Must have tools for reloading bench

[Ralph Littlefield]

There is no end to the tools that are offered to reloaders. Of the tools that you have for reloading, which would you consider essential for loading your version of top quality ammo?

What would you like to add?


What do you wish you never bought?

 

[natdscott]

Dial calipers. Good ones.

Pens, pencils, and a good composition notebook.

A good reloading TEXTbook...not a GD manufacturer's "manual", most of which are just recipes, not actual instructions on how to load.


All of those things need to be bought, and figured out, before a person buys anything else.

 

[Fotheringill]

First to go - The torpedo inside and outside champhering tool was the first to be set aside in a drawer. I replaced it with an adapter for a power screwdriver and separate ones ( I think Lyman ) that screw into the adapter. Much easier on my delicate paws and a lot faster.

To get- good micrometer and a good caliper. I say "good" on the calipers because I was being driven crazy with what I had using the inside diameter end of it. I was measuring the inside of bushings and getting readings that were off. I asked a machinist friend to look at the calipers. He took them to work and returned the calipers saying the OD was spot on and the inside was off. He held it up to the light and showed me the gap on the inside end when the calipers were in the closed position.

 

[ToddKS]

Dillon 1050 w/Ammobot autodrive and CNC milled tool heads. Absolutely essential. Never going back

 

[Toolbreaker]

An ogive comparator and a good micrometer seating die top my list.

 

[Gabe22BR]

Dang bullet puller !!!

 

[Rsadams]

A small flashlight... A straightened paper clip.... A can O air.... Several rags.... There's always to much to list , the things I listed have multiple uses and are cheap or free but you will use them and when you can't find one you will go looking before it's over..

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

There is no end to the tools that are offered to reloaders. Of the tools that you have for reloading, which would you consider essential for loading your version of top quality ammo?

What would you like to add?


What do you wish you never bought?

Essential tools:

A press, dies, some type of scale, some type of measuring tool, some type of primer seating tool.

Oh, and a beer. To clean the brass.

What would I like to add?
Nothing, I got enough tools.

What do I wish I had never bought?
For handloading tasks? How much time you got?

My first one would be a concentricity measuring tool. What a waste.

 

[JimSC]

Essentials - Single stage or turret press, calipers, decent electronic or beam scale, bushing style FL dies, measuring tool for base to ogive and shoulder to base measurements. Waste of money - annealing machine and concentricity tool.

 

[Walt Krafft]

Autotrickler is absolutely the last thing I would give up. Other things I use constantly are: compressed air nozzle, bench top drill press, Rockchucker. Wish I hadn't bought, ss pin tumbler.

 

[RW]

some way to trim overall length of cases such as lyman, forster, ect.

 

[Mulligan]

Essentials - Single stage or turret press, calipers, decent electronic or beam scale, bushing style FL dies, measuring tool for base to ogive and shoulder to base measurements. Waste of money - annealing machine and concentricity tool.

How so?
CW

 

[Uncle Ed]

 

[Ralph Littlefield]

Waste of money - annealing machine and concentricity tool.

This one surprises me. No need for concentricity tool?

 

[Ralph Littlefield]

This is how I got started. 20 GA shotgun. Early to mid 1960's.

 

[JimSC]

How so?
CW

I saw no benefit from annealing, neither in case life or velocity consistency. I still get 10 + reloads on each case and single digit SD's

This one surprises me. No need for concentricity tool?

It was useful to find out what I needed to do to get good concentricity but now that I am there I just follow my routine and it gathers dust. The magic pixie dust for me was tossing the expander button and using bushing dies

 

[BoydAllen]

binocular magnifier to be able to see things closer than I can with my bifocals ...handiest tool I own...something like this
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HRM9GW9/?tag=accuratescom-20

 

[hammerjack]

A good supply of your favorite beer.

 

[K22]

Besides the obvious, i.e. press, dies, trimmer, primer, chamferer, uniformer, and flash hole deburrer -

everyone should have some means to measure the shoulder set back for bottle neck rifle cases to assure proper sizing. This may be one of the most over looked functions in reloading especially for beginners.

 

[R.Morehouse]

Add....FW Arms Auto-Case Centering Decapper/Deprimer............Could definitely continue without it......But I like it.

Recently sold the AMP.......If I conclude at the end of 2020 it was a dumb move I will replace it....