Ballard Press

I bought this several years ago, sight un seen. It was described as a .44 Russian press. At least that is what the seller thought the dies and bag of brass and ammo should fit.

It took many more years before I accidentally stumbled across a B&W picture of a press that is it's near twin. It was called a Ballard. I have yet to locate anything in print about this press, where it was made or by whom.

After a lot of measuring and digging through old books I figured out the ammo and dies are for the .50 USN cartridge used in a rolling block pistol.

Missing is the powder measure and probably something else judging from the holes in the frame.

Ken

That is a Great looking press. Never seen One.. Great addition to any collection. Any further detail Photo's would be helpful
Sal

Don’t know how you keep finding this arcane stuff, Ken. That is amazing!

The only reasonably modern Ballards I know of that provided shooting stuff were Bill Ballard, who made brass cases for obsolete calibers, and other such accessories, and Tom Ballard, who made custom moulds. I think I have Bill’s catalog in my files; if I can find it I’ll see if there is any mention of loading equipment. Tom (I think) retired fairly recently. I have one of his moulds but no other info than the occasional mentions in Venturino’s and others’ writings on black powder cartridge reloading.

A good machinist/patternmaker with access to a foundry could do a one-off like that, no doubt.

What a nice prize there Ken. Too bad that there is not much information available. Thanks for sharing.

What a cool find - seems like reloading presses have gone the way of the auto industry where it's getting harder to find truely new models that don't look like other makers models.

I can not contribute anything new but I must comment just the same. That is a cool looking press. It looks so complex compared to the usual vintage press it must have quite a tale to tell if we can learn its language. Very cool indeed.

I am not sure I fully understand how the dies work. Two pictures from the rear. The "box" at the bottom is the spent primer catcher.
Pictures of the dies and the massive boolit fired. They would have been a handful.
The dies shown are the seater body and an extra stem along with a punch for primer seating and some spare parts that do?

Ken

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From your Original Post You said The Dies were for 50 USN rolling Block Pistol. Most Original Cartridges I have seen were Large Berdan Primers 6.45mm.
Is the case shown Boxer with That diameter. If it is I do have new Boxer Primers with That size 6.45MM
Sal

Sal, the brass is made from something else, no head stamps. And the length varies, these were the longer ones. I have not measured the primers.

Ken