Hollywood Automatic Shotshell Reloader

[beeser]

xxxxx

[LUBEDUDE]

The Hollywood Automatic Shotgun Reloader is rare. In my opinion there were probably only between 100-200 of these made. And really that is a very liberal estimate and should lean towards the low side. Because of this I believe the base loader, even in poor condition missing parts may be worth a start at $500 and may go as high as $1000.

Condition, parts, and options are everything. The more you have, the more it's worth!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/07/236d065b2816fdd97bfacdcc574167c9.jpg

[beeser]

Thanks for responding LUBEDUDE! The Hollywood shown in the picture looks great, a far cry from the condition of the one I saw. Did you restore this yourself or did you find it in that condition?

[LUBEDUDE]

I only had to clean it up. I also elected not to reinstall the auto actuator for the powder and shot. It was not made right and needs significant mods beyond my capabilities. It is a different actuator than the one shown on the other site that you posted on. Hollywood made two different auto actuators.

I only knew of one guy on that other site that had any actual experience with the Hollywood Automatic. And I believe he moved out of the country a few years ago. I forgot his name. So it doesn't surprise me that no one knew anything. They are great with the modern shotgun loaders though.

Best to you on your acquisition. I hope that you can acquire it at a fair price. Please post before and after pics! :)

[Tracvision]

Thats a nice lookin' auto Lube. I'll be out your way in a week or two.

[LUBEDUDE]

Thats a nice lookin' auto Lube. I'll be out your way in a week or two.
Thank you.

Be sure to give me a shout!

[HGS]

Lube

Again, you have made me drool over a Hollywood Loading Press. Having to buy a new keyboard every time you post new pictures is getting expensive.

Congrads to both of you on your taste in loading tools.

HGS

[LUBEDUDE]

Lube

Again, you have made me drool over a Hollywood Loading Press. Having to buy a new keyboard every time you post new pictures is getting expensive.

Congrads to both of you on your taste in loading tools.

HGS

HGS - Thank You, that is quite a compliment coming from the "King" of Hollywood collections and displays!

[beeser]

.... Best to you on your acquisition. I hope that you can acquire it at a fair price. Please post before and after pics! :)

I finally acquired the Hollywood Automatic. Here it is in its present condition. Any suggestions on restoring it besides a good soaking of penetrating oil?

143407

[beeser]

After only a cursory look so far at the Hollywood Automatic I'm even more intrigued by its design. This is the first reloading press I've seen that uses gears to index the shell plate. The gears alone in this thing would probably cost more to manufacture than an entire MEC single stage press.

[LUBEDUDE]

Congrats on your acquisition!

If not found locally, go to Amazon and get some Evapo-Rust. Unless you need penetrating oil to get the dies and other parts off. Applying heat and tapping with a hammer works well also for removal of stubborn threads.

[flashhole]

I want to follow this thread. More pics during the refurb please.

[beeser]

I looked into the Evapo-Rust but didn't like some of the reviews it got. Apparently it leaves a coating on the steel instead of just removing the rust. I tried the electrolysis method a few days ago on an old and very rusty arbor press and was very impressed with the results. After only a few hours all of the rust was gone and the slimy black stuff that remained easily came off with a wire brush and clean water. I may use this method on the press. I have it soaking in PB Blaster for now. As it turned out the rust isn't as bad as the picture shows. It's only light surface rust without any pitting. I'm going to give it a little more thought and put a plan of action together before starting the restoration.

[Tracvision]

I looked into the Evapo-Rust but didn't like some of the reviews it got. Apparently it leaves a coating on the steel instead of just removing the rust. I tried the electrolysis method a few days ago on an old and very rusty arbor press and was very impressed with the results. After only a few hours all of the rust was gone and the slimy black stuff that remained easily came off with a wire brush and clean water. I may use this method on the press. I have it soaking in PB Blaster for now. As it turned out the rust isn't as bad as the picture shows. It's only light surface rust without any pitting. I'm going to give it a little more thought and put a plan of action together before starting the restoration.

Beeser, Just wondering how your restoration is progressing. For the base pedestal, I use PB Blaster and 600 wet. Work it like a shoe shine. The HW metal usually comes back to life like new.

