Author Topic: Where do you reload? (Read 1145 times)

ridgerunner · « **on:** June 24, 2004, 04:26:11 PM »

Hi All, I have a little problem. I need to move my reloading bench due to expansion of family space. My only option is to move it all out to my shop in the garage. The garage is not heated all the time. Only when I need to work out there. I live in Michigan, so the weather can be cold and hot. My concern is will my powder and other equipment be ok in these kind of climate changes. I would like to hear where people reload and any ideas people might have.

Ridgerunner

longwinters · « **Reply #1 on:** June 24, 2004, 05:17:32 PM »

I reload in my basement. But my hunting room is only about 6' by 5'. It is big enough for my reloading bench shelves and wall space to hang stuff on. Maybe you can find a small corner, put a couple of walls around it and stay out of the garage.

Long

KN · « **Reply #2 on:** June 24, 2004, 05:20:15 PM »

I personally would not like the idea of keeping powder and primers in an unheated garage. It really needs to be kept some place cool and stable. KN

TNrifleman · « **Reply #3 on:** June 24, 2004, 05:47:49 PM »

I also reload in the basement. Great set-up, plenty of room for all the "stuff" that seems to accumulate, and my wife likes it much better than on the kitchen table. :lol:

SLAVAGE · « **Reply #4 on:** June 24, 2004, 08:39:42 PM »

i have a small 80$ work bench from service merchendise when they went out of bussness about 10 years ago got it for like 30 $ an its in the bed room lmmfao on top of it is my 2 presses an all the dies an besides it are 6 of them plastic storage containers from home dep. with all the stuff i nead an besides them are 12 other storage containers with all the hunting clothing an about 20 gun cases under the bed lol, so ive been looken for a house to get 2 bed room apart with me wife an kid is just tooooooo small lol

ricciardelli · « **Reply #5 on:** June 24, 2004, 08:51:57 PM »

Hummm....I reload in my reloading room.

I must be crazy because I use my computer in the computer room, I sleep in the bedroom, and I "Triple-S" in the bathroom.

Am I doing something wrong?

warf73 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 25, 2004, 12:57:12 AM »

In the reloading room.

williamlayton · « **Reply #7 on:** June 25, 2004, 01:13:17 AM »

I ask this question several months ago and here were the thoughts given (paraphrased, of course).
Needs to be ventilated, heated and cooled. I live on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
Powder requires a most stable place.
Bench should be at least 6 feet by 2 feet and sturdy.
Area should be WELL lighted.
Area should be out of the way and controllable.
There needs to be ample area for storage.
Area should be a place where tha Hen don't have no sayso whatsoever.

Here is what I have done so far--aint bought no supplies yet but that will happen.
I had a 10X12 shed what I kept junk in, well including lawn stuff.
I converted the shed, (9 feet of it anyway) into a comfortable area for this project. I'm gonna post sum pictures sumtimes.
I reframed the inside some, built a wall across the width of tha shed, wired it, insulated it, put in a window at tha end with a room a/c and lined the walls with 3/4 and 1/2 inch plywood. Built a 6 foot by 31 inch wide bench. Top is 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch plywood glued and screwed with a hardboard top.
Filled all tha gaps and covered it with a layer of rolled on sheetrock mud. Painted it and built a small L shaped computer table on the opposite wall 49" x 53" and 21" wide.
Put in three shop lights, 6 wall plugs ( the a/c and computer are on dedicated circuits).
Have room for a lot of shelves, some installed and room for more plus a shelf for tools under the bench. I had to relocate the mower to the garage. The rest of the lawn equipment fits in the front 3 feet of the shed.
All in all quiet comfy, thats where I am this AM.
Gonna keep the powder and the primers in a space in the house.
Hope this gives ya some ideas.
Blessings

The Shrink · « **Reply #8 on:** June 25, 2004, 01:27:30 AM »

Ridgerunner

Two things, if you have no choice but to move to the garage. One, be very active in rust management. This is particularly important for your press, cause it's easy to put dessicant thingies in your die boxes.

