Holleywood questions

[starmac]

At the gun show today, I picked up a hollywood universal 12 station press, from another table I picked up a couple sets of hollywood dies and some more shell holders and a short primer arm, all in a cigar box filled with other random dies.

Is there a website that I can get some info on. It came with 4 primer arms 6 shell holders and 4 primer tubes, I think, I haven't figured out how to use them.

The shell holders that came with the press are just numbered, the ones that came in the cigar box are marked for caliber 30/06, 30/40 krag and 38 special, but I need to find out what holleywood numbers correspond to and how to use these primer tubes if they are even complete.

One station in the turret has the big hole, but has an m and m engineering adapter in it. Is that hole for shotgun dies or did they make some rifle dies that huge?

[smokeywolf]

Lucky bugger! Wish I could help you but, I'm just a little guy with a Hollywood Sr. single station.

smokeywolf

[Wayne Smith]

Starmac I think the big hole is for shotgun size reloading dies. Lyman and RCBS used to make them among others. I think Dave @CH4D may be making them now. These, I believe, are the same size as the 50BMG dies, but I'm not sure the threads are the same.

[rmcc]

PM PRESSMAN on this site. If he doesn't know, it doesn't exist.

rmcc

[starmac]

I had to tote this thing close to a quarter mile to my pickup. I wish I would have had some scales there,as I think it weighed 200 pounds by the time I got there with it.

[dbosman]

I've always found it amazing that having to tote heavy purchases over long distances causes the weight to increase.
Some interaction with the atmosphere, sweat, and the movement of the object as you shift hands and shoulders.

[Bent Ramrod]

In the Good Old Days that weight issue was a powerful bargaining chip for a buyer's market. The seller could either take your offer in light, portable cash money or lug 30-70 lb of cast iron back home. This, of course, was before everybody caught on that new stuff isn't automatically better than old stuff. The argument doesn't work so well any more.:-(

Starmac, if you could include a photo of your parts, it would be easier to identify them.

[LUBEDUDE]

Starmac- congrats on your find. Without seeing a pic, it sounds like you have a pre-1955 cast iron Universal B, possibly Deluxe model/#3 if it has 2, 4x4 turrets to go along with the top one.

The large 1 1/2 in x12 hole was for big game dies and Hollywood Shotgun dies which are pitched differently than Herters and Lachmiller.

Assuming the four primer posts were on the machine, about 4 in tall? If that short one you bought is shorter, like 2 1/2-3in tall- it will do you no good for that machine. But that's ok, you've been bitten by the Hollywood Bug and can use it when you buy your Hollywood Senior!:smile:

I have not seen a "Hollywood" shell holder sheet. However, if you go to CH4D's website and go to the loading die section, they have their shell holder numbers which do correspond with Hollywood calibers,i.e., perfect match ups. While you are there, order the shell holders that you need. They also sell an adaptor for snapping regular RCBS type shell holders for about $11-12. You may have to call about the adaptor though.

Good Luck

[starmac]

I can't do pictures. It does have the 2 smaller turrets , One that holds four primer posts, then the one that holds 4 shell holders then of course the 12 stage turret for the dies.

The shell holder turret also has a larger than normal hole, I'm assuming for the shotgun shell holders.
Would you happen to know if the shotgun shell holders are still available? Are shotgun dies available or is that a hunt down and hope thing? lol
Does ch or anyone make a universal adapter for the larger hole in the shell holder turret, or do I need to have a bushing made?

Thanks for any and all info, I think this thing has found a new home.
Lube dude the short primer post actually came in the cigar box full of goodies from a different guy, but that's okay as 3 of the shell holders were in that box and 2 of the correct correct primer post to give me a total of 4 correct ones.

For those that use these, how do you like priming on the press? Just playing with it, it seems like it it would work quite well.
I'm sure I will be having some more questions about this neat press before it is over.

[Pressman]

Which of the below pictures looks like your frame?

The large hole die station is for shotgun dies. They are around but finding a complete set may take some doing. Hollywood, Herter's and Lachmiller dies are nearly the same and all will fit you press. Shellholders may be easier to find.
Adapter inserts for the Hollywood are round with a knurled edge. If you find some with wrench flats they are RCBS, yes RCBS made inserts with this thread pitch for the early A presses. Lachmiller and Herter's inserts look like Hollywood.
Ken

84858
84857

[williamwaco]

In the olden days That was the Rolls Royce / Bently of the industry.

