Lyman 310 Kit, not vintage but...

[Pressman]

Not commonly seen either. These were made in the early to mid 80's. This set is 30-06, new, and to me a really nice addition to the collection.

Ken

[Hamish]

Someone took very good care of that set,,,,,,

[NathanHoln]

I got one of those in the lot of reloading equipment that I got when I was starting out about ten years ago. At a family reunion I asked about the presses in the box below the press on the bench in the garage, got sent home with two boxes of mostly vintage stuff for $40, including the full 310 set with 45acp dies.
I don't have a 45 and probably never will, so I gave a compadre the 1911 mags but I find the 310 so neat I don't want to part with it.
A few weeks ago I got a lot of casting equipment that had a 200gr 45 SWC mold and the sizer, so I casted a few dozen and I will be loading up some range brass and gonna give them to the dude, if they are a go I'll probably be loading up his stuff regularly.
Really I'm just doing it because I like the 310. I used to look for 9mm dies for it, but the ones I found aren't Lyman and cost as much as a press, and what with me having a progressive press now it would be kinda silly at this point. They really are a novel thing, I don't understand why they didn't catch on.

[Pressman]

Nathan, I started reloading as a 17 year old on my own 310 for a Super Blackhawk. Moved to the Tru-Line Jr press later as it was cooler yet.
Actually the 310 has caught on, it all began in 1882 with the Ideal Reloading Tool Company and has continued to this day. The 310 is a modern (1947) combining of the Ideal #3 and Ideal #10 tools to make a universial reloader for all calibers.
Ken

[NoZombies]

I've got a couple of those kits, they're pretty neat. One of the more interesting ones is for the old Para Ordnance model M85... Sadly I don't have the M85 to go with it.

[jrmartin1964]

This "vintage" kit, also for .30-'06, showed up on one of the auction sites a couple of years ago...

Attachment 228840

Jim

[Pressman]

I remember that kit, wondered who got it.

[jrmartin1964]

I remember that kit, wondered who got it.

The whole thing was entirely too intriguing for me to pass up! The "case", or what remains of it, was apparently made from a WWI uniform, and the set included "all the bells and whistles": depriming pin, muzzle resizer, muzzle expanding chamber, double-adjustable chamber with three seating screws, bullet sizing chamber, and a shell resizing die. And I just had to know how the priming operation worked... turns out to be a well-machined spring-loaded apparatus working side-to-side, rather than Ideal's "?" priming hook or Lyman's later sliding plate... very simple, and extremely well thought out.

Jim

[firefly1957]

This is the first time i have seen these old tools as kits i have a Ideal and two Lyman handles they are set up for 44 spec (will do mag) , 30-06, & .303 Brit I occasionally load with all 3 of them not often though.

[Green Frog]

I got one of those in the lot of reloading equipment that I got when I was starting out about ten years ago. At a family reunion I asked about the presses in the box below the press on the bench in the garage, got sent home with two boxes of mostly vintage stuff for $40, including the full 310 set with 45acp dies.
I don't have a 45 and probably never will, so I gave a compadre the 1911 mags but I find the 310 so neat I don't want to part with it.
A few weeks ago I got a lot of casting equipment that had a 200gr 45 SWC mold and the sizer, so I casted a few dozen and I will be loading up some range brass and gonna give them to the dude, if they are a go I'll probably be loading up his stuff regularly.
Really I'm just doing it because I like the 310. I used to look for 9mm dies for it, but the ones I found aren't Lyman and cost as much as a press, and what with me having a progressive press now it would be kinda silly at this point. They really are a novel thing, I don't understand why they didn't catch on.

I’m sort of puzzled by your last sentence and the part about not catching on. Was this meant to be ironic? They were used from the late 1800s until the middle of the 1900s as the main mode of reloading for literally thousands of shooters. As bench mounted presses became more economical and common, it appears that people got too impatient to use them, but they did “catch on!”

On another note, it sounds to me like it’s time to reconsider the phrase, “I don’t have a 45 and probably never will.” You’re only getting part of the fun potential by loading ammo for somebody else to shoot! There are many, many reasonably priced 1911 style semi-autos out there as well as revolvers from S&W and Ruger... enjoy!

Froggie

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Great thread! Great topic! That .30-06 kit is indeed a nice addition to your collection. I've seen them here and there all my life, and I guess just like the measles, if you're exposed long enough you'll catch the bug. I developed an affection for them back around 1999, but by their pinnacle of glory had pretty much passed, and Lyman was making only a few calibers of loaders with pretty high prices. I did manage to acquire a multi-drawer tool box full of them though, mostly used, some very used, from e-bay. Some were pretty rusty, but that didn't matter as long as the inside wasn't rusty, and a wire brush cleaned them up pretty well, followed by some cold blue. Some calibers are scarce, and one often has to pay almost the price of a new currently manufactured set to get them.

But, in all honesty, I eventually came to the conclusion that modern equipment, even things like the Lee Hand Press, are much superior to the 310 equipment because one can use full length resizing dies. All of the 310 tool dies lack that feature, and neck size only, unless they were made specifically for use in the Tru Line Jr. bench mounted press. And even those lack carbide dies and require lube to resize. So you have a situation where you can use the 310 to load for a specific gun, be it rifle or pistol, but the ammo might not chamber in another gun of the same caliber.

I had (still have) this set-up for both the 8mm Mauser and .30-40 Krag when developing loads at the range. One handle with die to prime, one to size and expand, one to seat. But it was still slow going, and I gave up on the idea. There was a whole lot more loading going on than actual shooting.

Attachment 233326

So, I mostly abandoned them, except for the .38 Special set, which is fun to use on winter evenings when it's too cold to be in the shop. They're great for loading practice ammo with; but again, after several re-loadings they're snug in some guns. The old Lee Loaders probably made better ammo, but who needs all that pounding, and they're also getting scare and expensive for some of the less common cartridges.

[mattw]

I have never used one of these... I do however think that they are really neat. I could see one in 38 Special actually being useful, when sitting on the couch! Maybe even 45 ACP. Saw them all over midwest gun shows years ago, not sure why I never picked up a set.