Favorite Cartridge/Ammo Tray

[osteodoc08]

I’ve been getting by using a 9mm cartridge tray from a Remington factory ammo box as a reloading tray for my 223 and 300 BLK. Wanting to get a dedicated reloading tray and looking for suggestions. Must be fairly inexpensive, stackable when not using, easily washable and prefer to not be red. Never cared for the color much.

[Czech_too]

I make 'em up of scrap 3/4" pine roughly 6" wide with the length of 8"
A Forstner bit in the drill press is what's used to drill the holes. Some of the blocks/holes are cartridge specific i.e. Hornet & .223

A friend though has been making gang blocks out of the cartridge trays from the factory boxes.
I'm not sure if he's glueing them together, how he's securing them.

Actual dimensions turn out to be 4 1/4" x 8 1/2"

[quack1]

I also make my own. I don't have Forstner bits in all the sizes I need, so I just use regular twist bits and drill holes the whole way through the block Then, simply glue a thin piece of plywood or pressboard to the bottom.

[Wayne Smith]

I make my own but also rout an edge on the bottom so I can pick them up and spray glue (77 spray glue) a piece of carpet backing (router hold down is the same thing) on the bottom so they don't slide around.

[Handloader109]

Yep, Pine would be the cheapest wood. Kind of wish I had a CNC, I've a large stack of 1/2" mdf that is 6" wide x 96" long. This would be good project for use and might even could sell a few. But I'm not drilling thousands of holes with my drill press. :) (couldn't wash them, but don't know why you need to. Spray with a couple of coats of clear lacquer or acrylic and they won't stain easily, and tap out loose powder. Or spray with your favorite color that isn't RED [smilie=f:

[Green Frog]

I’ve bought the caliber specific wooden blocks from Midway... a little pricey compared to free from factory boxes, but nicely spaced out for use when charging by hand (powder measure or dipper.). Brownell’s sells some similar, even more expensive blocks in some sort of heavy white poly stuff. The few of these I own are my absolute favorites, but I don’t have those for all calibers I load. :-(

Truth to tell, I still use a lot of the plastic liners from factory ammo boxes... free from the trash barrel at the range! :redneck:

Froggie

[pworley1]

I make mine from oak scraps. I use the cheap Forstner bit set from harbor freight.

[CastingFool]

I have made a few, out of scrap oak and or mahogany. Some, I drilled all the way through and glued a thin bottom, some I drilled partially. I grind my own flat bottom drill bits.

[Rich/WIS]

I have two of the Midway blue plastic trays for 45 ACP, as well as a wood tray of the same size I got from an estate sale. These work well with 30/06 also. For 30/40 I use a yellow tray from Flambeau that I bought new back around 1970 that is two sided, one side for larger cases like the 30/40 and the other size fits 06 size cases. For spray lubing 06 size cases I took several of the 45 ACP plastic trays from ammo boxes and sliced them to half height and stagger the cases to get good coverage. For the 30/40 I used a spade bit and drilled a piece of structural nylon board to hold 50 for lubing.

[JBinMN]

Handgun rounds I like the MTM Red ones the best so far, but I also use some I have made myself. I do have a green RCBS, but I am not too fond of it.

For rifle rounds, I just made my own by drilling out 2x4 and 2x6 chunks.

G'Luck! in whatever choice you make!
:)

[kayala]

I use "universal" from FA (they have 2 set of holes with "steps") it covers a wide range of calibers. For my 25 acp reloads I've just made one from a piece of scrap wood.

[L Erie Caster]

I have 2 of the old style RCBS universal blocks, and I don’t care for them at all. I also have 4 of the new style and they work great. I only need 4 because I don’t use blocks on runs of more than 200.

[lightman]

I have and have used several over the years. Grandpa made them from scrap pine 2 X 6's. Other woods would make an attractive block. I have a really nice one made from aluminum by a guy that goes by the name CNC Shooter that advertises on the Accurate Shooter site. I have a few from Sinclair machined from polyethylene that are really nice. I have a dozen from RCBS that I found at a gunshow for a dollar each. These have 2 different size holes that are both nice and annoying and hold 80 cases. I have a few from C-H that have 60 holes which makes it a little easier to maneuver charged cases around without spilling powder. Probably have another one or two laying around! I guess all of mine will stack.

