Hollywood Gun Shop Senior Turret Press

[Julian537]

I scoured ebay for one of these, and could not find one or got outbid at the last moment. I finally found one locally. It is a Hollywood Gun Shop Senior Turret Press.

I have a few questions. Where do I get the adapters, for the bottom of the powder die? Did the press come with all 3 turret handles new, This one has just one.

The handle was so rusty, I chucked it in my lathe and used scotch brite and to take off the rust. Now the handle is mostly bare metal. How do I get that black oxide finish back on it.

Here it is when I picked it up.


Here are the pics after I cleaned it up. I completely disassembled it.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Both of my Hollywood Senior presses have bare steel handles, with no coating at all. I just use a light coating of oil on it, then wipe it off about once a year. No rust as of yet, 50 years and counting....

I did add a pool ball to the end of my larger Hollywood Senior's handle. I just makes it easier for me to have the ball on the end.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Julian537]

Fred,

how did you add a pool ball to the end? Thread the rod end? Drill a hole in a pool ball and epoxy?

 

[ReloaderFred]

Julian,

A friend drilled the pool ball and then I epoxied it on. It works great and makes it more comfortable to use.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Joatmon]

Julian, My senior turret had three handles on it (to spin the turret) but two of them were home made. I think that the press may have only had one at first. If you have a small lathe then making a couple of extras is a good project. The shell holders can be purchased on ebay, and you can find an adapter that will convert to hold RCBS type holders. The ram handle on mine looks like it was cold blued at first, but is bare metal where your hand grabs the handle. Enjoy the press, I like using the old stuff.
John

 

[ReloaderFred]

It looks like the universal shell holder adapter is already in the press, so you can use any brand of shell holder. If you can't make the handles yourself, there's a guy on one of the auction sites that sells them, but they're about $30.00 or so apiece.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Julian537]

I have a small lathe, The turret handles will be a cool project to complete.
I have not done any threading yet, so this will be a learning experience. Not sure, how to form the flats on the turret handle, but I do not know that they are really necessary. After learning to cut threads, I may venture into making some bushings for the 4 larger die holes, to use smaller 7/8th dies.

I have a friend who is big into machining, so I will seek his advise on making the handles and bushings.

It does have the RCBS universal shell holder.

I will look into purchasing a few pool balls, to try my hand at attaching one to the handle. I like the ball on the end.

I took a picture for my friend with a full size sharpie marker in the shell holder, so he could see the size of the stroke. This thing will really take a large caliber. I know it will do 50 BMG. How big of a shell will it do?

I have a MEC 9000 so I dont know what I will do with the 12 gauge dies. Are they worth anything?

 

[Julian537]

Does anyone know the size of the adapter, for the powder die?

 

[Julian537]

turret handle

here is my first attempt at making a handle for the turret. I understand now, why they sell for $30 on the bay. It takes quite a bit of time, to turn one of these on the lathe. It is not perfect, but it turned out nice. The shape is a little different. I will post pictures of the 3rd handle, after I make it. I just noticed, there is some varget in that hole on my bench.

[/IMG]

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

I have a few questions. Where do I get the adapters, for the bottom of the powder die?

If you mean the funnels that attach to the bottom of the powder measure, RCBS ones fit. Contact them directly to get some.

The handle was so rusty, I chucked it in my lathe and used scotch brite and to take off the rust. Now the handle is mostly bare metal. How do I get that black oxide finish back on it.

Easy. Get a bottle of Cold Blue from Brownell's. It is a blue-colored acid that will darken the handle after a few applications. Wipe on, let set for a minute, then wipe off and repeat. When it gets to your desired color, cover with a good penetrating oil like Breakfree, and forget about it. Or, you can go the extra step and get a rubber handle from CH4D for $3 that will protect the handle from fingerprints and make reloading easier.

My Senior Turret:

 

[Julian537]

Kevin,

Can you tell if that is a powder measure or shot drop, on the top of my press. It does not look the same as your powder measure.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

It looks to be a shot measure.