How do you organize your reloading space?

kjm · April 29, 2005, 12:05 AM

OK- it has been five years since I've loaded a single cartridge. I have a dillon 550B and an RCBS rock chucker. I used to have a big enough house to accomodate indoor reloading, but we moved to a small house and I lost the space.

Now we're moving to a house plenty big for reloading, but I want to economize on the space I use. Can anybody post pics of a layout that works for you? I don't want to take up huge amounts of space or have a junky looking area. When I get into the "zone" I want to sit in one place and load for hours on end.

Are there any benches out there retail, or have you built any benches that seem to work well? My plan is to have the RCBS mobile so I can use it at my range, loading one by one until I get a nice recipe and then use the Dillon to load plenty of the new recipe. Do any of you do that?

nighthunter · April 29, 2005, 12:10 AM

Orgunize ... organeyes.... organyze .... I ain't sure what you meen? I know where every little thing is but I bet you can't find it

caz223 · April 29, 2005, 02:19 AM

I have to do some of that dreaded organization, too.
My bench looks like somebody did a rather violent search for loaded ammunition, and decided to tear the bench apart.
I have those 550 deluxe quick change kits screwed onto toolhead stands all along the back of the bench.
Boxes and boxes of bulk bullets setting on top of each other.
Dies of all shapes and colors stuffed in a cardboard box on the floor.
But as long as nobody cleans it, I can find what I'm looking for, and orgainzation isn't a priority.
I *do* wish I had more of those acro-bins or *some* kind of organization for components like bullets, tools, etc.

Throckmorton · April 29, 2005, 10:35 AM

Organize??
Heck,I'm not even sure there's still a bench under all tha mess.

sorry I coulnd't be more help,but no habla 'organize'.

Edward429451 · April 29, 2005, 10:48 AM

Organize? Yeah, I'm curious to hear this one too. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Russ5924 · April 29, 2005, 11:42 AM

Sorry but I do, everything is always put away where it belongs every time I get done reloading.So there are no mix ups when I start again everything is in box's or coffee cans and marked.Other than reloading I can get messy but never figured reloading and mess went together

Jeeper · April 29, 2005, 04:49 PM

There are a lot of pics and threads out there that show a lot of different benches. I like to use ackro bins for bullets and plastic shoe boxes for brass. I have yet to find anything better.

Big Yac · April 29, 2005, 10:02 PM

that is one sweet relaoding setup there. I am actually in the process of building a new reloading bench right now. The work surface is 8' x 3', which should give me plenty of room for my 3 reloaders. and I have some shelves for the back of it.. I cant wait until its done which might be tomorrow

Which would make the better work surface covering...aluminum or some kind of counter top material like formica?

OfcrBill · April 29, 2005, 10:06 PM

Being one whom learned from the "hard-knocks", keep it clean and organized. I found with having kids, there are plenty of empty plastic ice cream tubs. Being on "the job" where everyone is a freakin' coffee addict, coffee cans come-a-plenty. Both are very cheap and conveinant storage containers to store underneath your bench. I have an earlier posted picture before I was fortuneate enough to get a Dillon 550B. Look under topic "Good substitute for a reloading bench?"

kjm · May 1, 2005, 12:20 PM

I showed my wife the photo you posted, and it got me a tentative OK to get this stuff and set it up neatly INSIDE the house! I needed that photo. It isn't like I load 50 different calibers. I load .40, .30-06 and occasionally I load .45 for a friend. I should be able to keep all of that stuff neatly organized. I'll still tumble in the garage for noise reduction.

OutAtTheEdge · May 2, 2005, 04:32 AM

...is another man's chaos. Any time I spend more than 15 minutes in my shop, there will inevitably be some degree of clutter on the benches. So, considering the amount of time I spend there, the area is practically never what you'd call tidy. But, it is organized, at least in the sense that I generally have a pretty good idea what I have and approximately where to look for it.

I'm set up in the basement, where I have 3 benches (reloading, gun maintenance, and general workbench) set up in an "L" shape in one corner. All are built of 2x6 lumber, with 5'x3' tops and reinforced shelves beneath. Further along the walls, I have steel storage shelving units. Powder, primers, and loaded ammo are all stored in several dozen .50 cal. milsurp ammo cans, I picked up years ago for a few bucks each. Sorted empty brass is stored in gallon-size zip-lock bags, and bullets are stacked on narrow, heavily braced shelves built along the back of the loading bench.

At the risk of coming across as "preachy", I really want to stress the importance of the safety aspect of organization. I'm far from being a one of those freakishly organized people who we all admire when we're not busy hating them, but when it comes to handloading, there are certain things that we simply cannot be lax about. I have a self-imposed rule that there is never, under any circumstances whatsoever, more than one container of powder on the loading bench at a time, the powder I am currently working with. It is kept in a spot at the back of the bench directly behind the powder measure, and it remains there as long as there is powder in the measure.

