This could just as easily fitted into the Reloading or Bullet Casting threads. I have posted it here because I see it as a DIY project. My Star lubricator was the most important item in my little commercial bullet casting business, and I could have used a second one if I could have found one at less than prohibitive cost. My late buddy Richard Bowman had one and told me that I could have it on permanent loan if he could find it among his huge volume of kit but he never could. It was recently found as Valdor Uren of Strand Guns has worked his way through Richard’s kit (to sell on behalf of his estate) and I now have it. As I cast only for myself these days I no longer need two of them, but I bought it because there is minimal demand for lubricators in these days of powder coating and I wanted it to go to a good home. Of course, I’m old so what will happen to them when I’m gone is another thing.

But I have another motive. When I first examined it none of the moving parts would move at all. It wasn’t obviously abused, just not cared for. Among other things there were patches of rust on the two rods on which the punch head slides. I intend to restore it. I applied some penetrating oil which restored it to operation if not smoothly. Cleaning off the rust did the rest and it seems to be in working order. But I feel the need to completely disassemble it and clean up everything to make a proper job of it. And that’s where the problem became apparent. I started by trying to take out a very small cotter pin but ended up breaking off both ends and leaving the middle bit in its hole with no apparent way of getting it out. Those cotter pins retain a pivot pin of about 6mm diameter, and I’m thinking that I might have to grind one end of the pin to remove it, and replace it with a pin of different design and retention that I’ll have to make. Most of the press is assembled in ways that make it difficult to disassemble without special tools that only the factory has.

Disassembly will require the destruction of some items like retaining pins, and re-assembling with different methods. So it will be a biggish job which won’t get done for a long time because it is low priority compared with other things.

Indeed, my bucket list of projects gets longer as my remaining time gets shorter. Star lubricators were $360 ex works last I looked. I think dies are $60 each. But the killer, Magma Engineering being classified as an arms manufacturer, is that a Star needs an end user/export certificate like a jet fighter or a battle tank, at a cost of $400. Then you have the airfreight charge and 20% import duty + VAT. Altogether not much change out of R30K if three or four dies are included. For a lubricator for heaven’s sake!

Oh, before I forget, Strand Guns has a Lubamatic in good condition if anyone needs one.