The only people that owned those tools also owned either oil wells, banks, or apartment complexes.

I have never been lucky enough to own one.

That said I do own a Hollywood .223 Remington Carbide Resizer die.

[starmac]

Which of the below pictures looks like your frame?

The large hole die station is for shotgun dies. They are around but finding a complete set may take some doing. Hollywood, Herter's and Lachmiller dies are nearly the same and all will fit you press. Shellholders may be easier to find.
Adapter inserts for the Hollywood are round with a knurled edge. If you find some with wrench flats they are RCBS, yes RCBS made inserts with this thread pitch for the early A presses. Lachmiller and Herter's inserts look like Hollywood.
Ken

84858
84857

My frame looks like the top one, but it has the other two turrets for the primer rods and shell holders.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Does it look like this?
84885




or this?
84884

[Kevin Rohrer]

The shell holders that came with the press are just numbered, the ones that came in the cigar box are marked for caliber 30/06, 30/40 krag and 38 special, but I need to find out what holleywood numbers correspond to and how to use these primer tubes if they are even complete.

One station in the turret has the big hole, but has an m and m engineering adapter in it. Is that hole for shotgun dies or did they make some rifle dies that huge?

Check one of the early editions of Handloader's Digest. They included a cart that listed the shellholder numbers for lots of companies, including Hollywood. Or, give me the numbers and I will check mine.

The larger die holes accommodated their shotgun dies, although they should also work w/ cartridges from .50BMG up to the BFG9000.

[LUBEDUDE]

Starmac, sounds like you have the press as I described and as pictured in Kevin's top photo. The press in the bottom photo comes with 12 large holes with inserts.

The 1,1/2" x12 tpi outside x7/8"x14 tpi inside insert can be purchased at Ch4D.

Unfortunately, the shotgun gun dies and shell holders can only be had mainstream via internet auction sites. I have heard of a custom die maker in Canada. And there is a guy in Oregon that can makes shell holders. But the Hollywood shot shell holder is not just a shell holder. It is more of a specialty tool that compliments the Hollywood Multi-tool, which is the real Long micrometer one. The Hollywood shell holder has built in ball bearings needed for the wad-guide/resizing tool. So I'm not sure if Gerald in Oregon can make this particular holder. It is not a simple one like the Lyman.

As I mentioned earlier, the Herters and Lachmiller Shotshell dies wii Not fit the Hollywood. I have them all, and they are different thread pitches. Unless Pressman thinks certain year models are different from another.

Have Fun

[starmac]

It looks identical to Kevins top picture, except in the other thread there is a good picture of his shell holder turret and it appears all 4 holes are the same. 3 of the holes in mine are the same and 1 is probably twice as big. A normal shell holder wouldn't work without a bushing.

[LUBEDUDE]

One or two of my single stage/Senior Turret presses has the same thing. I've always wondered what that was about. It takes a pilot bushing; a non threaded bushing.

My guess is there must have been some brand of extra Beefy shell holder back in the day- Pressman???

[starmac]

The shell holders I have are as follows
3 are marked hollywood gun shop, and are not numbered but have the calibers stamped in them. 222 rem, 38 spec and 30/40 krag
1 is marked hollywood loading tools, it is a #10
2 look identical to the hollywood marked ones except missing the hollywood names. 1 is stamped #3 and the other is stamped #4 and also has been engraved 7X57.
1 is a ch and has a factory marking of 30/06
2 are some other brand, the sides are slick, not knurled and they are not factory marked at all. 1 has 30/06 engraved lightly, the other has been engraved but I can't make it out.
If you can tell me what #3 and #10 is I would appreciate it.
Out of both deals I wound up with 8 total shell holders at least 1 is a duplicate though.

[starmac]

One or two of my single stage/Senior Turret presses has the same thing. I've always wondered what that was about. It takes a pilot bushing; a non threaded bushing.

My guess is there must have been some brand of extra Beefy shell holder back in the day- Pressman???

