Please help ID this old press

[Tippet]

There are no identifying marks on it at all, no text or numbers, nothing. For all I know my grandfather made it.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n226/tayloroid/hpress.jpg

[Pressman]

Looks like your grandfather made it. The small diameter of the main shaft is a clue. Hollywood, Schissel, C-H and Texan all used a 1.5" shaft. Dunbar and Herter's use a 1.75" shaft.
The basic design is a near copy of the C-H Magnum H press. It is a good design. The lube points on the main shaft is also a nice touch.
I have seen many homemade presses and most of them have a serious design flaw, yours looks to be done correctly. Well thought out and finished.
Ken

[wildbill49]

From you picture, my guess would be an old C-H "H" press, single station. I've got an old reloading book (1975) that shows the C_H 333 3-Station "H" Press and this seems to look like an earlier version. Hope this is of some help.

Will Bill

[mikenbarb]

I looked at this earlier and was thinking an early Bair but the color is throwing me off. I have seen this press before but cant recall who made it.
PS- What type of shellholder does it take? I dont see where it locks into place. That may be a hint if its not a standard one.

[Tippet]

I've got 3 CH shellholders that fit it. They fit through a smooth hole. A nut secures it by the threaded bottom end.

Hm so I guess it's probably a CH? Seems like they'd have marked it with their trademark.

[STP22]

Looks like half of my 2 station Dunbar press. It lacks the bronze alignment sleeves on the posts, but the color matches. Do the vertical posts measure .880 like mine?

A complete teardown and cleaning may reveal some info you cannot see now...?

[jlchucker]

Is that base cast, or a weldment? Can't tell from the photo. It's not likely that an individual would go thru the expense of making up a pattern for a cast iron base and then going to a foundry to have a one-time custom base cast, then bring it home and machine it. That's really an expensive proposition, even for a factory application. A weldment, on the other hand, followed by some machining, could possibly indicate a person such as your grandfather made this up for his own use. This may be, as others have posted, a commercial press repainted, or maybe even modified by your grandfather. Just guessing.

[TAWILDCATT]

that has the primer like the bair.and castings were not that expensive when It was made.some one at draper corp made castings to swedge bullets as I had one.and lyman had draper make ther castings at one time as a friend got some and machined them.I had some pistol frames made in a foundry. :coffee: [smilie=1