Lyman All American

[dragonrider]

Had a real slow day at work so was cruising ebay and saw five (5) Lyman AA's. They were going from $66.00 to $225.00. I am sorely tempted to bid. I have one already and it is such a great press that having another would not be a bad thing. I got mine from ebay at $80.00 in like new condition, original paint and all. Before I got it I searched for months before I saw one for sale, I got lucky and bid $5.00 over a previous bid to make it $80.00 with two days left and never expected to win it. Anyway seeing five of them today seems like an awful lot of them at one time. If anyone is looking you might check it out.

[45nut]

My AA is my default single stage press, loaded everything from 22 Hornet to 500 A Square ammo on it.
Mine is not going to be on ebay in my lifetime.

[BruceB]

A truly great machine, the All-American.

Mine has been in INTENSIVE use for forty-two years so far, and since the day I bought it I've believed it's the best damned turret press ever built. The paint is badly worn and the corners of the turret are actually rounded-off from the friction of my hands as I turn the turret.

I bought a second All-American and mounted it in Der Schuetzenwagen, my '95 GMC shooting van. In that application there wasn't really enough headroom for the A-A, which mounts on top of the bench rather than on the edge of same. So, I sold it to a friend who also really appreciates it. (It was replaced with a lower-profile Spar-T turret press, which now labors for NVCurmudgeon after I decided that range time was too precious to spend ANY of it in handloading.)

The only weak point in the A-A is the primer feed system, which works fine but uses very thin brass primer tubes which offer zero protection in the event of a detonation. I now "feed" the primers manually, one at a time, and I don't believe it slows the process at all. I also simply catch the expelled fired primer in my open hand under the shellholder, dropping it into my trash barrel under the bench directly in front of me. There's plenty of room even for my large-ish hands.

My A-A is used as a true turret....once the fired case is placed in the press, it stays there while I rotate the turret through all the positions needed to produce a loaded round. My RCBS powder measure is mounted in the turret along with the dies. If I'm using dacron fill, the case is removed just long enough to perform the dacron installation, and then immediately returned to the press for bullet seating. Without pushing the envelope at all, I load upwards of 150 rounds per hour on the A-A.

My bench hosts a Rockchucker and a Dillon 550B as well as the A-A. The Lyman would be the last to leave, by a long shot.

[jhrosier]

I agree with BruceB, except about the primer feed which I quit using many years ago.
I could never get it to work without lots of fussing and jiggleing.
I just drop a fresh primer on the punch with my free hand.

I wouldn't want to guess how many tens of thousands of rounds the old AA has loaded.
I put a couple of drops of oil on the ram and handle pivot about twice a year and clean it about every ten years, if I'm not too busy. It still works as well as when I bought it back in the '60s.

I thought about buying another one but decided that the next press will be a Lee classic cast turret press. I'm getting lazy in my old age and auto indexing kind of appeals to me.

BTW, my 'other' presses are a RCBS Rockchucker, a RCBS AmmoMaster, and a Dillon SDB. I prefer the AA over the SDB because it is so fast and easy to set up.

Jack

[LAH]

My first press was an AA purchased in 1973 and yes it's still in use.



Dry Creek Bullet Works
Dry Creek Firewood

[Bret4207]

I got an AA in a box of stuff I bought a few years back. I think I gave $20.00 for the box that included the AA, a B+M Visible Powder Measure and a bunch of other stuff like an RCBS scale. (I know, I'm rubbing salt in the wound, but I almost always take a beating in any deal I get into. Be happy for me this once.) I've loaded a bit on it and find it to be a really nice press, very sturdy and easy to use. I only have the 30-06 head size shell holder, but hey, that does about 50% of my rifles. I have to get the adapter yet.

Anyway, I don't know how much they are really worth, but I like mine just fine.

[HeavyMetal]

One of the guys on the bay site is actually "restoring" AA.

He's the guy with the $200 starting bid on the press's!

He is however offering all the dodads that go with the AA like new primer feed stuff.

I think he just got started and we may see a change in pricing in the future, I think he's a touch steep. I do realize he's got to buy his base "stock" at the prevailing price so that does figure in as well.

I got his web addy from the e bay site, don't have it at my finger tips, good site to visit just to see what he's got.

