I am going to guess it may be a "Do It Yourselfer ".It appears somewhat overbuilt .Are there any "commercial "type markings or stamps on it anywhere ????
The guy who fabricated this unit probably could have made a dandy bullet swager I bet....
There is a NX and 09 stamped into base.
With the plate and round stock construction used to build it, I'm going to go with Home Made or Prototype. The NX 09 could be Nathan Xavier's marking for his ninth effort at building reloading equipment(???) I agree that it was overbuilt to the point of being suitable for radical case forming or severe swaging of lead or jacketed bullets.I'm going to guess you won't be able to break it or wear it out!
Froggie
"It aint easy being green!"
I have to agree that it's the product of a handy DIYer that looked at the $175 price of a heavy duty loading press and said I can do it better myself, and then proceeded to design and craft the example in the OP photos, at a cost of $537.32, not counting time and fuel cost.
Noah
You could extrude gas pipe with something like that. I had an RCBS Big Max that I let go because I only needed that kind of power... never. It was a cool conversation piece for me that ended up with HSM in Missoula ~ 1992. They needed one and needed it badly and I can't remember what I got in trade.
Appears to have only simple leverage as opposed to compound leverage so that brute strength isn't really as brutishly strong as you might think. I agree this was made by a machinist with a lathe & milling machine. Not a factory-made press.
Dutch
Unless it came out of Detroit, back in the old days, every plant had a full machine shop, staffed 24/7 to make what ever the boys on the line managed to break(intentionally or unintentionally).
Crappy weather this weekend? Can't play golf? The line miraculously breaks down right before the decision on Saturday work is made.
Those guys in the machine shop made some incredible stuff on GM/Ford/Chrysler's dime, when they weren't fixing busted machine parts.
Top secret government work.
Last edited by 15meter; 03-30-2022 at 05:05 PM.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |