It cost me a total of $11 bucks and it is a totaly cool tool. I am talking of a 40 year old Herters Super U3 press. It is a huge hunk of cast iron with a massive ram, cast iron handle and King Kong linkage, albeit of traditional down strok design. The top of the press is not a C or and O, but about 2/3 of a hollow cylinder. The cut out 1/3 is what gives you access to the ram. It has a cute ball bearing under spring pressure that ride in a raceway on the ram and snaps into a groove near the top of the ram to hold the heavy handle in the upright position when not in use. It is a very well made tool with no slack or slop anywhere. It came with three shell holders but I had an RCBS coversion unit to my regular snap in shell holders. I just sold the three Herters shell holders for $10.00. That means I am a buck deep in the press. I gave it a good cleaning this afternoon and it is in tip top condition. Can't wait to give it a try. Funny how an old press worth only a few bucks can give this much fun and enjoyment. Now if I can just sell the primer arms that came with it, I can get this press for free and make a couple of bucks. Bound to be somebody (ebay) who is looking primer arms for vintage Herters presses.

It's fun fixing up an old tool and giving it new life. I just got an old Lyman 45 lubricator/sizer up and running again. Pressure screw was broken and I replaced it with a new one from the current line after opening up the cap to accept the slightly larger diameter shaft. Works great now.

I started reloading with one of those old Herter's presses about 40 years ago. I think it cost less than $30 new. About $1 a pound. They are huge.

I just got a Lyman 45 sizer going last week too. Nice old tool. Holds the pressure much better than my Lyman 450.

Chargar

I have been reloading with an old Herter's turret press for over 30 years. the priming arms are getting a little worn. If you are looking to sell the ones that came with your press, I would like to buy them. Just let me know how much.

tom1 @ uslink.net (remove spaces)

Isn't this internet just fabulous?

I "graduated" from an Ideal 310 tong tool in .30-'06 to a Herters turret model in 1959 or 1960; a neighbor got one of their "double barrel" presses at the same time. After a few years, I sold the Herters turret (too bulky, and the turret was either too tight, or too loose and wobbled a bit) and got the R. F. Wells single-station "clone" of the basic Herters (did Wells make these for Herters, or vice-versa? They were identical except for the cast-in company name), and used it until I got my RCBS A-2. Good tools and well worth their very low cost! I got my wife the Herters "Bull Moose Cookbook" - all three volumes - and we still get a laugh (and an occasional good recipe) out of them. floodgate

Tom...I miskeyed and there is only one primer arm. I don't know if it is small or large, but it does come with a spring and cross bolt and wing nut. I think the latter is a replacment part. If you want it how about a buck? That will make me even on the press. If you want it send priority mail throw in another $3.50. If not $2.00 for regular mail (I will have to buy a padded envelope). I am away from my home computor and it will be Monday before I can get back with you by email. Anyway..that is the deal...Want it?

Chargar

Heck of a deal!!
I'll take it, and thanks.
Hopefully, the ram is for the large primers, but I can use the small primer setup also.
Priority mail is fine. If you are set up for PayPal, we can make use of it (plus Paypal's fee, of course). If not, I'll have a money order in the mail as soon as you email me with your address.
Thanks again and enjoy the remainder of your trip.

C.A. Plater, right at the moment I'm in the process of resuscitating a Lyman 45 sizer-lubricator myself. The problem is that the old lube in it (dark colored, I don't know whether it was Alox/beeswax or Lyman lube) turned into a powerful glue over several decades. I got it freed up enough to work the ram, thought I was done and pushed a bullet down into the die, then realized "Oops, it's not coming back out!" The little plunger that pushes the bullet back out is still seized solidly in the surrounding threaded barrel that adjusts the seating depth in the die. I've got it all soaking with Kroil now.

(not)Ricochet -

Try boiling hot water to melt the lube out.
It also works great on cosmoline.

The Lyman 45 I redid was full of hardened lube too. I warmed it up with a heat gun and poured the lube out. I didn't want to get it hot so I did it gently about 3 times. Doesn't take a lot of heat. Only took about 10 minutes to clean it out.