Two, get a couple of 50 cal ammo cans and keep your powder and primers in them. I have a 30 cal can that is dedicated to primers. Keep these in the house and carry them back and forth if you're worried about temp stability.

Wayne the Shrink

Jack Crevalle · « **Reply #9 on:** June 25, 2004, 02:00:45 AM »

Everything I've ever read says not to keep powder in metal boxes unless they've been designed specifically for that purpose. A container to hold powder needs weak walls so that it does not become a bomb in a fire. The national fire code specifies a wooden box made out of 1" wood for small lots of powder.

I keep my powder in a separate room from my reloading bench. If I were to have to reload in a not-climate controlled garage I would try to store my powder and primers in another room in the house that is climate controlled and just bring out what I needed.

jhm · « **Reply #10 on:** June 25, 2004, 04:37:25 AM »

Jack makes a good point about the powder in heavy steel cans, they could become a bomb in the event of a fire, and in answer to the original question in the reloading room of my shop, out of the sight of others who have no business see or asking questions unless invited into there.

JIM

ridgerunner · « **Reply #11 on:** June 25, 2004, 05:27:50 AM »

Thanks for the replies. I have been thinking about other spots for my reloading. I may be able to secure a small place in the computer room/office for a bench. I would have to build one that I can lock up from the kids and there friends. The idea of taking my powder and primers back and forth is also not a bad idea. I like my shop in the garage. Especially in the winter. Get the woodstove going and work away. I have the most room there. I already reload in the basement, but a family room is needed and we only have a 2/3 basement. So maybe we will have to move so I can have that reloading room

lol.

Ridgerunner

stork · « **Reply #12 on:** June 25, 2004, 02:46:03 PM »

I reload in my bedroom and I have my bench and everything needed to reload in the corner. My parents don't mind as long as I don't leave out primers and powder. I don't have a lot of stuff so everything fits on the shelf on my 5x2 1/2 foot bench. My bedroom was the only place where I could reload without being bothered.

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #13 on:** June 25, 2004, 02:54:38 PM »

I reload in my garage. I have two large benches. I have 3 large shelfs with bullets and dies. I keep my primers and powder in a filing cabinet in my computer room. My garage is not heated or cooled. I use a fan in the summer and a small heater in the winter. I have some nice bar stools I use to sit on. The wife can't complain about anything.

BruceP · « **Reply #14 on:** June 25, 2004, 03:43:31 PM »

When I first started reloading the wife and I lived in a small mobile home so the press was set up in the storage building. I kept everything else in the extra bedroom. When she started planing our house she asked me what I wanted. I told her I was not hard to please. I wanted a den big enough for a pool table and a small reloading room. I got both.
BruceP

myronman3 · « **Reply #15 on:** June 25, 2004, 04:52:44 PM »

william said "Area should be a place where tha Hen don't have no sayso whatsoever. "
this is one of the best pieces of advise you may ever hear. now if only i can get my hen to stay the hell out of mine!

williamlayton · « **Reply #16 on:** June 26, 2004, 03:55:38 AM »

Hens peck without reguards to domaine though, don't they. I HAVE SPOKEN don't seem to cut thru too em.
Blessings

bgjohn · « **Reply #17 on:** June 26, 2004, 08:11:05 AM »

When we moved into this house I took 1/2 of the laundry room. That was 28 years ago. My reloading bench is still in use in the same spot. The pantry is above my bench. I only have occasional cases of encroachment (canned goods on my bench). It works out ok for both of us.

My brother had a similar setup. His wife wanted to take all of the space. She changed her mind quickly when he suggested moving the washer & dryer into the garage! :lol:
JM

Moe · « **Reply #18 on:** June 27, 2004, 02:19:18 PM »

In the garage. Gets really hot in the summer. Perfect in the winter in Arizona. I keep my powder in the house. Everything else is in the garage. Primers and all componets, etc. Works out good.

