Reloading Room (Inside the Home)

[MikeRush]

I've always reloaded in a garage (over a concrete slab), but I recently purchased my first home and it does not have a garage. I have a few options here:

1. I have a spare walk in closet adjacent to a bedroom I can use. It has enough room for my 1050, MBF, and 550.

2. I have an outdoor attached storage area. It does house a water heater on one end. This makes me feel like its probably not the best idea, even though its not like I fling powder that far while indexing the press. Plus, I am very close to the Pacific and worried about corrosion in a non climate controlled area.

3. I can keep the presses offsite in a garage.

I'd really like to bring the press inside, but I am concerned about lead contamination. I know I can put down a mat, pull up the carpet, or make some other arrangement to be able to collect spilled powder, and I can use a tube and jar to catch primers, etc, but as my indoor option is adjacent to a bedroom I'd like to prevent lead exposure.

Does reloading inside the house present a health concern? Is it something that can be mitigated? I load coated bullets, but I understand that fired cases (and primers) have residual lead.

Thoughts? The garage is only 10 minutes away, so it isn't a major endeavor to go crank out a thousand rounds. It would be nice to have the press at home for those times when I load the morning of the match.

[danjordan78]

Load in the house. More convenient, more temperature stable, and way easier.

For the floor, if you have carpet, you can go to an office supply store and get a floor mat like they use to let office chairs roll around on carpeted areas.

Lead is not an issue for the most part. Tumbling is where you will have the most problem because it makes it airborne. Either do it outside, or do a wet tumble. Only place you will have lead is on tumbled brass. Primers and coated bullets are contained. Just wash your hands after you load and you will be more than sufficiently protected.

[Gabe Athouse]

If the money is there or you're comfortable doing renovations yourself a tile floor is almost as good as a concrete slab. Tile floors are common in AZ because they're cooler and everything is built on a concrete slab. I spill small amounts of powder and spent primers. Its way easier for me to sweep and I know im not vacuuming floors. I helped a friend lay tile for his gun room and its a nice set up for reloading, especially in the summer.

[Steve RA]

If you wish to be super careful you could do depriming, case tumbling, etc in your garage and only deal with clean brass in your home.

[StraightSh00ter]

you can use an air filter if you're concerned - I run a small filter next to my tubler/sorter when I'm prepping brass.

I have a 650 on a bench, and the whole thing could easily fit in a closet with bifold doors. A walk-in would be sweet! I think Sarge has his reloading room in something like a walk-in?

[MikeRush]

So far it sounds like positive feedback. I'm thinking I switch to wet tumbling to cut dust and I can do that outside on the patio.

Now, as of now we don't have any children in the home, but if we did (planning on it) would that change anything? I can lock the door, keep components up high, etc, but from what I've read that makes the situation more sensitive.

[9x45]

You want to reload inside the house, especially as close to the beach as you are. If you have never been lead tested as a shooter, you should to get a baseline. But even if you shoot cast lead bullets, 99% of what of what you get is from breathing in the lead cloud during shooting. The lead comes from the base of the bullet, and from the bullet shearing thru the rifling and from the lead styphenate in the primer. The other source is typically from resetting steel at a match because of the splash. So process your brass in the garage. I run a two step slurry tumbler, 1st with walnut loaded with mineral oil. The mineral oil loads the media, wets out the brass, and there is no dust. After the cleaning step, I run a 2nd tumbler with corn loaded with NuFinish car polish to shine them up and make them slippery enough to load with case lube. Again no dust because of the loaded media. One last thing you can do is use a wet tray to catch the dead primers. The red tray under the SD has about a .5" of motor oil to contain the primer debris and the smaller catch tray on the 550 has oil in it also.

[9x45]

Mike, be sure to come out to Pala for the USPSA and 3 gun matches. You also have an indoor match at Oceanside. Good bunch of hosers, and good stages.

