new owner ... lots to learn

[Kirk A]

Well, I finally took the plunge and today came home with a two-headed Universal in 38 & 45. Includes a Hulme too. I will be consulting one of my local bullseye club teammates who is Star expert with a small handful of machines. And I'm sure that I'll be asking lots of questions here too, so forgive my ignorance. Lurking for six months only gets you so far...

So what add-ons are YOUR favorites? I've seen the good press on Dave Wilson's dies (and two colleagues shoot his .32 barrels very nicely too). I've seen Ray Brandes's youtube videos with the automatic indexer & case kicker. Neat stuff. (Used to shoot two of his 41 barrels.) I've heard that Rich Daniels makes a bunch of stuff from shell plates to adjustable powder slides and more. Who else makes stuff? Who makes the powder shut-offs? And I think I saw a "gatling gun" approach to shell-holder tubes? What else is there?

I will be mining through the old content here for ideas, but I would welcome any short-cut pointers & recommendations that you care to share.

Thanks,
Kirk A

[MikeA]

Kirk,
All good sources.  You might try 'star reloading' on Ebay.  There is a neat wooden work base for the Star and he also shows a powder cut off system.  A little pricey for me(powder cutoff) so I just about run empty and use the business card trick.  A powder slide with bushings or an adjustable one is nice.
You still have to load the tubes so I use a 'Freeloader' type system that I fabricated.  Don't forget to lube your cases even though you might have carbide dies.  Have a great time and remember Star presses are
like potato chips, you can't have just one.
If I can be of any assistance give me a shout.
MikeA
malber at cox dot net

[Star73]

I'm with Mike on the freeloader w/ the same reasoning. I use pdr slides drilled for bushings and prefe to keep a small yogurts plastic cup for draining pdr...a reservoir for spilling into!

ron

[Green Frog]

Does anyone remember who was making that powder cut-off and selling it on e-Bay?  I have been looking for a couple of weeks now and haven't seen one advertised (now that I have my press operational and decided I want one! )

TIA ~ Froggie

[starman]

I have 3 powder shut off made two of them so easy to make just get the right powder housing old paciffic or  the little rcbs with powder dums

[wayne]

Hello Starman, could you elaborate on the old Pacific or the little RCBS with powder drums?
Wayne

[NYKenn]

Some pictures would help to if there are any.

[starman]

with the powder brum you just drill a hole threw it then turn the brum to the off position which is the holes are at off position where the powder can not go threw the drum put in a set sew to hold the brum off or on then cut a 9/16x27 thread for the powder slide housing cover, rcbs little dandy or  the old pacific  take a look at it you can do it. Now some people do not like the power shut off but that is up to them I have beem using mine for a long time with no problem I do not leave powder in my machine. good luck and have fun

[ARTINCT]

My favorite add ons are the Moon Unit Indexer and Case Flipper...  Just super craftsmanship and the darn things work perfectly.  These are made by Ray Brandes (his userid) here on the board.  Ray is a really nice guy, gunsmith, and makes small batch runs of his indexers.  He has a website which shows the products in action.  Go for it, you will NOT regret having done so...

Second would be the powder drainer upper bar assembly hand made by a fine shooter and craftsman, MA Lewis,  Maurilew (his userid) here on the board.  Again a simple and wonderful add on.  This replaces the top of the powder bar assembly, has a sliding piece that moves the powder magazine
to the right and allows the contents to dump into you powder bottle.  Kudos to MA for this elegant and well made device!

Third would be the totally adjustable powder bar from Rich Daniels (he makes these bars in a few sizes (thickness 0 00 000) and they are essentially
perfect.  BTW, Rich makes all kinds of hardened shell plates and other things for the Star.  Rich also made me a set of hardened connector bars that attach the tool head to the upper assembly as an old Star I purchased was running with elongated holes.  Rich is a wonderful resource and an excellent bullseye gunsmith to boot.  (Rich's forum ID is Barreltester). 

Fourth would the the long new plastic Powder Magazine as made by a few folks here on the board.  ( I have them from Rich Daniels as well as from RBWILLNJ and both magazines are complete with knurned tops, funnel baffle and correct adapter, they are perfect in every sense.).

Fifth, would be Dave Wilson... yes a talented Human who has a lathe and can make you dies, die nuts and any other things machine head oriented for your Star.  Dave is a pureist in the best sense.  He recently made me a set of .38 Super Dies for the Star and let me tell you that the ammo that is running off of the Star is nearly one hole worthy at 25 yards in my Brazos .38 SuperComp BCG Pro Sx. I also have a few of his replacement die nuts for the Star.   Dave's forum id is FS60.

The Hulme (or variants) Case Feeder is probably #1 on the hit parade of essential add ons for the STAR Universal.  BTW quite a few years ago, Rich Daniels made a limited run of solid brass Hulme-Like case feeders which are works of art.  I have one of these NIB.  If you ever see one of these you will WANT IT...

