The Star’s Hulme Case Feed Mechanism

The Star story just keeps getting better.  I not only picked up the reloader for free…I also got a free Hulme case feed mechanism.  I didn’t realize what I had until I started learning more about these marvelous old machines.

You may remember that we posted a blog a month or so ago about the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department Pistol Team.  It was a cool old video (it was from the 1930s), but I didn’t realize just how cool it was until I spoke with my buddy Paul about the Star reloader I’m resurrecting.  Paul mentioned that the LASD video had a segment about reloading .38 Special ammo, and as soon as he said it, I remembered the scene.   You’re certainly welcome to watch the entire video again, but my advice would be to jump to the 13:57 mark to see the Star reloader in action:

Man, those guys are busy, I thought as I watched them reloading .38 Special ammo in the video above.   It’s almost as if you need three hands (or two people) to operate the Star.  For every cycle, you need to:

• • • Insert a case in the shell plate.
    • Insert a bullet in the case that’s just been charged with powder.
    • Pull the main lever down.
    • Pull the main lever up.
    • Index the shell plate one position counterclockwise.

Then I realized:  The guys in that video above were placing the empty .38 Special cases directly into the shell plate.   My Star doesn’t work that way.  It has a case feed mechanism.  Instead of inserting the empty case directly into the shell plate, you insert the case into the case feed mechanism.  Why do that, I wondered, when you can insert the case directly into the shell plate?

Then it hit me:  My Star had the optional Hulme case feeder.  It was missing a couple of parts (the empty case magazine and the support for that magazine), but those parts would be easy to replace or make myself.  That way, I wouldn’t have to insert an empty case into the Star every time I pulled the lever.  I could just load up 25 or 30 cases at a time, and the Hulme case feed mechanism would take care of the rest.  That would simplify the number of actions I’d have to do each cycle. Woo hoo!

Here’s another YouTube I found that explains how the Hulme case feed mechanism works.

It’s all very clever.  I started this part of the Star resurrection by cleaning up the Hulme case feed mechanism on my press.

Here’s what it looked like before I disassembled it for a more thorough cleaning.  Notice the rusty cam angle at the top of the photo below.

Here’s another photo of the rusty cam.  It’s the piece that drives the Hulme case feeder to the rear when the tool head is lowered (which occurs when the main lever is pulled down).

The Hulme case feed mechanism attaches to the Star base with a single Allen bolt.  Stars originally did not have that hole in the base, but the Hulme case feed mechanism was such a popular option that Star included a drilled and tapped hole (for the Hulme device) on all their presses sometime around 1959.  I learned this from good buddy Bruce at Star Machine Works in New Jersey.

I removed it and then cleaned the case feed mechanism with Kroil, WD 40, and Scotchbrite.

Then I went to work on the cam and its mounting bracket with Kroil and Scotchbrite.  After that, I remounted the Hulme case feed mechanism.  Here’s what the case feed mechanism looks like in operation:

So, I had the case feed mechanism cleaned and it was operational.  But I still needed to feed in a single case every cycle.  I didn’t want that; I wanted the cases to feed automatically.  It was time to channel my inner Bubba.  All I needed was a tube in which to stack empty .38 Special cases above the case feeder, and a means to secure that tube.  Hulme originally offered the componentry to do that, and my good buddy Bruce at Star Machine Works (the company that restores these magnificent old reloaders) offers the parts, but I hadn’t spent anything on my Star, and I wanted to keep it that way just for the sake of living up to my cheap SOB reputation.  I wondered:  WWJGD (what would Joe Gresh do)?  I noodled a few ideas around, and then went to the closet for a coat hanger.  I already had a clear plastic tube from one of my Lee reloading presses.

Like we say in French: Voilà!

The Star and its Hulme case feed mechanism works, and it works well. Take a look!

We’re getting pretty close to being done with the Star resurrection project, but there are still a few more things I want to show you.  Stay tuned; you’ll see them right here on the ExNotes blog!

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Read the entire Star resurrection story here, along with our resurrections of other cool old machines!