Who is Going To Carry The Torch?

[LUBEDUDE]

Pertaining to vintage reloading equipment mainly pre 60's; it seems that the primary collectors are old guys, Baby Boomers, Korean War guys, and some Greatest Generation.
I obviously don't know all of the collectors or their ages. But it just just seems the bulk of us are older.

Are the 30, 40 yr olds interested in these fine old tools? Or are they so caught up in this mega fast pace smart phone computer progressive loader society that these old tools will become rust collectors?

Will they carry the history forward?

Lastly, some of us have more money invested in vintage reloading than many shooters have in their gun collections, or in their own gun collection!

So who will be there to buy this equipment from the heirs in 20, 30 years at a worthy price?

Any thoughts? Any young bucks collecting?
129411129412

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I am 32 years old and enjoy my older reloading equipment (and the history) WAY more than my newer stuff.

[LUBEDUDE]

ICH - you were one of the ones that suspected was younger- thankfully. :)

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Old Farts (like me) always worry about such things. Young farts seldom let you know a thing. I have two son in laws. The one I thought would be interested in shooting isn't and the one I thought least likely to be interested is very much interested. Ironically, he's the one that doesn't share much information with older folks, but he listens real good.:)

[btroj]

I will be 49 next weekend. I don't collect reloading tools, I use them.
I don't get excited over the vintage, collectable, original, or other used tools. A tool either works or it doesn't. Period. I research a tool well before I buy and if it doesn't fit a need it doesn't get bought.
I use two presses right now, a Redding T7 and a Dillon 550B. No need for more on the bench although I do have an older Lee Challenger and a Rockchucker. They just don't have a current use for me.

It isn't about age, it is a mindset. My father in law collects moulds to a degree. He loves playing with a variety of moulds and loads. I'm of the mind that uses a single mould and load for most shooting. Neither is right, neither is wrong, we each have a style that works for us.

Find someone who will appreciate your old tools. They ARE out there, they just don't live under my roof.

[country gent]

I like to see it when I start out a beginner loading rifle rounds using my equipment. My press is new a RCBS Summit. but Ised a coax and older rockchucker also to teach. My powder measure of choice is a Belding and Mull for odds and ends and either a Lymann 55 with culiver conversion or Harrels. My dies date back to some used I bought that were new before I was born. The new guys are amazed at the age shape of my equipment and how it still performs. Several in the mid 20s I have started also looked for the older equipment for thier benches. I have made alot of tooling over the years. WHen they ask if I can make them something I tell them No I will help you make it though.

[jmort]

It is only conjecture as to what the market will be like for vintage reloading equipment in the future. I would not be surprised to learn, in the fullness of time, that we were, or are at the top of the market and that prices will diminish. Firearms are a different story.

[texassako]

If I had more space, I would probably be a collector of useable pieces. I have a modest collection of old powder measures since they are easy to store and use in limited space. They are more user condition rather than clean display condition. I am not sure I would ever become an advanced collector of each variation of items since I like to use my collectibles.

[Geppetto]

I'm 30, and I am happy to use vintage equipment when I can find it at a good price. I have an orange lyman Spar-T that I love using. I would be thrilled to use some old hollywood presses or stars,etc. but the price is just to darn high. I also think the prices will start coming down as more and more of the equipment hits the markets at (unfortunately) estate sales, etc. I'll be happy to start buying, cleaning, and using that equipment when that time comes.

[MrWolf]

I'm gonna be the double nickel in a few months and take basically the same aproach btroj does. If I got it I use it but get the best tools while doing it.

Ron

[danthman114]

im 40 and as time gos on i enjoy doing it the way my great grandfather did it. eventually ill be doing it how my family did it back in the revoultionary war. but for now, im still using my "modern" tools. i like the idea of doing it in camp out of a small kit...

[salpal48]

Sorry to say Old tool collectors and Users are few and far between. I.m 67 that's the only One's I use . Over the years I have all types. when I go there probably Curb side or worst Garage sale

[ballistim]

I'll have a CH "H" press before all is said and done.

[prsman23]

I like the old lee loaders. Many of the presses that come around on this site or locally are the price you can pay for a new lee or even RCBS. I just bought a new Rockchucker for 110 shipped. If I see an old press for a good price I'll pick it up. Just hasn't happened yet. I think Illinois coyote hunter snatches them all up around here :-)

[C. Latch]

If you enjoy collecting and using older tools, that's great, but deluding yourself into thinking there's virtue in the use of old tools merely because they - or you - are old, is silly.

