Converting a Redding or a Lyman Turret Press to a Progessive Press

[terrytm]

Hi:

Has anyone tried turning a Redding or Lyman Turret Press into a Progressive, so that with each stoke of the handle it advances?
Thanks,
Terryt

[Pressman]

It could be done but the cost and complexity would not be worth it.

It has been tried commercially without success. Below is the Forster Automatic Turret press, it was sold only in the initial production batch before the project was abandoned for high shipping costs. It does work but a Dillon is cheaper, lighter and easier top use.

I also have a prototype of another auto turret press that is beyond complicated and a bear to keep in adjustment. Another abandoned idea.

Ken

[Iowa Fox]

Ken I hope you write a book about early reloading tools and the history of their advancement.

[jmorris]

The best you could do with a single shell holder is make it an auto advancing turret press. A progressive would have to have enough shell holders (stations) so, once full, you put in an empty case, place a bullet and cycle the handle and a completed round falls into the bin, with every stroke of the handle.

You can have manually indexed progressives as well, the Dillon 550 for example. Lee makes an auto indexing turret. A manual indexing progressive will load more rounds per hour, with less work than an auto indexing turret.

The RCBS piggyback was a conversion that turned a single stage into a manually indexed progressive.

[terrytm]

Hi:

Thanks for the feedback.

Terrytm

[Baltimoreed]

I tried a Pacific DL350 which is auto advance and being a 12 ga shotgun press is a little more complicated but did not like it at all. Too much going on imo. I like my manual Lyman T2’s and Dillon 550 presses. But I did add chutes to storage boxes and a couple of actuators to help prime and kick the load down the chute on my Lymans to speed things up. I also added Dillon 550 powder measures to my Lyman turrets to speed things up.