Old reloading tools

[LUBEDUDE]

Here is a Hollywood Model A. One of the original first "one of a hundred". This is a little different from Kevin's in that this is the original Universal desigin from 1935. This was before Hollywood made any changes. Kevin's above shows the first improvement Hollywood made my adding 9 additional stations to 3 already in place, by making a round 12 station turret.

[Roundnoser]

LUBEDUDE and Kevin -- Great presses! I love those crinkle coat finishes too. Its great that we have folks who enjoy collecting the old stuff. Collectors and knowledge of the old machines are slipping into history.

[LUBEDUDE]

Roundnoser - you are so right! I just wish I knew about this old stuff 20-30 yrs ago. I have been soooo ignorant. I always thought it was just a handful of players with the main colors of the rainbow. But thanks to sites like this, I have been informed and HOOKED on old school presses!

Thanks to all contributers present and past.

[Pavogrande]

I still have, though I don't use any more, a pacific scale. You set a marked "weight" or "weights" in the pan and adjust it by means of double nuts - The beam is a threaded rod.
Works quite well but obviously rather slow to change settings. Have to sort through the little tin for the correct weight combinations to match your charge weight and be careful when adjusting the nuts that you don't damage the knife edges.
I think I bought about 1957 for about $8 --
If I recall correctly it has the oil dampener also -- I found the oil dampener not worth the bother.
The tools I started with then were tong tools, still have them but hardly exotic.

My Lachmiller press and bench Priming tool are a bit less common and still in use. Shell holders are a bit of a chore to find -- Herters will fit, sort of.

I also Have the Potter electric pot and ingot mould as well as the lyman pot and dipper. No flame plate though -- They are all used though.

Darn, now that I think of it, everything I have is old including me!

[Kevin Rohrer]

Here is a Hollywood Model A. One of the original first "one of a hundred". This is a little different from Kevin's in that this is the original Universal desigin from 1935. This was before Hollywood made any changes.

Are you saying this is an original "Universal", or a Hollywood Universal?

[LUBEDUDE]

Oh man how I wish it was!

Sorry for the confusion Kevin.

It IS a Hollywood as stated in the first sentence.

It's design, with the 3 stations is of the original Univeral design along with being wasp waisted.

It was BEFore Hollywood made any improvements, like yours.

So basically as I understand it, Hollywood bought the design from Universal and really did not make any frame changes for the first 100(metal reinforced slide/guide plates). However, SOme of the first 100 with original frames did have have Turret improvements, i.e., the 12 hole station, round turret. Which would Model B's (like yours) later to have numerous names.

The Model A wasp waisted frame,3 station turret held true to the original Universal design(Mine). Hollywood's improvement to the Model A was to go with a full back frame for more strength. I found a 1952 ad calling this a Model A Universal. And of course, later they added extra shell, primer post turrets and renaming.

It appears that my press, the Model A came out in 1946, about 6 months before the Model B's were introduced.

Did I clarify this Kevin?

I know that you know this extra stuff Kevin, I am just stating for the benefit of the other readers.

[Char-Gar]

Old reloading tools represent a bargin price for todays reloaders. There are very few of them whose price increase has kept up with inflation. Compare the price of a high end Hollywood with a high end Dillon and the Hollywood comes out looking very affordable.

Compare the price of a basic cast iron Pacific, Lyman, RCBS etc single stage press to a low end Lee breakable press and the old equipment is very much a bargin.

Vintage reloading tools still remain the biggest bang for your reloading buck. This will continue to true for years to come.

[LUBEDUDE]

Old reloading tools represent a bargin price for todays reloaders. There are very few of them whose price increase has kept up with inflation. Compare the price of a high end Hollywood with a high end Dillon and the Hollywood comes out looking very affordable.

Compare the price of a basic cast iron Pacific, Lyman, RCBS etc single stage press to a low end Lee breakable press and the old equipment is very much a bargin.

Vintage reloading tools still remain the biggest bang for your reloading buck. This will continue to true for years to come.

Basically to sum up: they don't make 'em like they used to.

Gee I sound like the old codgers I listened to as a kid.

Am I already an old codger?