I'm sure there's a parallel forum somewhere on the internet where a white-haired biddy is showing off her collection of fine shoes from the 1920's and complaining about how 'they just don't make 'em like that anymore'.

[seagiant]

If you enjoy collecting and using older tools, that's great, but deluding yourself into thinking there's virtue in the use of old tools merely because they - or you - are old, is silly.

I'm sure there's a parallel forum somewhere on the internet where a white-haired biddy is showing off her collection of fine shoes from the 1920's and complaining about how 'they just don't make 'em like that anymore'.

Hi,
Ha! That's because "They don't make them like that anymore!" A Hollywood press, a STAR progressive, a RCBS A2 press?

The list goes on and on, where you are buying an old used press that is made FAR better than ANY comparable made today!

As far as shoes go,50 yrs ago most shoe were made by hand and were of a quality that they could be resoled and used for years and a shoe repair shop was a honored and respected profession! Today not so much, with rubber molded in soles and a throw away quality!

Just sayin,quality always shows, but you have to be able to appreciate it!!!

[1Shirt]

there is a strong need for reloaders (old and new) to go back to basics once in awhile. Every now and then I will load some O6 or 308 with a 310 tool and lee dippers. Usually as/if not more accurate than on modern tools.
1Shirt!

[BullGoose]

I'm 45 and just delving into older reloading tools. There is a great satisfaction in using the old tools, in the same way as using carved wood decoys to bring ducks to the call. It is a treat to use a press that is my age or older to load excellent quality 9mm rounds, two at a time, with a press driving 1.25" rams. Likewise, it is a pleasure to load 45 Colt rounds with a Lyman/Ideal 310 tool. One could well imagine doing so while the beans simmered around a cattle drive campfire. Thank the good Lord and John Moses Browning, that is not necessary, but it adds a bit of romance to the hobby to know that such a thing would be possible. Antique tools hearken back to a time that seems, in hindsight at least, simpler and more pure. It's a bonus that many of them work so very very well.

[JSnover]

All we can do is pass it along as best we can. After we're gone it will be up to them.

[44Vaquero]

I ride the fence on this issue, I like shiny new things and appreciate old equipment with it's connection to the past. Being 49 and a child of Baby-Boomers most of my friends on this page and others always seem to be about 10 years older +/- a year or two.

I think there is room in the Man-Cave for everyone and many of the younger reloaders will in time begin to appreciate all types of reloading equipment old and new!

[cuzinbruce]

I have been selling antiques and collectibles for some years and I have to say that the interest in collecting anything is way down. Not just reloading tools, but art pottery, tools, stamps, cameras, oriental rugs, and all the other categories I can think of. The people who were collectors are getting to ages where they aren't collecting as much and nobody is replacing them so prices have come down. That and estates and collections getting broken up. That is my experience.

[dragon813gt]

I have no interest in the Hollywood presses in the original post. There is no need for me to buy anything like that. I don't own a progressive. I have a LCC and LCT. Both of them will still be working when I'm gone, I'm currently 35. If I won't use a tool often I won't buy it. Some niche tools are exceptions. And work tools are completely different because I make money w/ them. Reloading is a hobby and while I've invested thousands in it I do make frugal decisions.

Maybe my view will change when I fit out the basement in my garage. I currently don't leave presses set up permanently. I just don't see the need to collect them.

[EDG]

For me the quality of the process is the most important result. Much of that comes from the dies and not the other items.
A lot of the old stuff is only that. It is just old and has little technical merit today.
It might be big, heavy, expensive and have a cool coat of wrinkle paint but it is not necessarily any better than my 1970s equipment.

Of the old stuff there are a few heavy presses I would not mind owning like an A2, or the Pacific/Bair.

[jmorris]

As prices go up the number of buyers go down.

With the exception of one press I have, I still use them all.

My 1st generation Camaros I sold off years ago now, when I thought prices were high. One like my '69 sold at an auction I was watching the other day for more than $100,000. I call that stupid, having owned them (not to mention not selling them at that price) but I might as well collect gold at that point. Nothing to break on an element, even after a disaster like a fire, earthquake, etc, it is still worth the same. If I had kept them long enough to view them as too valuable to drive, they would not have been near as much fun.

