Reloading space setup

[GetMore]

Hello everyone! I did a quick search without finding an answer, but if I missed a good thread please direct me.
I finally moved into a house where I have room to reload, so I want to get started, even though there is nothing available at the moment.
The basement is currently empty, so I have the opportunity to set an area for reloading before the "stuff" moves in. I have seen a single cabinet as a reloading bench, and I have seen the 24' bench, as well as plans for a few styles of benches, so it seems that like so many other things there is no clear-cut answer of what is 'right', but I am hoping to benefit from everyone's good choices, and learn from their mistakes.

What is the minimum size that you would recommend, as in you aren't always wishing you had more room?
What is too much room (if there is such a thing)?
It seems most are about two feet deep. Is there an advantage to going deeper, or does it mean you are reaching over things and causing yourself problems?

Do you have any recommendations regarding storage?

Thank you for your help!

P.S.: I saw a few good threads for first time reloaders, but I am sure I didn't see them all. I would appreciate directions to some others.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Bigger the better. I went to Home depot and bought a cheap piece of counter top 6' long. It was too long for my space so I cut it down. Works great an the price is right. Then I replaced all the kitchen cabinets with new for the boss. I used most of the old ones in the loading room. Also built a few shelves..

 

[Just Say Moe]

Figure your minimum size, then double it.

Bench top work area would be 4 ft minimum, so I would plan on 8 ft. This is not including storage cabinets that could be alongside the bench.

Have enough room for multiple work stations at the same time - trimming station, press, powder measure, scales - to prevent having to move or stow things to do another task.

Make sure it is well lit.

Separate your reloading bench from your regular "work" bench (household repair, RC airplanes, woodcarving etc).

 

[JEFFPPC]

My bench goes around 3 walls for 22 ft. It is not to much. Of course that does not include the free standing metal bench I clean on.

 

[milboltnut]

more room the better, however, that means more stuff to clutter. I would say good housekeeping is better than extra space.

 

[Jager]

More is better than less. Mostly.

But don't let "perfect be the enemy of the good." It's easy to imagine a reloading setup so nice... that you never quite get there. Just do it. Adjust later, if need be.

Lots of ammo has been loaded out of a shoebox.

 

[SSL]

Figure your minimum size, then double it.

Bench top work area would be 4 ft minimum, so I would plan on 8 ft. This is not including storage cabinets that could be alongside the bench.

Have enough room for multiple work stations at the same time - trimming station, press, powder measure, scales - to prevent having to move or stow things to do another task.

Make sure it is well lit.

Separate your reloading bench from your regular "work" bench (household repair, RC airplanes, woodcarving etc).

Absolutely! I'm not even a competitor but my reloading bench is 11' long with an additional 4' wide "mechanic" drawer set. The opposite wall has a bench 8' long for working on firearms and a 6' dog-leg at 90 degrees for cleaning and bullet casting. Walls are lined with shelving and "organizing" (Ha!) Drawers.

And I still need more room!

 

[Dub]

I have a 20x16 room upstairs dedicated to my reloading. I bought a work bench "kit" from lowes. here are a couple pics to give you some ideas. I have cleaned and re organized since these pics but you get the idea.

 

[Patriot007]

I have a 20x16 room upstairs dedicated to my reloading. I bought a work bench "kit" from lowes. here are a couple pics to give you some ideas. I have cleaned and re organized since these pics but you get the idea.

Very Nice. The Lamp added a nice touch to the Dillon.

 

[FeMan]

Congrats on getting the new reloading area!!

I'll echo all that said bigger is better. My area has 12 feet of bench top and I am crammed. For storage I did what Zilla did and placed used kitchen cabinets all around. I use the Acro Plastic bins for bullets and brass. They are sturdy and stackable. Also tons of Tupperware stolen from the Mrs.

I would recommend a corner setup if available. That allows you access to a lot of area without moving.

Unfinished solid core exterior doors make for great bench tops and can be really cheap if you ask for blems.

I have six presses and recently converted to the Inline Fabrication mounting system. Its a great way to change between units quickly and keep things organized.

