Loading bench pics

[NavyVet1959]

Amen to that. I hate mowing!

I have a lawn tractor, so I don't mind it *that* much... Gives me yet another excuse to drink beer...

What I hate though is using the string trimmer to trim around the edges. Kind of difficult to do that and drink beer at the same time.

Now, I tried a friend's zero-turn-radius mower once to see if they were all they cracked up to be. Well, they sure were good for going around the trees and bushes, but it was basically impossible to hold a beer in one hand and control the two steering levers with the other hand.

[prsman23]

Problem solved!

[Pee Wee]

I have a Friend that has an 15x20 pre fab shed next to his single wide trailer, with electricity and A/C nothing but a gun and reloading Room. Its a nice set up.

[alamogunr]

Hey Gary! I'm with all those that hate mowing. About 10-12 yrs ago, just before I retired, I had a small shop built in the back yard. Also had a small patio poured so reduced the back yard to about half or less of what it was. Less mowing leaves more time to spend in the shop casting and reloading.

Although I don't have to break down my bench every time I use it, I also c-clamp stuff to the bench. Right now I have 3 single stage presses, 3 sizers and a powder measure on the bench. Considering Pat Marlin's' Rock Dock apparatus to clean up the bench a little.

[wingspar]

Less backyard, less backyard to mow... Sounds like a win-win situation to me...

I don’t have much of a backyard. About 50' x 20'. I’d hate to loose any of it and I don’t mind the mowing. Same lawnmower I bought in 1989. Just keeps on running.

[wingspar]

I have a Friend that has an 15x20 pre fab shed next to his single wide trailer, with electricity and A/C nothing but a gun and reloading Room. Its a nice set up.

I have a very nice 3 year old stick built shed with a nice bench in it, but no insulation or heat. In the summer it’s an oven and in the winter it’s an ice box. I’ve thought about it, but the shop is a much better place.

[wingspar]

Hey Gary! I'm with all those that hate mowing. About 10-12 yrs ago, just before I retired, I had a small shop built in the back yard. Also had a small patio poured so reduced the back yard to about half or less of what it was. Less mowing leaves more time to spend in the shop casting and reloading.

Although I don't have to break down my bench every time I use it, I also c-clamp stuff to the bench. Right now I have 3 single stage presses, 3 sizers and a powder measure on the bench. Considering Pat Marlin's' Rock Dock apparatus to clean up the bench a little.

I just don’t have any room to expand or I would. I don’t mind the mowing and I don’t mind the C-clamps, but it would be nice to have a dedicated reloading room. As it is, the shop isn’t insulated and I keep powder dies and other necessary stuff except for the press and powder measure, in the house to keep it all at an even workable temp. First time I tried reloading with cold electronic scale and cold dies, things seemed to work a bit rough, so I have to pack that stuff from the house to the shop when I want to do any reloading.

[JesterGrin_1]

I just don’t have any room to expand or I would. I don’t mind the mowing and I don’t mind the C-clamps, but it would be nice to have a dedicated reloading room. As it is, the shop isn’t insulated and I keep powder dies and other necessary stuff except for the press and powder measure, in the house to keep it all at an even workable temp. First time I tried reloading with cold electronic scale and cold dies, things seemed to work a bit rough, so I have to pack that stuff from the house to the shop when I want to do any reloading.

Then why not insulate it and maybe put in a small window unit when needed and a small heater.

Our Summers here in South TEXAS can be brutal but I still tried the reloading thing in the garage for a couple of years till I finally gave up and dedicated a room in the house for reloading and only cast in the garage.

[wingspar]

Then why not insulate it and maybe put in a small window unit when needed and a small heater.

Our Summers here in South TEXAS can be brutal but I still tried the reloading thing in the garage for a couple of years till I finally gave up and dedicated a room in the house for reloading and only cast in the garage.

If you saw the construction of my shop, you would realize that insulating it would be futile. It would be better to just replace it with modern construction, something I have no interest in doing.

I wish I had a garage.

[warf73]

Got the new bench and XL650 going.

