Old Ideal Luber sizer

[ron brooks]

This seemed to be the best palace to place this. I just got in an old Ideal luber/sizer. THe handle works the same way as a Saeco does, that is across the top from right to left. Both the handle which works the lube pressure as well as the handle that works the sizer have wooden "handles". Says Ideal MFG Co. New Haven, Conn USA. Seems to be to be in really good condititon. I will try to post some photos tomorrow, the batteries are shot and I need to get some more.

Thanks for any information.

Ron

[montana_charlie]

Does it look like this one?
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=62759737
CM

[ron brooks]

Yes it does, although I think mine is in better shape. :-) (don't we always?) Also mine has thomb screws rather than slotted screws. Oh yes, I also don't have the extra tube and cap.

Do they use the standard Lyman and RCBS sizing dies and top punches?

Thanks for the info,

Ron

[floodgate]

Ron:

Yes, the old No. 1 lube-sizer uses the same G-H-I die and top punch sets as the current No 4500's and all in between (the current die sets are much better than the originals, which had a sharp step at the entrance that would scrape the bullet unevenly if not perfectly centered). The tool was introduced in Ideal Handbook No. 13 (1901), and the New Haven address says it was made before the Marlin / Ideal line was shut down for WW I, in December 1915; the thumb-screws confirm this. Some were made with a cast-iron "faucet handle" for the pressure screw, but the long, wooden-handled wrench like yours was shown in the earliest catalogs. There was also a change in the lube piston, adding a split brass sleeve as a "piston ring", somewhere in that period. The original cap was an open-work cast-iron affair, but you can get a current orange-colored aluminum one from Lyman and repaint it.

Overall, the tool is a bit less sturdy than the post-WW II Lyman No. 45 (which has an added guide collar that rides on the lube reservoir), but should work perfectly satisfactorily if not used to size overly hard bullets, or to size down too far (more than 0.002"-0.003") in a single pass. I touched mine up with black enamel, and it makes a handsome (and perfectly usable) centerpiece to my over-bench shelf (my two No. 45's, though, are the "workhorses").

floodgate

[klw]

Yes it does, although I think mine is in better shape. :-) (don't we always?) Also mine has thomb screws rather than slotted screws. Oh yes, I also don't have the extra tube and cap.

Do they use the standard Lyman and RCBS sizing dies and top punches?

Thanks for the info,

Ron

If memory serves these were originally introduced in the 1890's and kept in Ideal/Lyman's line until after WWII. The one I bought on e-bay came with the original paperwork showing that it was bought new the year I was born, 1943. They use the same sizing dies and top punches as the current Lyman models.

In addition to this one and the 45 series (45, 450 and 4500), there was one other, the ARmory model. Those are much harder to find. I've only seen one.

[ron brooks]

Montana Charlie, klw, Floodgate,

Thanks, I really appreciate it. Guess I'll keep it around for a back up, a sort of usefull piece of history.

I'll do my best to postr some photos tomorrow.

Thanks again,

Ron

[montana_charlie]

There's another one on eBay now...same design.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lyman-Ideal-bullet-lube-sizer-press-and-some-dies_W0QQitemZ200093937626QQcategoryZ71120QQssPage NameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
CM

[ron brooks]

Okay, finally here are photos of the lubersizer. there is one of the lubersizer and the clamp to hold it to the bench, one of the thumbscrews it has instead of the slotted screws and finally here is another "clamp: I got with it. I wonder if it really goes with it. If so I thought it might be for removing the sizing dies or something like that. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Ron

[ron brooks]

Okay, finally got the pictures loaded. Wow. Took me three hours to final figure it out and I always thought I was a sort of techy person. :-)

[floodgate]

Ron:

To eject the sizing die, you loosen the screw in the front that holds it in place, and lift on the handle; the large-headed plunger that pushes the bullet out will move further up and start the die to where you can grip it with your fingers and pull it out. It helps to warm the die chamber up a bit with a hair-dryer or such-like, to soften the old lube. Good photos, by the way!

floodgate

[Bent Ramrod]

Ron,

Your "extra clamp" looks like some kind of mainspring vise to me. Always nice to get extra stuff, although figuring out what it is is sometimes a problem.

That Ideal #1 is a classic; if the "h" die is of the same vintage as the machine, it should have the diameter stamped in serif numerals. The "g" punch will sometimes have a rounded insertion pin. People put in the little extras "for nice" back in those days.