rcbs A3

[porthos]

i have several vintage reloading presses; one of them is a RCBS A2. i know that for a short time that rcbs made a A3. can someone tell me about them. bigger,smaller, heavier ??

[Pressman]

They were the last of the A series presses. They were made for about one year, 1968/9. It was determined that the Rockchucker would do everything the A would do at a lower build and shipping cost. The bigger A just was no longer needed.
The ram is perma pined so the original shellholders and swaging dies cannot be used. There is no die bushing.
The light green paint is thin and flakes off rather easily. And it, like the 2nd gen A2 is made of cast iron.

Ken

[StratsMan]

Pressman, how would you classify the A4???

[Pressman]

The A4 is a marketing name as the press is in no way related to the original A's. The A4 is bigger and stronger with a completely different design. It's a great press and nearly overkill for most reloading tasks. Where the A's are slightly larger than the original Rockchucker.
This got me thinking, how much different or larger is the RCII compared to the 1st model RC.

Ken

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Of all the “A” series presses, my A3 is my go to. Is it because it is really any better than any of the other A presses? No. It’s was the hardest one for me to find, therefore it is my favorite lol! I will post a pic later today.

[Pressman]

The A3, looks much like the earlier A's only the paint color is lighter.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]234337[/ATTACH

[1hole]

This got me thinking, how much different or larger is the RCII compared to the 1st model RC.

Ken

I know the RC II had a round ball instead of the RC's bike grip on the lever. I THINK the first RC IIs had twin steel swing bars. not the cast bars. So far as I know, the RC II press body and toggle block was unchanged from the original.

????

[.50bmg]

The A3, looks much like the earlier A's only the paint color is lighter.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]234337[/ATTACH

I still need the A3 for my “a” series collection.....

So anyone have one to spare let me know...������

[Pressman]

Onehole you are right about the steel links. Buzz Huntington mentioned them to me one time, wanted to know if I had one. Apparently the customer feed back was so intense that the steel links had to be replaced with cast links. The perception was they could not be as strong as the cast ones. Seems silly, but that was what happened.
I didn't have one then, I did get a great deal on one this past summer at a show in Rochester, MN.

Ken

[RSB]

I just found this thread and thought I'd ask about the 2 pre RC presses I have.
Both have 2 piece inserts where the dies are threaded in . One takes shell holders, but modern ones are too big.
The second has collet to hold the rim with springs to open the collet ring on the down stroke.

Neither have any numbers, just Orrville California cast in the front. This is my first attempt to upload pics. Hope it works.

[RSB]

Sorry, my Droid pics are too large and loading failed.

[Pressman]

RSB owns two RCBS Model 1951 presses. These presses are threaded for RCBS swage dies with a 7/8"-14 adapter.

This press has the 1955 shellholder adapter the the then new RCBS shellholder.

Unfortunately one has been repainted. This press has the very scarce RCBS automatic shellholder.

[RSB]

Thanks for posting the pictures for me, now i want to know what each is worth. The collet press even has the primer arm, and the spring is intact working/workable. I have seen newer "A" models on E-bay, but I don't really see them being that valuable. But to be honest I don't really know. I'd like a no biased fair estimate of the value for each.

Thanks for all the help in identifying these press.