Thanks for the tips!

Wonder what's in that lube that turns so gluey? I got some of it on my hands, and it feels like tar!

Am I missing something in this old Ideal #45 sizer/lubricator? I've got everything freed up and working, and ready to load it up with lube. I've tried turning the operating screw for the lube pump both ways till I'm blue in the face, and don't get any grease cup popping up out of the reservoir. When I take the cap off and look down, I can see a disk at the bottom that rotates with the screw. I don't see anything to prevent the cup or disk from rotating with the screw inside the barrel, which I'd think would be necessary to screw it in or out. Am I looking at the pump piston, that's just turning with the screw and not moving up or down?

[ 10-27-2003, 00:56: Message edited by: NotRicochet ]

NotRicochet

Most likely, what you think is happening, really is happening. The piston has a steel compression ring, just like in an internal combustion engine, and could be frozen in it's slot and not expanding to grip the walls of the cylinder. Also, the threads of the piston rod may be corroded and not able to turn freely through the piston. Try some penetrating oil on the threads and the piston ring. If that doesn't help, try pushing on the piston with a long sharp-pointed rod to try and hold the piston stationary while turning the threaded rod. That worked for me once.

Hope this helps.

Damn, I miss Herter's!

I'm still running a Herter's lubrisizer and have one volume of the cookbook.

My first press was from Herter's and was late enough so it took standard shell holders. Wish I had it back.

The Herter's catalog was the best bathroom reading that ever was. George Herter was absolutely shameless in his advertising claims. To hear him tell it, his fruit cake recipe (real good, btw} came from Diamond Lil and some other recipe came from Geronimo. My all time favorite was his fly dope that doubled as a bore solvent, mosquito repellent, liniment, and that you could drink in a pinch. Think that one got him in trouble with the FDA.

We'll never see his like again. He was a sort of early Richard Lee. His stuff was as good as it need to be, but not a whole lot better.

Does yours' have this (with out the lube)? That is what keeps it from spinning in the chamber. This is what expands to put pressure on the lube chamber.

Tom, C.A., thanks! I think what I'm seeing is the top side of that assembly, but it's turning with the threaded shaft. I'm going to soak it well with Kroil overnight and then try holding it still with something pushed down from above. It's probably that dried up Lyman lube holding it locked to the shaft. The cap on top was semipermanently attached to the shaft in a half-open position, again by the lube. If the piston's glued on as tightly as the cap, that'd be enough to explain the problem.

NotR: Use a screwdriver long enough to fit down into the hopper and fit into the slot in the brass expansion ring; lever it against the screw to keep it from turning as you rotate the screw with the ratchet. Go easy, and with some Kroil on the threads the piston should break free and start to come up. This happens every now and then with these lube-sizers; it shouldn't be a problem after you clean everything up and reload with fresh lube. You MAY want to spring the ring a bit further open for a tighter fit in the reservoir. floodgate

Another #45 works again!

I couldn't find any sort of tool that could grip the slick top of the pump piston. What finally worked was this: I wadded up a paper towel and jammed it with the aid of a screwdriver down between the screw and the cylinder. When I turned the screw clockwise (the direction to raise the piston), the threads carried the towel down and tightened it against the piston top. As I kept screwing it, holding a screwdriver down into the towel, the paper jammed against the piston and the cylinder wall preventing the piston from rotating. The screw would turn out of the bottom of the pump body, and periodically I'd knock it back in flush, raising the piston as it raised the screw back up so I could keep turning it with the wrench. I cleaned the old Lyman lube out and sprung the brass ring out a bit so it'd give a better grip on the sides.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions and picture!

Another good fix for an old 45 sizer is lead shot in the split ring to hold it apart, also keeps the lube from leaking past. I got tired of lube leaking past the piston on mine before I heard of that tip years ago and wrote Lyman to suggest they make a solid piston with an O ring. Imagine my embarrassment when they sent me one with 2 O rings they started useing on the 450's yrs before. It worked so good I ordered 2 extra for one old Ideal and an older gray 450 that still had the split ring.

Pb head