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ssdave
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Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Dec 4th, 2024 at 11:22pm
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Pulled out something I picked up at an estate last summer, have been too busy to look at it until tonight.  Good thing it's got a tag on it, I see it's a repriming tool!

Can't get the priming punch out of it, so I'll have to work around it and use it as the mount for any tooling I want to add to the ram!

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LRF
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #1 - Dec 5th, 2024 at 5:33am
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Interesting find. Naval Board of Ordnance (The Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was a United States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval weapons, between the years 1862 and 1959.) 
Can you take and post a picture from the front looking at a slight angle down on the anvil of the press?
Famco still exists today making presses that look about the same. I guess if you have a good product, why change. Smiley
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #2 - Dec 5th, 2024 at 11:13am
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Looks like my arbor press, but mine isn't tagged as a priming tool.
  

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Green_Frog
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #3 - Dec 5th, 2024 at 12:09pm
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That was my thought… it was designed as an arbor press then adapted to priming and designated as such.  The basic shape resembles a basic arbor press too much to be coincidental. 
It looks like it might actually be too strong.  I’d be concerned about crushing primers.
JMHO - Froggie
  
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ssdave
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #4 - Dec 5th, 2024 at 1:11pm
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Yes, it's just an arbor press, the other model E's I see online have all had the holes where the "repriming tool" tag has been removed, so Famco probably made this casting just for this tool.  It has a lot of the base removed, presumably to mount a shell holder for some huge artillery shell, so I'll have to fab a base plate for it.  I wish I knew if the primer seating punch was threaded in, or press fit.  it doesn't move.  There was a set screw to loosen.  The primer recess in the punch is dome shaped and about 5/16" across, so it was for a pretty big primer.   

LRF, here's another picture.

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burntwater
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #5 - Dec 5th, 2024 at 3:15pm
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Bureau of Ships ( BUSHIPS ) and Bureau of Ordnance 
( BUORD) were supply branches of the USN I believe were created before or at the start up of WWII and liquidated during the Vietnam era. Both of these branches are now rolled up into NAVSEA which oversees all branches of the USN.   

Famco, Greenerd and Dake made arbor and other presses for general shop and production use. But along with just plain arbor presses they would contract to supply special ram tooling for specialized applications. I would guess they made hundreds of special presses for the USN, aircraft companies, you name it.  One thing for sure,  you won’t wear your press out, maybe you arm. I had a small Greenerd made from Beryillium Bronze. Came off a decom MSO class minesweeper so was non-magnetic. 

Rick
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #6 - Dec 5th, 2024 at 5:54pm
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I'm  guessing it could be fitted with various plates to accept different rim and base diameters, so a shell sat neck down and primers pushed in from the top. So likely nothing more than a flat round punch in the top that pushed large primers into the cases.
  

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Green_Frog
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #7 - Dec 6th, 2024 at 11:56am
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Also, those four holes on the legs would make it simple to securely locate any kind of adaptor plate needed.  Of course I’m looking at that beast and dreaming of how well it could be used for case forming… even the most severe case forming.   
Froggie
  
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #8 - Dec 6th, 2024 at 1:55pm
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Froggie these arbor presses are abundant and out there in shop and manufacturing auction sites everywhere. I once bought three Greenerd’s in one lot for around $100 with premium. One had the ship’s spoked wheel handle which are cool looking. One was ratcheting with factory art deco cast iron stand and a bench mount model.  All of these arbor presses, unless custom, are set up for different plates. They are very heavy so not what I’d call readily portable but they do the job. My boat shop crew crushed beer cans with my presses on Fridays. 

BTW the 2-3 ton presses would be too powerful for working brass cases as you’d lose too much feel and probably run risk of damaging your cases. My 5 ton Greenerd would press 5” cutterhead bearings in my old 36” Buss and Whitney shop planers without too much strain just for reference

Rick
« Last Edit: Dec 6th, 2024 at 2:04pm by burntwater »  
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #9 - Dec 6th, 2024 at 2:39pm
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Just looked up your Famco E model and it’s a 3/4 ton press. I’d guess a 1/2 to 3/4 ton press would easily resize any brass without too much power. Nice catch

Rick
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #10 - Dec 6th, 2024 at 5:34pm
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The issue with using an arbor press or any press with great leverage when forming brass is you wont feel if the brass is sticking in the die! You really need to be able to feel how much force your press is exerting, or you might easily form it down, but might not retract without pulling the rim off the case!
If you've ever stuck a case in a die it's no fun at all.
  

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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #11 - Dec 7th, 2024 at 3:47am
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I've had a machine shop, since the mid '70's so, I've had a arbor press for a long time.

This is my first one, a 2 ton Greenard. In about '88, I bought a 3 ton for the shop and moved this one, into my loading room. Years before, I reamed a .501 hole in the ram, with a set screw to hold punches and put two 3/8 x 16 threaded holes, in the base and made the 2" die holder for it, to punch holes in aluminum sheet, for a job I had. After bring it in to the loading room, I made 3 dies and punches (30, 32 & 45 cal) for it, to punch out 1/16 LDPE wads. The set screw, next to the punch hole, is to auto index the LDPE so, that there is no waist. It works well and pretty fast for that. I've also used it to swage cast and jacketed bullets.

The aluminum plate, has a .501 reamed hole in it, that was done to hold the CH style shell holders, that have a 1/2 x 20 thread, on the back side, as seen. I did most of my case forming with it. I just took a piece of 3/4" to 1" HRS or CRS, turn a 1/2" shank on the length I needed and made a cavity, either with a chamber reamer or a boring bar to size brass, to fit my chambers.

L to R, on the arbor press, is a piece to protect the hole and face of the ram, for regular press work, a expander  for necking up cases and a adapter to hold Lyman sizing dies. In the tray are a few of the dies I've made, for case forming and some misc punches. I also used it for pushing pins, in and out of actions and other parts.

For me, I think a 2 ton press, is a ideal size. It gives you lots a room, to work around for reloading things and is very versatile for other things, when set up like this.

As for pressure, you can exert as much or as little, as you want or need by extending the handle, to different lengths, or even adding a cheater bar as opposed to a press that works on over center, linkage leverage. Actually you can feel very minor changes in the pressure needed. The gear, acting on the ram, has much less direct press, than a loading press. It's the leverage distance, exerted on the gear, with the handle, that creates most of the pressure.
« Last Edit: Dec 7th, 2024 at 4:07am by frnkeore »  

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Re: Unusual repriming tool, first I've seen!
Reply #12 - Dec 7th, 2024 at 10:25am
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I have a five ton arbor press that makes short work of difficult brass swaging jobs. Stick a case in a die? No problem as ejecting cases is done with a push rod anyway, no expander rod/button in the way - you're pushing brass into a hollow die. 

Biggest issue with using the monster for these tasks is fixturing the work in order to get nice straight line exertion.
  
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