Is Collecting Presses A Hobby

[Ditchtiger]

I'm a mechanic, forgot to include my ball joint press.
And a drill press or two.

 

[eastbank]

i guess i,m sort of a collector, i just can,t seem to turn down a press at a good price,my last two presses were a mec 9000g in ex used condition for 85.00 at a auction, and a hollywood universal 12 die hole turret press at a flea market for 25.00. i use the mec but have other rifle presses. eastbank.

 

[A Pause for the Coz]

What powder measures have you accumliated (sp) ? I think they are fun but actually My Lee PPM's do just about as well as the Uniflows I sold - and the Ideal/Lyman 55's are cool enough but not that much better. Have you tried a Harrell or Belding & Mull?

Not yet, but I am sure I will get around to it.

First I had to replace the PPM I sold you.

I have 2 Uniflows and a LEE Disk measure. So 4 total now.
Want a Lyman 55 and a Hornady next.

 

[A Pause for the Coz]

hollywood universal 12 die hole turret press at a flea market for 25.00

I bet you had a hard time trying not to act excited until you got out to the car with that steal.

START THE CAR!!!! START THE CAR!!!!!

 

[Clark]

My brother got this home made press at a Puyallup gun show.
He dickered the guy down to $20.
My guess is that the guy who made it is dead.
If I made that, I would not sell it for $20.

 

[Nanook]

You guys are all sick.

And so am I.


Let's see:

RCBS Reloader Special
2 - Dillon 550Bs
Redding T-7 Turret
2 - MEC 600 Jrs.
Lyman 450

I believe I'm finished buying presses. I can't fit anymore on the bench, and anything I need to do I can do with the presses above. I cheated a little with the Lyman, but just a little. It IS a press, after all.

 

[Hondo 60]

Is this a hobby in its self or have a just got a problem with buying to many tools?

The way I see it, it depends on if you use all of them.
If they just sit & collect dust, then it's an obsession.
If you have them set up for different purposes, then it's a wise investment

I just have 2 presses.
A Dillon RL550B & a Lee Challenger Breech Lock Single Stage Press.
If I had more money than time, I'd own several Dillons

 

[David Wile]

Hey folks,

I had a really long and heavy duty bench, but I kept adding more and more presses to it until it was simply too crowded. I was up to 12 presses counting my shotshell loaders.

When we moved and I had to build a smaller bench in our new house, I came up with a new idea. I decided to only mount two presses on the bench at one time, and I would store all unused presses closely together on an adjacent side shelf. Like all my previous benches, the new press was very solid in its construction. Then I bolted in place two 1/2" steel plates (12X16 inches) to which I would mount all my presses. I did this by drilling and tapping holes for each of my presses. I now have more bench work space on this shorter bench than I did on my last press that was much longer. I should have done this many bench builds ago.

Adding this as an edit, I should have mentioned that in the past six months I sold most of my presses, and in 2011 I sold over 50 guns from my collection. My children and grandchildren are not interested in shooting or reloading, and I have reached an age where I had to start downsizing my stuff. I still have a few rifles, shotguns, and pistols, but nothing like I had before. For reloading, I am down to my old RCBS RockChucker for single stage and my original Hornady L&L for progressive metallic use. For shotshell, I still have a Hornady 366 and a MEC Sizemaster for 12 guage, and I have a MEC Sizemaster for 16 guage. That's down to five bench mounted presses now and a lot less than I had. I also have some Lyman 310 Nutcracker hand tools for .357 and 45-70. I also have kept a number of Lyman and RCBS molds for casting, and I forgot I still have my Lyman 450 for sizing and lubing cast bullets. My Lyman 450 can also be bolted to my either of the steel plates on my bench.

I think that is all of it.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

 

[Owen]

Dave,

That's a good idea. I was thinking about doing a very simialr thing on my bench. I'm not nearly as obsessive as the rest of y'all...only 5 presses, including a Lee hand press.