If you just want someone to "carry the torch", PM me the address I need to send postage to and I promise to give it a good home and let them load rounds. If it's a museum piece donate it to one of them. I have and use a lot of tools that are older than me and some that are older than my Father but they were for the most part handed down.

Or "passing the torch".

[gwpercle]

At first I was thinking no one after us is going to want this old stuff, but now I'm not so sure.
I still have and drive daily a 1968 Chevy Malibu, a lot of young people stop , ask questions and tell me how much they like it. Two young girls begged me to let them drive it, I finally said yes but they couldn't do a 4 on the floor, so settled for a ride. They enjoyed the muscle car experience.
Turntables and LP records are coming back. Cap and ball revolvers are still selling. Took a reproduction Colt 1862 Pocket Police to the range last time and every younger person there put down their plastic wonder-nine and took turns shooting it. They thought it was cool!
My nephew's wife, she might be 25, is into quilting. when I told her about the maple leaf design quilt my grandmother made my mom and dad when they got married, 70 years ago, she got so excited, I had to send her photo's of it when I got back home (I know who get the quilt when I pass it on). I also have a Bair/Pacific Super Deluxe Press that a young man I shoot with would love to have when I'm done.
So I'm no longer worried, I think some of the younger generation do and will realize the value of these things and will take them and put them to good use. Not all of them are computer driven!
Gary

[troyboy]

A tool is just that. I try to use the best one for the job. I've tried many of the old reloading tools to see for myself. Quality is made today with the advancement in technology superior in many ways to yesteryear.

[jmorris]

A tool is just that. I try to use the best one for the job. I've tried many of the old reloading tools to see for myself. Quality is made today with the advancement in technology superior in many ways to yesteryear.

Like everything, it just depends.

Many things today are made to be disposable or very short life at best. Is technology bad? No.

Does it mean that new is always better? No.

Many "new" things in life don't have the same "life span” as older tech. Cars and tractors being two examples off the top of my head but there are many others.

To keep it on a reloading topic Dillon machines remain the tool of the competitive or "volume" shooters and they haven't changed much in decades.

Then again if you could buy a Ford or Chevy that would do everything you ever need and has a lifetime warrenty, there wouldn't be any new technology.

It's planned obsolence, by the time you finish making payments, it's worth little.

[DonMountain]

I think reloading and hunting are declining over the years. Although there seems to be a spurt of reloading frenzy and ammunition buying and gun buying after a certain political party comes into office. And I think the really heavy duty presses were all developed back in the 60's and 70's when certain pieces of equipment like reloading presses had real bearings in them and heavy cast iron and aluminum frames. But now as the reloading population declines and everybody plays with their cell phone instead of reloading or shooting, I will continue to collect old stuff being sold on eBay from garage sales and auctions. At pretty cheap prices. And eventually I will have all of your "collector" presses too. That is, if I outlast you! But I only buy what I use and I probably won't wear out any of these 1960 built presses. If it has plastic parts on it, it isn't old enough for me. Except for maybe the new plastic wad guides that came out 30 years ago in the shotgun shell reloading presses.

[xman777]

I'm 31 and I collect all sorts of odds and ends from back in the day. I do a lot of estate shopping and have scored several fine presses.
Also I develop processes for semiconductor manufacturers who wind up making those fancy new high speed/low drag machines you speak of. As part of the nostalgia of my career I also collect ancient computer hardware, ie: bits and bytes. Theres never a day when my customers won't ask me where I found some of the goodies I display.
I am an old soul though. I just love the look and feel of the older generation of engineering. Everything was built well back then and not disposable.

[ascast]

Most of my shooting is rifle, slow fire target work. My '70's Rock chucker does most of the heavy haulin. The Bonanza Co-Ax does a lot of work also. A Belding & Mull handles the black powder, ( or a Lyman #5 or #6) otherwise the RCBS.
That said, I have over 50 presses; Lyman 310's types included. I like seeing the improvement of the presses, dies etc that seem to track (time wise) the improvement in powder, brass, the economy in general. I use one of the Schmitt's once in a while, or the Belding and Mull. Maybe a Pacific PAK-IT tool or the English tool. Or maybe the Jordan.
And oddly, none off my shooting buddies, or gun nut buddies would give less of a flip. To them it's all scrap iron.
"sell it all and get someth8ing good !"
I don't get it at all.

ps I would like a modern progressive for rifle, Dillon maybe...lol

[joesig]

The reloaders will follow.

