Reloading room ideas?

[CiDirkona]

I finally convinced the wife that I needed an office, and then traded my life away to get one (I've had enough reloading in the 110+ degree garage... [smilie=f: )

I'm getting a 10x11.5 foot room, with a window on the 10 foot wall, and closet and door consuming the opposite wall. One of the 11.5 foot walls has a bathroom door on it, but the other is blank. I'm thinking a 40" high countertop 8 feet wide I can stand at or pull up a tall seat to to put a computer on and my presses. I like having my presses set back from the edge of the table though, and have done that on my bench in the garage. I have a Pro1000 and a Classic Turret Any other ideas?

I'll definitely beef up a countertop with some 2x12s running back to the wall and some 2x4s at 45 degrees running back to being supported by wall studs. THis would also give me potential for running a spent primer tube down the support beam for either/both the Pro1000 and the Classic Turret

I've thought about getting some of those Lee quick change docks, but not quite sure about them. I prefer having my case catching bucket close to my Pro1000, and it'd sit on the edge of the dock -- and the Pro1000 ejects spent primers out the bottom, which would be impossible on that unless I drilled a hole?

Current bench in the sauna/garage:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a110/cidirkona/SU1BRzAxMTUuanBn.jpg
(obviously, not normally this clean)

[mike in co]

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH COUNTER.

get rid of the back wall closet and put cabinets above...and add another full legth counter.

i have 21 linear ft of counter and still have my desk/computer out of the room.

mike in co

[Az Rick]

WOW!, a clean palette, you get to start from scratch. My two cents would be to evaluate what you liked about your current set up, and bring that to the new design. Don't bring in the things you didn't like or could make better. Things that you need most often should be close at hand, convenient. A safe place for powder/primers, especially if you have little ones. I would like a pegboard behind my bench, I'll get around to it some day. You could hang many tools that are often used. Make sure you have legroom underneath, if you're going to use a stool. You'll get ideas from everyone, it looks like you'll give it lots of thought. Pretty exciting stuff, as for me I'll be out in the 110 degree garage.

Good Luck, Rick

[Cowboy T]

Linoleum or vinyl sheeting for your floor. You want to be able to mop up all the powder/primer dust and residue.

Sturdy table, obviously. Overhead cabinetry to store your powder and primers. Lower (and lockable) cabinetry to store your bullets and brass.

No need for Lee's quick-change docks. I use ye olde traditionale method of firmly bolting the press to a piece of 2x8 pine board (counter-sink the bottom side so it sits flat on the bench, hence the 2x8 and not a 1x8), and then C-clamping said board to the bench. 1.5" lag screws would also work if you don't want to counter-sink the bottom. I do this with two Pro 1000's and a Classic Turret. Works great.

[CiDirkona]

Thanks for the ideas everyone -- and keep'em coming!

I may have to look at bringing that countertop around two full sides I have available... I also have a horrible problem with horizontalspaceitus -- if there's a horizontal surface, I'll end up putting something on it... I think maybe a small workout bench for some freeweight lifting may be in order, or a recliner for multiple re-readings of my Brian Enos book...

I definitely like having my presses set back from the edge, gave me much more usable counter space and kept from knocking into the presses with my hips and ribs, and definitely won't bother with making a 2x12 as a top -- not smooth enough, torsion cracks it too easily.

All the bullets, primers, powder, etc will probably be stored in the closet, which will get a lock on it to keep the little ones from eating them, and we've already put vinyl plank in the room to make swiffering up rogue primers and powder a quick breeze.

I could put cabinetry overhead (primers/powder now are easily at hand) and pegboard, but my wife wasn't TOO fond of that idea as she said it'd make the room look too much like a garage ("..and what's so bad about that?!") and not a 'creative workspace.'

I definitely need to make some jigs for holding up my Lee 3 hole and 4 hole turret heads and shell plates. Despite my desire to keep myself to a few cartridges, these things keep magically reproducing...

Rick, how far are you from Tucson? If you ever get too hot out there, drop me a PM. I can empathize with you. :drinks:

If you guys had a blank slate for a reloading room, what would you put in it?

[mold maker]

Put up a carport for the car and get AC in the whole garage. You'll still run out of room. Tee Hee

[jsizemore]

I would build something similiar to what you have in the garage on your uninterrupted wall for computer and storage. I built a 4'x4' island 40" high drawers underneath and each side is devoted to different tasks. 1 side has my sizer centered. The next side has a 550b 16" from the corner and a rockchucker 16" from the other corner. The next side is for gun cleaning and has a swing away florescent magnifier for detail work. The last side has a MEC Grabber that's monted on a piece of plywood so I can move it out of the way when I need more space. 16' of conter space in a 4'x4' area. Oh yeah the overhead light is above the island so I don't shadow my work and the florescent light magnifier is on an articulated arm so I can swing it wherever I need on the top for extra light. Damn my old eyes.

Since your space is limited, I'd model what you want to do with some boxes and sheets before you commit to anything that won't fit. Mine's been a slow development spured by materials being provided from clients renovations and necessity.

