Mid-week Fun- Tools that shouldn’t be on the reloading bench… but are

[metricmonkeywrench]

There are of course the catalogs of purpose built Green, Blue, Orange, Red and so on tools that are staple items on the reloading bench to do the necessary tasks for case prep and reloading… We will stay away from casting, weapon maintenance and repair which are of course a separate can of worms.

Now for those folks that build watches, do chainsaw art, rebuild carburetors, overhaul Harley transmissions, build model nuclear reactors and space shuttle navigation systems and the like all on the same bench (I’ve seen your pictures posted here) let’s try to limit this to reloading benches…

So what tool(s) do you have on your bench that were never intended to be used for reloading, but have become a part of your everyday bench setup and used on a regular basis and why?

My submission to start this off is a 9in F type adjustable wrench I picked up at a yard sale, it spent more time on my loading bench than in my garage tool box. It’s turned out to be perfect for work with Dies such as tightening or loosening dies on the press with lock rings with flats, just right for holding the die while resetting Lee primer pins, loosening RCBS Die expander/seater lock nuts on and so on and is a perfect companion to my little 6in adjustable. It beat the heck out of a set of channel locks which seem to bite into everything (which I guess is the point).

[Lucky Joe]

They are great, pick one up every chance I get.

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[Fishoot]

put one on my bench a couple of years ago. Its much neater than a handful of open end wrenches!

[DonMountain]

Thats funny. Does yours say "FAIRMOUNT U.S.A." on the side of it also? Like mine does? Your picture looks just like mine. And I use mine almost as much as I use one of the reloading presses mounted on my bench. Then come the other tools: Crowbar/screwdriver, ViceGrips, Ball Peen Hammer . . .

[Walks]

I use a 8oz Leather mallet. And 3 different sets of pliers with padded jaws.
Jewelers Tweezers are REAL handy too.

[nagantguy]

Dental pick and a old cutting board with a grove around the whole block about half inch from the end that’s about a 1/4 inch deep ; it keeps all sorts of things from rolling into the floor. The dental pick is pretty self explanatory.

[brass410]

jeweler's loupe makes seeing those little things sooo much easier

[Lucky Joe]

Illuminated magnifying glass helps a lot also.

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[Rcmaveric]

Dental picks. I use the snot out of them for cleaning primer pockets. Pull a gas check out of a broken down cartridge. Cleaning ext. Inspecting brass for case separations starting.

Straight edge metal snips. It works grest st pulling bullets. It rest on the press die opening. Put a shell in the shell holder. Raise ram, it bites into the bullet and then lower ram. Yeah it damages them. But it makes quick work and then i melt and recast the bullets.

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[metricmonkeywrench]

Don, switched out the picture to my actual wrench, it's marked MADE IN USA^AUTO. The one I posted at first was just a random one off the web.

[RogerDat]

Large paint brush. My go to sweep up tool for the bench top. Metal shavings, powder dribbles, small shot etc. can get easily swept into my go to container for disposal. That container would be assorted bread loaf pans. From mini loaf to full size bread loaf pans see all manner of use. From headstamp sorting to storage of cast lead to bins for processing brass or when loading as bins to hold brass and bullets.

Pair of slip joint pliers (regular old pliers) any brass that is rejected is crushed with the pliers as it goes into the recycle can.

Zip lock baggies in assorted sizes from sandwich to half gallon. Brass, bullets, tumble lubing, loaded rounds. If I want to sort it out for storage those baggies are the right tool for the job. Add a piece cut from an index card to put into bag with information on contents and I can actually feel organized.

[country gent]

I have a 8" flush mount wood workers vise mounted under one of my benches. Works great for holding trimmers and other tooling. A scribe is handy also.

[georgerkahn]

One of the "strangest" tools I keep handy is a piece of cowhide leather, maybe 1" x 6". Whenever I need use channel lock or similar pliers on dies -- e.g, not just the rings -- but the adjusting of other die parts to it -- it is truly amazing how much holding and turning force,respectively, may be applied with neither slippage nor -- most important -- marring the die's finish.
geo

[Bent Ramrod]

I have one of those “knuckle smasher” wrenches that I use for removing and tightening the die bushing on my Rock Chucker. (It belonged to my grandfather.)

I have a set of those stamp collector’s press-to-open bent tip tweezers for gas check removal and other fine grasping work.

And my absolutely indispensable Harbor Freight three-prong thumb press picker-upper is always close to hand, since I grab cases ten at a time for reloading operations and one always slips out of the clutch to fall and roll into the most inaccessible place under the bench.

I get a lotta use out of that thing.

[osteodoc08]

Other than what’s listed above:

Canned air to blow off the press mechanisms to get rid of powder and junk
Old toothbrush if the canned air doesn’t get things moving
Small pack of peel and stick labels with black or blue sharpie
Small LED strip flashlight and regular led flashlight.
Small box of lint free towels
Small extendable magnet
Rubber Bands
Various empty containers (coffee, baby formula, etc)
Probably a few more things I’m forgetting about

[rbuck351]

HF 7x14 mini lathe for making sizer dies and top punches, swag-o-matic dies, gas check makers, trimming, deburring cases, primer pocket uniforming, hollow pointing boolits, making m dies, converting berdan to boxer and other such things. It's one of the most handy tools on the bench. Works great for neck turning and other stuff I can't remember at the moment. It's just too handy to be without.

[uscra112]

You can still buy those Ford Wrenches new. Believe it or not, they are beloved of airframe mechanics.

[tazman]

I have one of these for when a small item gets behind the bench or between the boxes on the floor.

[Bayou52]

Old toothbrushes - they clean just about anything....

[Harter66]

Plano flat plastic divided tackle boxes .
I have 3 and should have a couple more .
One is full misc sights , rail pieces , rings , loose screws etc .
One for press and die dodads , shell holders , lock rings , decapping/seating rods , decapping pins etc .
One for case trimmer stuff , pilots , shell holders , chamfer/debur tools , Imp tubing cutter .

I have a couple of other similar boxes for orphan dies .