In Praise Of A Reloading Press

[Char-Gar]

I really like old American iron reloading presses. Some time back, I bought a Lyman All American turret press from one of the members of this board. It is a true delight to use.

The AA contains four holes and is rotated by hand. It is set up for what I call short 45s, with a set of 45 ACP dies plus a tamper crimp die in the head. With just a change of shell holders, I can load 45 ACP, 45 Auto Rim and 45 Cowboy Special.

The press works much the same as a Hollywood with the shell holder moving up and down around a large steel column. The head is indexed by hand for the die you want to use. It is very smooth and has plenty of leverage for any normal handloading task.

I just purchased a second one and when it arrives it will be set up for 45 Colt. I will probably get one more for the 44 Mag/Special round. I also have a Redding 6 hole turret set up for 38 Special. I like the Redding, but it is much more costly than the Lyman AA. This will take care of my most often loaded handgun rounds. Rifle ammo will still be loaded on the RCBS A2 and Pacific Super C.

The Lyman All American is a wonderful old press that has been out of print for a very long time. Out of print or not, it still works great.

[Artful]

Quality speaks thru the ages doesn't it.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Ummm, the Lyman AA is mostly aluminum.

Here is a pic of the one I re-built. Only the non-red parts are steel. Hollywoods are made of iron, but even some of them are part aluminum.

196840

[LUBEDUDE]

Another great feature of the AA Lyman is that it is compact, clean, and sits on Top Of the bench, i.e., it's Not a knee knocker! Also it doesn't prevent drawers from opening.

[winchester 71]

I just cleaned up a Lyman All American for resale and a Posness &Warren and the Lyman is a lot tighter then the P&W...........If I wasnt rebuilding a Dillon 450 I'd keep the Lyman but cash is tight here.............

[dverna]

The All American was on my wish list when I was starting to reload. Wound up getting a Co-Ax which I still own.

[Estacado]

Ummm, the Lyman AA is mostly aluminum.

Here is a pic of the one I re-built. Only the non-red parts are steel. Hollywoods are made of iron, but even some of them are part aluminum.

196840


Very nice job on the rebuild.

[Hamish]

Between the All-American, the Tru-Line Jr.s, the 55's, the 45's, and the Ezy-Loaders, Lyman has got the other brands outnumbered by a good bit here,,,,,,.

[gwpercle]

I spotted a rusted , neglected Lyman All American Turret on a table at a flea market.
Although I had absolutely no need for another press, I couldn't just walk away from it...it needed to be saved from the scrap dealer....it called out...Help Me .
I bought it and every reloading item that was in the box with it 3 sets of dies , cases , a few case prep tools , etc. all old, covered in rust , dirt and grime....set me back $75.00.
I probably spent another $75.00 and a month getting everything cleaned, de-rusted , de-grimed and to get few replacement parts for the press . When done , I clamped it to my bench and used it to reload 357 magnum and 38 special . It's a sweet heart and I enjoy using it...I'm so glad I rescued it from that flea market .
I've never owned a turret only single station C presses before...I Like this little baby .
Gary

[Grmps]

Gary, Half the fun is in restoring something and having it work great.

Talking about old cast iron presses, my neighbor found one in a house he was cleaning and asked if I wanted it.... You know my answer. A couple drops of oil and the ram worked smooth as butter.

http://i.imgur.com/7gI357o.jpg (http://imgur.com/7gI357o)

http://i.imgur.com/CDKrbqM.jpg (http://imgur.com/CDKrbqM)

http://i.imgur.com/iBTQsoe.jpg (http://imgur.com/iBTQsoe)

Now it's time to clean it up and figure out where to put it and what to use if for. Oh, the agony.....

[PaulG67]

I have a LYman AA, a Dillon 650, RCBS II, Lee Challenger, true-line Jr. If I could only have one press it would be the Lyman AA.

[gwpercle]

Gary, Half the fun is in restoring something and having it work great.

Talking about old cast iron presses, my neighbor found one in a house he was cleaning and asked if I wanted it.... You know my answer. A couple drops of oil and the ram worked smooth as butter.

http://i.imgur.com/7gI357o.jpg (http://imgur.com/7gI357o)

http://i.imgur.com/CDKrbqM.jpg (http://imgur.com/CDKrbqM)

http://i.imgur.com/iBTQsoe.jpg (http://imgur.com/iBTQsoe)

Now it's time to clean it up and figure out where to put it and what to use if for. Oh, the agony.....

Nice score and the free ones are the Sweetest!

I received my Pacific Super Deluxe in a similar manner , a friend bought a house and the Pacific Press was left in it with dies and accessories...and the answer to his question of " Do you want this stuff ! " was most certainly !! Thank you so very much !
Gary

[rbuck351]

I bought a used AA about 1974 and it is still my favorite of about a dozen presses and still tight as new. It would be the last to go if it came to that.

[Green Frog]

I currently own the Lyman AA press that was sent to John Amber for testing. He used it very little and the guy who got it from the estate auction never used it at all. I have it set up with a set of Lyman 32 S&W dies adjusted out to 327 Fed Mag and having a Lyman Multi-caliber Expander die with through-the-die powder feature carrying an Accu-Measure powder measure. Nice setup,, so I leave it as is. :mrgreen:

Froggie