[CiDirkona]

I like the islands idea, I hadn't thought of that before - or maybe a peninsula? How do you weigh it down enough for resizing? I'd rather not anchor into the concrete if I can avoid it.

[buck1]

Lead makes good ballast.

[Calamity Jake]

Light, lots of light, you can't have enough light.

[Wayne Smith]

I'm in much the same position. My son and daughter-in-law plan to move out within the next two weeks - I get to make a bedroom a gun/reloading room, LOML makes the other one into an office. I'm thinking one or two L shaped benches to use for reloading, sizing, and gun work. I will want a bookshelf for my library and data and a file cabinet, probably 2 drawer, for data I've printed out and other records.

I am reloading now, and have for years, on the back side of the kitchen peninsula that we never use for breakfast, never did. I have always loaded sitting down, and I size that way now. My benches will be at sitting height. A good office type chair will be necessary. I am planning to build open cabinets above the benches, resting on the benches and tied to studs. This will be storage for dies, powder, primers, bullets, sizing dies, spare lube, and other paraphenila. I will want at least one drawer for small, loose stuff. Storage under the benches for lead, boolets, and brass.

The vibratory cleaner will probably stay in the garage and casting will probably move from the back porch to the garage.

I want to leave some significant open space, I want to use this space to teach others reloading. I don't really have room to do that now.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Morn'in CiDirkona,

I had the chance to start from scratch about 4 - 5 years ago, as the wife and I moved into our new, "retirement digs."

We have what started out to be 3 bed rooms, but the middle sized of those rooms became our "common" room where we spend the great majority of "in house" time.

The TV and stereo, our easy chairs, the wife's sewing area, and my reloading area are all there.

I also have a nice shop with a heated loft (called Sharon's dog house), so dirty things like cartridge case cleaning, gun cleaning, leather work, welding/fabrication, wood work etc. etc. are confined to the shop & loft.

Could move the reloading to the loft and use the MANY hours used old reloading bench now residing there, but find lots of enjoyment spending time with the wife in the current "reloading room".

Wife calls the room the, "Hobby Room," after which I must always correct her just to keep things squared away and in prespective.[smilie=l:[smilie=l:

The "reloading" bench runs the length of one wall, and the wife and I share the bench space.

The height is standard table height so typical table chairs are usable. The bench is VERY!!!!!! strong - 2 layers of quality 3/4" plywood glued and screwed with knee braces back to the wall. The plan is to build in cabnets below the bench which will replace the knee braces for support.

There are 2X4s screwed into the wall studs along the length and ends of the table/bench and the plywood is glued and screwed to those.

I can and have walked around on the bench, and there IS NO!!!!!!! give or flex.

I use a heavy duty plastic desk matts over the carpet at the locations where chairs are used at the reloading & sewing areas.

BUT, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY IS THE USE OF AN UNDER BENCH "RECEIVER" SYSTEM FOR THE MOUNTING OF ALL LOADING TOOLS!

This system allows for mounting, moving, exchanging of any and all loading tools, presses, priming tools, powder measures, trimmers, boolit sizers/lubers etc., all while leaving the bench top clean, smooth/no holes, and neat.

The under bench receivers were bolted in place with bolts installed through the double plywood and set in fiberglass resin before the formica and oak trim was put in place.

Sorry, I have yet to figure out how to post images to the forum, but I can or at least have in the past sent images to personal "E" address.

Anyone interested, send me a "PM" with your "E" address and I will gladly send along photographs of my system.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[imashooter2]

You can do small jobs on a big bench, but you can't do big jobs on a small bench.

Don't mount the presses in the middle, put them to one side and leave a large clear area for the work you will invariably want to do at that bench.

Consider mounting a small gunsmith's vise at the end opposite the presses.

Add a plate drilled and tapped with multiple hole patterns for seldom used devices.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Well, the vice will also attach just fine to the under bench receiver system.

No holes in the bench top, not even one tiny one!

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Olo'Coot

[CiDirkona]

I absolutely love your under bench mounting setup, Ol'Coot. I'd love to be able to replicate that, but my access to and lack of skills with a welder will prevent me from doing something quite like that. I thought about those Lee docks, but they take up space as is anyways! I used to do Cowboy T's countersunk 2x8 setup before I moved into the house I purchased, but the c-clamps prevented getting my supplies bins close to my presses.

I like the 'notched' concept from my current bench, so I may have to figure out a way to be able to get that offset. Having the presses removable isn't TOO big of a deal as I have one Progressive and one Turret that I do EVERYTHING on, and can do just about everything on...

I'm picking up some spare parts tonight, so hopefully I can get some 'starter' pics up tonight -- and get Ol'Coot's awesome under-bench mounting setup pictures posted tonight as well.

[jsizemore]

I have a plywood floor that I attached mine to. If your attaching to a cocrete floor and don't want to use anchors, set your cabinets in their position and trace it on the floor. Move the cabinets and mark the thickness of your cabinet sides inside your previous floor markings. Use some polyurethane adhesive to attach some 2x4 cleets to the floor with some weight on them till they dry. Set the cabinets back in place and attach cabinets to cleets. Weight in the cabinets will also help or be an alternate method. Regardless how strong you make it the actions of the various presses will jar sensitive equipment. I have one of those Denver Instrument mxx 123 scales and it won't stand a lot of bouncing around so I have a seperate counter for it and my powder measures. It's only 2 steps away so I'm not running laps to do load development.
You can't get this stuff figured out overnight so figure some flexability into your plan.