[HGS]

After a lifetime of reloading --- My Hollywoods are just one small jewell of my loading Tool collection..

HGS

One at a time

[jmorris]

As part of the nostalgia of my career I also collect ancient computer hardware

I remember the TRS 80 and rotary phone modems. Another good example that older is not always better. 15 minutes to load Asteroids onto the computer using a cassette tape....

[Love Life]

Price.

If I find an older tool or press for a very good price, then I'll buy. However, when collectors price older tools within spitting distance of a new tool/press with warranty, then I'll take the new tool/press all day every day...and twice on Sunday.

My garage is not a museum and I am not a curator.

There is this idea that older equals better in terms of quality because it was made "When people cared", but that is lost on me as all my current presses load very accurate ammo very easily.

[ReloaderFred]

I'm one of the "old goats", but I'm still going strong at 70. My two Hollywood presses still get used, as well as my Rockchucker and Hornady LNL. My real gem is the Load-a-Matic progressive press set up for .38 Special from the late 1940's-early 1950's. Now, if I only had enough room for all of them to be set up continually, instead of unbolting, installing, etc.........

Somebody will be picking through my stuff after I'm gone, and I just hope they appreciate what they're looking at and it doesn't end up at the scrap yard or dump.......

Hope this helps.

Fred

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Lovelife didn't you just buy a Star?

[Love Life]

Star was significantly cheaper than the 1050.

[Pressman]

Who will pass the torch?

I began collecting reloading tools in 1989 when I was given a Herter’s Model 3 press and a 1964 catalog. After reading the catalog I was hooked, I just had to have some of those fine Herter’s tools. I had begun reloading at age 17 in 1967 with a Lyman 310 tool, #55 powder measure and Lyman scale. Later I upgraded to a Tru-Line Jr press. I still have all those original tools today, most in their original box.

Unlike the tool users, I am a collector by nature. I like to collect things. No, I am not a hoarder, my wife is though. I can through things out if necessary.

After returning from Kuwait in 1992 I began seriously searching for old reloading tools. With the acquisition of a computer capable of internet access in 1998 I discovered eBay and the collection has really grown since then.

Why collect old tools, because they fascinate me. Actually I like old things, old cars, old trucks, old guns, old houses, even steam locomotives. I like history.

I look at the problem – a fired brass case needs to be reloaded. The many different approaches people took to reload that case is very intriguing. Some were practical, some are overly complicated, some didn’t work very well, some worked better than expected. As I chase down the history, I get to meet the people involved, sort of, as most are no longer with us. A lot of them were real characters, some were near genius, but all had a vision.

For you young guys worried about tomorrow, it is worth worrying about, but for another reason. It is us old guys that have the time and resources to collect today, it has always been that way. We have the experience of life to guide us in our passion for understanding the past. We do not mind if there seems to be a lag in interest right now, which just means we can acquire more tools for less money.

Collecting anything is a passion. There will always be someone with that passion.
Ken

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Star was significantly cheaper than the 1050.

Comparing a Star to a 1050 is like comparing apples to oranges. Granted, I do understand the history of the Star, and the subsequent 1050...but there are too many differences to even compare them. The Star should be better compared to a 550 or even the 650 (kind of stretching it). I bet that what you paid for the Star you could have got a brand new 550, or been within "spitting distance" of a new 650. :-P

[tazman]

Just remember folks. At one time we were the ones that our ancestors wondered if we would carry on where they left off. They passed the torch to us. We will pass it to the next generation.
I expect the previous generation was just as skeptical of us as we are of the next one.
There is good and bad in every generation. The ones who care will carry the torch we hand them and hand it down to their descendants just as we do.

[Love Life]

The 650 sucks and I already have a 550.

Let me rephrase that. I do not like the 650.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Oh. I was just wondering because you said if the price was close or the same you would buy the new equipment over the old equipment any day of the week...and twice on Sundays. I am kind of surprised you went with the old equipment in this case, especially since parts for Stars can be hard to find and expensive. Well I have 4 Dillon 550s so if you want to trade for the newer equipment just let me know. I will even pay the postage for both of us.

