Star Universal Shell Plate Movement

[beeser]

The shell plate on my Star Universal does not index precisely into position.  There's quite a bit of movement side to side when in position.  The large locking nut on the column is as tight as it can be without restricting shell plate movement.  Any idea what the problem may be?

[rbwillnj]

The steel ball is probably not coming all the way up.  This is usually caused by crud in the hole in which the steel ball rides.   The best solution is to unmount your reloader, remove the brass plug on the bottom and clean up the hole.    Sometimes, you can fix the problem by pushing down on the ball with a pencil eraser and blowing out the crude with some air.

[beeser]

Thanks!  Removing the ball and cleaning the seat resolved the issue completely.