I just assumed that maybe the shotgun shell holders had a beefier shank, but it would have to be some kind of super thin nut to make that work.

[Duckiller]

Hollywood Engineering;10642 Arminta St. Sun Valley CA 91352; 818-842-8376;email: cadqueenell@aol.com

[starmac]

Hollywood Engineering;10642 Arminta St. Sun Valley CA 91352; 818-842-8376;email: cadqueenell@aol.com

Is he back up and running. I read where his place burn't and he didn't even have electricity back to his house yet??

[starmac]

In the olden days That was the Rolls Royce / Bently of the industry.

The only people that owned those tools also owned either oil wells, banks, or apartment complexes.

I have never been lucky enough to own one.

That said I do own a Hollywood .223 Remington Carbide Resizer die.

I could never afford the price I've seen these go for , and I promise I didn't steal it, BUT when Doug told me what he would take for it I didn't waste time getting the money out. lol

Put it this way, when I showed my wife what these sell for, it was real easy to justify buying a new great piece of iron. lol

[Kevin Rohrer]

The shell holders I have are as follo
1 is marked hollywood loading tools, it is a #10

The Hollywoods I own that are marked say 'Hollywood Gunshop'. Yours could be a VERY old Hollywood.


2 look identical to the hollywood marked ones except missing the hollywood names. 1 is stamped #3 and the other is stamped #4 and also has been engraved 7X57.

Most manufacturers made this design shellholder at one time; some were marked with their names, and some were not. I have a bagful of these shellholders from different manufacturers, and some only have a number stamped on top. Those have knurling around the side, and I am guessing they may be made by Dunbar. Does anyone here have any shellholders they KNOW are Dunbars?


2 are some other brand, the sides are slick, not knurled and they are not factory marked at all. 1 has 30/06 engraved lightly, the other has been engraved but I can't make it out.

Those are probably Hollywoods. At one time, they wrote the caliber on top in an indelible pen, and at other times, lighty scribed the caliber. I have a bunch of these.


If you can tell me what #3 and #10 is I would appreciate it.

These could also be Pacific; if so, the #3 is 22/250 (.308 family), and the #10 is a .222. It would be nice if you could check to confirm what make they are.

84955
RCBS, Hollywood, Hollywood, and CH

84956

I need to update this pic w/ examples of the other shell holders I have.

[Pressman]

Lube Dude we got ta git yer edyecated. Actually I enjoy your posts and comments.
The 12tpi thread is an RCBS invention that came along with the Rockchucker in 1967. RCBS catalogs from the 1950's list several different threads dimensions but all I have seen are 1-1/4"-18tpi. I have examples of all the RCBS presses from the welded frame through the A3. The early Hollywood's use the same thread as it seems to have started with the Lachmiller and their shotgun dies in 1951. Herter's just copied everyone else. The three companies all sold shotgun dies under their name though the dies are very nearly identical.
This was a time before anyone was crazy enough to think they could make a shoulder rifle for the 50 BMG. Shooting Times around 1967/8 had an article on a guy who had built one using a Hydra Coil system with the receiver on a track to soak up a lot of the recoil.

Ken

[starmac]

Kevin My numbered dies with no brand holders look identical to those that are marked holley wood, same size and knurled, and looks like the one you have pictured, except that the lip that actually holds the rim, but it too is the same as one of the ones marked hollywood loading tools.

The number 10 matches one of the ones marked holleywood gun shop, so that would be correct, and I bet 3 is 25/06 as there were 25/06 and 222 dies in the cigar box full of stuff Someone has scratched (lightly) 7x57 in the number four, and there was also a size die in that caliber, So that should cover it THANKS. The slick dies I have look just like yours, and are very lightly inscribed on the tops, but I can't read one of the. I guess I wound up with at least 2 duplicated dies. lol

[starmac]

I installed the new turret handles that Mark made today, and they look great on there. My wife said it didn't look right, the news ones are shiny, while the old one is duller. I told I was planning on have her polish the old one to look like the new ones. She acted like that was not a good idea. lol

[starmac]

If anyone is interested, there is one of these on ebay except aluminum (I suppose newer?).
I have the high bid, but do not expect to win it at all.

