This Ideal No.2 Lubricating & Sizing Press, one of only two currently known to exist, came up for sale on one of the auction sites within the last couple of weeks. Not expecting to win, I placed a bid for it anyway about a day before the auction was to end (to that point, I was the sole bidder), and waited. The day the auction was to end I received notification that I had been out-bid (by $50) and on a whim I increased my bid to the new amount + $100... still not expecting to win, but wanting to be "in the race", fully expecting someone to jump in at the last seconds to place their winning bid. So, when the auction came to a close, I was somewhat shocked to find that I was, for the time-being at least, to be the latest caretaker of this rarity from reloading's past.
Attachment 277507
Description from Ideal Handbook No.17 (1906):
"No.2 Lubricator is designed especially for continuous hard work. It is heave, strong and powerful. It will stand hard usage and should last a lifetime. Weight is 25 lbs. Tools, dies and punches for No.1 Lubricator are interchangeable with those for Lubricating Press No.2."
Original price was $20.00, complete with one sizing/lubricating die and one top punch. Compare this with the No.1, which the Handbook stated weighed in at about 4 lbs., and cost but $5.00 complete with sizing die and top punch.
Weighing in at 25 lbs., and sharing a basic frame with Ideal's "Armory Press", the No.2 was introduced in the Ideal Mfg. Co.'s Handbook No.17 (1906). It remained in the Handbooks through Marlin's ownership of Ideal (1910-1916), presumably through Phineas Talcott's ownership (1916-1926), and into the Lyman Gun Sight Co. days. The last Handbook to mention the No.2 was Lyman's No.30 (1931).
My apologies to the ARTCA. As I understand it, the other bidder is a member of that body and was hoping to acquire this for their collection.
Jim