ANy old timers recognize this?

[tommag]

My wife brought home some 12 guage tools from Lyman at a yard sale. I e-mailed them with pics looking for instructions. They sent me back a note saying the stuff goes back 50 yrs or more and they couldn't help. The part with the ball handle has wad-guide fingers in it. I tried using it to resize and it buggered up the brass. Guess I'll have to get a resizer. I figured out the de-priming/priming tool. The crimper doesn't work too well on plastic, so I'll have to get a roll crimper for the drill press.
Before you tell me to get a new setup, I like vintage stuff and only plan to load a few boxes of roundball per year.

[Lucky Joe]

tommag,

That's just fun, I like to old stuff too.

[versifier]

If Floodgate doesn't know, he will know who to ask. PM him.

[Bandit46]

Those tools are for Paper cases. The crimper will work well on paper cases, but you have to dig up some old reloading data for papers and some fiber and card filler wads. The Round Ball thingy is a Wad pressure indicator, it should have lines indicating 10#s of pressure @ The fingers let the ram seat the wads straight.
Forget trying to load plastic cases on it. You can still get paper cases, so give that a try, and see if you like it. Got an Old double? Make up some loads and have some fun.

[Bandit46]

I have to try and make that Wad pressure seating more understandable.
Each line on the tool, should indicate 10lbs EACH, probably up to 50-60lbs. This was necessary way back in the Old days, before one piece wad/shotcup, so the powder would ignite properly, ie: BLOOPERS! SQUIB Loads. The older loading
data will give the wad pressure for the components used. I hope this helps.

[floodgate]

tommag, versifier:

"If Floodgate doesn't know, he will know who to ask. PM him."

Ackshully, I'm NOT at allo sharp on shoots-bird-gun reloading tools; my only experience was loading a few 12-ga rifled slug loads with a Lee loader back in the '60's. I recognize the wad seater in the center of the first photo, as I have a 20-ga. one on my bench I got in a trade awhile back - it is strictly for paper (and maybe plastic), and not for sizing; no index marks on it. Back when everyone used Red Dot and card + felt wads, you just set it on a bathroom scale and pushed until you got the specified poundage. Everything changed when the original "plastic gas seal" wads came into use, and you no longer could substitute components freely. I've stayed away from the Lyman shotshell stuff ever since; I'm sure someone else here can help.

floodgate

[Bent Ramrod]

It seems to me that there was a set like that called a Thorson or something similar. The black plastic knob is familiar, anyway. A quick look through the Shotshell Loading sections of a dozen Handloaders' Digests failed to turn up anything similar, except the Lyman Vandalia, and I'm pretty sure that your specimen isn't one of those. The Vandalia was my first reloader for my 16-gauge double, and its slowness in use was more than compensated for by its lack of leverage.

[tommag]

Thanks to all who replied. The wad seater has no markings on the shaft, so I guess it's the bathroom-scale type. I thought I might be able to use it, but maybe not. I've never loaded shotgun shells before and figured since I have it and want to try roundball in my mossberg.... Anyhoo, it looks like I ought to buy a cheapo Lee and stick to published recipes. From what I've gathered on shotgun, they seem to be quirky and less forgiving than rifle and handgun.
If I ever get my new reloading room done and have too much bench space, (Yah, sure, that'll happen!) it would look good on the bench.
Tom

[Buckshot]

..............Send a PM to omgb as he ended up with a setup just like that, including a press. He had me do some mods to it so he could use it for loading brass shotshell.

..................Buckshot

[omgb]

That's a Lyman Straight-line tool. Buckshot reamed one out for me to better handle all brass shells. I have three complete sets, 2 in 12 GA, 1 in 20 and one in 16. A set consists of the seating/sizing tool, a priming/decapping tool and a crimping tool. I also have two of the original boxes and a set of instructions. Most of the Lyman manuals from #28-#41 or so have instructions and pictures. The earlier versions only did round roll crimps on paper cases. later versions from the late 50s also did plastic 6 fold crimps.