[bedbugbilly]

I think that there are probably a lot of young folks out there who not only reload but have an interest in history and will also develop an interest in older, vintage reloading equipment - if not now, then as they get older.

Do the older tools work better than the shine new ones - I guess that's up to the user and what they think. I worked in the woodworking industry for a long time - had a custom millwork and cabinet shop. Over the years, there have been a lot of new tools and technology - but - are they that much better? I used many hand tools from my chest that were well over 100 years old - and yes - I do believe they were "built better" . . . and they did the job. I had a gentleman working for me who could make a window sash with his Stanley multi-plane quicker than I could do on my shaper with the various set ups I had to make.

In the long run . . . many of the older reloading tools are built better than is what made today - cast iron versus cast aluminum or plastic - but both will get the job done so the interpretation is up to the beholder. I do know that I can do a better job with my steel Ideal 310 tongs than with the Lyman aluminum. Yep - both get the job done but the "feel" of the well built steel tongs is much more pleasurable to use.

I'm and old fart - my wife and I don't have kids. I have a number of antique and vintage reloading tools as well as new ones. When I'm gone - they will mean nothing to her nor will she really know how to dispose of them. My hope is that the whole kit and kabutle will find its way into a hands of a younger person who will enjoy it, use it and when it's time, pass it on to another generation.

In the end . . . we may "buy" our equipment . . especially antiques and collectibles . . but we're really only the "caretakers" of it until it's time to go to the next generation. That's why it's important to work with and share it with younger guys so that they can learn to appreciate those things and pass the history along.

[Love Life]

I'll trade for 3 of your 550's.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Is it worth 3 550s?

[Love Life]

I would say so.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

So why did you get the Star? You could have bought an equivalent modern press and still been money ahead.

[Love Life]

Why did you eat lunch today?

It's cheaper than 1050.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Uh huh... and I bought my Chevy 1500 because the Maserati was too expensive...

[Love Life]

Say what you want to say. You want to say I bought a star as a collectors item. Don't ***** foot about it. I bought it because:

Sits flat on bench
High load rate
Has case feeder
Dedicated by lack of easy changeover
Status symbol to show people I have disposable income to spend on no longer manufactured items

Continue your game to try and force me into a corner. It is getting annoying, you are ruining this thread, but I'll keep playing.

[seagiant]

Hi,
You guys are "funny"!

If it wasn't for the STAR Progressive (1920's) there would be no Super 1050! Don't believe it? Ask Mike Dillon!

[Bazoo]

I am 31, i prefer the older stuff. I prefer older guns too. I prefer single stage, and single cavity moulds also.

[RKJ]

LL/ICH I was kind of enjoying the banter. :)

[s1120]

Well I guess I fall in the center... not old yet, but to old to be young... that being said im just a few months away from hitting 50, and I love working on old stuff. ranted im not in any hurry, but working on the old, simple, stuff just fits with me. I like the history, and the fact that it has stood the test of time for many generations. Right now the stuff I have isn't THAT old... Im using my Dads old second gen truline Jr press, and a first gen Lee Challenger. Im always on the look out for a nice old cast C, or O press though.

[NavyVet1959]

Two of the bench top powder measures that I have are an older SAECO and a newer Lee. Although they both do the same job and are probably just as accurate, there's something about that old cast iron SAECO that makes you want to keep it and fix it if it breaks whereas the Lee is more of a throw away and buy a new one type of thing.

It's the same way with the plastic firearms. In 75 years, a current M1911 (or even a Beretta 92) will be considered a classic and a Glock will just be considered a piece of old plastic. Of course, that's assuming the plastic actually *lasts* that long.

People collect the strangest things though. Used to know someone who collected Nash Metropolitan cars. Is that any stranger than the person who collects bar coasters or snow globes?

[seagiant]

Hi,
Did somebody say, SAECO Powder Measure????

[Three44s]

I just "collected" a standard RCBS bench priming tool ........... but I'll just do one!

It came with only one punch .... large primers.

I called RCBS twice .... the first time a woman told me they did not support that tool anymore ....

I rechecked their web site and found that in fact the parts I needed were being used in their Ram Prime and their Automatic bench priming tool.

