Ballisti-cast Mark VI observation and comments

[6bg6ga]

Having received my new mark VI I am thrilled. The group buy purchase was worth the wait. The machine is very husky and a brute so it will have no problem sizing even oversize boolits.

If I were to make one change/addition it would be to have a detent in the bullet wheel so that when it was turned to the correct alignment to drop a bullet into the die it would contact a spring loaded ball plunger and thus forever end the possibility of marking up that beautifully turned bullet wheel with the top punch.

Hopefully Mike might read my comments and adopt this idea. It would be worth a few extra bucks to have something like this on the machine.

[ballisti-cast]

That is something I will definitely add in on the new ones. I'll try and come up with an upgrade kit for the older ones too. I think making up a kit with a fixture, correct drill, and tap would make it be a pretty easy user done upgrade. The only costs in it then would be the ball spring and new feed wheels as long as people return the fixture. I'll get back to you in a month or two on this idea as I believe it's a big upgrade that's very easy to do. Once I get a fixture made and test out the idea I'll send the kit to you to try out and upgrade your machine for free on the condition you let me know how it works for you and if there's anything I can do to make it easier for the next person. If I don't get back to you in 6 weeks or so send me an email to remind me.

As the machine is now, the best way to get it to line up is by not trying to at all. Give the wheel a flick with your thumb and when the bullet drops into place in the size die it lines it up. It takes a little bit of practice to get the feel of it, but once you got it you'll very rarely miss.

[6bg6ga]

I would be more than willing to participate. Its refreshing to have someone willing to listen to ideas.

[6bg6ga]

I must be the only one that received their machine. Some more to say...
I mounted my sizer to a piece of 1/2" aluminum plate that measured 12X13'' that I purchased from the salvage yard for $29.00

I installed my bottom die that Lathesmith made for me a while back that has two rows of lube holes in it so its only purpose is to size and lube the 200gr semi wad cutter .452 45acp bullet.

I found the operation extremely smooth and without fatigue. I used some 50/50 in it that I happen to have a ton of. It took a few minutes for everything to warm up to operating temp. I found it extremely easy to set the depth and did it the first time around. I found myself wishing for a collator for it as the hand filling the tubes was a pain.

I have no buyers regret what so ever. The machine performed flawlessly out of the box. In my opinion its one of those things a person needs to experience. After spending several hours with it this morning its the one I'm going to keep.

[ballisti-cast]

Glad to here how well it's working for you! I'll hopefully be able to fix the collator problem for you in a couple months. I'm building prototypes and sending them out to a few customers to test them out and then they'll be ready to sell. I believe the design is pretty solid on them but I don't want to get a bunch out there and then find a major part has to be redesigned and replaced on them.

[6bg6ga]

I would like to mention that I think the o-ring on the air cylinder piston is a nice touch. It makes for a very tight fit and seal and its replaceable if needed in the future.

I think this weekend if I get a chance I will remove the handle to sand out the casting marks and polish it to obtain a high luster and then spray it with a clear to protect the finish.

[finishman2000]

the o ring isn't always a great thing. yesterday i took the top off checking the amount of lube, put it back on without adding any and got an air pocket that really played havic on my mass production. the piston was not able to get to the lube and was fighting the air that was trapped. i ended up having to top off the lube (1/2 a stick) and all was well.

i too will be on the list for the collator, it should double my output.

[ballisti-cast]

I would like to mention that I think the o-ring on the air cylinder piston is a nice touch. It makes for a very tight fit and seal and its replaceable if needed in the future.

I think this weekend if I get a chance I will remove the handle to sand out the casting marks and polish it to obtain a high luster and then spray it with a clear to protect the finish.

I'll make polished and clear coated handles an option in the future. I'm also considering getting the base and handle anodized either black or green as that holds up much better then paint and is machinable.

[6bg6ga]

the o ring isn't always a great thing. yesterday i took the top off checking the amount of lube, put it back on without adding any and got an air pocket that really played havic on my mass production. the piston was not able to get to the lube and was fighting the air that was trapped. i ended up having to top off the lube (1/2 a stick) and all was well.

i too will be on the list for the collator, it should double my output.

Just a thought... as one that does mass production wouldn't you have an idea of how many bullets can be sized and lubed before you need to add more lube? Maybe it was an error to remove the cylinder when there was plenty of lube thus causing yourself an unneeded problem.

Like I said I like the o-ring vers the higher priced seal that Magma has. The O-ring is less that 50 cents and the other seal is like $10 or more. I bought one a year or so ago to replace the original in my less than 3 year old Magma. By the time you tack on shipping and the wait it doesn't make as much sense to me as the O-ring does. But that's just my take on it. I can wait a week for parts to arrive or I can drive 2 mi to a hardware store and be running again in 15 minutes.

If I were to make another change it would be a plastic piston machined to accept the o-ring. This way the cylinder doesn't get scratched accidentally and the price of plastic is less than the cost of the aluminum.

[bpratl]

the o ring isn't always a great thing. yesterday i took the top off checking the amount of lube, put it back on without adding any and got an air pocket that really played havic on my mass production. the piston was not able to get to the lube and was fighting the air that was trapped. i ended up having to top off the lube (1/2 a stick) and all was well.

I replaced my Star air cylinder with a aluminum piston/o-ring because the cylinder suck up too high. I also had the same problem when pulling up the piston to check the remaining lube which made it air bound. It was easely corrected by adding a check valve. This was done by drilling a .062" hole, and screwing a small rubber flapper valve over the hole, this releases the captured air when re-inserting the piston.