[flashhole]

Yeah, we need some recent pics. I hope you get it back to like-new condition.

[beeser]

I haven't made much progress in the restoration except to remove the light surface rust with PB Blaster and some 0000 steel wool on the column. I was surprised how much of the rust just wiped away and as mentioned before there was no pitting even on the bare steel column. I'll eventually tear it all down and clean it up better but haven't had the time lately. It's truly an interesting machine and well made. The only mechanical disappointment I've discovered so far has to do with the indexing of the shell plate, which is accomplished by a simple T-post and cam. Since the indexing also moves 3 gears there is enough force required that the T-post and cam action gets a bit gritty. I would've been happier had there been a couple of roller bearings where the two make contact. I think that would smooth things out. I haven't been able to get the hulls to drop automatically yet. The slide doesn't move enough to clear the hull. That needs to be worked on. And I haven't tried the wad and card dispenser yet. I'll post again when more progress is made.

[Bent Ramrod]

The "coating" left on the metal by Evapo-Rust is pretty easily removed just by judicious application of a fine wire brush. It seems to be more a layer of loosened, stabilized rust than something generated by the Evapo-Rust itself.

The great thing about Evapo-Rust is that you can pile the rusty parts in a bucket, fill it with the liquid and leave the stuff with no worries about evaporation and filling the garage with fumes, like Liquid Wrench and other organic solvents do. As long as the parts are under the liquid, they are protected from after rusting, and this protection is afforded even if the part is exposed, as long as the Evapo-Rust isn't washed off. Meanwhile, it is working while you are doing something else. Then wiping with steel wool, light hand brushing with a fine wire brush, or even wiping with rags under a garden hose, will get you down to clean metal.

I've found the stuff can be reused until it is an opaque rust color. Then it can be disposed of like soapy water, because it's advertised as being Environmentally Correct. I have no connection with the company, and generally regard Environmentally Benign products as being more effective at Saving the Planet than doing the job they are purchased for, but Evapo-Rust is definitely an exception to the general rule.

It will loosen the remains of the original paint on the part, along with the rust, however. If you don't want to lose any original finish, some other method of rust removal is indicated.

[BACK]

I have to say you have found one of the best shot shell loaders ever built. I have several shot shell loaders and the one I enjoy using the most is my Hollywood Automatic. I have not used the card wad dispenser for years but do use the plastic wad insertion dies successfully. I have loaded thousands of rounds on the old Hollywood and simply love using it. Oh, by the way the serial number on mine is 118. I would love to see more pictures of your rebuild and if I can help in any way let me know.

[beeser]

I have to say you have found one of the best shot shell loaders ever built. I have several shot shell loaders and the one I enjoy using the most is my Hollywood Automatic. I have not used the card wad dispenser for years but do use the plastic wad insertion dies successfully. I have loaded thousands of rounds on the old Hollywood and simply love using it. Oh, by the way the serial number on mine is 118. I would love to see more pictures of your rebuild and if I can help in any way let me know.

I'm unfamiliar with the "plastic wad insertion dies" used on the Automatic. How does that work?

The number stamped onto mine is 228.

[BACK]

The plastic wad insertion dies for the Hollywood loader, to the best of my knowledge, is one of two options. The first one offered as an addition to the original tool and was two dies; one the opened to case mouth out round and the second station was a open top die with a wad guide inside to allow manual insertion of a plastic wad by hand. this was not the fastest approach but it woks and I have loaded thousands of rounds this way. The second option was a conversion offered by Hollywood that allowed automatic, well kind of automatic, insertion of plastic wads but required the option ordered at the time of build or shipping your entire press back to Hollywood for the conversion. The original presses were designed for loading shot shells with fiber wads as I am sure you know. later in the game plastic wads became the standard and have remained so until quite recently. I am told fiber wads are making a slight come back for some shooting and can be purchased on a limited basis. In my opinion fiber wads are the best option for the Skeet range and most Sporting Clays. The fiber wad allows the choke in the gun bore to act in the shot column where the plastic wads seem to negate the choke's effect to some extent.

