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Star History / CPM
« on: March 18, 2005, 11:59:34 pm »
Clyde Products Manufacturing originally from Clyde and later from Norwalk Ohio made a machine that was Star like but with a considerable number of improvements. Their problem as a manufacturer was that while they made machines getting parts was almost impossible.
I found the CPM amazingly hard to use. Took me years to figure out why. Operationally it was ALMOST star-like. The key word being almost. Once you REALLY understood the differences it was easy enough to use but figuring that out took me forever.
The new machine I bought from them was extremely well made. Not parts interchangable but nice. I no longer remember all the features that they improved on but they did make a number of important improvements.
It was a nice machine once you got use to it but I don't think that they sold many. About the only rarer Star variations would be the one made in Australia for awhile or the handbuilt 50 caliber Browning machine gun units.
CPM's real claim to fame, however, at least in my opinion, was their kit that converted a simply single station reloader into a progressive. This is where the RCBS line of Piggyback progressives actually came from. Dillon treated a lawsuit against this machine and CPM withdrew it. Don't know if they ever actually sold a single unit but I'm sure that they advertised their idea. Today, of course, RCBS is still selling units based at least historically on this design.
I found the CPM amazingly hard to use. Took me years to figure out why. Operationally it was ALMOST star-like. The key word being almost. Once you REALLY understood the differences it was easy enough to use but figuring that out took me forever.
The new machine I bought from them was extremely well made. Not parts interchangable but nice. I no longer remember all the features that they improved on but they did make a number of important improvements.
It was a nice machine once you got use to it but I don't think that they sold many. About the only rarer Star variations would be the one made in Australia for awhile or the handbuilt 50 caliber Browning machine gun units.
CPM's real claim to fame, however, at least in my opinion, was their kit that converted a simply single station reloader into a progressive. This is where the RCBS line of Piggyback progressives actually came from. Dillon treated a lawsuit against this machine and CPM withdrew it. Don't know if they ever actually sold a single unit but I'm sure that they advertised their idea. Today, of course, RCBS is still selling units based at least historically on this design.