[Springfield]

What keeps the lube from going through the flapper valve? Funny, I have 3 Stars and I rotate the air cylinder between the 3 of them, and doing 2-3 thousand bullets a week I have had no trouble with the cylinder valve in 6 years. Maybe my softer BP lube keeps it lubed better than whatever your guys are using. Looking forward to getting a BC sizer in the next GB. As for filling the feeder tubes, I use it as another chance to inspect my bullets, as my tubes are clear.

[bpratl]

What keeps the lube from going through the flapper valve? Funny, I have 3 Stars and I rotate the air cylinder between the 3 of them, and doing 2-3 thousand bullets a week I have had no trouble with the cylinder valve in 6 years. Maybe my softer BP lube keeps it lubed better than whatever your guys are using. Looking forward to getting a BC sizer in the next GB. As for filling the feeder tubes, I use it as another chance to inspect my bullets, as my tubes are clear.

The rubber flapper is on the piston top side so the air pressure seals it.

[Rockchucker]

I like my sizer. However, I have been mulling this over and not really wanting to post it. The paint is horrible and was falling off the sizer when it came out the box. The paint on the lube tube was/is still tacky and I left hand prints on it. My display is cracked but still works fine. The handle casting is, well, rough, very rough. I am not complaining, nor have I contacted ballisti-cast. I am more of a utilitarian type person. As long as it works, I can live with it. But I expected a higher quality. Guess what I am saying is its like having a two bagger wife, with a great body.

With that said I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN BUT WOULD LESSEN MY EXPECTATIONS

Hopefully the BC folks will chime in here and make this good for you, sounds like quality control is slipping a bit.

[ballisti-cast]

I like my sizer. However, I have been mulling this over and not really wanting to post it. The paint is horrible and was falling off the sizer when it came out the box. The paint on the lube tube was/is still tacky and I left hand prints on it. My display is cracked but still works fine. The handle casting is, well, rough, very rough. I am not complaining, nor have I contacted ballisti-cast. I am more of a utilitarian type person. As long as it works, I can live with it. But I expected a higher quality. Guess what I am saying is its like having a two bagger wife, with a great body.

With that said I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN BUT WOULD LESSEN MY EXPECTATIONS

Brush the lube tube down with a little steel wool. It'll take the hand print off and the tackiness out of the paint, but won't scrape the paint off. The base is powder coated which is about the best industrial paint out there. I'm not sure why it chips off but it does if you bang something against it hard enough. If anyone needs touch up paint let me know and I'll send you some as it covers it to the point where the chip isn't noticeable. I'm looking into getting them green anodized next time as that bonds with the aluminum on the atomic level going as far as changing the grain structure of the outside layer of aluminum. Please get a hold of me and I'll get you a new display. I'm also going to be getting a foam packaging system which should help prevent shipping damages in the future. For me to do something with the handles would add noticeably to the cost of the machine, but I'll make a polished clear coated one an option in the future.

[6bg6ga]

Mine arrived without any damage. The finish is what I expected. I didn't buy a Cadillac so I didn't expect a mirror grade finish. Being that the handle is a casting it is what I expected. I have supercharger on my car and the intake tube to the engine is also a casting and does have a rough finish. Procharger the manufacturer of the supercharger also sells a upgrade which is a polished intake tube but it is expensive. In my opinion I would sooner have this cast handle over the 3/8 steel handle on the Magma. My comments on the handle were because I'm the type of person that would like to have a polished handle and assorted linkage and would pay extra for it. Being a little rough because it is a casting doesn't affect form, fit, or function. My god people we got a deal on this machine and should appreciate it. Be glad that Mike is the type of person that not only will listen but will take care of us.

Just for the heck of it I had my brother try both machines. The Magma fitted with all the goodies and the Mark VI that is fully loaded. He was amazed at the feel of the Mark VI and given his 40 some years of experience it says a lot. Both machines will do the job asked from them. Its kinda like buying a Chevy and a Cadillac you can have basic travel or you can have comfort and style.

[6bg6ga]

Picture on my Mark VI fitted with a turret feeder assy. Mark VI is mounted to a 12.5 X 13'' piece of 6061 T6 aluminum. When I use it I simply clamp it to my bench using 2 standard C clamps.

[6bg6ga]

The rubber flapper is on the piston top side so the air pressure seals it.

In chance in posting a picture of your seal?

[bpratl]

In chance in posting a picture of your seal?

When I get back in town I will disassemble it and post some photos.

[6bg6ga]

In all fairness I had to try the Magma to see if I encountered the same problem with it as some have had with the Mark VI. Having an estimated 1/2 tube/1/2 stick of lube left I pulled the cylinder out to take a look see. I reassembled it and encountered 1/2 filled lube grooves in the bullets. I increased the pressure and lubed some more until I found the lube making a mess on the bullet and then lowered the pressure again and everything was fine. Did this with both machines and came up with the same result because of taking it apart mid stream. I will add that I had not had this happen in the Magma before and since it has happened to both machines 50% of the time it has to simply be because there is such a tight fit on both and this causes an air pocket. The seal idea is the solution to the problem as it lets the air out upon re-insertion and seals completely with the air pressure.

I still prefer the O-ring to the Hycar seal because its cost effective and available at any hardware store. But thats just my .02

[6bg6ga]

I'm not an engineer but I was wondering if it would be possible to have the seal as part of the air piston mounting. Maybe a spring a seal and a nut to retain the air cylinder rod to the lube piston?