Covid-stay-home-thunder-dome leads to archaeological find in a *C* press.

So, here I be.
Lining up and prioritizing Kung-Flu projects and one can I've been kicking down the road for many years is attending to my neglected re-loading gear.

I had stopped re-loading, more or less, in the 90's as access to inexpensive ammo made it wasteful for me and the relaxation of reloading can be equaled for me in other pursuits too.

Now, looking to spool up for semi-auto .38 Special and a couple of other projects - along with the semi-lockdown - has me digging through the inventory and assessing quality and usefulness.

I got this C press a very long time ago and just assumed it was a horrendously re-painted example. The trueness and smoothness of throw never lead me to believe otherwise.

So, I get it out, clean it a bit and disassemble for the electrolysis tank. When it comes out and passes through the hot ultra-sonic, I get what is shown here.

Initially, I thought it was a re-weld and then upon closer examination, I find it's a home-cast and properly sleeved and machined example of someone's roll-yer-own. Probably copied his own for two or someone else's on the cheap.

Another possibility is that this is just the kind of thing we'd do in our advanced metal-shop classes in high school in Minnesota in the 70's.

In any case, I sure wish I knew the story behind it and thought I 'd share it here.

I still like these *inefficient* items and processes for the simplicity and also for one-time, one-off operations complimenting my manual turrets.

Todd.

earlthegoat2 said:

I guess I don’t understand. It looks like a commercial production from the defunct Pacific manufacturing.

What part of it is a roll your own?

Click to expand...

The partially filled-in and incomplete lettering, globbed-up and filed down head, a bunch of some form of brazing-rod filler (the gold all over some areas), lack of ears following the shaft up to and around the base and the base itself having a generally unfinished appearance for the era of Pacific.

Definitely not a factory piece.

Todd.

troy fairweather said:

Not all presses where made as good as some others.

Click to expand...

True but I can't imagine Pacific making one as third-worldy as this one.
The bodges & fixes pretty much follow erratic or non-production *sand-casting*
Even a re-weld wouldn't have partially filled the lettering and numbering as on this one where that is quite common with hobbyist casting.

Todd.

GW Staar said:

Definitely not a stock 1933940 (serial #).....looks to me like it was rescued from the dump and a broken top redone. Here's an original sample for sale for $45.

Click the image and arrow over all the views.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264656675160

Click to expand...

I was looking at those as well.

I figure this one having so many casting imperfections filled with brazing and the crappy finish file-marks mark it as a home-made sand-cast rather than a re-weld. I've had at least three re-welds and they were broken in exactly the same place without filler elsewhere.

That and the badly done lettering that would never have been affected like that in a mere repair.

I've seen the lower portion of the patent number and word PACIFIC (1 or 2 letters/numbers) missing or marred on a re-weld but not the rest showing partial fills and awful imperfections.

Todd.

PWC said:

Looks like my one and only Pacific; no primer "ears" on the top of press, I have the early auto primer feed, it's 80 yr old and still turns out excellent ammo.

I remember, those shop classes; Graphic Arts: set type for graduateng seniors cards, Photography; 40 years later I did my own while on Korea, Metal Shop; made a 38 cal "parrot rifle" barrel 8" long, Wood Shop; my teacher knew what I was making when I tried to make a carrage for the 8" cannon...he stopped it.

Schools should still gave those shop classes as required and Civics so the kids can learn how their government works.

Click to expand...

Several times a year either I will, on my own, contemplate the lifelong benefits of those classes or someone will comment: "How do you know that?" based on a skill or comment on my part.

It truly is society's detriment that they academic utopians deemed that sort of education as being beneath the system in favor of *feelings* oriented education.

Here, over 40 years later, I am able to ID someone else's sand-casting project and appreciate it from that education. Just cast a hub for my tractor and a Yoshimura Suzuki crank-cover this spring behind those classes.

Todd.

FROGO207 said:

You have to admit to the ingenuity of some individuals when money was tight or non existent. It could be possible that it was a reject at their foundry an an employee rescued it from being recast for personal use. Would love to be able to follow the story back to origin.

Click to expand...

Interesting take - a salvaged flawed casting from the factory.

That might go a long way to explaining why it has proper accessories fitted though the attachments points and methods are not factory.

What was Johnny Cash's song about building a car a piece at a time as an assembly worker?


Todd.

jaguarxk120 said:

On page's 222 and 223 of Phil Sharpe's Complete Guide to Handloading there are picture's
of your press. The second picture shows a press with a primer feed attached.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I know it's based upon a Pacific factory press - just that it's not actually a Pacific factory press.
I've found examples to date it but nothing even remotely close to this one for condition and state of casting and flaw repairs.

Todd.

WestKentucky said:

Are you going to use it or trash it?

Click to expand...

I think I'm going to semi-permanently set it up as a final *crimp* for my .38 wadcutters to feed through my 1911.

I'd hate to give up on something someone put so damn much work into.

Now that it is completely stripped, I can see it throws just a tiiiiiiiiny bit off axis but I figure I can accommodate that with a floating shell-holder.

I wish I could take better pictures of all the brazing-fill.

Todd.

Jim Watson said:

Bert Shay's chapter in Stebbins' 'Pistols, a Modern Encyclopedia' shows his reloading bench with two Pacific presses of that style "both broken and repaired."

So what have we got here? Factory scrap finished out by Bubba or a home foundry copy made with a mold from a real Pacific (and painted the right color) or an old piece of kit not as nicely finished as we do now.

Click to expand...

I dig the mystery.

Part of the unfortunate nature of estate sale buys. Even if the last guy to own it DID know the story, he's gone and his wife & kids either don't recall or didn't pay attention in the first place.

Todd.

There's certainly no question that mine is not a factory offering but certainly based upon a factory offering.

In any case, I dig it and the ad posted above is a great time-capsule.

I think people are missing what I thought was a clear point. That someone had sand cast their own from an authentic press.

All of the signs of amateur sand-casting are here and never on a factory press. The original lettering was corrupted in the sand when the original was used to form the mold.Here, either the *sand* was not sufficiently compounded/packed and/or the pattern was not lifted cleanly. Pretty common sign and most especially when one is unable to *halve* the pattern.

The brazing would be to fill air holes left behind from either an erratic pour or failure to use enough or adequate return holes as well as possibly a low quality mix of sacrificial iron.

I love to imagine someone going through what I know about amateur casting, taking a look at a less than adequate result and saying: "Yup... I can fix that!"

Todd.