 

[natgas]

Not a collector but I do like them; I have 2 650's that are in constant use; just ordered a Lee Pro 1000, mostly to try something different and see how a non-Dillon works; going to dedicate it to some 45 and 9 cast bullets

 

[Elkins45]

My brother got this home made press at a Puyallup gun show.
He dickered the guy down to $20.
My guess is that the guy who made it is dead.
If I made that, I would not sell it for $20.

Wow, that thing is BEAUTIFUL! Your brother made out like a bandit.

There's probably more that $20 value if you sold it as scrap!

 

[Otto]

I decided to only mount two presses on the bench at one time, and I would store all unused presses closely together on an adjacent side shelf. Like all my previous benches, the new press was very solid in its construction. Then I bolted in place two 1/2" steel plates (12X16 inches) to which I would mount all my presses. I did this by drilling and tapping holes for each of my presses. I now have more bench work space on this shorter bench than I did on my last press that was much longer. I should have done this many bench builds ago.

I did the same thing having a local machine shop tool a 10"x10" 1" thick alloy plate that will accept all of my different presses...it's sort of like a RCBS accessory plate on steroids. Change-out from one press to another takes 2 minutes. MUCH more room on the bench now and only 4 holes in the bench top as opposed to 17.

 

[jolly roger]

I'm sick too...

Dillon 450
Dillon 550
Lee Classic Turret
Lee Hand Tool
8 Lee Loaders
RCBS Auto4X4 at an estate sale
RCBS A2 BEAST of a single stage...estate sale too
Redding Boss II
2 MECS for 12 and 20 gauge

Let's not even TALK about powder measures...

 

[David Wile]

Hey 00,

I have always built really solid benches to provide a rock solid work platform form my presses and even more importantly for my powder measures/dispensers. When I first bought a progressive loader in 1997 which mounted a powder measure that much higher above the bench, that made the whole idea of a rock solid platform even more important.

Going to the multi-use drilled and tapped steel plates really was a great idea. Not only is it very easy to change presses, it also adds to the solid factor of the bench platform. I am glad to see someone else has also tried the same thing. It really is not hard to do and is a lot better than the thin metal things sold by the vendors today.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

 

[Clark]

David Wile
My children and grandchildren are not interested in shooting or reloading, and I have reached an age where I had to start downsizing my stuff.

I am the executor of an estate right now with a house that filled a 26 foot moving van to the ceiling, two trailers 8' long, a pick up, and SUV, and a 20 foot dumpster. It has also filled my vehicle a dozen times to go to Goodwill. We have had junk men there a couple times for metal. We sold a boat.

I am now joking around about doing an intervention on a relative that lived there, to get him to quit garage sales.

It is called hoarding.

 

[the count]

Anything you can make a hobby is a hobby....

 

[Owen]

the_count

<accent> One reloading press, two reloading presses, three reloading presses, BWAHHAHAHAA </accent>

 

[cfullgraf]

It is called hoarding.

Had you not heard, the one who dies with the most (fill in the blank), wins.

 

[mr16ga]

now I got a problem

With only three reloading presses, one drill press and one 20 ton hydrolic, I see I am way behind in this race.

If I ever get out my lee loader I am going to use the 20 ton press, I got an aversion to hitting ammo with a hammer even if it is unloaded.
Joe

 

[rfwobbly]

I can see the makings of a new TV show, sort of like "American Pickers", where 2 guys drive around and look at reloading press collections. It's got to be a father-son team. The father will know all the old Hollywood and Herter presses. The son will only know the latest progressives. The dad will be cool and calm; the son has to throw old Lyman hand presses around when he gets steamed, which happens pretty often. The dad has to whack the kid with a kinetic hammer bring him back around.

Mom stays at home, scanning all the Craigs List ads, and calls them into the guys in the van when she gets a hot lead.

Their van is setup with a reloading bench in the back where they try out all their purchased presses as they drive from shooting match to shooting match. They are on a quest to find the world's best reloading press before the old man dies. I can see them milking this for 15 seasons or so.

They'll call the show "Pressed for Time".

 

[IROCZ]

I think I have 8, maybe...