Loading bench pics

[Recluse]

Overview of the reloading area from my casting table



Some storage shelves and area where I keep some lubemaking supplies, the hotplates, lubestick molds, my Lee molds, ingot molds, etc etc



My beloved Lyman 45s, with the "custom" heater I learned how to make here at Cast Boolits.



My gun cleaning and minor pistol smithing area. All my supplies are in the cabinets up above. Primers, powder, loaded ammo are in the (locked) cabinets below.





My wife bought me a Craftsman workbench to do my reloading on for my birthday a couple months after we got married. We were poor, poor and poor, but she saved up and surprised me with it. When we met, I was reloading on an old discarded coffee table. I've kept that Craftsman bench for over twenty years, and it will always be my number one loading bench.

The inside cabinet is where I store my clean "from big ingots to lead-pot size ingots" as well as my different alloyed ingots. Lyman #2 is in the Lyman ingots; pure lead is in the Lee ingots, alloy with extra tin and linotype is in the RCBS ingots, and linotype is poured in the Lee 1/2 pound ingots. Up above, I still have various boxes full of commercial cast bullets I've bought or traded for in the past thirty-plus years.

I also have a decent amount of jacketed bullets for .30 caliber and smaller.



I've modified and added onto this Craftsman bench several times over the years. The last add-on was 1 1/2" of birch sitting on some cut 2/4s to elevate the benchtop to the same height as my workbench that runs 12' wide on the east end of the shop where all the cabinets and drawers are.

I sanded and polyurethaned the wood, then sanded and waxed it and now have a very nice, smooth, hard surface that's fairly durable.

This is the "red" side of the shop, with my MEC 650, Lee Classic Turret, Lee Challenger and Pro1000 presses--the latter two of which I've had since the mid-80's and which have loaded tens of thousands of rounds on.

I'm getting ready to semi-retire the little Challenger to sizing and depriming duties. I'm down to between a Lee Classic Cast single stage or the Hornady Lock N Load single stage press, and am truly flipping a coin as to which one to buy.



This workbench was my (late) grandfather's and I'm making it my "progressive" bench. I'll move the Pro1000 over to it, and on the right side will go a Dillon Square Deal B set up for .45ACP, and on the left side of the bench (closest to the air compressor) will go a Dillon 550B. The Pro1000 will be set up for basically .380ACP and that's it. I don't shoot a lot of .380, but have several guns, two molds and lots and lots of brass. I also keep a Star .380 (mini 1911) and spare magazine in my flight bag, so I like to stay proficient with it.



And that's pretty much it for my home reloading set up. I've got some more stuff, but it's still in boxes and I have no idea when I'll unpack it and set it up.

[Floydster]

Recluse, I think you are spoiled!!!!! Nice setup

[Net_Ranger101]

In the presses of getting everything organized scene the move to a apartment Ive taken over 1/2 of the living room haha

still need to finish the bottom shelf for the bench on the left then going to organize everything below the two benches
happy reloading

[altitude_19]

Net Ranger: WTH?? You hate Lyman so much you had to paint the lubrisizer to look like Lee equipment? lol

[Net_Ranger101]

all i had at the time was a can of hi temp red
however it would be nice to have everything matching.. hehe
only problem i would have to end up painting everything blue

[geargnasher]

Recluse, very nice setup, and I appreciate the "dime tour" format, always good to get a few details on how things came to be.

Since I just finished my new firewalled room-within-a-room and have a place of which I'm not too ashamed to post pics, I'm going to copy your format!

The final inside dimensions are 10'8" by 14'6" with standard 8' ceiling. The carpet is low-pile, industrial fire-resistant stuff layed right on the sealed concrete, and the door is a steel, fire-rated security door.

Here's a view over the center island reloading bench looking toward the door and casting bench. I still need to finish the fume hood and install the 6" steel exhaust duct through the center of the shelf unit and out through the attic, and build a platform for the pot.



Here's a view of the boolit sizing and case prep area to the right of the casting bench. Both this bench and the casting bench are set to my personal comfortable working height for each task while seated, a new concept for me, but one I'll be glad I embraced when I get older. The RCBS Ammomaster is relegated to case prep, push-through sizing, and hardness testing. Three years ago I had half-interest in a time-share Lyman 450, now thanks to the Swappin'/Sellin' section I have one of my own, and two fine antique Lyman 45s.

The pine boxes stacked under the sizer bench contain various finished alloys in ingots, there just isn't room in here for the rest of the stash. I put an outlet under the far bench just for the case tumblers, now I need to build a dust-proof cabinet to store it in while it's running.



The shot below is of the gunsmithing/cleaning table at the back of the room. It's also the tallest so I can work while standing or on a stool. I picked up a nice prefab laminate countertop for this one, it's also the only 24"-deep bench in the room since I was trying to conserve space, and so much space behind presses and bench-mounted tools is wasted.



