RELOADING BENCH PICTURES

[diveRN]

Got tired of my paw cramping up on the small wooden ball/handle
on my Lee classic cast press so I swapped it out.
Bought a pool ball of of Flea Bay, drilled it out and two ton epoxied
it to the handle.

Nice idea.

[redcoyote]

This is the harbor freight 60" workbench. I was considering going this route to avoid buying lumber and building something. How is it working out for you? I see that you put plywood supports under the legs. Any more pics?

[yeahyourightche]

First load recipes and results

So...
It took a while to assemble the shell plate, a set of Lyman 9mm dies (Hornady backordered), appropriate powder (Unique), and primers (found Federal Match small pistol) due to the sheer madness around firearms retail.

I finally did get all the bits & bobs (scale, case lube, ULTRASONIC CLEANER {that is a ***whole*** separate post}, ammo cases & labels, bullet puller for mistakes at seating the correct OAL) and came up with this recipe:

Cases: Once-fired factory Winchester bulk 9mm and Am Eagle (Federal)
Powder/load: 4gn of Unique (Alliant)
Primer: Deferal Match sm pistol
Bullet: Hornady 100gn RN FMJ

After cleaning the Federal cases looked spiffier than the Win so I started with those. I was aiming for an OAL of 1.085 which is the published length for the Hornady bullet reloading data.

The Lyman dies are set up as Sizer/Decapper which works great, and an expander (2-stage) and then a Bullet Seater with crimp options.

After loading 100 or so, i noticed that the bullet was falling into the case with some of even a little pressure, i.e. not enough crimp. Most of them didnt get ruined and I fired them...

The gun in question is H&K USP Compact (3.54invh barrel) 9mm

After a few mags, generally there were 40%-50% FTE and other various symptoms of too light a powder load, too loose crimp... so back to the drawing board. Actually I will test the 4 gn in my 16".

The Win cases either have a thicker wall, or were tall enough to crimp on the setting that failed with the Federal cases. Out of 50 4-gn loads in the Win cases, there was only 1 FTE/FTF.

Later when I got back home, I realized that I had done something out of order - I had put the powder die before the expander in sequence, and hence the expander was packing down the powder into the base of the case!

So after re-cleaning the cases as well as some once-fired factory brass from the range trip, I made adjustments based on the previous run.

New load: 5-gn
AOL: same 1.085"
Bullet: same 100-gn RN Hornady FMJ
Primer: same Federal Match sm pistol
Increased crimp on Federal cases to stabilize bullet seating depth

Also I should comment that the Federal primers just glide into the Federal cases, and I've wasted about 6-8 primers in Win cases. Of course I didnt do any case prep on the primer pocket, either, so whaddaya expect.

I'll snap some more photos of the bench, but generally the Hazard Fraught Tools $159 wood bench is solid, and now that it is anchored to the floor and wall, it makes a solid press foundation.

[yeahyourightche]

Well...
Right this moment it is difficult to get all the stuff you need to load a single bullet - everything is sold out/backorder only.

It took me a full month to find plates, dies, bullets, powder & primers.

But, now that I have it, I'm glad that I do! But one will spend at least $400-$600 and up getting up and going with a progressive.

Once you have inventory of brass and components, though, and you get your rig tuned and cranking - you'll never be at the mercy of the market again.

And of course the gun grabbers wanna tax ammo out the wazoo

[steveOsteezy]

My discrete setup



Running low on supplies so I just got into casting for .30 cal and 9mm

[yeller]

Just getting into reloading, My uncle gave me so much stuff I'm lost on what to do.... I have dyes, bullets, casings, powder, primers, now I just need to figure out how to make it all work together. This is what I have set up for now just gotta figure out the best location for everything to make it all work out.

going to reload the following

Pistol - .38, .357, .380, .40, .45, 9mm
Rifle - .223, 22-250, 30-30, 30-06, 7.62X54, 7.62X51/308
Shotgun - .410g, 12g, 20g

gotta allot to learn but I have a good free start

[vmwerks]

There's a lot of really nice benches and supplies posted here, but I'm not one who would brag on a public forum, including detailed pictures of what I have. I have noticed that most people will also do the same concerning their guns and ammo.

If you think this is a good idea, raise your hand.

Bragging? If you think it so why are you in this thread to begin with? The title is very clear. As for myself I am remodeling my worktop surface and benches. I come here for ideas...

As for people seeing my guns, feel free, you'll know to stay away from my home.

[yeahyourightche]

New Integrated Shelving!

[sdkevin]

.. my storage, HA! Mine is best described as ummm, modular. Easy to carry and stackable.

Four large dairy plastic shipping crates, two are split with cardboard boxes - one for each calibers loading supplies. Another case is split in two, one box has the plastic costco widemouth nut jars - one for each calibers assembled turret/cse trimmer/shell plate stuff. The other half is the press tools - bullet puller/zip trim/chamfer tool/lube/etc. Last case is split between the tumbler and powders.

Can't wait to stack them in the corner and throw a tabletop and tablecloth over them for poker night!

[vonderplatz]

My Setup, and trying to get wheels for the bench.

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[imperials]

My 13 year old boy and I decided to work on a project this holiday weekend and besides me giving him the measurements he did all the work. Needless to say I am extremely proud of the job he did!!! Now we wait for the Dillon 550 to arrive. Please notice the the Lyman 49th and the ABC's of reloading in the shelf, they have been extremely helpful with the basics!

[sdkevin]

Smart setup Vonder!

[tweedo]

Finally finished mineImageUploadedByTapatalk1361593150.345213.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1361593173.377944.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1361593201.411315.jpg

[SB30]

nice guys

[vstromer]

Got tired of my paw cramping up on the small wooden ball/handle
on my Lee classic cast press so I swapped it out.
Bought a pool ball of of Flea Bay, drilled it out and two ton epoxied
it to the handle.

How hard was it to get the wooden handle off of your lee press ?