Let's discuss the rcbs 2A press

[labradigger1]

I won one of these last night on evil bay. Some of the handle is missing but shouldn't be too hard to turn a new one with a shovel handle.
From what info I have read the 2A was made about 10 years and around 500 were made.
Also, these were cast steel (STEEL BABY, NOT **** ALUMINUM).
I have many presses on the bench now but my only single stages are a co-ax, a jr3 and a ch111. The coax is great but you are limited to not being able to do all things such as use a collet puller.
I would like to throw the jr3 across the room every time I use it when the handle falls down. Ps, I tried the weight on the lower part of the ram linkage but that stinks too.
I don't really need a press this large or strong now but may in the future and I like quality USA tools.
What else do you know about the 2A's ?
Any problems?
How do they compare to other large presses?
Thanks,
Lab

[seagiant]

Hi,
I rate it as the best single stage press ever made!

Pressman wrote that article and is the best write up ever done on it!

Gives the history also!

[Pressman]

the original handle is a steel tube that just slips over the 4 inch stud you have. Other than the ugly sort of OD green color it is a great press. In my not so humble opinion I think the early A series presses deserve the cult following that Hollywood has. They are far better presses. Just ask me, I know. (said I was not humble in my feelings for this press).

Ken

[labradigger1]

the original handle is a steel tube that just slips over the 4 inch stud you have. Other than the ugly sort of OD green color it is a great press. In my not so humble opinion I think the early A series presses deserve the cult following that Hollywood has. They are far better presses. Just ask me, I know. (said I was not humble in my feelings for this press).

Ken

You certainly are correct about the horrible OD green paint on the 2a, it is ugly! That being said, I'm STILL super excited to receive it around Saturday. I broke my tmag cast iron base just by camming the action over. I think this one will be heck for stout.
I couldn't tell in the listing pics but do these take standard shell holders?

[Nueces]

The earliest RCBS presses often took shell holder rams, not the currently available small shell holders. My own A2 has a sub ram that takes standard holders, though. Yours could be anything, as it's likely changed hands several times in the last 50 years. If you are unlucky, call Huntington's ( http://www.huntingtons.com ) to inquire about a new ram.

[beeser]

Not to steal any thunder from the early RCBS presses but there are features in the Prazi Press that set it apart from most if not all single stage presses.
http://www.grauwolf.net/turban-praez...nenpresse.html

[skeettx]

Yes, I like the A-2s, I have four of them
Some are plain top and some have inserts
Mike

[Bent Ramrod]

RCBS invented the snap in shell holder (at the beginning it was set screwed in, I think). An RCBS press with the ram holder would be an early one indeed.

[fguffey]

Let's discuss the rcbs 2A press

The RCBS A2 press is a cam over press. I have 3 Rock Chucker presses, not one of them cam over. I can modify the Rock Chucker to cam over but that would complicate using it with the Piggy Back 11 attachments.

F. Guffey

[EDG]

My Rock Chucker was made in 1971 and I bought it new. It cams over at the top of the stroke.

If you examine a RockChucker ram to toggle block pin you will see that the cross pin has to sear in 2 places to break the pin.

The same pin in the 2A/A2 presses has to shear in 4 places to break it.

[fguffey]

It cams over at the top of the stroke.

How much? If your Rock Chucker cams over it is also called a bump press. None of my Rock Chucker presses cam over. All of my Herter presses cam over, When adjusting the die I can adjust the shell holder to bump the bottom of the die or I can adjust it to cam over.

I am lucky, none of my Rock Chuckers cam over, if they did the cam over (reverse in direction) the cam over would play havoc with my auto advance, anyhow my Rock Chuckers do not cam over.

F. Guffey

[Ickisrulz]

My Rock Chucker was made in 1971 and I bought it new. It cams over at the top of the stroke.

If you examine a RockChucker ram to toggle block pin you will see that the cross pin has to sear in 2 places to break the pin.

The same pin in the 2A/A2 presses has to shear in 4 places to break it.

I have a RockChucker made in 1974. It does not cam over. The toggle casting hits the linkage and comes to a complete stop at the top of the stroke. I suppose with a die adjusted a certain way it might cam over a little. But, it is not the same as something like a Redding #25 that is a true cam over press.

[fguffey]

The toggle casting hits the linkage and comes to a complete stop at the top of the stroke.

When the linkage goes into a bind the ram is kicked back at the bottom and forward at the top. When I use a die and case everything is kept in line by the case.

F. Guffey

[Pressman]

The 1959 2A should have the correct sub-ram for standard shellholders. The A and the snap in shellholder were both brought out in 1955. Only the shellholder was never patented as no one thought it was a big deal.
The pre A presses used a caliber specific sub-ram. There is even one that takes Herter's shellholders.

Ken

[Bent Ramrod]

...The A and the snap in shellholder were both brought out in 1955. Only the shellholder was never patented as no one thought it was a big deal....

Ken

Holy cow! That should have qualified RCBS as a 501-C3 Charitable Organization!

A one cent royalty on that shell holder would have bought the Huntington family their own private island by now, methinks.

[labradigger1]

I got the 2A in the mail today. What a press! Heavy, very little wear, has the die bushing and priming tool. Paint is in excellent condition and it looks better in person than in the pics.
Looking forward to replacing the jr3 spot on the bench.
It has been a stellar couple of weeks for me,
I traded a Springfield trapdoor for 4-5k lbs of lead, most of it equally divided into ww ingots, pure sheet and pipe and about 20 buckets of ww's.
Won the auction for the 2A
And to top it all off at an auction tonight I scored an 8lb sealed can of 700x, 8lb of red dot and 8lb of Winchester powder of something.
At the same auction I bought a litscher 10x spot shot with unertil micrometer mounts for $360, of course it didn't hurt that the scope was attached to a Winchester model 52 with a heavy barrel.
I am planning to mount the scope to my Remington #2 rolling block in 25-20 SS.
What a great week!
Lab

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Congrats on your purchase. That press will never let you down. They are a true joy to load ammunition on.

[quasi]

Gunwriter Dean Grennell had an A-2 or A-3 , I can not remember which. He asked Fred Huntington of RCBS to start making them again and Huntington refused saying they would be so expensive no one would buy them.

Grennell recommended C&H`s Heavy weight champion as an available equivalent, and stated it was superior for bullet swaging.

[seagiant]

Gunwriter Dean Grennell had an A-2 or A-3 , I can not remember which. He asked Fred Huntington of RCBS to start making them again and Huntington refused saying they would be so expensive no one would buy them.

Grennell recommended C&H`s Heavy weight champion as an available equivalent, and stated it was superior for bullet swaging.

Hi,
Huntington was probably right, because that CH Champion is not cheap last time I looked and impossible to find used!!!

Uh, yea, I want one!

[1hole]

The A series of presses were massive but they were costly and priced themselves out of the reloading market. Great presses for swaging jacketed bullets (up to .24 cal anyway) but few people can afford to do that these days and they are vast over kill for common reloading. They really don't do anything better than any other brand's top line of single stage presses.

Wish I had one but not nearly bad enough to pay current eBay prices.