any of yas got a pic of a die rack? i been thinking about building one to have on my wall all labled with the cal. i think it would be a lot easyer than going through all my darn boxes all the time.

I saw one on either Lee or RCBS the other day. Looked like a shelf with holes in it.

I tried die racks many, many years ago. I ended up not liking them, and throwing them out.

Why? Several reasons:

1. I can keep rust inhibitor tablets or inhibitor paper in the boxes with die sets.

2. In the die boxes, each die set stays together, and I don't have to spend a raft of time reading the stampings on dies to make sure none have somehow been put in the wrong places in the rack(s).

3. The die boxes are already very clearly labelled as they come from the seller. Clear printing, and one less chore to do.

4. I stack all my die boxes (and the dies in them) in order of cartridge size. That way it is very easy to find any set I want very quickly. As I have and use over 100 sets of dies, that saves a lot of time in the long run.

5. My loading room is fairly large, and has half a dozen or so presses in it. With the dies in their original boxes, the dies are easy to carry wherever needed, without dropping any of them.

There are other reasons too, but the examples listed here are enough for me. Die racks sound neat, but didn't suit my preferences after a bit of use. YMMV

that makes a lot of sence, wish all my boxes were the same and stackable, i got big ones round ones small ones etc. and as you can see im a little pressed for room. i think it would be much more compact than fifty boxes stacked up.

Fishgut -

A die rack, or racks will probably work out fine if you only have maybe a dozen or less sets of dies, and if you're not continually changing which guns you own and need dies for.

One of the biggest pains I found in using racks was that as I changed guns fairly frequently when testing and sometimes writing about them, I was having to constantly re-arrange my dies in the die racks, which meant I was also having to remove and replace the labels for them too.

So, you will probably have to try it to see if it is really helpful for you. It wasn't for me, but it might be for your situation.

Several years ago I picked up a shelf unit designed for CDs. I cut three one inch holes in rows, four rows per shelf with a hole saw.

That gives me a place for twelve calibers (three shelves), which is enough for whatever calibers I'm loading for at any time...dies I'm not going to use any time soon go back into their boxes.

I used to label the front of the shelves as to caliber, but anymore I don't find it hard to remember what goes where. Never had problem with rust but dust is a bit of a pain.

Wish I had bought two of the shelf units when I got this one.

You could standardize your loading boxes. Pick the one you like and buy what you need.

http://www.midwayusa.com/Find?userSearchQuery=die+box

quote:

..... and as you can see im a little pressed for room ......

Ugh, O.K., whatever floats your Boat - if I had that much room I'd consider it the height of Pure Luxery, but to each his own "confined Space".

I'm only working with @ 40 sets of Dies and maybe 6 or 7 are on "permanent loan" from folks that I load for but these stay in "factory issue" condition as they aren't mine. They are @ 98% RCBS Dies anyway, 1 Lyman and possibily one other Lee set in a sea of RCBS green Die Boxes.

Since the aquisition of another set of Dies at this point is normally a relatively straightforward proposition (no Wildcats but lots of European cartridges) for me and the brand loyalty (up until this point) has paid dividends I've always used the green RCBS Die Boxes with a green label for cartridge designation. The "as they come from the factory" glued on paper designation usually is ripped, gets oil/lube on it, has a price sticker (glued) over the designation and eventually gives up the ghost anyway. When I purchase the Dies I give the original label a shot of WD-40 and after @ 20 minutes slips cleanly off the box including all the sticky gunk, too. Like AC's keeping a moisture inhibitor in the Die Box; I do this also. Also have a room-sized water/moisture inhibitor box in the immediate vicinity of the Dies & Press, too.

I have a Neck Sizer Die for the majority of .224" cartidges and a Lee FCD for most all anyway and getting the 4th Die (a Lee FCD is pretty small in comparison) in the RCBS Boxes isn't an issue.

Net, color me a Box kinda Guy.

Here's some of my die racks. They hold 11-sets between them, and the dies are always ready to go.

What kind of presses are these? They look nice.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin Rohrer:
Here's some of my die racks. They hold 11-sets between them, and the dies are always ready to go.

Funny you should ask that now. I originally had my die sets in a small steel cabinet. 4 sets to a drawer, 5 drawers to a cabinet, kept inside kitchen cabinet above the reloading counter.

Then the progressive press came along. I found a guy, not too long ago, that built a rack with cubby holes. Each hole held a toolhead and caliber conversion box. I'd mount it up high against the beam. (basement ceiling is 6ft 6)

My idea is to see if the toolhead will fit a inside a cube shape cigar box. There's a smoke shop close by, I'm hoping to grab a few boxes.

Rich

dillon 550 rack

http://www.weaponscache.com/fo...0-toolhead-rack.html

quote:

Originally posted by Kevin Rohrer:
Here's some of my die racks. They hold 11-sets between them, and the dies are always ready to go.

There's nothing worse than a show off. Quit! You're making the rest of us look bad.

Stephen

awsome kevin, who makes them presses?

quote:

What kind of presses are these? They look nice.

The two in the background are different model Hollywood Universals (17" tall) and the one in the foreground is a Hollywood Senior Turret (15" tall).