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Reloading location conundrum


Covfefe

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Would you rather set up your bench in a large uninsulated detached garage or small basement closet? 

 

Relevant context: 

-I live in the mid Atlantic so temps range from 0 - 100. However, I’m hearty...not too sensitive to hot and cold.

-Basement area permits bench of only 40 inches wide by 30 inches deep.

-Newby 650 reloader.

-Not a huge volume shooter. Reloading mostly for PF and reliability. 

-I have children who crawl so I’m a little paranoid about lead safety. Buying bullets that are plated or coated. Would tumble outside in any event. 

-Not a ton of air circulation in basement. 

-Good neighborhood, so theft from garage isn’t much of a concern.

-Anti-Gun neighborhood, so I’d feel some anxiety if kids are over to play or someone visits with garage door up. Opsec in basement would be much stronger.

 

I’ve changed my mind a few times and am curious what you guys think from years of accumulated wisdom! 

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I'm inclined to suggest the basement.   a 40" x 30" bench is enough as long as you are only running one press.  You'll end up needing a lot of storage space, though, for components, loaded ammo, and all the bits and pieces that accumulate.

 

Tumbling outside is a good idea; reloading in the garage would subject your components and ammo to major temp and humidity swings, and while ammo is fairly resilient, I'd avoid it if I could.

 

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I've been reloading in my garage for 8 years.  It sucks in the summer, but the rest of the year is OK.  Sure, you will have enough space for your press, but there is a lot more to reloading than just the press.  I'd vote for the garage.  You need your bench and at least one rack of shelves to keep your related equipment/plastic bins on.

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1 hour ago, Covfefe said:

Is a reloading bench like a safe....first one is always too small and you’ll grow into the space no matter how much you have? 

 

That's a pretty good analogy.   I've only got room for one press on my reloading bench, with no room for a bigger bench.  So the seldom-used presses are constantly getting c-clamped to my shop workbench on a temporary basis.

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I’m in the basement. Finally built a separate room for it and did built in shelving etc for ammo and reloading components my winter project is finishing it and insulating it’s it’ll be climate controlled. It’s become my man cave of sorts. 

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Basement. Depending on your situation you may want/need a dehumidifier down there, I do.

 

Reasons, steadier temps, out of sight, easily segregated, less dust than garage, bench less likely to be a dumping station.

 

If you're just loading a few pistol calibers space shouldn't be an issue, press and scale will fit with room to spare, couple buckets of brass will fit under along with cases of bullets and powder, build a few tiers of corner shelves and you have space for dies, small tools, and primers. Get an LED lamp or fixture so it's well lit, put a lock on the door, and you have a nice space you can keep little people out of when you're not there. 

 

People talk about limited space, but in my experience space = more junk. I have a 15x15 room with two benches, a table, a wall of shelves, and a shelving unit, it's a disaster, everything vaguely shooting related gets dumped in there. When we had a rental and I just had my little bench everything not in use had to be put away to get anything done and I never found myself digging for stuff. Space let me get lazy.

 

I'm of the opinion dry tumbling should always be done outside. Wet tumbling though creates no dust.

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20 hours ago, Beef15 said:

Basement. Depending on your situation you may want/need a dehumidifier down there, I do.

 

Reasons, steadier temps, out of sight, easily segregated, less dust than garage, bench less likely to be a dumping station.

 

If you're just loading a few pistol calibers space shouldn't be an issue, press and scale will fit with room to spare, couple buckets of brass will fit under along with cases of bullets and powder, build a few tiers of corner shelves and you have space for dies, small tools, and primers. Get an LED lamp or fixture so it's well lit, put a lock on the door, and you have a nice space you can keep little people out of when you're not there. 

 

People talk about limited space, but in my experience space = more junk. I have a 15x15 room with two benches, a table, a wall of shelves, and a shelving unit, it's a disaster, everything vaguely shooting related gets dumped in there. When we had a rental and I just had my little bench everything not in use had to be put away to get anything done and I never found myself digging for stuff. Space let me get lazy.

 

I'm of the opinion dry tumbling should always be done outside. Wet tumbling though creates no dust.

Some great points here. Thanks for the feedback!

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Just realized the ceiling height is only 7ft....

 

My setup would be about 45 inches tall with case feeder and strong mount according to internet (will unbox and double check). 

 

So in order to have a foot of clearance to top of Hooper, I need a 28 inch bench. That’s no problem, as I’m a better woodworker than shooter or reloader but is that setup going to be uncomfortable? 

 

I think the handle is going to be 25is off the bench due to strong mound....so 53 overall height. I may have to sit in kindergarten chair to operate. 

 

Get rid of strong mound and leave less hopper clearance? 

Edited by Covfefe
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54 minutes ago, RangerTrace said:

A 28" bench would be a deal breaker.  That is way too low, probably even if you tried to sit while loading.

 

Roger that.

 

In garage now thinking about how to orient the bench. It’s 500 sf and we don’t park cars in it so the options are limitless.

 

I may even build an enclosure around it for Opsec, protection from kids and that I could toss a golden rod into (sans powder) to keep the moisture away when I’m not using it. 

 

I’m probably over thinking this. 

Edited by Covfefe
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I built my bench in the garage. I'm in Vegas so summer is brutal so I move the powder and primer stuff indoors. Fall and winter is when I load up enough to get me through the summer without having to reload in the hot garage.

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You mentioned a 40 long by 30 deep bench.

 

I believe those dimensions would be ok except for the height. The 28 inch bench would be a deal breaker for me, too short and would really limit storage underneath.

 

I would likely opt for the garage since as others have said, once you start storing brass, scales or some day add another press you may need more bench space.

 

You could always throw a "cover" over the press, most folks won't know what it is even uncovered but the cover would provide additional opsec. Also, the cover is nice to keep dust and such off when not in use.

 

You could build doors for the lower shelfs or temporarily hang cloth/curtain the shelfs.

 

Also, as others have said shelfs are handy.

 

I thought my 8 foot by 22 inch bench would work with one shelf. However,  I quickly found the need for another shelf and will likely add a set of shelfs behind the presses.

R_bench2s.jpg

R_bench1.jpg

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