So, I called them back and got instant satisfaction ...........

............ and FREE too!

As far as stuff that's a bit older ........ I have a pair of Tru-lines ... I scratch my head "Why?" .......... a Herters super swager ...... but I need more dies ...... a triple lunger Pacific ....... a Texan single stage shotgun press ....... a Pacific 366 press (also shot shell) ....

........ and I have an old powder measure I'll have to dust off the try and figure out ......... what it is as well.

So I am helping a little ...... in my later 50's!

Three 44s

[seagiant]

Hi,
Remember when dealing with RCBS that if they don't have a part to try Huntington the parent company! http://www.huntingtons.com/

[Three44s]

Oh .... thanks, I forgot about them!

Best regards

Three 44s

[smokeywolf]

I'm a Hollywood fan. I wish I could say I'll carry the torch, but in 20 to 30 years I'll likely be pushin' up daisies.

[ballistim]

I've held off on buying a progressive press for rifle & am holding out for an "H" press , although I might end up buying a new one from CH4D.

[osteodoc08]

Just saw this thread. I'm "young" at 33. I appreciate the older stuff. It just seems that someone else with more time then I have to spend on S&S snags the good stuff before I have a chance, either that or I don't have the fun money available or tied up. I try my best to set a monthly fun money budget and seperate it out into reloading/hunting/gun equipment and "new" gun money and savings for the just in case fund. No worries though. I'll keep trying to get some of the "good stuff".

[gloob]

I am fully aware of how some tools are NOT built the way they used to be. In some specific instances, modern manufacturing has "cheapened" certain things in a way that makes them less durable. But when well-designed, cheaper and less durable materials/processes can be used only where it doesn't matter. So in many ways, things are built differently simply because they didn't have the same manufacturing tools and processes back then, and designs have evolved. If they had those same tools and knowledge back then, they would have been making stuff similar to what we are making today, no doubt. In many cases, anyway.

So just because an older tool was built a certain way that cost way more (when figured for inflation) doesn't necessarily make it better or more durable a tool. Although, in general, more attention was paid to longevity and finish. This is only natural that the more time and money it costs to make something, the more one would care about these things. If you could crank out a replacement for $30.00 worth of time and materials, then you do not care as much if this bearing or that strut might break or wear out in 10 years.

I get a chuckle when I hear how an original RCBS Rock Chucker will still be around in 100 years for one's heirs to use. I don't particularly care if my grandchildren will be loading ammo or shooting guns, at all, let alone which press they use. And if I did care, I wouldn't be intentionally cursing future generations with a rather antiquated spent primer collection system.

There are some exceptions, or course. I am intrigued by Star lube-sizers. It seems like they have advantages that aren't matched by current designs. And I have seen some interesting shotgun reloading equipment from years gone by that don't have a similar modern equivalent.

[mold maker]

OMG ! It just dawned on me. Next week I'll be 73, and my first press is still mounted on the bench.
There have been quiet a few replacements brought home, but the RCBS Junior is still a go to item. My old Ideal cast iron power measure is in Lymans museum and they replaced it for me with a New (at the time) Orange one. The black Ideal size/lube unit also went back to them for a new 450. I was afraid I'd abuse the older pieces and they didn't have those units for display.
I too have original 310 tooling along with True line presses. There is an older Texan 12 ga press with a Mec 600 keeping it company in a big ammo box.
No I'm not a collector. Reloading stuff just finds a home under and on my bench. I got my start in a washtub of odds and ends at an estate sale. Guess someday it will be offered in another, but not in a washtub I hope.

[NavyVet1959]

I get a chuckle when I hear how an original RCBS Rock Chucker will still be around in 100 years for one's heirs to use. I don't particularly care if my grandchildren will be loading ammo or shooting guns, at all, let alone which press they use. And if I did care, I wouldn't be intentionally cursing future generations with a rather antiquated spent primer collection system.

On my old RCBS single-stage press, my "spent primer collection system" was "deprime on a tile floor and sweep & vacuum periodically".

[Blanco]

While I do enjoy the history of reloading. I have always purchased and used what was needed. My reloading room has a limited amount of space, that is quite full. My "Vintage" stuff is a cheesy old open frame Lee press and an old Lyman Spartan. I have used both but have no room for them on my bench. I am considering making the framework to turn one of them upside down and size boolits through backwards.
the other press may wind up on the Swap & Trade. I have a feeling it may be the Lyman...

