Made my first Star lubrisizer die

[Pistolero]

I needed a .431 sizer die for the 624, so decided to take one of Keith's nice basic blanks
and drill and bore and polish it up to that. Turns out that to get a .431 bullet, you cannot
have a die which will take a .431 gauge pin, which is actually .431-.0002 or .4308 diam.

The one'Aw, sh*t' move was drilling the holes for lube after polishing. Dumb. Had to carefully
knock out the burrs with a couple of seconds of 400 grit shop cloth on a split dowel, then repolish
slightly. Did manage not to increase the diam measurably, what I was fearing.

The alloy Keith uses cuts very nicely. I was able to drill up to .422 with a 27/64ths drill after drilling
it up in a couple of steps. Then bored it to .430 and polished the last 0.001, checking by driving bullets
through it and measuring them. Once I was getting .431 bullet sout, I tried the .431 gauge pin.....no go.
So, definitely some spring back with sizing normal cast bullets, somewhere around 0.0005 or so on this
size of bullet.

I recommend slightly breaking the top edge of each O-ring groove with a file to prevent broaching
your Star sizer's base.

Bill

 

[Brad]

Yes Sir, the gauge pins kinda lie.
I make mine so the next smaller pin goes in but the desired size doesn’t. That gets me within .0005 on the smaller size. By the time the desired size pin goes thru the bullets end up .0005 to .0008 over sized. Experience has taught me well.

I usually bore to .002 under, drill cross holes, then polish the rest of the way. That lets me get the burrs gone with no fear of removing too much more.

Never thought about the o-ring grooves. Might have to look at that.

At what point did you back bore the bottom of the die? How much taper on the entry side?

 

[Pistolero]

I did a very small 5 deg taper on the inlet, and back drilled the rear with a large drill, don't
remember exactly, since size isn't important. It wouldn't hurt to do a bit more taper. I bought
a small diam Morse taper reamer specifically for this task, and it wasn't handy (not sure exactly in
what "safe place" I put it) so I did a small taper on the lathe. May increase this later.

Yeah, doing the drilling before polishing is going to be far better.

I don't think the gauge pins lie, it is that the bullets deform elastically a bit, and that springback
has to be accounted for. All metals, under load, will deflect a certain amount elastically, and then
when they reach their "yield point", they begin to deform plastically - permanent deformation. Lead
has a low yield stress, so the amount of elastic deformation is small, but it is never zero.

As to the O-rings...all my Star dies are old, I have never seen any Star die with the dual O-ring setup
other than the ones I got from Keith. Is this the 'new normal' if you buy Star dies from the factory today?

Bill

 

[Ian]

The actual size of the hole depends a lot on the alloy you use, and the temper of it, too. WQWW alloy will spring back over a thousandth in .44 caliber, 16:1 almost none. This is why it's so great that Keith is offering the die blanks, we can make an assortment of sizes in any given caliber to accommodate a variety of alloys and tempers.

 

[Brad]

I also think the pins work best to measure a perfectly round hole. When polishing we make it ever so slightly out of round. By the time the pin goes thru the majority of the Bullet is over sized.

 

[Ian]

Very true, Brad.

 

[Pistolero]

I don't quench anything, so my samples were just as cast WWt alloy, around 0.0005 spring back.

I have trouble believing that I polished in any significant out of round from the bored .430 to the finished
about 0.4305 or .4306 or so. It just took a .430 pin after the final lathe pass, but sized too small. I polished
until the bullets were .431, and a .431 pin (actually .4308) won't go.

Bill

 

[Brad]

With time Bill you will get the hang of getting within .0005 with your alloy.
I screwed up a few while learning what the hell I was doing. Now I got slow with the boring as I get close. Nothing worse than wanting .431 and realizing a .434 pin goes thru.

 

[Pistolero]

Hell, I'd be just as irritated if a .432 pin went thru. Yeah, spring cuts are your friend.

Bill

 

[Pistolero]

Are the factory Star dies made with O-rings now? All mine are old and have no O-rings.

 

[Brad]

I have only a couple actual Star dies and no O-rings. I think the O-ring on the die is to keep a good seal even if the rings inside the bore the die seats in are torn or lost.
I made a die from scratch once that measured .748+ on the critical diameter and while it leaks a tiny bit at the bottom of the die it still works. O-rings would stop that leak cold.

 

[KeithB]

I don't own a Star. I made the first dies for an acquaintance with a Star who was using a rathern thin lube of some sort that was warmed up and the system had a pneumatic cylinder, I think to pressurize the lube. He asked if I could put O-rings on some blank dies for him and I did and just keep doing them that way. Figured if you don't need them fine leave them off but if you do need them then they're there.

 

[Brad]

Easier to have them and not need them than want them and not have them.

 

[fiver]

some of the paraffin [and ozokerite based] lubes walk a super thin line between flowing and flowing as a liquid.
just a heat cycle on the heater will bounce them back and forth from not flowing to flowing then a liquid then flowing again.

 

[Brad]

I have some of the blue crayon type paraffin based lubes and fiver is right. A tiny bit too much heat and they are liquid. Talk about a mess!

 

[Pistolero]

I put them on, just wasn't sure it that was what was the current factory.
So, I have my answer. Not factory, just another KeithB upgraded design. Cool.
Those are very useful for us that have lathes, and thanks for offering them at a reasonable
price, Keith.
Sounds like a whole lot too much single MWt paraffin in those lubes. My next batch of
Red Max, if I make it, should be a touch softer for my cool basement temps. Just a bit too stiff
when I first start the Star. Once I have it moving, it works but the first 10 or 20 bullets are a
PITA, taking 3 or 4 pumps and a short wait for the spring to push the piston back each pump.
Wrecks the speed of the Star until you get the lube moving.

Bill

 

[Rick]

Bill, both of my stars have a heater and an air pressure cylinder. No waiting, one pump lubed bullet no pumping 3 or 4 times.

 

[Pistolero]

Yeah, I aan understand the convenience of instant lubing.. but this is a temporary issue --
that's more complexities and connections than I have a need for. LBT soft blue or NRA
50-50 work perfectly, no issues. My own batch of Red Max is just a touch too stiff in my cool basement.
I already topped off the reservoir with LBT soft blue, so as the Red Max works out, I may not make any more
or I will make it a touch softer next time.

If I was addicted to a lube that required heat, I could see it, but so far, LBT soft blue has been a real performer
for me, and flows fine at basement temps. The other Star only has had NRA 50-50 in it, will likely stay that way
for some time, and it flows instantly.

 

[Rick]

I've only used LBT Blue for many years, not the LBT Blue Soft just LBT Blue. Bought a bunch of it back before there was a :soft". No idea what/if there is a difference between the old Blue and the new Blue soft. Used to be only LBT Blue and LBT Hard. Never tried the hard either.

 

[Brad]

I had a heater before I got my Star. I like have it because some lines I use need the heat.
The air cylinder is a must to me. Never needing to crank the handle and getting consistency of lubing is a good thing.