[gwpercle]

Awesome find beeser, that is really something. SWEET !!
I've rescued a few rusty things and two old presses, have had good results soaking parts in kerosene. Last press was a a Lyman All American Turret that wouldn't move. Kerosene is rather cheap, hurricane and patio torch lamp oil is just highly refined deodorized kerosene, but being the stuff is cheap, I can fill a big bucket with it and a little penetrating oil and soak big stuff in it .
I had some big cans of Marvel Mystery Oil and poured a little in with it also.
After a good soaking, it started moving, I would move the parts and let it soak some more, everything loosened up and I was able to scrub off all the surface rust and get the turret to turning.
PB Blaster Penetrating Oil worked well on frozen screws. I also kerosene soaked the grungy 30-06 and 38/357 dies that came with the press and they cleaned up like sorta-almost-not quite new.
Gary

[beeser]

gwpercle - Good to hear from someone too that has an affinity for the old stuff. Most of it was built to last several lifetimes but sadly some of it gets thrown away. What a waste.

[flashhole]

"Good to hear from someone too that has an affinity for the old stuff."

That's how I feel about my wife!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Beezer: are you going to take this machine apart and do the clean up right? Realistically now that you have soaked it in Penetrating Oil is should just about fall apart.

Then you could clean every bare steel part with a fine wire wheel on your bench grinder and then put it back together and have a completely functional machine that looks new.

I hear everything that is going on, on this thread and whereas some of it is fine,,,, "if" the machine is nearly clean in the first place. But your machine definately needs a complete pull down to get all the surface rust out of the nooks and crannies. Trying to run it without doing this will result a bunch of unnecessary wear that could easily be avoided by simply talking the thing apart and cleaning everything properly and putting it back together with proper lube on the moving parts.

When that machine came off the line all the exposed steel parts were shiny. They would still look that way if the previous owner had simply sprayed some WD40 on the bare parts when not in use and covered it up with a bed sheet or a plastic trash bag. This is exactly what we do to our machines in the shop. There is no reason why it shouldn't look that way again. It really isn't that hard. :mrgreen:

I can't tell how bad the paint is but if it is in good shape then simply taking those parts and running them under water in a sink and using a fine tooth brush to agitate all the dirt out of the little recesses in crackle finish paint.

If the paint is bad there are two ways to approach that. 1. Strip it off and redo it from scratch, and 2. just spray new crackle finish paint over the old stuff.

I did an RCBS Press for my son that had crackle finish green paint on it. I washed it in the sink to get it clean and then I sprayed over it with Rustoleum Hammertone Emerald Green. It turned out perfect and looked so good I didn't want to give it back to him!

Why people let valuable machines deteriorate into this condition is beyond me. Problem with most Reloading Tools is they have to live in the garage and most times they are neglected by not covering them up. I have never seen a reloading tool that was worn out from use. I have seen plenty in the condition yours is in, and I have restored quite a few.

What you have is pretty rare and leaving it in anything less that the condition it came from the factory in is not doing it any favors. It isn't that hard to take these things apart and the clean up is not that hard either. All you can do is increase the value.

If you need any help on what to do, and what NOT do,,, I am more than willing to help.

Randy

[beeser]

Randy - Thanks for the advice and providing some additional motivation toward restoring the Hollywood. Below is a picture of it in its current condition. The first thing I did was practically immerse the machine in PB Blaster and oil to stop any further rust. I then cleaned and lubricated most of the critical moving parts to get an idea how the machine operates. Surprisingly all of the screws and bolts came out easy. The central shaft still needs polishing but is smooth and without any pits. The paint on the base is completely intact and without any rust. I plan to tear the machine completely apart and restore it but haven't decided on how to approach the bluing on some of the dies, which show a slight bit of surface rust. They may clean up better when I get a chance to work on it. As mentioned earlier I want to have a clear plan of attack before starting the restoration.

PS - My efforts to research and possibly restore the Fowler mentioned in another thread has me somewhat sidetracked. For some reason this machine is more intriquing to me at the moment. Unfortunately I haven't had much success in my research so far. That's unfortunate because this is the first reloader that I've seen that was designed to be motor operated from the start and the operating mechanisms are like nothing I've seen before. It's truly a unique machine.

