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Old November 4, 2011, 07:56 PM   #1
Indi
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Where should i reload

Hello everyone,
I am getting closer to building my reloading bench, and have a very important decision to make. Do I set up my bench in my home, or my garage. If i have it in my home i dont have to worry about temp control, but then i cant have my radio blarring. Ill have less privacy, and more distractions. And i have a 18month old daughter who gets into everything. If i reload in the garage it would be alot better for me but im not sure what kind of effects temp would have on my equipment, powders primers...etc. My garage has a heater that i keep on, very low, during the winter months (so my water line doesnt freeze in the garage. I have a full bathroom in the garage, plus office space aka MAN CAVE) Im leaning more towards my MAN CAVE, but want to know what kind of issues i will incounter due to the temperature, I live in NE Oklahoma, so yes we get snow in the winter and +100 degree days in the summer.
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Old November 4, 2011, 08:03 PM   #2
TXGunNut
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Temp variations and humidity are the big drawbacks of a loading area with minimal climate control. It will have a detrimental effect on tools and components. Climate control makes it more pleasant for you as well. Case cleaning and boolit casting are good jobs for the garage.
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Old November 4, 2011, 09:15 PM   #3
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I'd recommend indoors, except for case cleaning / bullet casting (as already noted) as these are potential lead dust generators that shouldn't be done inside any house. And reasonable precautions, such as dumping media through the media separator outdoors, should still apply even though most of the case cleaning can be done inside the garage.

And, to solve the "security problems", I'd store everything in a closet. A Workmate can support the reloading press, and everything else can be stored / operated on closet shelves. Change the lock to an exterior lock, and make sure the key isn't accessible.

Earbuds let you listen to music without disturbing others...
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Old November 4, 2011, 09:20 PM   #4
Indi
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LOL, yeah i guess i can invest in some earbuds.
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Old November 4, 2011, 10:11 PM   #5
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I had my reloading stuff in the garage for some years here in Dallas, it messed up some of my stuff. I recently moved it to a closet in our upstairs 'craft' room, it's not very big, but it's inside, lighted well, AIR CONDITIONED and HEATED, and I put a lock on the door to keep unwanted visitors out. I still have my single-stage in the garage (along with my shotshell press because of the lead hazard) for resizing rifle brass and whatnot, and the tumbler is right there next to it.

I found I didn't ever reload because it was either 115F or 40F in the garage (with the exception of one week in the spring and one in the fall when it goes from hot to cold... ) but now I probably do something reloading-related at least once a week.
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Old November 5, 2011, 06:15 AM   #6
Indi
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Thanks gunners,
I decided that i will reload inside the house, where the temp will be controlled. I will do the dirty work in the garage. Time to get some nice earbuds
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Old November 5, 2011, 01:01 PM   #7
Lost Sheep
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My reloading bench is portable

I set up where it suits me at the time.

Of course, I only use one press at a time and only have two presses. (A Lee Classic Turret and RCBS RockChucker.)

It works for me.

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Old November 5, 2011, 02:33 PM   #8
BDS-THR
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Indi
I am getting closer to building my reloading bench, and have a very important decision to make. Do I set up my bench in my home, or my garage. If i have it in my home i dont have to worry about temp control, but then i cant have my radio blarring. Ill have less privacy, and more distractions. And i have a 18month old daughter who gets into everything.

I live in NE Oklahoma, so yes we get snow in the winter and +100 degree days in the summer.
Then build a portable castered reloading bench that you can roll around the house. This way you can reload in the comforts of AC/heating and move the bench to a secure location so your daughter don't get to it.

Over the years I have built several portable castered reloading benches and for some reason, my shooting friends keep taking them.

I typically build 2'x3' and 34" high benches on casters (that are taken from the $10 moving dolly from Harbor Freight) with or without the peg board backing. The moving dolly casters easily roll on carpet even with 1000+ lbs on the bench and don't mar the flooring. The 2'x3' size allows the bench to turn into doorways from narrow hallways. I roll my bench into the walk-in closet of the reloading room so we can also use the room for family game room.

Yes, being able to reload in the comforts of AC/heating is a huge plus and even allows me to enjoy reloading out in the patio when the weather is nice.

Many people post that they need to secure/anchor the bench to the wall for stiffness. For me, this is not true. I can resize even the heavy walled military .308 cases on the C-H 205 single stage press with the bench empty and the bench doesn't even roll around. The top is multi-layer (11) plywood reinforced with 2x4s and it doesn't flex at all.





Here's a larger 2'x4'x34" castered bench I built to sort/reload rifle cartridges in the "wife's cave" but another friend took it when he saw it. I built another to replace it.


Last edited by BDS-THR; November 5, 2011 at 02:51 PM.
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Old November 5, 2011, 08:15 PM   #9
Kevin Rohrer
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Is there a basement available?
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Old November 5, 2011, 10:13 PM   #10
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I have always been able to reload in a basement. If you are reloading in a house, some powder will get spilled. Carpeting isn't a good idea.
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Old November 5, 2011, 10:24 PM   #11
Lost Sheep
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Dropcloth

Quote:
Originally Posted by jepp2
I have always been able to reload in a basement. If you are reloading in a house, some powder will get spilled. Carpeting isn't a good idea.
A cloth dropcloth works better than plastic because it is quieter, less prone to static electricity (which tends to scatter spilled powder) and is less prone to lost primers rolling away. An old bedsheet works well

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Old November 5, 2011, 11:48 PM   #12
Indi
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Bds-thr that's a nice and neat bench. Well done.
No basement available.
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Old November 6, 2011, 01:16 AM   #13
Jimro
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Reload in the gargage. Store your powder and primers in a big tub that you can store in the climate controlled house. Not having a toddler get into your stuff is priceless.

