How to Repair/Rebuild a Star Luber Sizer with new Gaskets
05/17/2001
Posted to the Cast Bullet Email list
Star luber/sizers
are common among the cast bullet shooters, and with Star out of the luber business, the older models of the Star are starting
to show their age. By today, the gaskets, if not changed, have far exceeded
their normal lifespan. Parts for repair, or even a new luber
can be had from Magma Engineering, however, this information is for the caster
who wants to repair a leaky Star luber (old model, I
have no idea if the Magma model is precisely the same as the original Star luber, but I'm pretty sure it is). 03/2007
Update: Yes, the Magma Engineering Star Sizer is the same as the original, almost all parts will
interchange. Magma does sell the gasket
if you want to have the original cone/cup shaped gasket. If you don’t want to wait, you can still use
the Toilet Bowl gaskets.
My luber allowed
bullet lube (alox 50/50) to squeeze past the gasket
at the bottom of the plunger spring, allowing lube to fill the spring area,
wasting lube, and decreasing lube pressure. The culprit was obvious, the double
gasket at the bottom of the spring (inside the lube reservoir) was very worn and not doing its job properly. The other symptoms
of malfunction were lube squirting out of the overpressure hole long after the
gasket had passed it (after the gasket passes that hole, no lube should be
allowed to escape, mine squirted lube anytime I screwed the handle in hard) and
lube pressure not being consistent for very long. A properly working Star luber with proper spring pressure should lube about 50
bullets before needing additional turns on the pressure screw. Mine will go for
about 100 bullets after the rebuild.
On to the rebuild. Disassemble the luber.
Remove excess lube from the spring area if it has creeped
past the gasket (not really necessary, but I'm a neat freak). Unscrew the
gasket retaining screw and remove the double gasket. The old gasket material
appears to be a hard composite or rubberized cork material. Keep the flat steel
washer that was under the screw. Discard the old gaskets. Home
Depot has conveniently provided an exact replacement for these gaskets in
the toilet tank repair kit made by Fluidmaster, the package is called the "Close
coupled BRASS BOLT SET" "5/16" x 3" TANK-TO-BOWL", MFG's Part # 068000, Barcode Number o 78864 68000 3
(04/04/02 Update, I have been informed by a caster that the gaskets are sold
separately in their own pack, so you may not have to buy the tank rebuild kit).
Inside this handy kit are 4 rubberized
gaskets for a toilet, you will need two of these to repair your Star luber. If you have calipers (don't we all?) measure the 4
gaskets and take the largest two. Bolt them back to back in place of the
gaskets you took off the star luber plunger. Remember
to replace the flat washer that was on the bottom gasket, as this helps squeeze
out the gasket to form a very tight seal inside the lube tube.
Finish re-assembly of the unit. With new
gaskets, the spring pressure assembly may be a trifle hard to get inside the
lube reservoir, but be persistent. A little "lubrication" might help
it get inside.
That's about it. My luber
went from squirting lube all over the place to a very nice steady pressure
bullet luber.
Took me about an hour to change out mine,
including the short trip to Home Depot. Any questions,
please email me.
Tom