JBMauser · « **Reply #19 on:** June 27, 2004, 04:32:54 PM »

I now live on high ground and have a garage to load in. Not long ago I lived on the coast and after the ocean came in to my ground level garage the second time. I moved my set up to the upper floor in my small office. I set up two presses and a powder measure on a 12in square piece of 3/4 ply mounted on a cast iron grinder stand $30. Then I put all my components powder etc. in the bottom of one of those roll around work carts (chineese $30) which held two 12 drawer plastic bin racks in the bottom. The whole mess could be wheeled into a closet and stuffed out of sight. I miss loading from my desk swivel chair. standing gets to my back after a few hours. Good luck. JB

ridgerunner · « **Reply #20 on:** June 27, 2004, 05:55:29 PM »

Thanks for the input. I hate to give up my reloading space in the house, but my kids having a place to hang out with friends is more inportant. I like the idea of kids hanging out at my house. Maybe my wife and I can have a positive influence on them.

I am going to give the garage a go. I have a wood stove out there for the winter and a fan will work in the summer. I think it will work out great. I can have the space to myself. I have a nice lockable cabinet in my basement that I can keep powder and primers in. I will also give me more space then I had before. I can also have more space for my hunting and fishing gear that is spread out now. I can't wait to start buliding a new bench.

Ridgerunner

Jim M · « **Reply #21 on:** July 10, 2004, 03:44:46 PM »

I do my reloading in the basement but it's damp in the summer. I keep my dies, powder, components, etc in separate tool boxes and cases that I store on the steps leading to the attic. It stays cool and dry and when I'm reloading I just grab the cases and head downstairs. It's not ideal but it works for me. I took over my garage for my woodshop and don't have room there for reloading.

Donna · « **Reply #22 on:** July 10, 2004, 04:12:05 PM »

I have reloaded in my bedroom when I lived with my parents, in a shed at one time, on the kitchen table, it was my kitchen and I was not married at the time, in a ten person artic tent that I lived in with a friend and four cats in Alaska, in a small corner of a studio apartment (that was crowded), and now in a spare room of my house and its still crowded.

Donna

calvon · « **Reply #23 on:** July 10, 2004, 04:53:52 PM »

I live in the high desert part of Oregon. Low humidity, moderate temperatures, not altogether a bad environment. Rust isn't a problem in this part of the world. (Incidentally, I went quail hunting one winter a few years ago in Arizona, around Punkin Center. I noticed that the steel posts and the barbed wire on the fences were all rusted. That doesn't happen here; the posts and the wire look like new even after more than twenty years. Maybe somebody can tell me why this is so because I sure don't know.)

The Hen is The Boss of the House, a fact obout which I am frequently reminded. I am the Stud Monk of the Garage. I have a four by five foot closet in one corner which is my loading room. I have a home made tool holder that allows me to have only one tool at a time on the bench. A RCBS Rockchucker press, a Star lubesizer, and another item or two. Powder is kept in a wooden cupboard hanging on the wall in the garage. Primers and jacketed bullets are kept in an old metal kitchen cupboard in the reloading closet. Cast bullets are kept in the freezer. Loaded ammo is kept in another metal cupboard in the garage proper. There's a wood stove in the garage that makes it possible to reload in most any kind of weather.

Questor · « **Reply #24 on:** July 12, 2004, 08:24:45 AM »

The answer is simple: Move your family to the garage and tell them to get the heck out of your reloading space. Priorities!

Alternatively, use the dining room and replace the dining room table with a reloading bench.

bgjohn · « **Reply #25 on:** July 12, 2004, 08:50:29 AM »

Quote from: Questor

The answer is simple: Move your family to the garage and tell them to get the heck out of your reloading space. Priorities!

Alternatively, use the dining room and replace the dining room table with a reloading bench.

:x They hate it when you drill holes in the dining room table. :shock: :? :lol:
JM

Questor · « **Reply #26 on:** July 12, 2004, 10:28:24 AM »

I'm not suggesting to damage the dining room table, I'm suggesting getting rid of it and replacing it with a proper reloading bench -- right next to the bullet casting bench.

Tom W. · « **Reply #27 on:** July 13, 2004, 06:53:39 AM »

My kids are all grown and moved out, I now have my own room where I keep my computer on it's table in the corner, and the rest of the area is dedicated to my loading bench and storage. The door stays closed.