[Kevin Rohrer]

Vintage reloading tools still remain the biggest bang for your reloading buck. This will continue to true for years to come

But you can't tell a neophyte that. They have been indoctrinated by our disposable appliance economy into believing that nothing lasts >10-years, if that (e.g. Lee).

[abunaitoo]

Pictures of the Ideal pot box and instructions for Roundnoser.

[abunaitoo]

This is an old Lachmiller shotgun shell base resizer.
I don't reload shotgun, but I've been told the new loaders do this when depriming the case. So this is not needed anymore.

These old tools are so interesting.

[LUBEDUDE]

This is an old Lachmiller shotgun shell base resizer.
I don't reload shotgun, but I've been told the new loaders do this when depriming the case. So this is not needed anymore.

These old tools are so interesting.

Don't retire this tool to the junk barn quit yet.

If you load shotgun on a Hollywood, you need to size first with a tool like this or another loader rather than the the Hollywood sizer. It takes a lot of force to extract the hull from the Hollywood sizer most times and this is hard on the tooling as well as the hulls which sometitmes results in hull/brass separation.

Also even when using the almighty Spolar, when mistakes are made, the dies are easily taken out of the machine, however many times the hulls are quite difficult to release from the die once out of the machine. If you pre-size first with a tool such as the Lachmiller, things go awful smooth.
I would assume the same for a P/W with removable dies.

This is why these as such an easy sell on ebay.

[Char-Gar]

But you can't tell a neophyte that. They have been indoctrinated by our disposable appliance economy into believing that nothing lasts >10-years, if that (e.g. Lee).

Kevin..I wish that were not true, but it is so very true. There is an old saying, that "He knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing". That is certainly true about the new reloader and his penchant to jump on Lee equipment like a dog on a bone. Tis sad....

I have a press on my bench that is 80 years old and still just as good as the day it left the Pacific plant. It should have another 80 years in it.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Pacific didn't actually go out of business. They were bought out by Hornaday decades ago.

[Char-Gar]

Here is a 1930's Pacific C all original that cost me $15.00 on Ebay, plus another $2.00 in steel to make a new handle. This press is about 80 years old with another 80 years to go. It will do any and all reloading tasks short of bullet swaging. For the budget reloader or the guy interested in reloading history this is a great way to go.

This is the first modern press with the ram and 7/8 X 14 dies held in the top of the press. All modern presses evolved from this one.

[LUBEDUDE]

You are so right Char-Gar, why anyone would buy some of the presses offered today when they could buy Grade A, Prime American Beef like yours for a fraction of the cost is beyond me.

That sure is a beauty you have there.

[Roundnoser]

I have a Herters model 03 and Super 81 that are in excellent condition, and short of swaging, they can handle any metallic cartridge reloading task that the new single stage presse do! I purchased the 03 press for practically nothing, and its like new, with the primer catcher and primer feed attachment. -- I also have an old used Rock Chucker from the early 70's that has reloaded many thousands of rounds without a single hick-up.

These days, many folks are looking for the popular equipment. Its not just functionality, they also want the brand name.

[Char-Gar]

Old Herters iron is very good stuff. Here is my U3 I bought off Ebay. It came with both primer arms and four or five shell holders. I sold the primer arms and shell holders and came away with enough money to pay for the shipping, buy an RCBS shell holder adapter and pay for all of the press but $1.00. So the total cost of the press to me was one whole dollar. That is reloading on the cheap.

[LUBEDUDE]

I bought a Herter's U-3 off of ebay as well. It was from a guy who said he bought it when he was a kid and he put it in his closet and never mounted it. I believe him, for it looks brand new.

I don't remember what I paid for it, but it was very reasonalble, I have yet to find a place to mount it yet - but I will.

[Char-Gar]

I bought a Herter's U-3 off of ebay as well. It was from a guy who said he bought it when he was a kid and he put it in his closet and never mounted it. I believe him, for it looks brand new.

I don't remember what I paid for it, but it was very reasonalble, I have yet to find a place to mount it yet - but I will.

It took me many years to get a loading bench and place large enough to do what I want. When I retired I converted the double car garage into a shop. My loading bench is a solid core door topped with 1/2 plywood set on a frame of 2X6s with 4x4 legs. It sets in the middle of the room so I can work on all four sides.