The aluminum ones are really nice if money is not an issue and if you like really nice stuff. The C-H ones are narrow enough to fit under a powder measure stand and are probably my favorites. I use the RCBS ones mostly for counting/sorting cases. Lyman makes one where the different rows are elevated like bleachers that looks interesting. Sinclair and Midway both have several different ones for sale and their online catalogs have decent pictures.

[Walks]

I really like the old Flambeau twin-60, one side fits .06 or smaller, the other belted mag. Have 6 and one for shotgun. Find on fleabay.
I also use the old style wood blocks from Midway #2s to reload .32S&W.

And the poly blocks from Sinclair Int'l are just the thing for spray lubes. Washable too. And MANY different sizes & configurations.

[C-dubb]

Im a woodworker and save all of my scraps then glue them together like cutting boards are. Then I round over the edges, drill the holes, and glue velvet on the bottoms. Makes some purdy ammo trays. :)

[Boolit_Head]

I made mine too but wanted something a tad bit nicer than pine so I used poplar with some Danish oil for a finish.

[Walter Laich]

since I hit my empty cases with spray lube before sizing I like the kind the non-wood kind. Wife isn't crazy about having them in dishwasher about twice a year.

have some wooden ones I made as well as a couple my Dad made in late 50s.

[INTRLOPER]

Most of mine are made by cutting the top portion off from old MTM cartridge boxes after the old hinges gave out. I just set the fence on the bandsaw and cut them to the height I need, then drop them on the belt sander for a second. I cannot believe how long it took them plastic box makers to put a real hinge on cartridge boxes. Thank God they finally did though.

[osteodoc08]

I had a gent make me a pair of oak trays for 45/70 and have cherished those but don’t let sprays or anything get near them. May have to look into making some oak ones myself. Gonna price some tonight and poke around the net. Thanks for the suggestions everyone

[lefty o]

since I hit my empty cases with spray lube before sizing I like the kind the non-wood kind. Wife isn't crazy about having them in dishwasher about twice a year.

have some wooden ones I made as well as a couple my Dad made in late 50s.

me too, and why i like the cheap blue plastic ones midway sells. also have older wood ones which are nice, and the nicest is the plastic one from sinclair i have for the wsm cases.

[jimkim]

I have two of the old style RCBS blocks. They work pretty good, but for handgun I mostly use empty 40 S&W Speer plastic trays. Most eveything I load fits in them. I like them because they are smaller than the rcbs trays, and I can fit four(more if I move a few things) on either side of my press.

Sent from my VS880 using Tapatalk

[MUSTANG]

This one has worked well for me. Only been using it for 43 years; waiting to see how it works out.

233708

Even for the 300 Win Mag I got for Christmas, the brass will fit in the slots; but they are snug.

[ReloaderFred]

I have a couple dozen of the ones Midway sells that are caliber specific, but I wait for them to go on sale before I buy them. When they had the Winchester branded wooden trays on close-out for less than $3.00 each, I bought a bunch of those, too. Just watch the sales, since the caliber specific trays are hard to beat for ease of use.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[gwpercle]

About 50 years ago I started with a red MTM Universal Loading Tray. No complaints but after 50 years it was getting a bit shop worn so I decided to get a new one.
After looking at all on the market I ended up with a new MTM Universal Loading Tray...why ? I couldn't find anything better and it cost only $5.23..... I couldn't make one that cheap. Nice wood is pricey besides the last thing I need is 12 to 15 caliber specific loading blocks, I do a lot of reloading on the move and one or two MTM's cover everything .

Turns out I now use both of them.... I should have gotten a second years ago .
Gary

[BigAlofPa.]

I have an RCBS one i picked up at walmart for 10 bucks.

