I can't lubricise as fast as I cast!

Andy Griffith

Andy Griffith

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I just got into casting about this time last year out of necessity, and have come to like and even enjoy it.
(Especially the lead toy soldiers!)

I had a bunch (;)) of moulds I had traded up over the years but never used them until then, and was amazed how expensive new iron/steel moulds have become! So, I got a few aluminum ones for blackpowder to try, and I like them too. Especially the six cavity ones for .38's. :D

Anyway, I put my #45 sizer to work and it's done beautifully once I figured out how to use a sizer and got a heating element. Must have taken me two tubes of lube to figure out the rhythm of the machine. :o

Anyway, being used to a progressive loader has spoiled me. I can cast 6 bullets at a time and load them quickly...but my production rate comes to a halt at the lubriciser!

I'm thinking it's time to get a Star/Magma.
Pros/cons of the new Magma over the older used Star machines? I know that my dies for the Lymans wont work in a Star/Magma...but I am thinking of buying a new Magma anyway. Then, I will be at the mercy of the market demands of my commercial caster any longer. :D

Not saying that there is anything wrong with my local commercial caster (and others on here) they are great gentlemen and quite likely cast better bullets and more various varities than I can, but for a while earlier this year, it was nearly impossible to get anything out of them because demand was so high! It may not be that way again for years to come, but I want to be prepared and I just enjoy it.

So, are the new sizers any better/worse than the old Stars?
 
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I have a little experience in this area. I've been casting bullets since about 1968, and have put literally tons of lead through my 3 casting pots. I also have a Lyman 450 sizer, an RCBS sizer, two SAECO sizers and four Star sizers. The Star sizers are far and away my favorites, since they use "push through" sizing and lubing, which is much faster than "push/pull" sizing and lubing, which all of the others use.

If you're willing to spend the money for the Star/Magma machine, then I'd recommend it, with the shovel handle, which is an option. If you do get one, you can either buy your sizing dies direct from Magma, or buy them from Lathesmith over on the castboolits forum: Cast Boolits - Dedicated To The World Of Cast Bullets! He's about $10.00 cheaper on his dies, and the quality is as good, or better than the Magma dies. You can also buy them on the auction forums, but lately they've been selling for more than new dies do. It must have something to do with the auction fervor..

At any rate, there is plenty of information available on casting and sizing on the other forum. I would strongly suggest that you look there.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
I've looked on the other forums, (and I'm a member over there) but it's hard to get away from here since this is my "home" and there is so much knowledge here. ;)
 
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lube

i have use a lyman lubrisizer for for years, but have quit since i found out using liquid alox from lee is much faster. some of the bullets have to be sized and i use the lee dies in a regular press to size them, some of the lee tumble lube design requires no sizing, amd some of my lyman bullets do not require sizing either.
 
Howdy

I agree with Reloader Fred. There is just no comparison to the Star Lubesizers. I used a RCBS lubesizer when I first started casting. I cast Black Powder bullets with huge lube grooves that require a lot of lube. With the RCBS press it was push down, pull up, rotate around 45 degrees to get more coverage and then push down and pull up again. I was lucky to lube and size a couple of hundred bullets in an evening.

I finally broke down and bought the Star and I couldn't be happier. I usually lube and size while watching TV. Now I can do about 500 bullets in an evening with no sweat.

If you are lubing regular smokeless bullets with thin, skimpy little lube grooves, you won't have to send them down twice like I was, but still the time savings are substantial. A friend of mine claims her Star machine just keeps 'pooping out perfect bullets'.
 
Back in the day, I first started out with a pan of Lube and a Lee Cookie cutter to remove the cast bullets. Then sized the bullets throught a Lee sizer. Put a bullet in the sizer and then drive it through with a wood mallet.

For the next 35 Years the RCBS/lyman 45/450 lube sizer was the way to go.

Three years ago I purchased a Star/Magma lube sizer, with the optional Air pressure cylinder to keep the lube presure constance.. I use this lube/sizer for my handgun bullets as I shoot many more of them then cast rifle bullets, in the neighborhood of 1000 to 1.

Put the bullet in nose first, pull the handle, insert the next bullet :-) until you run out of lube, No more pulling/pushing on the pressure wrench to insure lube is being delivered, as on my 45/450 RCBS/lyman lube sizer

I still have the 3--- 450's set up for small batches of bullets as I already have the sizer dies. I use them mostly for lubing/sizing cast rifle bullets.

They both serve a purpose.

If were to purchase another lubsizer it would be another Star/Magma
 
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Loading as cast and film lubed is adequate for the vast majority of pistol applications. Try it...
 
Very nice. :)

I looked at yours and other folks that had the bullet feeder attachment too, but you still have to load the tube one at a time, so I don't see any advantage to having a feed tube.

Also, it looks as though your bullets drop pretty far...does it hurt them at all?
 
I just set it up like that as a temporary thing, since I had just gotten it up and running and was anxious to try it. The bullets were dropping from waist level to a coffee can on the floor, with a couple of towels set up over the mouth of the can to cushion the fall. Didn't seem to hurt them at all.
 
I started w/ a Lymna then bought a Star. The Lyman has been gone for quite awhile, there just is no comparison. The Star can easily do 1500/hr & is just way too easy to use. Nothing wrong w/ the Lyman or RCBS, but for pure speed & ease of use, the Star/Magma is king.
 
I have an older Star, not one of the magma models. It is VERY good at doing what it was designed to do: lubricate pistol bullets. When properly adjusted, you can run bullets through it about twice as fast as any other machine.

It does have its drawbacks, however. The first one is that it is difficult and time consuming to adjust from one style of bullet to another, even if the caliber remains the same. If the lube grooves are in different places on the two designs of bullet, you have to do a lot of fiddling around when you change bullets. And the process is even more complicated when you change fom one diameter bullet to another.

It's not designed for long, rifle bullets and doesn't do them well at all. And it won't seat gas checks. So I find myself keeping my old Lyman for the short jobs,like when I'm testing loads, or for rifle bullets, and only using the STAR for the longer runs of pistol bullets,like when I'm turning out practice or competition ammo.
 
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