Lube Mess

[yul b. nekst]

Just bought an old Star Lube/sizer. I got my die set and started lubing. Every bullet comes out with a nose full of excess lube. I tried switching the lube holes by drilling out the top bb's and tapping new ones into the bottom thinking my alignment was off, but no dice. Any help? I'm using blackpowder lube without heat. Also, the bullets are two groove Lyman 454190 sized to .452. I called Magma, and they thought maybe too much pressure. They told me to fine tune the punch distance, too, but that was such a pain to initially set properly I'd like to think it may be something else. They said if the nose is full of lube, it might be squirting out the back end of the previous bullet. Or, it may be squirting out the front of the bullet, and then gets it on the nose as it exits the die. Not much help!

[rbwillnj]

This is a common problem caused by too much pressue.  With a Star, you only need enough pressure to keep the lube pump primmed.  The lube pump provides the pressure to force lube into the bullet lube groves during the final part of the stroke.

If you are using a lube heater on your Star, you can get the lube so hot that even with virtually no pressure you will get the problem you are experiencing. Cut back on the heat.  You need only enough heat to allow lube to flow into the lube pump when pressure is applied by the pressure screw.

[yul b. nekst]

Got it figured out. I oiled the slide rods for smoother operation, AND I stopped pulling down the handle so hard. It was the pressure building up that squirted lube onto the nose of the bullet that was next in line. Now I simply and slowly set the bullet, then GENTLY pump in lube. If I have to pump too hard or too much, I'll turn the pressure crank a little to fill up the pump res.