[JesterGrin_1]

If you saw the construction of my shop, you would realize that insulating it would be futile. It would be better to just replace it with modern construction, something I have no interest in doing.

I wish I had a garage.

Hard to believe it would be a waste but it is your space and your call as to what is needed or not. Happy Loading.

[wingspar]

Hard to believe it would be a waste but it is your space and your call as to what is needed or not. Happy Loading.

I don’t think I said anything about a waste. Due to the poor construction of my shop (it was the contractors first construction project about 1960 and he admitted he had no idea what he was doing when I met him to do some work for me), it just isn’t worth it to try and insulate it. To rebuild it would take more money than I have. Today it took an hour and a half of the space heater running before I could do any reloading. Since I put the press in there last June, I really haven’t used it for much of anything else, so it works. The bench is solid. Some day I’ll come up with a solution, but for now, I think I have a nicer setup than some of the photos I’ve seen.

[dikman]

My progress so far....
I needed to build somewhere to put the 3 industrial sewing machines that I've acquired (plus a couple of domestic ones) so decided to build a shed - 18' x 8', the largest I can build without needing council approval. Somewhere along the line it occurred to me that it might also be a suitable place to put all the reloading gear that I seem to have accumulated! So, the casting stuff will be on one side of the door, and has a whirly-bird vent built into the roof above. The table is an "office" one that I liberated some time ago, 1" thick top, and I added another old tabletop to it (another 3/4" thick) and a final top of (replaceable) masonite (hardboard) for the inevitable hot lead spills. The tubular legs will need bracing somehow for added rigidity.

The bench for my presses will be under the window. I have the remnants of one of our kitchen benchtops (1/12" chipboard) that will give me a top of 67" x 22" deep. I figure I don't need a deep bench for the presses. My neighbour gave me some hardwood timbers that he recovered from a ramp he replaced and I intended cutting them up for firewood, but didn't get around to it. These are about 40 years old and somewhat weathered, but by running a belt sander over them to take off the weathered stuff they came up pretty good. These will be for the legs and two bearers running underneath, and will make a pretty heavy, solid frame. While out walking this morning, my wife said that a place just down the road had a sign up for free tables, and there was one left, so I hot-footed it down to have a look. Turns out it's an Ikea table, pretty long, but with some usable bits. It dismantled easily to get it home, and has two long angle-iron supports underneath which will be great to provide extra support beneath the casting table. The actual table top itself is about 3/4" thick, so I'll cut it down to size and screw it to my press table frame first, then screw the old kitchen top to it giving a total thickness of just over 2". Should be adequate for my needs, I think.
Then I just need some cupboards and shelf space. It'll be great not having to pack up the presses and stuff after each session!

Only problem I have is that we're having a spell of hot weather - 39 to 42C - which restricts me to working in the early morning only!

[VHoward]

Insulation for the walls and ceiling will help regulate the heat in there even if you don't want to put an air conditioner in there. Metal buildings also tend to sweat inside.

[dikman]

I've decided against insulating such a small room. While we can get extreme heat, it generally only lasts a few days and then becomes bearable. Also, the neighbour's trees tend to shade it from early afternoon. As for Winter, we don't get the extreme cold that many of you chaps do (no snow!). Condensation, in cold weather, may be an issue but I'll give it a try first.

[NavyVet1959]

There's no way I would leave my reloading equipment (dies, presses, etc) in a garage or metal building like that around here. If the room is not constantly being air-conditioned or heated, surface rust develops pretty quickly around here.

[Whiterabbit]

How many of you guys incorporate a sink, with or without "running" water in your shops? hand washing, parts washing, whatever purpose. Any of you guys got 'em?

[alamogunr]

No sink but as I get older, I sometimes wish for a toilet in my separated shop. Those little interruptions are aggravating.

[NavyVet1959]

No sink but as I get older, I sometimes wish for a toilet in my separated shop. Those little interruptions are aggravating.

Sink, toilet, and beer fridge -- all nice to have in reloading shack.

[Whiterabbit]

beer fridge is done. That's easier to set up than a sink. Anyone else run a sink in their shop?