Kevin Rohrer
09-03-2010, 11:30 PM
I enjoy owning old reloading presses, especially those made of American steel. I don’t enjoy owning aluminum presses, especially those made with Chinese aluminum (e.g. RCBS).
There is nothing inherently wrong with an ‘O’ or ‘H’ aluminum reloading press. It’s just that I prefer presses made with steel for its rigidity and strength over aluminum for its cost-effectiveness. And since I only know of one company who still makes presses out of steel (CH/4D), it’s not hard to covet presses conceived around the time I was: the mid 1950s. If that seems snobbish, I don’t mean to be. My logic is the same used by those who value forged steel parts over cast steel in their service rifles.
Whether someone chooses to use whatever can easily be found and is affordable, or take the extra step of locating and purchasing higher quality, hard-to-find loading equipment is a matter of personal preference. Too often, older equipment is rejected from consideration just because it wasn’t made in this century. The idea that new is always better is a fallacy. It it wasn’t, Ebayers wouldn’t be paying a premium for old Hollywoods, Texans, or RCBS A2 presses, all of which are made entirely of steel.
Old equipment also adds a large touch of class to a bench as well as one of nostalgia. I like owning presses made during an era when strength, durability, and quality were the only considerations. The terms ‘quantity’ and ‘cost-effectiveness’ weren’t in press builders vocabulary at that time.
A few months ago I decided to replace the aluminum on my bench with steel. By searching the internet daily, I was able to get rid of my RCBS Rockchucker and replace it with a Hollywood Senior. In effect I was trading up from a large, noisy, mass produced ‘kneeknocker’ to a compact, quiet, hand-made press that sets out-of-the-way on-top of my bench. I paid a premium for the Hollywood, and in return I received a premium reloading press.
After that I continued searching for a small, select group of presses that would replace the rest of the aluminum presses, and it wasn’t long before one of them appeared on Ebay: a 2-station, all steel, Dunbar ‘H’ press.
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0265.jpg
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0264.jpg
Cosmetically, the Dunbar had seen better days; not only because of the surface rust previous owners had allowed to form on it, but also because of the abuse the seller gave it prior to its sale. Apparently this intellectually-challenged, profit-driven individual decided that he could get more money for it by taking a wire wheel to different parts, especially the handle. Yes, the procedure removed rust, but the rust was replaced by many small scratches and gouges that have proven to be difficult to remove.
Because the press appeared to be in cosmetically poor condition, I was able to get it for a relatively small amount of money. Shipping for this 30lb press was reasonable and I along with friends and family have been slowly restoring it to like-new condition.
Disassembly was not too difficult as it is entirely held together using various lengths of 5/16” hex-nut screws. Four of the seven screws were frozen, but after a day and a half of soaking in PB Blaster, I was able to tap them loose. As a precaution, I recorded the lengths of each screw with a caliper for easy reassembly.
Here is the press as disassembled. Note that all parts are large, heavy, and steel. The picture below it shows some of the tool marks left by the seller, as well as the only identification mark on it that identifies it as being a Dunbar.
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0272.jpg
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0278.jpg
My motivation for performing the restoration came after seeing the superb job Freebore did on a Leib that had been in cosmetically poor condition as my Dunbar. He performed a metal-working miracle as documented on The Firing Line site and the Leib probably looks better now than when it came from the workshop it was built in.
I don’t possess the equipment and expertise like Freebore does, so after disassembling and degreasing the press with an orange cleaner, some parts went to my father-in-law for buffing, while the remainder went to a co-worker for sanding. The parts to be buffed were the handle, pivot bar, and the two columns. My father-in-law’s comment after finishing was that it was the hardest job he has ever undertaken as these parts were extremely hard and must have been heat-treated to harden them. My comment: That’s the sign of a quality product made to last for generations.
Unfortunately, not all the wire marks and gouges were removed from the pivot bar and handle, so I am currently working on them as I find time using different grades of Scotchbrite.
The co-worker fared better and was able to remove all the old paint from the base as well as remove any remaining rust and tool-marks from the other parts. For the sandblasters reading this, he used Black Beauty for rust and paint removal, then silica sand for putting the frosted finish on the die-plate and shell-plate, as well as the arms.
As the Dunbar was originally unpainted except for the sand-cast steel base, I decided to leave it that way. My only problem was deciding what color to paint the base. The original color was a medium gray paint best described as “factory machine” gray. Very dull and drab.
I wanted to add some color to my bench and considered both red and green. I rejected red as I didn’t want it to seem that I merely copied Freebore‘s color scheme, so I bought some Rustoleum Hunter Green enamel that I tried on the underside of the base. It looked so bad I immediately rejected that color and went with Rustoleum Hammered Bronze spray. Although it is called ‘Bronze’, the color is decidedly a shiny, dark gray. For Porsche owners, it is very close to Porsche’s Atlas Gray color.
After priming and allowing a two day drying period between coats of paint, I greased the parts with RIG that won’t be accessed after assembly, then assembled and oiled the press with Breakfree.
The die plate is setup for normal dies, but the Dunbar came without shellholders. Fortunately, CH/4D makes excellent universal shellholders for $10 that grace three of my other presses, so I bought and installed the two needed.
Here is the result of everyone’s labors.
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0301.jpg
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0302.jpg
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0300.jpg
It now shares prime bench-space between the Hollywood and a Lachmiller primer tool, and will be getting a workout FL resizing 2000 rounds of .308 and 30/06.