Okay, that's enough out of me for now...

OutAtTheEdge

kjm · May 2, 2005, 09:04 AM

Great ideas all-
When I used to load in the house, my bench was awful. It had bits of reject brass laying about, grit from the tumbler spilled on the floor, and all sorts of stuff just sitting around. That is exactly what I want to avoid.

I store my powder in the freezer, but when I pull it out, I give it two to three days to come to room temperature prior to actually opening the container (keeps it from getting ruined by condensation). I only use 4895 and 231, so it isn't like I have a lot of powder to deal with.

I will likely spend a bit of money on the reloading bench to make sure that the hobby stays welcome in my home.

beardking · May 2, 2005, 01:27 PM

Well, so far, I'm pretty lucky. I only reload for .40 so I don't have a bunch of different components or equipment for a bunch of different calibers lying around. I have my "bench" built up in my closet in my den. If I had left the doors on it, I would be able to close it up completely when I wasn't reloading. But, the doors got in my way too much so they had to go.

Edward429451 · May 2, 2005, 03:27 PM

That is a sweet setup, Jeeper. Looking at your setup makes me realize that I'm not really disorganized, it just looks like chaos from no conformity of storage space!

I got one rack of akro bins, plastic bullet boxes, cardboard boxes, coffee cans, cigar boxes, baggies...shelves gone wild. A veritable picasso's shelf, I know whats there and where its at, but it looks like chaos.

G56 · May 2, 2005, 05:34 PM

KJM, I have sent you an IM offering to send the NRMA Reloading Bench Plans, if you would like them please send me an email and I can forward them.

Jeeper · May 4, 2005, 03:00 PM

KJM

If you like that one. This was the previous house. Just dont show it to your wife.

April 29, 2005, 12:05 AM	#1
kjm Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 1999 Location: College Station, Texas Posts: 1,871	How do you organize your reloading space? OK- it has been five years since I've loaded a single cartridge. I have a dillon 550B and an RCBS rock chucker. I used to have a big enough house to accomodate indoor reloading, but we moved to a small house and I lost the space. Now we're moving to a house plenty big for reloading, but I want to economize on the space I use. Can anybody post pics of a layout that works for you? I don't want to take up huge amounts of space or have a junky looking area. When I get into the "zone" I want to sit in one place and load for hours on end. Are there any benches out there retail, or have you built any benches that seem to work well? My plan is to have the RCBS mobile so I can use it at my range, loading one by one until I get a nice recipe and then use the Dillon to load plenty of the new recipe. Do any of you do that? __________________ COME AND TAKE IT!!!

April 29, 2005, 02:19 AM	#3
caz223 Senior Member Join Date: May 15, 2002 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,429	I have to do some of that dreaded organization, too. My bench looks like somebody did a rather violent search for loaded ammunition, and decided to tear the bench apart. I have those 550 deluxe quick change kits screwed onto toolhead stands all along the back of the bench. Boxes and boxes of bulk bullets setting on top of each other. Dies of all shapes and colors stuffed in a cardboard box on the floor. But as long as nobody cleans it, I can find what I'm looking for, and orgainzation isn't a priority. I do wish I had more of those acro-bins or some kind of organization for components like bullets, tools, etc. __________________ I'm not just a gun. I'm YOUR gun. (Hold me.)

April 29, 2005, 11:42 AM	#6
Russ5924 Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2005 Posts: 1,874	Sorry but I do, everything is always put away where it belongs every time I get done reloading.So there are no mix ups when I start again everything is in box's or coffee cans and marked.Other than reloading I can get messy but never figured reloading and mess went together __________________ Russ5924

April 29, 2005, 04:49 PM	#7
Jeeper Senior Member Join Date: November 1, 2001 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 776	There are a lot of pics and threads out there that show a lot of different benches. I like to use ackro bins for bullets and plastic shoe boxes for brass. I have yet to find anything better. __________________ Gun control theory - A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.

April 29, 2005, 10:02 PM	#8
Big Yac Senior Member Join Date: April 23, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 422	that is one sweet relaoding setup there. I am actually in the process of building a new reloading bench right now. The work surface is 8' x 3', which should give me plenty of room for my 3 reloaders. and I have some shelves for the back of it.. I cant wait until its done which might be tomorrow Which would make the better work surface covering...aluminum or some kind of counter top material like formica? __________________ "...and that's the bottom line, because Big Yac said so."

April 29, 2005, 12:10 AM	#2
nighthunter Junior Member Join Date: February 6, 2005 Location: near DuBois Pa Posts: 12	Orgunize ... organeyes.... organyze .... I ain't sure what you meen? I know where every little thing is but I bet you can't find it

April 29, 2005, 10:35 AM	#4
Throckmorton Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2004 Location: Washougal,Wa Posts: 126	Organize?? Heck,I'm not even sure there's still a bench under all tha mess. sorry I coulnd't be more help,but no habla 'organize'.