[MrHarmless]

Something is terribly satisfying about dropping a well honed forstner bit into a piece of nice hardwood and getting a perfectly sized hole. Yeah you potentially need multiple loading blocks for multiple calibers, but they can be so simple and elegant.

[KenT7021]

I use the Stalwart wood blocks as sold by Sinclair.I got most of mine from Midway when they still stocked them.I've also used various plastic blocks and have made a few from scrap wood.They all work but I find the Stalwart blocks to be more convenient.

[M-Tecs]

These are very nice. Been using them for a long time.

http://www.stalwartreloading.com/products.html

https://www.brownells.com/reloading/case-preparation/loading-blocks/stalwart-wooden-loading-blocks-prod33205.aspx

[HangFireW8]

The problem I've had with homemade case loading blocks is uneven hole bottoms, even with a Forstner bit.

A modified Spade (point ground smaller) was better, but not quite perfect. A 118 degree bit, still not perfect.

D'oh... just drill all the way through, then glue a thin sheet of hardboard/masonite to the bottom. Presto! Nice flat hole bottoms (unless you use too much glue).

[Ziggy]

I'm planning on 3d printing some when I get back to school. My friend already has printed a couple and really likes them for his 223/300 blackout. You can find many different designs online for your individual cases. Just download the files and plug them into the printer.

[dale2242]

The old Herters loading blocks I bought in the 60s are still working great.
I have the regular nd short versions...dale

[Ole Joe Clarke]

Since I started loading 9 mm in larger quantities, I find a shallow bowl or similar container works better. I use the Lee Classic Turret and the aftermarket rod that make the turret turn clock wise. A container that holds 250 to 500 loaded shells works much better than a loading block.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[HangFireW8]

Since I started loading 9 mm in larger quantities, I find a shallow bowl or similar container works better. I use the Lee Classic Turret and the aftermarket rod that make the turret turn clock wise. A container that holds 250 to 500 loaded shells works much better than a loading block.
Case loading blocks are primarily used by batch mode reloaders. I use them extensively for rifle reloading, and not at all for my progressive handgun reloading. Akro bins catch my progressive reloads.

My favorites were the MidwayUSA wooden blocks of some years ago, but they have long been out of production. I still use them, mainly for storage of rifle brass batches in their various stages of prep. The Stalwart looks like a worthy and affordable successor, I'm glad I found this thread and that product, I might just order some.

My new favorite is the Lyman Bleacher Block, which is what I use on the bench (as opposed to storage). Since the case height varies per row, they're not good for batch case charging, which I no longer do (I feel that there is less chance of a double charge by avoiding batch charging.) I have several presses set up in a row for assembly line style reloading, and it is easier to vary charge weights, and/or one or two die settings, when doing many small batches for accuracy comparisons.

233755

[country gent]

Some tricks to making loading blocks. Once the size and number of holes are decided draw out on paper and use as a template. copy it cut out and rubber cement to material. You can now drill the holes and finish the edges rubbing the paper off when done. A rail clamped to the dill press table aids maintaining alignment. A forester bit does a great job cutting flat bottomed holes and the center point is almost big enough for a high primer to still sit flat and not spill over. A flat ground drill works but requires a second operation. Drilling a thru hole works with a thin backer glued on. For dishwaser safe plexiglass glued together or if all rimless cases spaced apart on rails will make a good solid block. I have a few made from lexan 1/2" scraps that are great but lexan is expensive. Buddy made some from the sink cut out from his corean counter tip that were very nice

[HangFireW8]

I have two different brands of Forstner bits, and neither leave a flat bottomed hole. Maybe I just don't have the right brand.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I use the Franklins. Blue in-color, they each have a really nice chart on the back of each telling you what calibers fit in the different numbered trays. Relatively inexpensive ($7 each on Amazon), they will last forever, and stack neatly. My stack of them is 10" high.

233822

[GregLaROCHE]

since I hit my empty cases with spray lube before sizing I like the kind the non-wood kind. Wife isn't crazy about having them in dishwasher about twice a year.

have some wooden ones I made as well as a couple my Dad made in late 50s.

Does the plastic hold up with dishwasher temperatures?