[Patrick L]

Does anyone have a pic of an All American? I too started on a Lyman turret, but I bought it well used, so I don't know what model it is. It was a six station press, non-compound leverage, and had a very straight handle. I'll bet I haven't used it in almost 20 yrs, but I still have it packed away.

[Green Frog]

Does anyone have a pic of an All American? I too started on a Lyman turret, but I bought it well used, so I don't know what model it is. It was a six station press, non-compound leverage, and had a very straight handle. I'll bet I haven't used it in almost 20 yrs, but I still have it packed away.

That was not an All American. AFAIK, the All Americans all have only four holes, although on some, one of the holes is larger (usually with a threaded bushing down to 7/8 X 14) for the shotgun loading option that was once available from Lyman. Also, everything that was painted was red, a departure from Lyman's usual orange or grey. The most unusual aspect about the AA, IMHO, at least, was the action, which all stayed above the surface of your loading bench... nothing went over the edge or below the bench's surface.

Yep, I've got one too... it was bought from the John Amber estate and is most probably the one sent by Lyman for evaluation in the first edition of the Gun Digest Handloader's Bible. I don't use it much but wouldn't dream of parting with it.

Froggie

[mdi]

http://www.allamericanreloader.com/page/page/6939385.htm

Looks like this guy is the Lyman AA press man.

[Patrick L]

OK, that's not it.

[RoyRogers]

Wow - I sold 2 of them. 1 on this forum in excellent condition with universal shell holder and an as new Lyman 55 measure for $80. The other I sold elsewhere with all the goodies and the big shotgun hole (no measure) for I think $75.

I liked mine but my 550b & co-ax were doing all the work & I needed the bench space. Hope the buyers are having fun with them.

[shotman]

anyone have a No 10 J shell holder they would part with?

[larrydday]

Any one know where I can Get an adapter to convert the large hole on the All American 4 hole turret to 7/8x14 (or the same as the other 3 holes) . This hole is larger and has different threads than the other 3. I want to be able to add my Lyman #55 powder measure to the press.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I have an AA I rebuilt and have for sale. It includes the auto primer, the universal shellholder adapter, and at least one J-series shellholder. $150.

http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0253.jpg

[LAH]

IMHO that's a good buy. I used one for 30 years & they are great. 'bout 150 rounds per hour.

[Pressman]

As a 17/18 year old in 1968 Lyman's advertising really touched me. I knew the All American was the press I needed because it was an All American after all. Having just begun my reloading career with a 310 tool and two sets of dies I had to make a decision. I needed a press but did I want to get the more costly All American and then upgrade the dies to 7/8-14 or buy the thread adapters and keep using the 5/8 dies I had or just get a Tru Line Jr and keep the costs down. I choose the latter and spent the next 50 years searching gun shows for an All American. I finally found one, at a gun show in Lincoln Nebraska in 2003.

I have used it for limited reloading of pistol cases and been happy with it though I like the cast iron Texan T7 better.

Ken

[1hole]

Patrick: "I too started on a Lyman turret, but I bought it well used, so I don't know what model it is. It was a six station press, non-compound leverage, and had a very straight handle. "

Say Lyman "Spar-T". I started with a new one in '65, converted it to compound leverage and installed a spring for 'snap in' shell holders about six years ago, like it much better now.

The AAs are good turret presses but there are others currently available new that are even better and at compariable prices to - or much less than - AAs on eBay.

[shotman]

where do this OLD OLD theads get on here that was from 2009

[Green Frog]

where do this OLD OLD theads get on here that was from 2009

Simple, somebody does a topic search for the item in question, finds an old thread in the result, and with a new entry brings the thread back up to the front. I've been "guilty" of this myself when doing research and finding an interesting thread. :mrgreen:

Froggie

[LAH]

I'm glad they come to life once again.

[geraldsd]

That is a great picture of the press. I will do some work on mine.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I disassembled it, cleaned off all the gunk, stripped off the faded paint, primed it w/ aluminum paint primer, and gave it 2-coats of Rustoleum Safety Red.

[1hole]

"where do this OLD OLD theads get on here that was from 2009 "

Perhaps we should apoligize to you for responding without checking the original date?