As far as climate controlled goes, heat and humidity are the ones that worry me. In the mild Pacific Northwest I have no problem storing components in an non-climate controlled garage since Washingtonians don't understand the concept of humidity without precipitation it was fine for me. In a different climate then I would store powder and primers in a different manner.

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Old November 6, 2011, 08:22 AM   #14
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Mine is all outside in a shed with no insulation o heat and no ac. I have some rust on the outside of a few dies other than that no problems.

I would suggest that you NOT have the radio blaring. Don't get me wrong I have my radio on but it is at a level that I can hear it but it does not over power the noises of my loading process.

If you have small children I would put it where she/he/they can't get to it. There are too many chemicals that can harm a child used in the reloading process.
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Old November 6, 2011, 08:41 AM   #15
thump_rrr
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For somebody that is new to reloading I would suggest no radio, tv, or other distractions such as friends
Your life is worth way too much to risk having a kaboom.
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Old November 6, 2011, 09:24 AM   #16
jason75979
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I built a portable building out behind the house. Insulated floor, walls, and ceiling. Completely wired with 10 plugs (2 220v plugs) 100amp service ,oil radiator heater, and ac.
The Judicial Branch wasn't too keen on powder and primers in the house, so, this was my only other choice as I have no garage.
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Old November 6, 2011, 09:30 AM   #17
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I've kept my gear, with the exception of powder and primers, in garage or basement. I've only had problems with rust on outside of dies, also. Humidity is the worst problem, IMO. I added air to basement this year to take care of that.
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Old November 6, 2011, 01:22 PM   #18
BDS-THR
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thump_rrr
For somebody that is new to reloading I would suggest no radio, tv, or other distractions such as friends Your life is worth way too much to risk having a kaboom.
Absolutely. The beauty of a portable castered reloading bench is that you can roll your bench to a location of the house that eliminates these distractions when you need it and then secure it so his daughter can't get to it.
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Old November 6, 2011, 01:56 PM   #19
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Mine used to be in the temperature controlled house and then comes 2008 and a repeat of the 90's for powder and primers. I stocked up across the board and decided to move it out to a nearby temp controlled storage locker that is 10x10 and behind 2 electric locks and 2 keyed locks. No one knows what is in there and all is well and my insurance agent likes it better. When you have 100 pounds of powder and 80K plus primers and tons of lead there is a concern. I can go there anytime I need to and reload with NO distractions and carry out the goods in plain boxes that no one is any smarter for knowing what really went on there.
Good Luck with your reloading.
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Old November 6, 2011, 02:36 PM   #20
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Garage would be my choice.

Powder and primer storage is easy (not together) to maintain a consistent temp. Simple as keeping them stored in a igloo cooler with a moving pad wrapped over it.

Surface rust to your equipment will present more of a challenge in heavy temperature swings. So keep a silicone cloth and or a rem oil cloth available for wipe downs of dies presses etc.
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Old November 6, 2011, 04:22 PM   #21
BDS-THR
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You are the king of your castle. You do not need to store your reloading components and reload at the same location. And you certainly should not suffer in the heat/cold/humidity/dust/loneliness when you are paying for the housing.

I have a bench in the garage that I primarily use for "dirty" case sorting and tumbling.

I have my component storage in another designated "secure" closet.

Then there's the reloading bench that I roll anywhere in the house because the nice queen of the house feels that I should be comfortable and be close to her when pursuing one of my favorite hobbies.

Yes, I do have a young daughter who now helps me sort and resize my cases that we call "resistance exercise/strength training".
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Old November 6, 2011, 04:36 PM   #22
Lost Sheep
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I just re-read - 18 month old?

Not having any children around, I forget about some of the finer points.

Lead and other contaminants.

It may be going overboard, but better too much caution than too little.

Shower and shampoo before coming back into the house. When it's cooler out, a set of coveralls (buttoned up) that stays with the reloading gear. Otherwise, leave the clothes you wore while reloading in the loading area. Also, keep the loading area scrupulously clean (a good idea anyway, but I am talking about vacuuming after every session.

For your child(ren)'s "well-baby" checkups, get a blood lead-level test added to the normal screening. At your age, it would not be a bad idea for yourself, either.

This is nothing to be frightened about. But it is something to take care about. Normal precautions will keep your family safe. But most people don't think about things they cannot see nor things that happen slowly over time. Human nature.

Good luck

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Old November 6, 2011, 05:43 PM   #23
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location loading room

i started in a tin well house,don`t do thay, garage etc. you live in okla. where? i live in marlow, okla. after a long time i built a 12 by 16 building with a porch. air, natural gas.computer, tv all the comforts of home. if you live close and wont to come by let me know, i am usually home, when i waqs younger my doc said give up smoking and drinking, even if it was modorent, after i turn 80 i lost most of my interest in women. so all i have left is reloading and my grandkids. mabey it will help. cjs
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