[starnbar]

I started out with a lee handloader which my father gave me to reload 38 with I got a rcbs press in 71 just after I got married and still use that press along with 4 other presses 2 of which are progressives still have the old lee handloader too.

[fng]

a few of you mentioned Star... I like Star.

[gnoahhh]

I just turned 62 and use whatever tools- old or new- that get the job done to my satisfaction (but which are mostly newer on my bench). I love old cars, old guns, old whiskey, and (now) old women (who woulda thunk THAT, at 25 years of age). Old handloading tools, not so much. Old presses and bullet lubrisizers that came from name brand makers that had ram holes mis-aligned, cheap balance beam scales (which were only ones available to we poor handloaders) that were god-only-knows how accurate, bullet molds that were grossly out of dimension, and dies that maybe were or maybe not dimensionally correct, to name a few. The old days were "good" in a lot of respects, but not in the way of handloading gear in general, IMO. Sure there were some gems from back in the 40/50/60's that deserve to be kept in service (if they're still within spec), but I don't seek them out for nostalgia reasons.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

***, are those all Stars? Phelps? A Combination?

I like 'em!!!!!

[fng]

Hello ICH,
Thought you might like them Tony.
the one on the box is a Phelps Deluxe, the rest are Stars
-Fred, new guy

[Rolling Stone]

***,
It looks like you for sure have the disease. That is a good looking group. I sold my only lubrisizer to a neighbor about a year ago, then borrowed it back to do some .45's. I would have to look for them but I should have a .357 and .452 dies and no machine. I finally got around to building raised bases for the Stars I run the most. All three of them have case feeders, indexers, 2 have case kickers (9mm and .45 acp). I have made powder bushings for all thickness powder slides and calibrated them to the powders I use. I have started doing my priming on a bench primer since I got a few small primer .45s mixed in and then got a bunch of 9mm that had swaged primers. That will ruin your day with a progressive. There was a guy selling Star attachments on ebay that I have copied and turned my presses around and raise the lever with my left hand and insert bullets with my right, instead of the normal way. Helps tremendously. I have several other old presses that I use with my .223 bullet swaging. I like to set my presses up and leave them instead of changing stuff all the time. Someone mentioned they are lusting for a CH4D "H" press. I have a four station one of them set up doing pointing work. I would think the leverage wouldn't be satisfactory for big rifle reloading. IMOpinion. Probably before long I will thin the herd of a couple of nice .38 machines that I have and don't plan on using anymore. I'd rather trade than sell anyway.

[fng]

Hello Rolling Stone,
Yes I've been bit by the Star bug, and I know what you mean about them danged small primers, just wait till they come out with the medium size ! Priming separately is nice... won't put a crimp in your day. Heard of others who've turned the press and think I'll try it see how it works for me.
I'm pretty new to Star, can't pass up a good deal, just got a nice one in .44-40 with Hulme & hoag and lots of goodies 5 caliber changes incl nos 9mm & .380 dies & shell plates, seller asked cheap. Sis is gonna mule a few for me on her way back from the sunshine state tomorrow 3 stars a phelps and a cpm, chevron, other goodies. The herd is growing.

[gunshot98]

This is great. I got my 60 yr old sister buying me presses. She call a month ago and said she was at a second hand store looking at a old shotgun press. I asked what kind. She said dont know, it's red , and tall and has plastic bottles on it. I said, how much they want for it. She said $15, is that too much? I said BUY IT! Got it home, Its a MEC 7000 series and the only thing missing is the primer. I was so happy.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Nice score!

[WarEagleEd]

I'm in my thirties and appreciate old presses. I got my first two presses from my dad (1960s Lyman Spar-T & early '70s Rockchucker). I recently picked up an Echo C press (pre-1962, I think) and plan on using it as my decapping press. I didn't really need it, but I think it, like other old presses, are pretty cool. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a Lachmiller Powerhouse press, though I don't really need it either.

However, just like prsman23 said, some people are so proud of their old presses.

[Geezer in NH]

Getting older bites it but even if not related to you someone will buy from your estate and cherish some of your collection.

That is the best you can hope for IMHO, you will be gone and will never know.