Reloading Blocks

[carpetman]

Through the years,I have came up with several reloading blocks,but my favorites are the ones I made when I first started. I used oak and although it is higher in cost and harder to work than some woods,it is worth the extra. I say higher in cost,not necessarily. I have seen oak used for pallets and packing material that was thrown away. When I worked for the state,new furniture made of glued sawdust(particle board)plastic covered would come in. The stuff was so flimsy they used oak to pack it,so it wouldn't get broken. The oak was thrown away. Talk about keeping afterbirth and throwing the baby away. Determine what thickness you want the blocks to be. You can set a case next to the block of wood and decide how high up on the case you want the block to be. The block is going to be the exact depth--make no allowances for any extra depth. For 30-06 class,I used 1 1/4". You can use a table saw to get the thickness you want. If you only have 3/4" stock,you can glue two pieces together and cut down to thickness you want(it's a reloading block,not living room furniture). I use about 8" long and 3 3/4" wide. Determine the size holes you want. Mark off for 10 rows of 5 and using drill press is best--drill all the way through the block of wood. Can be carefully done with hand drill if no drill press available. Even if you get some tearing as you drill through it,it wont matter. To minimize this drill through into another block of wood. I think they look better if you leave a little wider border at the ends and sides before you start your rows of holes. Now make a 1/4" thick bottom the size of the block with the holes. Glue the bottom in place and sand the whole thing,apply finish if desired and you have it. Bottoms are flat I know they make a Forstner bit for making flat bottoms,but I can neither spell nor pronounce it so that's how I get the flat bottom.

[beagle]

Carpet...I was looking as some sitting on the shelf the other day. Oak, I beleive. Anyway, they still had the price on the end.....$1.00.

I've had these a long while with that price on them./beagle

[Safeshot]

For "factory made" loading blocks, I like the "old" Midway wood ones. Foe home made I like to make them 2 1/2" wide, 1 1/2" thick and about 14 inches long. Use a router if you have one to cut a rounded groove along the length of each side (makes it much easier to hold on to). I like 13 holes down one side and 12 holes down the other side. This gives a loading block that can be used for 20 rounds or 25 rounds. Make the blocks in sets of two, or in multiples of two. This allows loading 50 rounds at a time. The long narrow blocks with only one row of holes down each side allow the cases to be easily charged with powder "in the block" and allows for easy handling and inspection as well. Forester bits do make nice clean flat bottom holes. I also like to drill a 1/8 ' to 1/4 inch hole all the way through the center of the bottom of each hole. This keeps them from getting "stuff" in the bottom of the holes. When I use the standard 50 round loading blocks I only put 25 cases in the blocks and use the holes around the outside edge of the blocks. Again this makes for easier powder charging and eaiser handling. Just my approach.

[Char-Gar]

Over the years, I have used many loading blocks made from wood and plastic and some of the wood, I made myself. However, by the the best loading blocks I have used are the ones made and sold by Sinclair Intl. They are machined from a solid black of Delrin. You can buy them extra deep and for straight walled rimless cases, they do hold the cases very stueady.

When the blocks, just cruddy, you just run them through the dish washer and they come out like new.

Like everything Sinclair sell, they are high end stuff, but they are worth the extra.

[wills]

Easy way to line up the holes

http://www.incompetech.com/beta/plainGraphPaper/

[Shepherd2]

I agree with Chargar about the Sinclair Int'l loading blocks. They are better than any other block I've ever bought or built. Well worth a couple extra dollars. They are solid machined polyethelene and don't tend to tip over like some of the lightweight molded plastic blocks.

[trooperdan]

Willis, thanks for the link you posted to the site that has print-your-own graph paper; really a very useful link!

[MARCORVET]

Easy way to line up the holes

http://www.incompetech.com/beta/plainGraphPaper/

MANY THANKS FOR THE LINK. BEEN TRYING TO GET ONE OF THESE PROGRAMS TO DO THIS.

