Ok, I'm pretty new to this and I'm getting a bit frustrated. I cast some .44 mag bullets and was using my Star sizer with a .431 die and it was sizing fine (sized a few hundred). Javelina was just too damn messy so I decided to heat up the base and use some Red Rooster (I've got the star mounted to an aluminum plate that is floated over the table that I put an Iron on to heat it up). The iron turns off automatically after a minute or two, so I can control the temp by lifting the iron up and activating it when the lube starts to cool and harden.
This contraption works fine for the first dozen or so rounds, I've got it warm and then the star locks up tight. The bullet will NOT go through the sizer (it's the same bullet I've been sizing all along). They are coming out of my NEI mold at around .433-.434. I'd love to size them to .432 but the sizing die came with the Star and I've been too cheap to buy another. Now the wife wants my raw lead gone (long story, that I'm not going into) so I'm essentially stuck with the .431 die. The bullet is in so tight that the handle begins to bend under force. I pop the sizing die out (the lube is warm and the die just slides out). So I'm not sure why the bullet stuck. I pop the bullet out using a vice and started over and the same thing happens again. I'm assuming the first dozen or so rounds were thinned enough with the previous lube that it worked fine and the Red Rooster is too thick for it, or the lead expanding with the heat and seizing inside the die. I really would like to use a hard lube to get away from the messy crud. Any insight?