April 29, 2005, 10:48 AM	#5
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,494	Organize? Yeah, I'm curious to hear this one too. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

April 29, 2005, 10:06 PM	#9
OfcrBill Member Join Date: November 12, 2004 Location: New Mexico Posts: 62	Bench Organization Being one whom learned from the "hard-knocks", keep it clean and organized. I found with having kids, there are plenty of empty plastic ice cream tubs. Being on "the job" where everyone is a freakin' coffee addict, coffee cans come-a-plenty. Both are very cheap and conveinant storage containers to store underneath your bench. I have an earlier posted picture before I was fortuneate enough to get a Dillon 550B. Look under topic "Good substitute for a reloading bench?" __________________ A Proud Veteran, USN USS Whipple FF 1062 USS Dixon AS 37 USS Jason AR 8 USS Kitty Hawk CV 63

May 1, 2005, 12:20 PM	#10
kjm Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 1999 Location: College Station, Texas Posts: 1,871	Thanks Jeeper I showed my wife the photo you posted, and it got me a tentative OK to get this stuff and set it up neatly INSIDE the house! I needed that photo. It isn't like I load 50 different calibers. I load .40, .30-06 and occasionally I load .45 for a friend. I should be able to keep all of that stuff neatly organized. I'll still tumble in the garage for noise reduction. __________________ COME AND TAKE IT!!!

May 2, 2005, 04:32 AM	#11
OutAtTheEdge Member Join Date: September 21, 2004 Posts: 61	One Man's Organization... ...is another man's chaos. Any time I spend more than 15 minutes in my shop, there will inevitably be some degree of clutter on the benches. So, considering the amount of time I spend there, the area is practically never what you'd call tidy. But, it is organized, at least in the sense that I generally have a pretty good idea what I have and approximately where to look for it. I'm set up in the basement, where I have 3 benches (reloading, gun maintenance, and general workbench) set up in an "L" shape in one corner. All are built of 2x6 lumber, with 5'x3' tops and reinforced shelves beneath. Further along the walls, I have steel storage shelving units. Powder, primers, and loaded ammo are all stored in several dozen .50 cal. milsurp ammo cans, I picked up years ago for a few bucks each. Sorted empty brass is stored in gallon-size zip-lock bags, and bullets are stacked on narrow, heavily braced shelves built along the back of the loading bench. At the risk of coming across as "preachy", I really want to stress the importance of the safety aspect of organization. I'm far from being a one of those freakishly organized people who we all admire when we're not busy hating them, but when it comes to handloading, there are certain things that we simply cannot be lax about. I have a self-imposed rule that there is never, under any circumstances whatsoever, more than one container of powder on the loading bench at a time, the powder I am currently working with. It is kept in a spot at the back of the bench directly behind the powder measure, and it remains there as long as there is powder in the measure. Okay, that's enough out of me for now... OutAtTheEdge __________________ A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government. -- George Washington

May 2, 2005, 09:04 AM	#12
kjm Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 1999 Location: College Station, Texas Posts: 1,871	Great ideas all- When I used to load in the house, my bench was awful. It had bits of reject brass laying about, grit from the tumbler spilled on the floor, and all sorts of stuff just sitting around. That is exactly what I want to avoid. I store my powder in the freezer, but when I pull it out, I give it two to three days to come to room temperature prior to actually opening the container (keeps it from getting ruined by condensation). I only use 4895 and 231, so it isn't like I have a lot of powder to deal with. I will likely spend a bit of money on the reloading bench to make sure that the hobby stays welcome in my home. __________________ COME AND TAKE IT!!!

May 2, 2005, 01:27 PM	#13
beardking Senior Member Join Date: July 22, 2004 Location: Dallas, TX (area) Posts: 128	Well, so far, I'm pretty lucky. I only reload for .40 so I don't have a bunch of different components or equipment for a bunch of different calibers lying around. I have my "bench" built up in my closet in my den. If I had left the doors on it, I would be able to close it up completely when I wasn't reloading. But, the doors got in my way too much so they had to go.

May 2, 2005, 03:27 PM	#14
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,494	That is a sweet setup, Jeeper. Looking at your setup makes me realize that I'm not really disorganized, it just looks like chaos from no conformity of storage space! I got one rack of akro bins, plastic bullet boxes, cardboard boxes, coffee cans, cigar boxes, baggies...shelves gone wild. A veritable picasso's shelf, I know whats there and where its at, but it looks like chaos.

May 2, 2005, 05:34 PM	#15
G56 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 302	KJM, I have sent you an IM offering to send the NRMA Reloading Bench Plans, if you would like them please send me an email and I can forward them. __________________ John

May 4, 2005, 03:00 PM	#16
Jeeper Senior Member Join Date: November 1, 2001 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 776	KJM If you like that one. This was the previous house. Just dont show it to your wife. __________________ Gun control theory - A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.

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