Lastly, I like the L shaped handle (with delrin? handle material) vs the wooden original handle.  These L shaped handles have been made by various folks over the years. There is a nice guy on Ebay who sells them on occasion and they are very nice, he also makes them for the STAR Lubrisizer and they work swell.

Art

[Kirk A]

Any spare .45ACP seater stems out there? Before I have any custom made, I would like to get some originals, if possible. Please email directly any related information (profile, pictures, price, etc).

Looking back, I can't believe that it has been since May when I got this. Along the way, I've had both tool heads drilled and tapped for taper crimp dies. Dave Wilson did one, as well as provide me a custom "short" .45ACP crimp die to go along with my upgrades from Ray Brandes. Those would include a Moon Unit indexer and Case Kicker ejector. Throw in an adjustable powder slide from Rich Daniels, and a huge clear plastic powder magazine, and some soon-to-arrive primers magazines and followers from Bruce Williams, and you've got an idea of my system.

Along the way, I extended my crowded workbench from its wall-length 22', adding on an additional 7' in an ell ("L") onto the neighboring wall to be dedicated to reloading only. My Redding T7 and associated equipment remain a short distance away, permanently mounted on the original bench.

Last night, I installed the Star into this new foundation, attached and calibrated the Moon Unit indexer and Case Kicker ejector, and marveled at how it all worked on a handful of junk brass. However, no live production until I repair/replace my faulty primer follower tip; those pieces should be in the mail soon. My one and only .45ACP seater die stem has a profile designed for hardball ammo -- 230 JRN. I plan to acquire some others for Zero wadcutters and Noslers, and possibly others too. But for the moment, it'll do for some hardcast 200gr LSWC practice heads, courtesy of one of contributors to the NJ States match. (Second door prize box from him in 3yrs attending that match.)

One of the lessons learned last night concerned the compatibility of Ray Brandes' Case Kicker with one of the Hulme (M3, I think) case feeder tops. The activator for the case kicker is designed to clear the small Hulme top, but not the one with the extended "shelves". Fortunately, my press came with one of each, so a simple switch was easily managed. In fact, the small top installed more snugly, much to my satisfaction.

So, in a word, "Thanks!" to all those who have contributed their time, expertise, and even products, to my education and venture. I enjoy being somewhat anachronistic with this system, compared to the modern alternatives. But more importantly, I value the anticipated length of service. My machine is about 50yrs old, and its only just broken in. I expect many years of service ahead.

-Kirk

[ARTINCT]

Hi Kirk,
Glad all is working out for you and you devoted some new space for reloading!  Indeed the 5th station seater die needs to be shortened to clear the case kicker from Moon Unit (Brandes).  Dave Wilson can perhaps make you a seater profiled for your bullets.

You will find the Star to be a wonderful machine with the indexer and case kicker.  Have you added an L shaped handle to yours yet?

How about an adjustable charge bar from Rich Daniels?  It has the allen head screw adjustable charge oriface which is superior to all others I have tried.

Ah.. ha... you found out that all case feeders are not the same....  glad you had two.

Cheers,

[John Wayne]

I haven't been here long but am certainly thankful for this wonderful website and the mechanical geniuses we have here.  So far I have only dealt with Bruce (RBWILLNJ) for several parts including the brass primer magazines he recently built, as well as, powder slides with drop in bushings and new powder hopper tubes.  All of these folks are a credit to American ingenuity!   

[Kirk A]

Finally up & running. Feels great! Took my first 200 rounds of Saturday morning's production (4.2gr Titegroup + Zero 200gr LSWC) to the range on Sunday, and everything worked flawlessly. And one of my enjoyable thoughts that morning was "it's not going take me four days to reload this ammo!"

As you may have read in a separate thread, I got Bruce's new magazines on Friday. They're terrific! Bruce identified for me the material that he used in the tips of his primer follower rods (and generously provided a sample), and I have since repaired my original follower so that it too now will stop the press when empty.

-Kirk

[ARTINCT]

It is great when it all comes together! 

In regards to the follower, I guess you are talking about the primer rod.  The long plastic or nylon tip essentially STOPS the press in an out of primer condition as it jams the primer hole in the primer slide.  Is that what you are talking about?

[Kirk A]

Art,

Yes, the non-metal tip of the primer follower rod. My press came with 13" primer magazines (large & small), but the tip of the follower rod was abused and would no longer lock the press when the magazine was empty. So, in addition to purchasing two 15" magazines, (large & small) and a matching follower rod, Bruce also helped me to repair my original rod. I honestly didn't know what the material was, nor how to remove & replace it. That has since become clear and my original rod is now fully functional again.

So, everything is working as it should now. The only remaining issue concerns my secondary tool head; it's too tight and will need some cylinder honing before going operational.

-Kirk