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0303.jpg
If you take anything else away from this message, it’s that old but high-quality reloading equipment can be had for less money than newer, no more capable equipment. Some of this old equipment can be used ‘as is’, while others will take some TLC to get it back to its original look and usefulness. But as a friend of mine likes to say, “Hey, it’s all good”. :bigsmyl2:
There is nothing inherently wrong with an ‘O’ or ‘H’ aluminum reloading press. It’s just that I prefer presses made with steel for its rigidity and strength over aluminum for its cost-effectiveness. And since I only know of one company who still makes presses out of steel (CH/4D), it’s not hard to covet presses conceived around the time I was: the mid 1950s. If that seems snobbish, I don’t mean to be. My logic is the same used by those who value forged steel parts over cast steel in their service rifles.
Whether someone chooses to use whatever can easily be found and is affordable, or take the extra step of locating and purchasing higher quality, hard-to-find loading equipment is a matter of personal preference. Too often, older equipment is rejected from consideration just because it wasn’t made in this century. The idea that new is always better is a fallacy. It it wasn’t, Ebayers wouldn’t be paying a premium for old Hollywoods, Texans, or RCBS A2 presses, all of which are made entirely of steel.
Old equipment also adds a large touch of class to a bench as well as one of nostalgia. I like owning presses made during an era when strength, durability, and quality were the only considerations. The terms ‘quantity’ and ‘cost-effectiveness’ weren’t in press builders vocabulary at that time.
A few months ago I decided to replace the aluminum on my bench with steel. By searching the internet daily, I was able to get rid of my RCBS Rockchucker and replace it with a Hollywood Senior. In effect I was trading up from a large, noisy, mass produced ‘kneeknocker’ to a compact, quiet, hand-made press that sets out-of-the-way on-top of my bench. I paid a premium for the Hollywood, and in return I received a premium reloading press.
After that I continued searching for a small, select group of presses that would replace the rest of the aluminum presses, and it wasn’t long before one of them appeared on Ebay: a 2-station, all steel, Dunbar ‘H’ press.
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0265.jpg
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0264.jpg
Cosmetically, the Dunbar had seen better days; not only because of the surface rust previous owners had allowed to form on it, but also because of the abuse the seller gave it prior to its sale. Apparently this intellectually-challenged, profit-driven individual decided that he could get more money for it by taking a wire wheel to different parts, especially the handle. Yes, the procedure removed rust, but the rust was replaced by many small scratches and gouges that have proven to be difficult to remove.
Because the press appeared to be in cosmetically poor condition, I was able to get it for a relatively small amount of money. Shipping for this 30lb press was reasonable and I along with friends and family have been slowly restoring it to like-new condition.
Disassembly was not too difficult as it is entirely held together using various lengths of 5/16” hex-nut screws. Four of the seven screws were frozen, but after a day and a half of soaking in PB Blaster, I was able to tap them loose. As a precaution, I recorded the lengths of each screw with a caliper for easy reassembly.
Here is the press as disassembled. Note that all parts are large, heavy, and steel. The picture below it shows some of the tool marks left by the seller, as well as the only identification mark on it that identifies it as being a Dunbar.
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0272.jpg
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0278.jpg
My motivation for performing the restoration came after seeing the superb job Freebore did on a Leib that had been in cosmetically poor condition as my Dunbar. He performed a metal-working miracle as documented on The Firing Line site and the Leib probably looks better now than when it came from the workshop it was built in.
I don’t possess the equipment and expertise like Freebore does, so after disassembling and degreasing the press with an orange cleaner, some parts went to my father-in-law for buffing, while the remainder went to a co-worker for sanding. The parts to be buffed were the handle, pivot bar, and the two columns. My father-in-law’s comment after finishing was that it was the hardest job he has ever undertaken as these parts were extremely hard and must have been heat-treated to harden them. My comment: That’s the sign of a quality product made to last for generations.
Unfortunately, not all the wire marks and gouges were removed from the pivot bar and handle, so I am currently working on them as I find time using different grades of Scotchbrite.
The co-worker fared better and was able to remove all the old paint from the base as well as remove any remaining rust and tool-marks from the other parts. For the sandblasters reading this, he used Black Beauty for rust and paint removal, then silica sand for putting the frosted finish on the die-plate and shell-plate, as well as the arms.
As the Dunbar was originally unpainted except for the sand-cast steel base, I decided to leave it that way. My only problem was deciding what color to paint the base. The original color was a medium gray paint best described as “factory machine” gray. Very dull and drab.
I wanted to add some color to my bench and considered both red and green. I rejected red as I didn’t want it to seem that I merely copied Freebore‘s color scheme, so I bought some Rustoleum Hunter Green enamel that I tried on the underside of the base. It looked so bad I immediately rejected that color and went with Rustoleum Hammered Bronze spray. Although it is called ‘Bronze’, the color is decidedly a shiny, dark gray. For Porsche owners, it is very close to Porsche’s Atlas Gray color.
After priming and allowing a two day drying period between coats of paint, I greased the parts with RIG that won’t be accessed after assembly, then assembled and oiled the press with Breakfree.
The die plate is setup for normal dies, but the Dunbar came without shellholders. Fortunately, CH/4D makes excellent universal shellholders for $10 that grace three of my other presses, so I bought and installed the two needed.
Here is the result of everyone’s labors.
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0301.jpg
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0302.jpg
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0300.jpg
It now shares prime bench-space between the Hollywood and a Lachmiller primer tool, and will be getting a workout FL resizing 2000 rounds of .308 and 30/06.
http://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv29/KevinRohrer/Reloading/IMG_0303.jpg
If you take anything else away from this message, it’s that old but high-quality reloading equipment can be had for less money than newer, no more capable equipment. Some of this old equipment can be used ‘as is’, while others will take some TLC to get it back to its original look and usefulness. But as a friend of mine likes to say, “Hey, it’s all good”. :bigsmyl2: