Indentify this press

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Hey Offhand,

I thought I was pretty familiar with Lyman stuff even back in the 1950s, but that Lyman Ezy-Loader was a new one on me. I have all the Lyman manuals going back to 1957 or 1960, and I wouldn't be surprised to find there is a picture of an Ezy-Loader in one of the old books. If I do find a picture, then I will just hang my head in shame for not remembering the press.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
 
Hi Dave,


Yes indeedy...it appears to be a Lyman "EZY-LOADER".


The Lyman 'Tru-Line' had a very similar look, but was a one Station...where, of course, this is a three Station.


I have an "EZY-Loader' also, which I got in case I ever wished to re-load for .303 British or other longer Rifle Cartridges.


Very nice Press..!


Congratulations!
 
Lyman Ideal "EZY-LOADER".
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And the winner is....243winxb

Have you been saving that magazine for the past 50 years?
 
When I first seen the pics slicksleeve posted,my first thought was it sure bares a resemblance to a Lyman All-American press.Now I know why.
 
Hey folks,

After seeing 243's Shooters' Bible info, I went down to the basement and looked in some old Lyman books. Sure enough, in the Lyman 46th Edition loading manual on page 16 I think, there was a picture of the Lyman Ezy-Loader and a bit of information about how great a press it was. I still have trouble realizing that I have no recall of ever seeing that press, but to tell the truth, I really did not like any of the early Lyman presses - with one exception. I always did like the convenience of the Lyman Nutcracker hand tool. I still on occasion get one out to show someone how you can load by hand without a mounted press.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile
 
Those who identified that press as a early Lyman are correct. If you notice the shell holder is the older ''J" style shell holder also used on the newer Lyman Tru-Line Jr and the All American press. Way to go guys! Just an added thought...notice the 330 on that old press, wasn't the old Lyman Tong Tong a model 310? A coincidence possibly?
 
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I have a Lyman cast bullet handbook from the late 40's and it shows all their reloading equipment within. As usual the membership here could not be stumped. All you (THR members) are an awesome group. Saved me from uploading pix.:p I bet the press in the OP will be in use 300 years from now also.:D
 
Not to belabor this thread, but the Lyman Ezy-Load under discussion is of particular intrest from the collection/historical standpoint. Especially as it relates to Lyman's position in the rapidly growing handloading market during the 1950's. Historically, Lyman had been a major force in reloading tools back to the 1800's. Their "tong" tool had sold by the hundreds of thousands, fitted with their then standard 5/8-30 dies. (Actually they measure 34/64" if you want to be pickey.) During the posWWII era however, larger presses and 7/8-14 dies were becoming the standard. This was a quandry for Lyman as they were still wed to their older dies, and reluctant to recognize the larger size dies. Look closely at 243's illustrated post above and you'll notice that the recommended dies for their new Ezy-Loader were their old style. Notice particularly the die "adapter" that came with the Ezy-Loader, which is significant because the Lyman folks were beginning to recognize that the larger die size was the wave of the future and in fact their new press was threaded for the larger dies, but still they were hanging on to the past and still believed they could sell their old style dies. This partially explains why, within a relatively short while, Lyman introduced and shortly dincontinued a range of different presses, the Ezy-Loader being a prime example. The reason I know this (or think I know)
is because I have the unfortunate habit of collecting and studying old loading equipment.
In my collection are quite a few of the old Lyman 310 tong or "nutcracker" tools. Which I buy whenever I find the older steel ones in original boxes. (Later models made of alumninum are of no interest to collectors) Especially, when in intresting calibers. If you aren't overly bored at this point, I'll enclose a photo of some of my old tool collection, and also tools in .22 Hornet and .218 Bee, which I still enjoy using when loading these classic calibers. Sorry this got so long.
 

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Loadedround,
Just an added thought...notice the 330 on that old press, wasn't the old Lyman Tong Tong a model 310? A coincidence possibly?
In 1925, the Lyman family purchased Ideal reloading products. Maybe Ideal went by numbers, i dont know? Later 1969 Shooters Bible shows C-H Reloading Tools having numbers of 206 and 333. The 333 was a 3 station press, different flat base, and the lever is on the bottom, but looks something like the Lyman Ideal 330. Lyman presses shown are all named models, no numbers. No expert here. Offfhand might know?? So you could be right?
 
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I don't know who made the press, but I've got a my kid's picture Bible here that shows that same press bolted to Noah's workbench in the ark. So it must be pretty old!

:D
 
lyman 330

There is a Lyman 330 on one of the auctions now. What size die threads did this press come with? I am new to reloading and am thinking about an older turret, but would like to have the 7/8 threads. Thanks, Leverfan
 
Adapter Needed for Ideal EZy in photo above.

There is a Lyman 330 on one of the auctions now. What size die threads did this press come with?
From Shooter Bible.
Uses standard Ideal Dies or any other make of dies with ADAPTER which is furnished for 7/8"-14 N. F. threads.
Note, Press in my photo above may not be/is not a model 330? :confused:
 
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