To use one, you do the following: First, decap and prime using the priming tool. Second, put the case on the base of the large cylinder and slip the cylinder over the top and push it down over the case head. That's the sizing step. third, pour your charge down the open mouth of the case. Fourth, add an over powder wad and push it home using the piston (the ball covered shaft). fifth, add your wads. You will need enough so that when the shot is added, you are about 1/8" short of full if you are using a roll crimp. If you are using a star crimp, you fill it to the base of the folds. Press this down firmly. The amount you need is based on the powder but usually, 40-50 lbs is about right. Use a bathroom scale for the first dozen or so. After that, you get the feel and just wing it. With BP, no pressure is needed. Sixth, add the shot charge. Seventh, if using a roll crimp, you now add an over shot card. You need a thing paper wad for this, just slightly thicker than card stock. If you are using a star crimp, leave this step out. last, go to the crimper and set the crimp. If it's a roll crimp, you'll have to rotate the case as you add pressure to the crimper. If it's a star crimp, just press it down until the crimp is set.

[STP]

I had one in 20 gauge on my tables at our last show. In 2 days, not one person even bothered to pick it up and look. The time spent cleaning it up and a bit of research to answer the "whatizzit" question was worth it anyway.

[tommag]

OMGB comes in and saves the day!
Now, does anyone have some old recipes? I have some Alcan fibre wads and Red-dot,blue dot, and H-universal clays. I figured on using .690 or .715 RB in an improved cylinder bbl. (.715 slips through bore easily) The recipes I have are from Ballistic products manual and specify which hulls, primers, plastic wad columns, etc.

Also, I gather that with felt and fibre wads, component substitution is not that dangerous. Am I off track with this? I'd like to use plastic hulls if possible because of the moisture here.

Come to think of it, since I need so much help, maybe one of you folks could load them for me, shoot 'em and just tell me how I did:roll:

[omgb]

I'll check tonight and see if one of my old Lyman manuals has a recipe. If so, I'll see if I can scan it and pass it along. I'm not too sure about subbing components. I suspect it's OK but as I said, I'll check the manual.

[KCSO]

That is not a Thorson as I have a complete set in the box with instructions. The Thorson operated on the same principals but was a more compact unit. I use the Thorson to reload my b/p shotgun shells. You can use plastic if you trim the shells off at the crimp and then roll crimp them. I pickup old 3" cases and trim them and roll crim them at 2 3/4 and use them for b/p throwaways. But if you use plastic don't try and load them twice with b/p as the heat and fouling ruins them and they won't re crimp well.

[hivoltfl]

you can find load data in P O Ackleys loadbooks volume 2, He lists all data for wad thikness and such. Rick

[Ross]

That's Thalson, I believe.

[DLCTEX]

I sold a Lyman tool like the lever tool on Ebay acouple of years ago, It had sizing dies and crimpers for 12 and 20 guage. Don't remember what it brought, but I was pleased. I do have lots of fiber and cardboard wads, plus some plastic over powder wads in both guages. DALE

[omgb]

Dale, would you like to get rid of those wads etc? Drop me a line and lets deal if you do.

[DLCTEX]

PM sent. Dale

[9.3X62AL]

MEC reloaders still have a wad pressure scale device included within the powder/shot funnel assembly. The plastic 1-piece wad columns are a VERY FINE innovation, and I last compressed a paper/fiber wad column over 20 years ago--and don't miss it a bit. I seat the plastic wad columns with about 5# of pressure, just a nudge downward to snug things up. I recall recipes from the 1960's that included 50# and 60# of wad seating pressure......no mas, por favor.

Trap and skeet loads enable plastic shotshell hulls to last a LOT longer than high-velocity/field loads do. 8-10 refills on W-W AA hulls are about standard with the old 18.0 grains of Red Dot/W-W AA white wad/1.125 oz target load that I used 30-35 years ago on trap and skeet fields with the 12 gauge. Nowadays, the trap folks like much lighter shot loads--7/8 oz or 24 gram shotloads in their back-bored race guns. I understand these loads extend hull life even further. I show up at my club with the old Red Dot loads and the boys look at me funny (the shots sound louder). When I let drive with the 1-1/4 oz field loads, HIJO LA! The downside is that the 1-1/4" oz loads with Herco on board give you 4 refills, max.