110 psi and then fine-tune adjust at machine.

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BD you can watch ebay or other auction sites for them, everyonce in a while you'll find a deal if you are patient. They usually go high enough where you might as well get a brand new unit from Magma.

 

I already ordered one from Magma earlier this week but they're now running a month behind on deliveries and I'm planning on shooting a bunch of bp this year. If I can snarf up a used one before then, I will. I also figure having two wouldn't hurt since I shoot a ridiculous variety of guns and calibers. I should have bought a Star years ago.

 

Edit: BTW, based on the helpful responses here, I'm calling Magma and adding the compressed air lube feed to my order.

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I have air feed on my Stars. It doesn't make things all that faster, just easier to dial in the right pressure. I'm cheap so I just move the feed from Star to Star. I can only work one at at time anyway. I also have a bullet feeder. Some like them, some don't. If you are doing smokeless bullets and just dropping them into a bucket it isn't nearly as usefull as when you do BP bullets and take the finished bullet and put it in a tray. You need 2 hands for that so the bullet feeder really shines then. Is does speed things up and also keeps you from punching a hole in your finger if you get going too fast. I didn't have a large air compressor when I bought the air feed so I just hooked it up to a small tire inflater compressor, and ran it off an old 12 volt battery I had. Sits on the bench, takes up almost no room, and can go over 160 lbs. The air feed uses very little volume so it doesn't have to run that much. You guys need to checkout www.castboolits.gunloads.com, all of these questions and more are answered over there.

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Bought my first Star in 1970 and wished that the air feed and shovel handle had been with it. The air feed makes the Star like a car with cruise control. You can get where you are going without it but feel much more relaxed having used the cruise control. The fella who likes the stock handle over the the shovel must have paws of leather. Lathesmith also makes a roller handle similar to the one for the Dillons and it is worth the bucks also.With the air the only time you stop is to add lube. I make my own lube and picked up this trick from Springfield Slim. Take a clamp and cover the weep hole and this allows you to use 6 inch sticks instead of four. A lot more bullets before adding.

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Bought my first Star in 1970 and wished that the air feed and shovel handle had been with it. The air feed makes the Star like a car with cruise control. You can get where you are going without it but feel much more relaxed having used the cruise control. The fella who likes the stock handle over the the shovel must have paws of leather. Lathesmith also makes a roller handle similar to the one for the Dillons and it is worth the bucks also.With the air the only time you stop is to add lube. I make my own lube and picked up this trick from Springfield Slim. Take a clamp and cover the weep hole and this allows you to use 6 inch sticks instead of four. A lot more bullets before adding.

 

Howdy Fairshake: Hope you're feeling better. Didn't realize you were under the weather at Bayou Blast. Think I'll order a air adapter for my star now that you mention it. Been thinking about one also like the idea of the shovel handle. Thanks for the info n hope you doing better.

 

Oliver

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I dunno about this air thing. Last night I cast up 1000 or so bullets, then turned on the Star to let it heat up, sorted the bullets, culling the bad ones (maybe takes 10 minutes). The Star was hot and ready to go.

I had EXACTLY 27 minutes to size/lube bullets before I needed to quit and go pick my kid up, and in that time, I ran 500+ bullets through the Star using the stock handle and manual lube advance. I grab about 15 or so bullets at a time from the box, and every other time I grab a handful with the left hand, the right hand gives the lube screw a half a turn at the same time. No time is lost, I ju8st have to remember to do it. If I was using air, I woulda had to turn the air on (mine is in the next building so I ain't gotta listen to it in the shop), and wait for the compressor to charge. That woulda probably took LONGER to do, especially since I really DON't lose any time advancing the lube screw, as I am doing that with the right hand while the left hand grabs a bunch of bullets.

 

As to the shovel handle, yeah maybe. I have toyed with the idea of a roller handle as well.

 

Now if I was gonna use air, the only way I can see that making a lot of sense is if ya had a bullet collator, but feeding bullets by hand, I don't see the big advantage.

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