150306

[W.R.Buchanan]

Beeser: BSA? On your dies use 00 steel wool and Elbow Grease on them to remove the surface rust. If the stuff is a little more persistent then a stainless wire toothbrush is a good tool. You can use a fine wire wheel as well but you will probably remove some of the finish.

As far as replacing the finish. I use Birchwood Caseys Super Blue. Just make sure you remove all the oil first as the stuff won't go thru oil. Usually you have to do multiple coats of the Super Blue to get it dark. Just keep after it.

On the big flat parts. You have to duplicate a "Blanchard Ground" finish. This is impossible to get exactly right but you can get really close by using wet or dry sand paper stuck to a flat surface with WD 40 and then lots of WD on the part itself. You push the part strait back and forth until you get a straitline finish. Then you move it across at an angle to that pattern,,, but only once. That puts the crosshatch into the surface. I do this on my Belt Sander which is faster,,, but,,, I know what I'm doing.

Best to start out by hand until you figure out the movement.

I also use a Scotch Bright Wheel on my Buffer to deburr the edges of all parts. I don't care if the factory didn't do this and left sharp edges. They should have, as it is proper machine shop practice to deburr parts so that the can be handled without getting cut!

All of these tools were made in machine shops, an as such all the same rules apply!

I also use it to polish shafts and the edges of round parts that have become rusted or pitted. it will remove a lot of bad surface finish and give you a better shot for refinishing after.

You are always looking for a consistent surface finish on parts before you apply the final finish no matter if you are bluing or painting as it all shows thru. If you are not doing anything but polishing and leaving the metal bare (like on the Hollywood parts,,) then it really shows, and thus the finish needs to be consistent.

I have been perfecting my finishing techniques for 35 years, and believe me there were many do overs. But you've got to dive in and try some of the techniques. As long as you don't get too stupid with them they all can be gone over and fixed if you aren't satisfied.

There is something else to consider here that many purists tend to over look. Whereas you may not have duplicated the original factory finishes exactly,,, you have gotten close and all but the purest of purists will never know the difference. But you have improved the condition of the machine and that's really all that counts.

Also I have another take on it, and that is if I can "Improve" the finish, it is better than duplicating what was there just for the sake of doing what others have done before. Point being, if they sucked I see no reason to duplicate their efforts just for the sake of purity.

This carries over into the guns I refurbish as well.

We are talking a Reloading Tool here, Not a 1932 Duesenberg!

Randy

[beeser]

Beeser: BSA? ...

Also I have another take on it, and that is if I can "Improve" the finish, it is better than duplicating what was there just for the sake of doing what others have done before. Point being, if they sucked I see no reason to duplicate their efforts just for the sake of purity....

Randy

Good point yet something I was always reluctant to do. One example on the Hollywood Automatic that needs improvement IMHO is the pin/stem that initiates the shellplate indexing. I think it would be much smoother with roller bearings instead of the hardened pins.

As far as removing slight surface rust on blued surfaces wouldn't it be better to use a non-steel type of wool? I think you can get it in aluminum, brass and copper.

And yes, beeser inspired by BSA (you're the first to ask) although most of my early limey bikes were Triumph. I used to eat up the 650s with my 750.

[Pressman]

Randy, I am thinking the guy who paid $5500 for the Super Turret may disagree with you. In comparative dollars he bought a 1932 SJ Dusenberg.

Wish I had one.

Ken

[flashhole]

"And yes, beeser inspired by BSA (you're the first to ask) although most of my early limey bikes were Triumph. I used to eat up the 650s with my 750."

In my youth I had a Bonneville 750 blown out to 800cc. Nothing but engine, frame, wheels and fast. :) :) :)

[danomano]

Did you every get the old girl shinned up? lets see some pics please

[porthos]

soda blasting is your friend. take pictures take pictures. disassemble; take to soda blaster. the metal will be pristine clean and ready for primer/paint

[Lagamor]

my jaw hit the floor when I saw "up to 1,800 per hour. "

Makes a Spolar look like a toy.

[John Wayne]

Hey Beeser! Did you get the Hollywood operating?