[stephen perry]

I started loading back in the early sixities with some plastic/nylon trays my dad got from a shooter supply place mailorder. I still use these trays smack em on the ground once in awhile to clean em up.

I have wood 50, 60, 100's use them occasionally. I have the polycarbonite trays I bought from Russ Haydon similar to Sinclair's 25 pieces but I pack these in my BR loading cases.

To be honest and forget pricing I use tray discards from Range yuppies after they destroy the target stand they were issued. I have collected hundreds of .223, .38. and .45 trays. The 45 trays work good with .473 heads like 06 and its base relatives. I also collect the plastic boxes that held 22 mag and .17 cal stuff. I use the boxes as 100 pks for Cast bullets.

Even though I have the money to buy new I scrounge any chance I get, don't step in my way.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR :Fire:

[Shiloh]

Found an old wooden Midway #5 at the gun show yesterday for $2. Like them better than the plastic ones.

SHiloh

[atr]

I made a couple out of wood when I first started....and I'm still using them....and I've scrounged tray discards from the range which work fine especially if you glue them to a more substantial base..
art

[Doc Highwall]

I like the polyethylene blocks best because you can wash them and they do not crack or split. The thick polyethylene from Sinclair are the best but when I load for my 45-70 or 45-90 I use the wooden blocks for the nostalgic look with the lead bullets.

[Hardcast416taylor]

A neighbor used to work at a plastic molding plant. One of the things they made was a 64 hole tray w/bottom and was 1 1/8" high for the auto industry for small parts. His boss let him have a handful of them that failed inspection. He gave some to me as I was interested. I drilled thru the 3/4" hole and epoxyed 2 together. I have been using this 64 hole loading block for going on 40 years.Robert

[winelover]

In fourty plus years of reloading, NEVER used them! Throw charge, seat bullet and run into die!! Finished product. RCBS Chargemaster is the Cat's Meow when you adhere to this procedure. By the time you run the bullet into die your next weighed charge is ready.

Winelover

[geargnasher]

I have made several nice, caliber-specific loading blocks, but at the end of the day I much prefer the Frankford Arsenal "Perfect fit" reloading blocks, they're cheap, heavy, nicely contoured, and have the correct number of holes. The worst ever is the "universal" tray with which RCBS has been infecting the reloading public for years. It's only good for two head sizes, and has the wrong number of holes for most things.

BTW, Stephen, way to bring back yet ANOTHER thread from the dead!

Gear

[stephen perry]

How much wine along with powder do you spill loading like that. Forty is spelled Forty.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

[hiram]

I had an green MTM ammo box. The lid broke off. I cut about 3/4" up from the bottom with a table or band saw (can't remember) and it works well. I hade to clean fuzzy palstic burr from the cavities. Gives you a 50 or 60 loading block, holes already aligned.

[Doc Highwall]

Where the blocks work great is in case prep like when you do primer pocket uniforming, case trimming and then deburring and you can keep track of how many you did. I use mine all the time for making cast bullet loads where I load for accuracy not volume. Check out the thread that I started under reloading equipment titled Modifying dies for cast bullet shooting and let me know what you think.

[2wheelDuke]

I've always used scrounged commercial ammo trays until just a few days ago. I bought a plastic reloading block that's in a checkerboard pattern, one side fits larger/rimmed cases, the other fits smaller, rimless cases.

I liked it so much that I bought a 2nd one.

[winelover]

How much wine along with powder do you spill loading like that. Forty is spelled Forty.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

It's a sacrilege to spill either. I'd rather knock over one cartridge case of powder than a whole loading block full![smilie=p:

Winelover

[Big Dave]

Most of my loading blocks, homemade or otherwise have five rows of twelve holes. the extra holes let me use one block and not get cases confused. Take a case from head up, charge powder and put in open row mouth up. Reverse down block when seating boolits. Easy to run whole block under a light to sight check powder charges too.

Winelover, if you have had enough to knock over the loading block you oughta go do something elce anyway. :bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

[Jon]

I have some of the plastic trays, but the ammo box trays work pretty well for my turret press.