Old Echo press

[mazo kid]

I have an old Echo press that is just gathering dust under my bench. Recently I was going through a drawer and found a bag of Echo shell holders!! I have tried Googling but there just isn't much of anything to be found for this ol' guy. Can anyone post info on the press? The shell holders I have (for the most part) are in plastic bags with a factory card listing the caliber. I haven't been able to find numbers on all of them. Another question, (on another forum - one of the few references I found), someone said the press he had used an RCBS ram so contemporary S/Hs coud be used instead of the threaded Echo ones. Anyone here done this modification? TIA!!

[LUBEDUDE]

I guess I'm missing something here. If you know the caliber of the shell holders, why do you care what number they are? Ususally it's the other way around.

I know that the RCBS rams do fit some of the older presses. I would not be surprised if did work on the Echo. I'm sure someone will confirm.

Good Luck

[mazo kid]

Hi, notice I said "for the most part" as there are some not identified. I just found (on ebay, of all places) a chart that lists the #s and calibers, posted by a guy selling shell holders. Still would appreciate any info on the press itself...catalog, etc.?

[Green Frog]

Once again, ARTCA, the American Reloading Tool Collectors' Association can be the best resource for finding the kind of information you seek. Try their (once again free) forum. It seems like some of their enthusiasts are just chomping at the bit to answer questions like yours. For my personal contribution, I seem to recall that Numrich Arms (pre-GPC) used to carry their presses and shell holders in catalogs as late as the '70s. They looked rather simple and a bit flimsy to me, but I never had any first hand experience with them.

Froggie

[Pressman]

Echo is a good, sturdy well made press. Echo stands for E.C. Herkner Co. They also made a line of swaging dies for use on their press. I have identified three models, A B and C along with two earlier versions. They use a standard diameter ram so a Lyman or RCBs will interchange. The shellholders are threaded and use a little spanner wrench for instaliation/removal. The threading is precise so the front of the shellholder is always correctly aligned to the front. The threaded shellholders for the RF Wells press will also work as will the Herter's threaded shellholders. These are longer and will affect ram travel but will work if nothing else is available. Following the ECHO the company was sold to an outfit in Canada who tried to keep the line going as Quako. Their presses are scarce. On another note ECHO made the first run of RCBS JR presses. They can be identified with the light green and white speckled paint.

Enjoy your ECHO, it is a great press.
Ken

[mazo kid]

Green Frog, I am a member of ARTCO but have not visited for quite a while. Guess it is time to return! Pressman, thanks for the info; my press is a model C and also has the green/white speckled paint!

[Drphilwv]

This is an old thread, but thought I'd revive it. Just got a big box with a massive press marked ECHO. Looks like a bullet swaging press. There is a big box of jacketed bullet swaging materials. Once I get it to the house I'll try to snap some pics and see if you guys can help me ID what all we have here.

Echo is a good, sturdy well made press. Echo stands for E.C. Herkner Co. They also made a line of swaging dies for use on their press. I have identified three models, A B and C along with two earlier versions. They use a standard diameter ram so a Lyman or RCBs will interchange. The shellholders are threaded and use a little spanner wrench for instaliation/removal. The threading is precise so the front of the shellholder is always correctly aligned to the front. The threaded shellholders for the RF Wells press will also work as will the Herter's threaded shellholders. These are longer and will affect ram travel but will work if nothing else is available. Following the ECHO the company was sold to an outfit in Canada who tried to keep the line going as Quako. Their presses are scarce. On another note ECHO made the first run of RCBS JR presses. They can be identified with the light green and white speckled paint.

Enjoy your ECHO, it is a great press.
Ken

[Pressman]

Great, we will be waiting. The ECHO's are well made and great to use.

Ken

[Drphilwv]

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[Drphilwv]

Sorry if I duplicated a pic there. Was having a technical issue. Looks like maybe a pin missing from the ram on one of the presses. There are more boxes to go through. Big box of copper jackets and lead cores.


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[Pressman]

Wow, that is really a find. Wonder who made the swage dies? They are not ECHO. ECHO made half jacket dies and a clever tie bar that hooked into the primer arm holes and the lugs on top to add strength. Looks like Model C presses, those are the smaller ECHO's.

Ken

[Bent Ramrod]

The die with the T-handle on the top is a Rock Chuck Bullet Swage, the first item produced by RCBS for the handloader. You may have the RCBS solid ram they recommended as a replacement for the normal one with the slots for shell holders and the priming punch. The other die set might be a Bahler. You have a couple of the auto ejection frames that the die makers sold so the bullet swager didn't have to whack an ejection rod with a hammer to get the bullet out of the die.

Look for a couple steel straps with holes in the ends that fit between the primer magazine hole at the top of the "C" and the priming punch hole at the bottom. Herkner sold these as an option. A serious swager would use those to strengthen his "C" press into a quasi "O" press. One of the pins in one of the linkages might have failed due to the stresses of swaging; RCBS recommended hardened drill rod as replacements.

Look for tiny stampings of "R.C.B.S. Co." and "Bahler Die Co." or other such manufacturers on the dies and other parts. Sometimes they are there; sometimes not. There were a lot of one-man shops in the Northwest producing bullet dies at one time. Corbin is, I think, the only one left.

I don't know what those squares are with the bolts in them (one with T-handle) are. And there are more boxes?? Now that is a haul for the ages!