[Warkitz]

I load in our office/spare bedroom. I also load coated bullets. We have a wood floors and every so often I pull the table out of the corner and sweep up any powder or primers. Not really a big deal no noticeable lead issues. I'm on the computer in there quite a bit I imagine I would have noticed something.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Warkitz

[DudeRick]

Clean outside, load inside. Works great...

[Hi-Power Jack]

I have everything in my garage - in the humidity and heat of the Orlando area.

Been out there for five years, now - no problem yet.

[9x45]

Jack, that is amazing. My buddy has his 1050 setup in the garage, and when they pull both cars in from the rain, about 5 times a year here in SoCal, the press has started to rust. He keeps a 100W work light next to it now.

[Tom S.]

I've reloaded in my house the 38 years I've lived here and had no prob*(&!)*$) &!( @%!%#!#(, So there.

[joshxdm9]

I load in the basement tumble and sort brass outside. I wear a dust mask when sorting, loading, and sorting media from tumbler.

[Beastly]

Sort brass outside. Wet tumble where-ever. Use coated bullets. Don't use carpet in the reloading room. Use a HEPA filter on you vacuum cleaner. Be reasonably neat/clean. Done.

[Hi-Power Jack]

the press has started to rust.

Five years, no rust on my SDB.

I 've had no experience with the 1050.

[Garmil]

Mine is all inside on carpet haven't had any issues. Tumblers also,Wet and dry pretty much only use dry to remove lube from loaded rounds.

[Beastly]

I could see me and a light colored carpet getting into a disagreement that woudln't end well.

[MikeRush]

I appreciate the suggestions and experiences! I didn't realize so many people reloaded inside their homes. It sounds like it won't be an issue.

I'll take the mitigation measures suggested and wet tumble in the back yard. That isn't a problem as I have the storage area and a patio. Then I will go ahead and pull up the carpet in the closet (its on a concrete slab, so that will be convenient) and get a bench built for the 1050 and MBF.

When we are expecting I will get the adjacent bedroom tested for lead and that will determine if it stays there. Right now that closet is off a spare room so it shouldn't matter until then, and even then if it comes out ok I can probably keep doing what I am planning on doing.

Mike, be sure to come out to Pala for the USPSA and 3 gun matches. You also have an indoor match at Oceanside. Good bunch of hosers, and good stages.

I shoot LDF and OPPC pretty regularly. Rarely make it to Norco due to the drive. My condo is maybe 7 minutes away from Iron Sights.

[Beastly]

You can wet tumble inside no problem, but the noise may be an issue with others. Just don't sort brass inside. 1050/MBF doesn't take a lot of horizontal space or even that much depth.

I've seen some very attractive and narrow/highly vertical heavy bench/2x12"? shelving and storage set ups.

Organizationally I make a lot of use of pegboard and periodically re-arrange to meet my current needs.

Storage can be a big challenge - I've invested in heavy duty custom-built shelving so I can store heavy 30 cal and 50 cal ammo cans of bullets, ammo, etc. Recycled kitchen cabinetry also goes a long way for lighter duty storage.

If you sort outside, have wet-cleaned brass and use coated bullets I wouldn't be concerned about lead.

[Trini]

Built reloading area in basement in 85 when we built the house. Doing tumbling in garage.

[Foxbat]

Switched to wet tumbling recently, and I don't think I will go back to the dusty traditional one. Even though I was doing it under the exhaust hood, the dust would still find its way into the house air.

[DudeRick]

You don't have to dedicate an entire room to it. I put mine in an old TV armoire.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: You can get a small plastic garbage garden shed to do your tumbling outside in. Rubermade make some to hold garbage cans in. Plastic so they won't rust and you can keep the noise outside. I dry tumble my brass with two tumblers, one for pre clean and one for polish. I may have to try the wet setup someday. Thanks, Eric

[EDA]

I'd agree with having no carpeting in the area. Don't want to lose some primers and vacuum. You are also undoubtedly going to drop some powder, whatever else. It just gets a bit messy. I try to reload cleanly in a room with a cement floor and I'm constantly surprised by how little bits of stuff ends up on the floor.