[Chev. William]

To All:
"Hollywood Engineering", "Hollywood Gun Shop" and "M&M" are all markings used by Joe and Margaret Mueller on their loading components, sometimes I believe it is a size and space related choice.

Yes, They experienced a Shop Fire, electrical in origin according to the LAFD, that started in the rear of the shop, which only had one door out as the rear wall and side walls abut the adjacent properties.
The roof burned and collapsed upon the rest of the shop content, but the walls are still standing and show very little fire damage, mostly Drywall failure due to LAFD using a Snorkel to flood the shop to suppress the fire. The House on the same property was not involved and received no damage but was 'Red Tagged' along with the shop as its electrical feed came through the Shop main panel, which was 'toast' and has since been scrapped (the circuit breakers were partially melted by the fire) The Power company 'Drop' is still present but is disconnected at both ends and will not be connected until The Building and Safety Inspector is satisfied the walls are braced enough to stand and removes the 'Red Tag'. Joe is working on the clean up with some help and as of last Friday had stacks of Parts and Tooling on a cleared floor with the machines repositioned for cleaning in the remaining floor area. About half of the machines that were in the rear shop have been scrapped as to far damaged to be salvaged. The Rest are covered with condensed smoke, melted tar and roofing materials with the plastic or light metal handles melted but the steel/iron parts only coated and apparently undamaged. I bought a 12" by 54" Craftsman lathe still coated with roofing materials from him to both give him working space and provide some working capitol for the clean up. It is cleaning up well so far and everything I have checked so far will be fully usable after cleaning and reapplying oil/grease. There are some exceptions: the Aluminum Hand-wheels and cranks are all partially melted and will be replaced by used items; The plastic knobs are also in need of replacements but are still available from Sears at affordable prices and I have ordered new ones.
One thing I will probably have to 'live with' is his helpers were not familiar with moving lathes and tried to pick it up with a forklift under the 'drip tray', bending it toward the lathe bed, so now it has a 'hump' that will not allow it to be used with flood lube for machining ever again. Replacement Pans are NOT available from Sears. As this lathe is of the 'under drive' design rather than the 'bench top' design, no belts were damaged in the fire and the low mounted reversing switch knob is still intact. The 'portable' power cord it had is missing its plug, outer jacket and some of the individual wire insulation so will be replaced along with the wiring in armor flex that was subjected to heat but not direct fire. The motor looks like it is intact but I have not had it out to check thoroughly yet. It is a three phase motor, so I will need to either get a single phase to three phase converter or replace it with a single phase motor.

Over all, Joe is still trying to get his shop back up and running again so could use any and all help he can get, both by selling parts and cleaned up dies, or by physical help in the cleanup and repairs.
His wife and daughter are more interested in getting a livable house of course.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[LUBEDUDE]

Thanks for the update Chev. Glad you were able to help them out a bit. Wish I lived close enough to scrounge about and buy some Hollywood Equipment, parts and such.
Sure wish them the best.

[Chev. William]

Lubedude,
You might try contacting them and asking about what you might need, I think Joe has a basic idea of what is still usable that he still has on hand. Understand they are not yet up and running, just in clean up and save what they can mode at he moment. Good wishes and offers to buy parts would give them some better reasons to continue trying.
Best Regards,

[LUBEDUDE]

Chev, sent Ya a PM

[Chev. William]

LubeDude,
PM Reply sent.
Best Regards,
Chev. William

[Chev. William]

I now have a new replacement Frankford Vibratory Tumbler up and running a load of 'dirty' Hollywood dies. It seems to take between 8 and 12 hours to get all the adherent roofing material and condensed smoke off them. Then I run a Bore brush into the bores to remove the internal build up. I leave the final wire brushing of the exterior surfaces to others who have a bench, or pedestal, mounted wire brush. i would have to borrow a friend's shop to do the wire brushing.

For those who are interested, Joe and Margaret Mueller may be reached via email at "cadqueenel1@aol.com" or by mail at "Hollywood Engineering, 10642 Arminta Street,
Sun Valley, CA 91352". the Shop phone is hooked up again but only rings in the front of the property and Joe may not hear it when he is in the shop in the back of the property. The number is "818-842-8376".
Best Regards,
Chev. William