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Casting and reloading benches
Hi everyone,
reading through this thread and the lurker's thread elsewhere is what convinced me to join the board.
Just getting back into BP casting after a 15-year break. Finally have a shed where I can set everything up and leave it set up--too many moves years ago made casting seem more like work than play.
Anyway, I've learned a lot these past couple of months here, and here are pics of the setup so far. Since BP is the immediate obsession, I recently bought a Lee press to help with sizing minies (I sized thousands of rounds by hand 20-25 years ago . . . sure wish I knew then what I know now!), but now I'm also going to start reloading for my centerfire rifles, and eventually I may cast for them as well.
here goes: first, the casting/reloading shed
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The shed used to be wired for electricity years ago, but now I have to run lights off a generator. A new sub-panel is on my wish list. Outside the shed you see the remnants of my last, jerry-rigged reloading bench that I finally dismantled this month, leaning against the building.
Inside, here's the casting station:
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I bought a used bathroom vanity for $60 from an architectural salvage barn and set up my propane stove on the countertop for casting. Years ago I had a Lee electric pot that was nothing but trouble, but I may just get another electric pot after some of the posts I've read here. The shed needs electric before that can happen.
To the right is the reloading/sizing bench:
Attachment 15356
I broke down and bought a nice sturdy metal bench for the press from Sears, and although I'm not a big Sears fan, I don't regret it at all. I could have built one, I know, but life's too short sometimes . . . .
Finally a bunch of new minies:
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I have struggled the past several weeks with three or four different Lee molds and a couple of Lyman molds. This is a batch of Lyman 575213OS, all sized down to .576--it's a new mold and these are still a bit wrinkly, but they'll do fine for load development with the Enfields. The bench looks pretty clean now compared with some of the others I've seen here, but the file cabinet between the benches is filling up with the basics for reloading, so that will come next.
:drinks:
That's about it. I just really enjoyed seeing the pictures of everyone's bench setups, thought I'd share mine.
thanks.
Rusty