[cbrick]

Like Mike said in post #2, you cannot have enough bench top. I'm up to 22 feet of bench top, two 8 foot and a 6 foot and if everything isn't properly put away & cleaned up it can be difficult to find a place to set something down. Cabinets . . . Did I mention cabinets? I have 16 feet of wall cabinets and a 6 foot bench with full length cabinets underneath, they're all full. Also 15 feet of bookshelves (5 three foot shelves). Wall mounted shelves that hold 2 to 6 drawer tool boxes, ammo cases, cast bullet storage boxes, loaded ammo boxes and the list goes on and on.

Do this stuff long enough and the tools, parts, equipment, supplies, books etc. just keep accumulating, it all needs a place to be put away or all you have is a mess and doing anything gets more difficult. Plus there is the creature comfort necessities such as the coffee pot, sound system, computer, TV and more that eat up bench top space in a hurry.

Rick

[Cherokee]

Lots of bench top and more light, did I mention more light ? And electrical outlets. I used two layers of 3/4" plywood (glued together) as my bench top with white Marlite as the top, cleans easy and you can see stuff with the white background.

[1hole]

Keep the closet. Great place to store gun cleaning rods/stuff, chronograph & tripod, targets, range box, broom & dust pan, Windex, paper towel rolls, broom, a small shop vac, tumbler & media, etc.

Bench on the long wall. Solid "book shelves"on a short wall, all the way to the ceiling, and another unit starting about 16" above the bench top. Overhead "kitchen cabinets" above what ever you put on the other long wall.

Several AC outlets or wall/bench mounted power strips for easy power access for an assortment of needs.

No matter the flooring, put a "throw" rug in front of the bench to cushion things you drop.

Ditto to lots of light.

And plan a central handy place for a waste basket.

I've epoxy patched some holes in concrete floors so smoothly you couldn't tell were the holes were after painting them over.

And have a wireless intercom to the kitchen so momma won't get ticked trying to tell you supper's going on the table.

[fryboy]

ok i have the lee bench plate ...it works altho i am debating routing it fluch with the bench top block i use ( it has a custom powder measure stand already inset in it ) i countersunk the mounting holes on the lee plate and then used large phillip headed screws to keep that part flush , before when i used 2x whatevers i routed holes under the pro 1000 and turret presses to hold more spent primers and then drilled a ear plug sized hole in the bottom to drain the primers , did the same on the lee block tho i did lose a lil capacity with them ( that routed out space ) main thing with the lee ? if not tight it can slide out tho there are severa ways to fix this including make sure they are tight, drill a hole thru the plate and bock and insert a pin or use something else as a positive anti slide stop ( i just make sure that they are tight )

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

See'in all these ideas, almost makes me think I should go into business building custom under the bench receiver systems for loading tools.

I have seen lots of ideas, on a number of threads, rails inset into the bench top, plates inset, plates that go into vises etc. etc. and there is not one that comes close to a well thoughtout under bench receiver system!

Surely if you look around, most of you must have a friend with a welder in their garage.

Now metal isn't cheap, but the system is a winner!! :bigsmyl2:

A person can build a dedicated tool mount for every loading tool if so desired, but I have them only for my Hornady LNL, the Rockchucker, and my powder measure.

All other tools, two bullet sizer/lubers, two case trimmers, shotshell loader, bench mount priming system etc. are all attached to a third tool plate, as needed.

At any given time, I can have the two loaders and one any number of other available loading tools all set up and usable or none at all and never does a tool impact or mess up the bench top with holes, grooves, plates etc.

The bench top is always as smooth and or clean as I wish it to be, which considering my "piling system", isn't. Clean that is! :groner: :kidding:

Keep em coming!

Cristy Deary Ol'Coot

[Patrick L]

Here's how I mount tools to my benchtop. I have two inverted "T" slots in the face of my bench. Various tools are mounted on insert boards that go into the T's. Of course, I have blanks for when no tools are being used.

Here are the blank T's, partially slid out
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/patrickl_01/Loading%20bench/GunStuff008.jpg

And as a for example, here is a 20 ga shotshell press mounted
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/patrickl_01/Loading%20bench/GunStuff.jpg

I'm not saying its the only way, or even the best, but it has worked for me for about 23 years now.

[CiDirkona]

I got a start on it today. Thanks to your recommendations, I did not shorten the counter top at all and left it the full ten feet. This might make getting into the closet tricky at the end, but not impossible. I'm thinking of track lighting on the wall, a turret head holder shelf and maybe a small shelf for a pile of primers, one bottle of powder, the scale and caliper. I'd kinda like to keep my head room area clear for now... I can always add more later.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a110/cidirkona/utf-8BSU1BRzA1MTIuanBn.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a110/cidirkona/utf-8BSU1BRzA1MTYuanBn.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a110/cidirkona/utf-8BSU1BRzA1MTcuanBn.jpg