lachmiller shell resizer parts

A friend gave me a Lachmiller shotgun shell resizer in 20GA.
Does anyone know where I can get the dies for a 12GA????
Any idea what this is worth????

Years ago I had a complete Lachmiller shotgun reloading outfit. It did good work but was very slow (single stage press). I ended up with a MEC shotshell reloader. That's the way I would suggest you go. Lachmiller has been out of business for many, many years.

Dale53

I also got a MEC 600 with the Lachmiller.
I don't reload for shotgun, so I really don't know anything about these.
We had some 20GA shells, so I saw how the Lachmiller works. I didn't thing the rim would expand as much as it did. Seems the Lachmiller would be a good thing to use before reloading the shells.
A while ago I was givin a Ponsness Warren reloader with lots of different dies and extra parts. Got the manual with it, but never used it.

I've learned that RCBS bought out the Lachmiller shotgun shell resizer.
Anyone know if the RCBS resizer is the same as the Lachmiller????
Are the dies the same?????
I checked the RCBS web site. It seems the resizer is no longer made.

Are your dies fine thread like on the old herters presses?

Earl:

My Lachmiller 12-ga. die set - and the Herters-ish Lachmiller Model 100 press - are threaded 1-1/4" x 18 tpi; same diameter as the shotshell adapter insert in my RCBS Rockchucker, but that is 12 tpi. I don't have a Herters press to compare with.

floodgate

Thanks Floodgate, yep, Hearters' is the fine thread, like Lachmiller. I have a Herters' press with the big hole & reducer to normal 7/8" dies.

abunaitoo, I think I have a complete set of 12 ga dies of the Lachmiller type, or at least the important parts. Would you be interested if they were Herters? They made a set also, same thread size, different style.

Let me know & I can go digging, Earl

The one I have has a 14tpi die.
The lable on the sizer says Lachmiller Engineering Company, but I can't find any numbers or model numbers on it.
Since RCBS bought the rights for this sizer, is the RCBS the same thing????
I couldn't find a picture of it in the catalog, so I guess it's not made anymore.
I don't reload for shotgun, so I may just sell it. Not sure yet, but I might.
What are these worth anyway????

Huntington's still had parts (RCBS brand) about a year or so ago. They don't show on the website, but call and ask. I bought a 20 ga set up for my RCBS from them. As far as I know the RCBS is just a green version of the Lachmiller

Sorry, forgot to include the contact info for Huntington's...

Huntington's
601 Oro Dam Blvd. East
Oroville, CA 95965, USA

- or -

P.O. Box 991
Oroville, CA 95965, USA

Phone - 530-534-1210
Toll Free - 1-866-735-6237
Fax - 530-534-1212
Email - buy@huntingtons.com

Guys, I think you have the wrong idea about what this gentleman has. Correct me if I'm wrong, but what you have, does it just deprime and size the shell? Is it like a small single stage press that has three bolt holes along its base and is designed so that the front of the little press hangs over the edge of the bench and ejects the spent primer out through the sizer and through a tapered hole in the front of the base? Does the handle swing over the press and down the front? If so, what you have is a Lachmiller case conditioner. RCBS bought them and made them for a while. No parts are presently available. In 12 GA they are worth about $20 or so. Ebay has them all the time. 20GA is more scarce and they run about $25-30 depending on how desperate the guy wanting it is. In 16 GA they are like hen's teeth and can go for $40 or so. Now, if I guy has the entire set, 410-10 GA that's a find.

I have the 12 GA. Do you want it? $15 plus shipping.

omgb:

It was - according to Ken Neeld, our ARTCA expert on mid-20th-Century tools - originally marketed as the Standard metallic reloading tool in the late '50's. It proved too fragile for this use, and the cast-iron "C" operating links are often found broken, re-welded or replaced with steel. Lachmiller finally put it to use as the shotshell "Shell-Saver" as described above, where it was well-suited to this relatively light duty. Note that the taper on the moving shell-holder compresses in the tapered seat in the base and grips the shell rim solidly, until it is knocked loose on the return stroke. It was carried for a while by RCBS after they acquired the Lachmiller line. I have one in 12-ga. and agree with your pricing - I paid $25 for a really nice, clean specimen, to go with the Lachmiller Model 100 "C" press with 12-ga shotshell dies and their early-type 12-ga. shotshell priming tool to match; makes a nice set, even though I don't actually load "shoots-bird bullets".

floodgate

I re-checked in the 1st Edition (1962) Handloader's Digest, p. 29, where the little tool is listed as the REDDING Standard Reloading Press for metallic cartridges (@ $22.50), taking the standard 7/8" x 14 tpi dies. It used a C-H type shellholder ($1.80), with a threaded-adjustable priming post ($1.50).

floodgate

Thanks OMGB. That's what I have.
Like I said I don't reload shotgun. So I really don't know about these things.
Seems like something that you would need to reload shotgun.
I may just end up selling or trading it.

I have a Lyman easy shot shell reloader in 20 Ga missing the caps for powder and shot, also the primer cup and spring. I will sell it or buy the primer cup and spring.
anyone interested?

rockne1865@yahoo.com
:castmine:

Both units are identical...one is gray, the other is green. I have both...don't ask why. I would like dies for 20, 2amd 410. Anybody have them?

Abunaitoo: is this what you have? This is a Lachmiller Shotshell sizer /deprimer . If so RCBS still has parts for it.

I got a new collet for mine and they had sizing rings also. They have a limited number of parts and when they are gone they're gone.

Randy

It looks close to it.
Just the handle, and color, is different.

Earlier I said goto RCBS, but really you need to call Huntington's they are where I got the parts. I get them cornfused some times. As all of you know Huntington is closely affiliated with RCBS but I don't think they are owned by ATK. I don't really know for sure.

The RCBS version of the tool was made to use all the same major parts as the Lachmiller. They made a couple of changes to the tool to expedite manufacturing, like changing the handle. The RCBS versions obviously were painted green.

Mine was refurbished by me and painted Rustoleum Sky Blue Hammertone as that color was "close" to the original color. There was a thread on this last year.

Make sure you get the Ejector spring when you buy parts. My tool wouldn't eject the hulls until I changed the spring out and now it pops them out with Verve!

If you reload lots of shotshells and want to make your Pacific or Hornaday DL366 run faster then getting an alternate way to size and deprime the hulls before loading them on the machine is definitely the way to go. It will increase the speed of your production about 25%!

I also run my hulls thru the washing machine about every second loading to keep them clean, and having the primer knocked out makes the hulls dry faster, as the spent primers will hold water for some time..

I don't like handling dirty ammo when I am reloading or shooting, It makes me feel uncomfortable and lessens the experience dramatically for me. Yes I do like the feel of reloading and that's one of the major reasons I do it. It feels good!

Make sure when you mount the tool that there is a hole in the bench for the primers to fall thru. Mine doesn't have the drop tube and it sends the primers everywhere in the vicinity.

You should be able to size and deprime 600 hulls in an hour easily, and a properly set up DL366 can load 600 per hour easily.

Randy