Reloading set up pics
 

I enjoy seeing how others do stuff, and the ideas they have come up with to make jobs easier. When i got my first progressive press many years ago I wanted to have a stable platform for it, but not permanent. IOW, I wanted to be able to reload in the same place with all my different presses. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and here is the result of my needs. I had the big woodworking vise on the bench front already, so the ideas kinda sprang from it.

I started with a piece of 2 X 10 as a base, and constructed bins on either end of it for the hulls and wads. I bolt the press to that base and clamp it in my woodworking vise on the front of my very heavily built workbench. To strengthen it even more I cut a 2 X 6 to the right length to wedge under the threaded rod on the big vise. It is then rock solid, just as much so as if the press were bolted to the top of the workbench. The second pic shows what I did on the back of the hull bin to catch the loaded shells as they roll off the press. The shell falls off the carrier plate, onto the angled diverter, then falls gently through the space between the front of the workbench and the rear of the hull bin into a three gallon bucket which hangs from two eye hooks on the front of the workbench.

This all works very well and allows me to load at the "casual speed" of about a box every three minutes. I pushed myself once and loaded nearly 700 in one hour, including time to reload the powder and shot containers, and the primer tray, but don't have the need to load that fast anymore. The bins will hold about 120 hulls and probably close to two hundred wads.

Hope this helps someone who needs to have a reloading space that can be quickly and easily dismantled and moved, or switched out to another gauge press.

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Great setup Stan! Thanks!





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Cool set-up Stan. I had to build a loft in my shop and constructed about 50' of benches to set up all the shotgun and metallic and BP gear!! Your way is much less expensive!! :rotf::rotf::rotf:

https://parkerguns.org/forums/attach...1&d=1676223209

I mostly reload 28 Ga - I built this for that purpose. I can change gauges when I want to load something else.The unit is on wheels, so I can move it for cleaning the shot on the floor. Billy

I like that, Billy.

Shot on the floor!! That's unheard of!! :whistle::shock::rotf:

Mike, when I got my first single stage press many years ago I clamped it to my office desk, which was in an extra bedroom. The bedroom had shag carpet (remember that stuff?). After a few accidents spilling no. 8s onto the carpet all was ready for my wife to make an unsuspecting pass over it with her high powered vacuum cleaner. You've got to hear several ounces of no. 8s going into a vacuum cleaner to appreciate the tongue lashing I received. :nono:

It wasn't long until the re-loading was re-located .......... to a shop.

A dear friend threw a 25# bag of 8 shot over his shoulder and proceded across his living room and down the beautiful hardwood staircase to his reloading room in his beautifully finished basement. You guessed it… he niticed the bag had gotten considerably lighter but it was too late when he discovered why. Probably half of the bag of shot had been trickling out the whole way to his gunroom. This happened 6 ir 8 years ago and I’ll bet the vacuum still goes klink or ting every now and then.





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My wife gets pissed every time she finds a piece of shot upstairs. Once in a while, I pick up a piece in my shoe and it comes out upstairs. Billy

We've all done it! My worst wasn't a shot spill but I didn't realize somehow I bumped the powder hopper on my Spolar and it moved. Prevented the full charge of powder from dropping. After about 300-400 shells I noticed the hopper was out of place. Never knew when during those 300-400 I bumped it so it took a while to figure out which shells were "light"! Fool me once.....

After 50 years of reloading, I'm officially done reloading. Sold to a fellow PGCA member so it will have a good home! No more searching for powder, primers, or buying $50 shot:bigbye: At one time I had 6 of these 45 gal tubs filled with once fired Federal Gold Medal, Top Gun, and Estate hulls. Gave 3 tubs to friends and kept 3. All empty now! My next project is mining all the shot on the floor! The reloading bench was made by my grandfather probably in the 50's or 60's. 1 1/2 inch maple bench top.

I enjoy reloading and load 20ga to 8ga. Here is my setup. Not perfectly organized but works for me.

At $4800 a pop I won't be trying to justify a Spolar. https://spolargold.com/price-list

Had mine since the 90s, press with 3 extra tool heads cost me maybe $1750?

I am way overengineered in my loading room. "On wheels?" I once bought one of those "Red Devil" mini vacuums to keep my bench clean. The first time that thing smelled a piece of shot, it self destructed with great audio fanfare. Don't buy one of those. By the way, I'm about 65 years into this shotshell reloading business and I'm learning every day.

Has anyone been able to figure out loading costs at today's prices? Is it worth it?

I don't know the price of a box of reloaded shotgun shells but you save a lot on big bore rifle ammo if you cast your on lead...a 45-70 factory load is about 2.50 around..if you reload and make cast bullets and have the brass I would say that I can load for one round my cost would be less than a quarter.....and I believe I can load the 8 ga with the 50 cent hull you can buy here on the forem for less than a dollar a piece....charlie

Reloading will always be financially prudent, end of story.

It is certainly worth it when you simply can’t get the ammo you want.






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For 28 and 410 yes, 3/4 and 7/8 12 ga. yes they are not available. 10 ga. yes. I shoot a lot of odd ball loads that are not commercially loaded and some of my components are pre panic bought. I also load very mild loads which would be expensive when available. also spreader loads.

Now that the 8g press and RCBS swage is set up. I'll show and tell too.....

Photo 1- Lead bullet casting, black powder rifle and black powder shotshell stuff.

Photo 2- L to R, 8, .410 and 28g MECs

Photo 3- L to R, 20, 16, 12 and 10g MECs.

Photo 4- L to R, Super Sizer, drill press for roll crimping, Spolar Gold

Photo 5- what you can see in the rifle powder/bullet/primer cabinet

Part 2.....

Photo 1- Hull Conditioner and Dillon 570

Photo 2- Rifle bench, L to R, RCBS press, Lyman press, Lyman Turbo-Tumbler, Lyman case processor, bench top cut off saw, case trimmer

Photo 3- RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme press and C&H 8g swage dies

Photo 4- Primers/powder/wads

Photo 5- Primers/powder/wads/shot

Not to worry, plenty more components that are on other shelves and cabinets. :)

Mike, I was just looking back at these photos and saw something I missed earlier. What are the two sets of, what look to be, customized vice grips used for? I've never seen any made like that.

They are to clamp “stuff” onto the plate on the drill press.

You are not alone in getting yelled at for spilled powder and shot, that happened to me a time or two. After the last time, I got a plastic fast food tray and drilled three 5/16" holes in it that correspond to the placement of the bolts that hold the press. The press is centered in the tray so no matter which way the spill happens, it's sure to catch it.

Hi,

I love this post. It's awesome to see everybody's setups. I'm still currently loading 8's and 10's with hand tools and measuring powder and shot via scale for each shell. I thought it would be cool to share my 12 gauge setup I am still working on getting going. It's a Hollywood gun shop automatic mounted on a harbor freight stand with a 1/2" birch mounting board. The press runs fine and does what it should but only loads fiber wads which is fine with me. I did have to make a new feed plate to feed two 3/8" fiber wads instead of the old max of one 1/2" filler wad. I was fortunate in that the gentleman I bought this from had everything including the 6 and 8 point crimp dies. I'm still working on finding a load that works but I thought the group would find this interesting.