Hey folks,

I am moving my reloading equipment from my mom's house, where I have a 30 foot bench in the basement, to my garage, where it will shrink to 12 feet.

Four of feet will be used for electronics design, as one of my hobbies is designing my own stereo gear. That means I now have 30 feet of bench just for reloading shrinking to only 8 feet. I am asking for opinions on how to set up the bench for optimium usage of space, since before now, it was never an issue.

I have two presses, a Rock Chucker single stage and a Dillon 550B. I reload for ~20 calibers, so I have lots of Dillon tool heads lying around and lots of dies. I also have two large Dillon case tumblers, currently they just sit on the bench top. I also have at least 20 reloading manuals to put somewhere.

Any suggestions?

Lastly, I have two benches that I am going to sell cheap. One is a large 8 foot by 3 foot factory made steel bench with a white formica top and an equipment shelf above it. It is painted in powdercoat Royal blue. This one is welded and very solid, but does not come apart. The benchtop and equipment shelf is removable, however. This is a very professionally made bench.

The other is a 7 foot by 3 foot dark oak formica bench with a lower shelf. This one is homemade, overbuilt, and is designed to be completely dissambled and bolted back together again. The top is 1.5 inches thick and was a conference table for a computer company. It is also very very solid.

If anyone is interested in these benches, send me a private mail message. I am located in the East Bay area of CA.

Thanks,

RobertD

Well how much space do you have overall?? Here is a few pics of my shop may give ya some ideas.. The bench itself is 8ftx4ft.. The storage lockers are about 6ftx3ft for both..

8ft of bench is plenty. You can get some cheap kitchen base cabinets & put an 6'8" solid core door in it. Add some shelves or cabinets above & you are off and reloading.

While browsing thru the local Home Despot tonite(btw,they don't carry corkboard)I saw a neat item.It was some kinda of prefab deal that supplied the hardware(minus 6 2x4x8's,1 4x4 sheet of 3/4 inch plywood and some pegboard) to make either a workbench or some shelves.The workbench option would make a dandy reloading bench.It came with screws and galvinized brackets.cost was $24.Looked kinda cool.I tried to find it on there website,but couldn't locate it.I'm going back tomorrow,so i'll look the brand.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Yesterday I drove to Mom's and took a real hard look at what I was using. I came to the conclusion that I can do what I am now doing in 30 feet with only 8-9 feet, if I move the two tumblers to a place other than the benchtop and get more organized with the space I am using. The drill press will have to find a new home, along with the grinder and vise.

I do think I have the vise and grinder figured out now. I am putting them on a mobile workbench that is 2'x3', which will also give me room to mount a bicycle workstand.

One thing that does help are my new benches, which are 30 and 36 inches wide, instead of 24" like the 30 foot one. This will help with storage a bit, as right now, I haven't any floor space for the two storage shelves holding all the brass and unused bullets.

Nice pics of your bench, btw. I like the covered storage for the reloading manuals - a nice touch.

RobertD

6.5:

What is the speed reducer setup for? Sorry but I can't see it clearly enough on mer monitor.

TNX

Mark

LOL I was wandering when someone was gonna ask that.. On the far right side I stick case head in.. That way it spins the brass freely and allows me to turn my necks much easier. If ya like I can take some close up pics of it.. My late uncle used to sit there for hours and hours with a cloth and brasso shining all his cases by hand...

6.5 Bandit

I ran into a similar problem when I moved my reloading room. For a bench I bought a Sears steel unit with roller bearing drawers and a 1 1/2" thick top. Nice, compact size and sturdy. I then made up bases for my various presses that clamp to the bench and store in a cabinet. So the Dillon comes out for mass loading, the Rockchucker for some rifle ammo, and the Arbor press for the inline die stuff.

Yeah, it's a little trouble but it makes for a very sanitary look. Doesn't hurt to have an Italian leather recliner and a stereo in the room either, along with a few other creature comforts, like the bookshelves complete with the works of Ruark,Capstick, Keith, Roosevelt and others. No Hemingway though, I find him barely readable.

Rust,

I do have a stereo in the reloading room. Actually, I have two, one to play with, and the other to listen. :-)

The books are in the den, where it is a nice place to read. I will miss the nice even temperature in the basement, though. Never too hot, never too cold. The garage is going to be way different. Sigh....

RobertD

Check out eBay item 3670253256.

Robert, I don't know how deep your bench is, mine is 3'x6'. But if you sit in a chair like I do, this limits your work able area by how far you can reach. So you will probably have room in the back for shelving of some sort. I mounted my dillon 550 on a 16" square piece of 3/4" plywood. Then drilled 4 holes through it and my bench top and attach with carriage bolts and wing nuts when I need to use it. Otherwise it sits on the floor out of the way. Good luck.

Bandit, is that (mostly) white chair of yours a combination of a stool and the seat/back of a chair screwed together?? I ask because I have wanted a seat in my reloading room for years, but I have yet to find anything high enough with a backrest. A combination stool/chair might just do the trick??
- mike

Thanks Bandit!
- mike

MHo: I use two barstools from the dry bar my parents put in the den. They never used the chairs, so I stole them and moved them into the basement. These "stools" have backs on them, rotate on bearings, and have four long legs, like bar stools.

I don't need two chairs, but it is nice to have a second one when someone stops over for a visit. I suggest you check out a bar/stool speciality store. You might find a close out or a damaged one cheap.

RobertD