Favorite old school reloading equipment

[Keyfer 55]

I still enjoy my old Ideal 310 hand press.

 

[hdbiker]

My old Lee hand primer with the screw in shell holders is still working fine. I find a different shell holder from time to time at gun shows and on line. If I remember correctly it cost about 5.00 bucks LOL. hdbiker

 

[rayatphonix]

Two old CH presses. Hard to justify another single stage press.

 

[dh1633pm]

I too have an old C&H Press. Got it at an estate sale for $10. It was a rusty so much that you couldn't move the handle. It cleaned up nicely.

 

[drband]

Pics folks... this could be a great thread but it needs pics!

 

[jaguarxk120]

Hollywood Universal 12 station turret press.
Anything less is a wanna be.

 

[Offfhand]

Does anyone remember the Gun Clinic bench mounted primer seater? It appeared about 60 years ago and was favored by benchrest shooters and other deep pocket shooters who could afford the $28.50 price tag. They were complicated and expensive to make but function was/is smooth and reliable. They are seldom offered for sale because owners won't let them go.

 

[Jim Watson]

I wish I could get shellholders for my W.H. English Pak Tool. Not that I would load ammo on it, but it is a very good hand priming tool.

 

[Galil5.56]

How about my ratty Lee Lube-n-Size kit, I bought in 1982? .309" sizer that used a hammer (seated gas checks too), lube cutter and pan, and Lee stick lube. Still has submerged, and oxidizing Lee 150 grain 30 cal bullets too! I used this thing to death, and it brought the then high school kid, into the wonderful world of casting and shooting. To this day, the warm smell of 50/50 ALOX stick lube delights my nose, and takes me back all those years ago.

 

[Texas10mm]

Star lube sizer.

 

[Whiterook808]

My old Rockchucker. I love it!

 

[Offfhand]

How is this for OLD? A century old Ideal #5 powder measure still in the box with instructions. This is the granddaddy of the Lyman #55 measure..

 

[Whiterook808]

How accurately does it meter?

 

[Jimster]

My old Lyman 310 tool I started with to load 45-70 BPC. My LCT is much easier though.

 

[mdi]

I've got some old stuff, mebbe the oldest is a Lee Loader I got in '80 (my first was in '69 but that went away in a messy divorce). I have an old C-H single stage press I got in '81 used, for $13.00. Don't use it much any more but I'm keepin' it. No real "classic" tools mainly because I sold everything I had in '80 for food and rent (typical CA divorce "rape")...

 

[Ken T]

I have an Ideal No 5 powder measure.They as accurate as any current non benchrest measure.Operation method is the only thing that can affect accuracy.

 

[Whiterook808]

I have an Ideal No 5 powder measure.They as accurate as any current non benchrest measure.Operation method is the only thing that can affect accuracy.

I'd say that is true of most of these volumetric powder measures. I just picked up an old Lyman 55. I believe it was made before they were bought out, since it is all orange, even the handle and the knocker. I am going dissemble and clean it up before trying it out, but it's in pretty good shape. It even has the metal hopper lid.

 

[Offfhand]

How accurately does it meter?

The working parts and adjustments of the old Ideal #5 are virtually identical to the Lyman #55, so I see no reason not to expect the accuracy to be the same as well. Attached photo shows rotor and slides of #55 on left and #5 on right.

 

[Whiterook808]

Looks pretty close! Thanks for that..

 

[entropy]

My RCBS Jr. 3 press is nearing 50, and my Mec 600 Jr. is over 50, so I guess they count.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

A couple of powder measures that have not seen any use for decades.....

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have a 38 Special Lee Loader in the old styrofoam insert box. Got it off eBay around 2007. Had to be from anywhere in the 60s or 70s.

Don’t have one but love the looks of the bigger Ponsness Warren shotshell loaders.

 

[Rembrandt]

No idea how old these are, picked them up at a garage sale for $5.

 

[Offfhand]

Here is a series of the original Pacific loading presses, beginning in the early 1930's. The Pacific tools are much more significant and important in the history of reloading because they introduced 7/8X14 loading dies, which became the standard of the reloading industry. Their "C" press was also revolutionary, and was, and still is, the most copied concept in the industry.

 

[Laphroaig]

I inherited my great uncles loading kit when he passed away circa 1966. I have the Belding and Mull "press" bolted to a piece of plywood, and use it to deprime 0.473 head diameter cases when the need arises.



I also got a Ideal #5 in that deal, which I agree is as good as any powder measure made today. I don't use it any more, but have in the past.

I've also acquired a Belding and Mull Visible powder measure, which I have set up for a pet load that uses IMR4198. IMO, this is one of the best measures to dispense bulky extruded powders.


In short, powder is dumped into the visible chamber which separates from the hopper when the lever is pushed. The small visible chamber slides sideways and dumps the powder into the micrometer adjustable brass tube on the bottom. Each charge is dispensed by removing the tube and dumping it into a funnel. It is an extra step, but I think the small (1/2") diameter of the tube minimizes the violent grain cutting that occurs in other rotary dispensers. It measures the long, skinny 4198 grains almost perfectly every time.