This is the reloading island as seen from the casting bench. Three permanent Pro-1000s are on the far side (38/357 with a pre-loaded turret head for each, 45 Colt/44 mag also with a preloaded head for each, and .45 ACP. I have a complete .40 S&W press but don't use it much and didn't bother to mount it although there is a spot for it. In boxes are complete shellplate carriers for several other calibers as well), a three-hole turret and Classic Turret reside on the near side. The empty space to the left of the Classic Turret is for batch loading, and is where the powder measures, lube pads, and loading blocks go. All my loaded turret and progressive heads are stored in the red plastic coffee cans with dessicant bags inside.



HD shelf units I built on the wall opposite the sizer bench to hold brass, boolits, and loaded ammo. And tunes and other junk currently, I just moved all this stuff in here and haven't organized it very well yet.



Another view of the shelf units, carpet, and far side of the reloading island. The upright freezer has been repurposed as a powder magazine. It's really nice to have a light in there when I open the door, although the compressor is turned off.



Looking across from the powder magazine. I still need to stain/varnish a few shelves, but it started raining before I finished them all and that will have to wait for another day.



Not well visible in the pics is the ovehead lighting. I used six fixtures, each containing two, 60-watt equivalent compact flourescents that saturate the room nicely with bright light. I still need to install under-cabinet lights for the casting, lube, and gunsmithing benches. I included wall switches and stubbed out wires under the cabinets so I can control the lights from the wall rather than fiddle with switches on the fixures themselves.

I really like the way the room has turned out so far, and I can do most everything from a rolling office chair, nice and comfy. I need nice and comfy after hanging a total of 58 sheets of 5/8" fire-rated drywall for this room!

Gear

[geargnasher]

all i had at the time was a can of hi temp red
however it would be nice to have everything matching.. hehe
only problem i would have to end up painting everything blue

When you upgrade to a Star lube/sizer, you can paint IT blue to match, how about that?

I like your heater base, too.

If somebody has an extra piece of thick aluminum plate that they'd like to sell me for a heater base, please send me a PM!

Gear

[Net_Ranger101]

i got the heating plate at midway for $52 http://www.midwayusa.com/product/182...eater-115-volt
works like a champ also it has bolt holes for star / Lyman

i painted it because the last owner let it rust and had not been taken care of very well
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=139091
one day ill have some nice equipment

[geargnasher]

I know, I like it but can't justify the expense when I have half of what I need already to make one. I was looking for a plain piece of 3/8" or better aluminum to set one of my old clothes irons on, like Recluse mentioned above and many others have done. A $8 piece of metal and a free iron beats $52 plus shipping hands down on my budget. Heatlamp works great, but in cooler weather the front side of the die runs cooler because the radiant heat doesn't reach that part.

Gear

[Net_Ranger101]

I know, I like it but can't justify the expense when I have half of what I need already to make one. I was looking for a plain piece of 3/8" or better aluminum to set one of my old clothes irons on, like Recluse mentioned above and many others have done. A $8 piece of metal and a free iron beats $52 plus shipping hands down on my budget. Heatlamp works great, but in cooler weather the front side of the die runs cooler because the radiant heat doesn't reach that part.

Gear

ya i know what that's like being a college student
the funds for reloading department is always low .....

by the way NICE set up i like how you hang your molds good use of space
as for a piece of 3/8 aluminum try a couple of places that cut steel or a recycle plant .. ( their scrap bin)
Ive gotten quite a few pieces that way (free) + some times a good chance to hunt down some lead......

[Recluse]

If somebody has an extra piece of thick aluminum plate that they'd like to sell me for a heater base, please send me a PM!

Gear

Gear,

I'll rummage around the hangar next week and see what I can find, then box it up and ship it to you.

[geargnasher]

Thanks, Recluse, that's mighty kind of you.

Gear

[Clinebo]

Recluse> I have that same Craftsman workbench. I built a bigger bench last fall and was going to move the Craftsman from my reloading room out in the shop to my basement garage. Couldn't do it....its like an old friend.
Here is the only sticker/decal on my new bench. Might add my NRA and HAHC Life Member decals. But for now this is it!

[John.moore4]

Just getting started!

[725]

How can they be so clean? I've got junk all over the place.

[Roger Ronas]

Don't worry, your space will fillup quick enough.

Just getting started!

[geargnasher]

Yes, it will fill up quick! Mine went from completely empty to crammed full in about two days, found all kinds of stuff I forgot I had.

That little setup with a Classic Turret has got to be the best, most versatile, least expensive and most user-friendly setup a person could have. If I had to start over again with nothing, that press, primer system, and powder measure are exactly what I'd buy first.

Gear

[grumman581]

Yes, it will fill up quick! Mine went from completely empty to crammed full in about two days, found all kinds of stuff I forgot I had.

We used to say that the size of your desktop computer system would expand to the size of your desk + 10%... My experience with my reloading bench is probably a bit more than +10%...

[rugerdude]

Every time I look through this thread I get new ideas!

I just hope that one day I can wrangle enough ROOM to put some of them into use!

I may get out tomorrow and see if I can actually find my bench again....been working on so much stuff here lately that its kinda buried. And I do need to put together some .38s for when I get the Taurus fixed....

[Clinebo]

Just getting started!

Your off to a fine start!