Fowler loader?

[beeser]

Another loader that I recently came across and have seen is made by Fowler or at least goes by that name. Anyone have any information on this one? It's an auto indexing progressive press for metallic cartridges.

[HGS]

any chance on a picture or two?

HGS

[beeser]

any chance on a picture or two?

HGS
Sure, I'll take a few and post them a little later. In the meantime I'm hoping someone has some information on it.

[beeser]

Here's one picture of the partially disassembled Fowler loader. This is an auto indexing machine powered by an electric motor. The base also serves as an oil reservoir. The nameplate shows Fowler Burbank CA. Has anyone seen one of these before or have any information on it?

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[LUBEDUDE]

Never seen anything like this before.

Thank you for the photo! :)

[beeser]

Here's another picture of the mystery auto reloader. The base (not shown) closing the bottom for the oil reservoir is large enough to mount a small motor. The silver looking knob is a pulley for the motor drive. I still haven't found any information about the machine or the company online. It was probably made in the '50s the best I've been able to determine.
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[beeser]

I've spent a considerable amount of time talking with a number of people in the reloading industry and surprisingly no one so far has even the faintest recollection of the reloader or the company. Anyone have any ideas how to advance my research?

[Artful]

It's not been in any of the books I have checked - I would check with the library see if they have a microfiche of gun magazines like American Rifleman or Similar.

am finding some cool links
http://www.rtconnect.net/~wjmanley/ARTCA/ARTCA15.pdf

[beeser]

I'm fresh out of ideas on how to find info. on this loader or the company itself. Anyone have any suggestions on advancing the search?

[LUBEDUDE]

Wish I knew, I sure would like to see a photo of the complete press ready for action.

[beeser]

Here are more pictures of the Fowler with a few more parts added. The mechanisms housed inside the body of the machine are the most complex I've seen for a reloader. The post on the left moves up and down to engage the die holder on the right, which rotates by means of a Geneva Wheel. A foot operated switch serves the motor. I've had zero success locating any information about this reloader or the company that manufactured it. If anyone has any ideas on how to carry the search forward I would appreciate it.

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[beeser]

Correction - I stated the post on the left moves up and down but there are actually 2 shafts on this post that move independently of each other.

[LUBEDUDE]

Thanks for the pics.

Too bad that there isn't any information out there, especially a photo of it in it's prime.

[beeser]

Thanks for the pics.

Too bad that there isn't any information out there, especially a photo of it in it's prime.

Yes, I'm afraid this is going to be a long-term project but I'm confident that something will surface eventually. This machine was set up for .38 Special but I was made aware of other machines set up for other calibers. So this was not just a one time prototype.

[Wayne Smith]

If you have a location or approximate one and an approximate date start with business indexes and Chamber of Commerce indexes. Some of the most helpful people I have ever met have been research librarians. Usually my problem with them is shutting them off when I've found what I wanted!

[gwpercle]

Pressman might know about this. He's up on most old reloading tools. You can reach him via email: pressman@antiqueloadingtools.com.
I had questions about an Eagle Cobra press, he answered them all , he said it was a fun design to go ahead and get it , so I bought the press, cleaned it up and it's back in service. And he was right on...it's a neat press.
If he doesn't know about it I bet he can find information on it.
Gary

[beeser]

I've exhausted all of my leads and still nothing has been found about the Fowler. Even Pressman drew a blank.

[beeser]

A one time bump for info. on the Fowler.

[Pressman]

Beeser, where so you keep turning up these things??? Talk about a brain teaser!

Have you tried to put your mystery parts on the Fowler? Looks like they may fit.

Ken

[Daddyfixit]

any chance that Fowler is just the name of the foot switch not the loader? I found this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fowler-Pedal-Foot-Switch-54-350-070-/131434478544

[beeser]

any chance that Fowler is just the name of the foot switch not the loader? I found this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fowler-Pedal-Foot-Switch-54-350-070-/131434478544

The foot switch for the Fowler is actually made by Linemaster Switch Corp. I tried to get a line on Fowler, the company, through Linemaster but was unsuccessful. Interestingly enough the switch in the eBay ad has a logo on the name tag that is very similar to the logo on the reloader. I knew this before and contacted Fowler Tools and Instrument and they assured me they never had any facility in Burbank, Ca or anywhere else in the country besides Massachusetts. Yet, now I learn by Daddyfixit's post, the name tag on eBay shows Boston - Chicago - Los Angeles. I'll try to contact Fowler Instruments again and see if there's a connection.

I'm fairly certain the reloader was made in the late 50's or early 60s. The person I acquired it from obtained it from Joe Dircks, the founder by the same name and later Tri-Standard. Hollywood, Joe Dircks (Tri-Standard), Ammoload, CH, et al. regularly looked at each other's designs especially considering they all existed in the same area, SoCal. The part of the Fowler that intriqued at least some of these companies was the method used to index the shellplate, a far more complex mechanism than I've seen on any other reloader. Another part of the equation that I think has something to do with the Fowler is Burbank, Ca, the location where Lockheed also existed at the time. It seems logical to me that Fowler's principal business was service to the aircraft industry and that the reloader was simply a sideline. Having carried the design and limited production far enough without much commercial success or finding greater profit elsewhere the reloader was abandoned. As mentioned before, I think the Fowler is an important part of reloader history in that it's at least one of the earliest efforts to incorporate a motor in its initial design. And again, it also has the most complex mechanism I've found in a reloader for indexing the shellplate and moving the other automatic operations of the machine.