Indentify this press

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slicksleeve

slicksleeve

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Can someone please tell me what brand of press this is? It has a three hole setup, made to lower the dies toward the shell casing. The shell holders have a long stem that mounts into the thick steel base with a set screw. They are not like the Lee or RCBS ones I have that fit my Lee press. I also have never seen any for sale anywhere, and that is what is keeping me from using this press. It bolts to the table with four bolts that come from underneath. It also has a plastic primer feed mounted to the right hand side. It has no words on it except for the numbers "330" stamped on the very top. Where could I buy shell holders? Sorry for the poor pictures and there only being one, but that's all my cell phone and computer would allow for. Any help is greatly appreciated. Joe.
 

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Hey Slick,

You got me on that one. I remember several different Herter's presses as well as other presses that looked like Herter's presses, but I do not remember any press like that one. I'll take a wild guess for an old Hollywood press. Surely, someone here will know what it is.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
 
Thanks to both of you. I can say that this thing is very well made. Standard Lee, Hornady, and RCBS dies will all screw in it, but there is no room for the lockrings to screw onto them. By the way, I've never heard of either of those brands, gonna do some googlin'.
 
Unless your an older guy you wouldn't have heard of them. They went away a long time ago. But I still have a Herter I use occasionally. That one will still work 300 years from now. :D
 
Hey Qajaq59,

I have an old Welles press that is a first cousin to the Herter's massive "C" frame press, and you are certainly correct that it will still work 300 years from now. I must admit though, I don't really use it since I have two RCBS Juniors, an RCBS RockChucker, and a Hornady LNL AP. I just seem to keep it around for a conversation piece. I hope to see you next month somewhere down along Rt 27.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
 
At first I thought it might be an old Pacific press as they were fond of the dual side post configurations. I don't think it is though due to the color and what looks like a support rod in the back. They never had one like that.

I don't think it's a Hollywood as they had a massive center post, not the side posts.

That's a stumper for sure.
 
Well, as far as color goes, it was completely rusted when I gave the $30 for it. I cleaned it up, I cant remember what the base color was anymore. I'll look closely and get back to you on that one after I get home. Thanks for the comment on the Colt Walkalong. I wish I could say it is mine. I have it to do some work on, the trigger is broken.
 
Looks sort of like a vary old Bear, Later know as bear / pacific then just pacific that was way back.
look for some (off blue) or gray.color I think Herters were gray not sure. Nice desk top how ever!!
 
Bair - could be, but like the Pacifics, I think their handles were offset to the side, not centered.

Of course it could be a one-of-a-kind home made press someone machined in their shop.

What is the metal used? Aluminum, steel?
 
It's definitely not an old Bair(Bear) press since I'm familiar with that old line. My first thought when I saw it was that it may be a custom made or proto type press. I am curious to who manufactured it also.
 
I haven't a clue who made that. It comes from the late 40's-50s era, well before Bair. The basic "H" principle is one used by the old CH company (it's not "C&H") that was still being sold in the mid 60s.

There were several machine shop operators that got into a reloading tool side line in those days, usually because the owners were shooters/reloaders themselves.

Buying proper shell holders would be total luck. You may find something on ebay but that's not likely.

I think your best bet would be to take it and a standard shell holder to a small machine shop and see what they would charge you to make it accept new ones.
 
See post #1, added pictures of the shellholder, and some of the parts dissassembled. The paint is black under the base. All the rest I stripped off with a wire brush wheel back when cleaned it up. The fellow I bought it from couldn't remember what brand it was, he thought maybe it was a Forster. He just stated very plainly that "It ain't no d***Lee!" P.S. I got a little carried away with the pictures and threw in one of some revolvers.
 
The paint is black ...
Click to expand...
That's another clue that it might be a Herter's. They used a black crinkle paint on many of their presses, scales, etc. But, they also usually made their steel bases with the name "Herter's Inc. Since 1893" in raised letters cast in them. So that's one clue for and one clue against.
 
Thank you, Mal and to all who have responded. It seems we may not put it down to any one thing in particular, but I have really enjoyed this thread and all the input from you gents. Good thing I have a Lee Turret press to keep me shooting.
 
No problem, it's a Lyman Ezy-Loader. They were made by Lyman in the 1950's and listed in the 1955 Stoeger Shooter's Bible for $35. The accessory primer feed was called the Prime-O-Matic and cost $7.50. The tool also came with a die adapter, making it usable with smaller dia. dies. Hope this tells you what you wanted to know.
Offfhand
 
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I can see why it is a rare thing, there is a lot of machine work required to make the thing and castings to boot, either somebody went broke fast selling them at a loss or nobody would afford the things. The legs being drilled and blind holes tapped is just one clue, through bolts that are held with set screws? where they go through the castings is odd too. I does remind me of some projects I did in Machine Trades course I took, so it could be a one of a kind unit. I seem to remember shell holders that bolted down like that being shown in a earlys 70s Shooters Bible, another item of mine the tornado got.

Edit:: seems offfhand knows more than I do
 
It could very well be the Herter if it has black crickley paint on it. Mine has that but I just dug it out and couldn't find any name on it. I bought it used in the 60s, so if yours is a Herter, it is definitely older than mine.
Now I'm dying to know what you do have though. Aren't there people that collect loading presss and have web pages for this sort of thing? People collect just about everything, so somebody has to have a page.
 
Offhand, that told me what I wanted to know. And everybody else too! Rc, thank you for that link. Now to get shellholders and some Chevrolet Orange paint.
 
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