 

[skeeljc]

My area is fairly compact. I use an old oak table that was probably a drafting reference table. It is 48" by 32". I cut the legs off to make it a sit down table. It is very heavy so it does not move around. None of my reloading equipment is permanently attached. I have threaded inserts in the table top for each piece of equipment. My sizing press is mounted on another stand up workbench. The storage shelves are anchored to the wall.

 

[K22]

I'm in the bigger the better club but due to space constraints I've had to settle for less surface space (40" long) than I want meaning I can't permanently mount everything on the top of the bench.

I've worked around it by using a "C" clamp to temporarily attach my trimmer to the loading bench when needed. Not a big deal since I don't need to trim that often.

Having ample and organized shelves is a big help and having my powder scale mounted at eye level on a shelf is a must. Since I only have one press and powder measure mounted on the bench top I'm able to make it work.

 

[358WCF]

I moved from 2800 sq.ft. into 1100 sq.ft. a few years ago so everything has been downsized. Wondering why it took me so long to do it. I picked up a Craftsman 6' butcher block top workbench with an added 4 drawer unit at Lowe's on sale last year. All the presses are mounted on Inline Fabrication plates for their tall base mounted to the right, so are interchangeable quick & easy. Powder measure is on one of their brackets too. It works OK for ball powders but flexes a bit too much with extruded. A small bench vise to the left holds priming tool, trimmer, etc attached to scrap angle & stored in a drawer when not in use. There will be wall shelves for dies & the scale at eye level after it moves to its permanent home across the room. It's working out very nicely except for when I need to spread out the books. Another smaller bench or desk to the left would be perfect for that and some of the clutter that's inevitable. The daughter & grand daughter like it too.

 

[gdbleb]

I would try to plan for 2 seperate areas/benchtops. One for reloading that is kept clean and organized. The other one for gun cleaning, maintenance and futzing.

 

[rkittine]

I have two 8 foot benches and 2 3 foot ones as well as two book cases and a set of heavy duty shelving units.

 

[204 AR]

There's some really good ideas here. My current set up is the old kitchen cabinets and counter in an L shape. The cabinets make great powder and bullet storage. I set 6" deep shelving on the walls above for die sets and tools. On one end of the counter is my progressive, with reinforcement underneath the counter, and a bracket and small plastic bins that hang from it beside the press for brass and the loaded rounds to drop in.

In the middle of the room is my old bench made from a solid core door, that's my cleaning station and has a single stage press on each end currently. Also have a bench vice that mounts to it when needed for AR work.

Good lighting is key and I like the led shop lights, I wired plug ins into the ceiling to power them.

 

[Mark W]

Here’s the loading space that I recently set up in the finished basement of my new house. I couldn’t get my old bench down there, so I set it up in the garage where I will use it for cleaning and annealing.

 

[Intheshop]

I am "spoiled rotten"..... not really,been in the building business forever,grew up in it.

Years ago we did all the $$$ millwork in a big Catholic church sanctuary. Forget the sq ftg but think BIG. This was an especially challenging "build" which saw us moving quite a few pcs(equipment) onsite. We had an installation window which was very generous..... all parties,to include other contractors,went out of their way to help in this staging.

So here we are in a basically empty 4k? sq ft "room". Where do you think all our equipment went?

Yup,nested all together in a,circle the wagons setup just offset from the center of the room. So when guys start talking about never having enough room..... well,that ain't always the case. My "shop" is about 80' long..... you try walking that several times. Back N forth,back N forth.

The loading room is a very modest 10x12'ish with a "take out" set of kitchen cabs from 1964. Total of bench is 2' wide,8' long. And that's ALL I want!!! The disconnect here is,guys are trying to combine a loading bench with other chores. No way in heck I want any equipment in the loading area that isn't 100% loading. I don't even clean guns in there. We have parts cleaners and spray down areas for that chit.

Like said,spoiled rotten. Just giving some insight.

 

[OmegaRed]

I think this forum needs a good reloading bench sticky...

That being said, this last one I built is about perfect - if I had to do it again I'd probably do it in the same setup.

L bench with a lip/backstop at sitting height. Top made out of whatever your wallet lets you do and how aesthetically pleasing you want it. I made mine out of a trailer load of old 2x4's that my friend had. Ripped them all into 2.5" thick, laminated together, router planed and sanded flat. Did linseed oil to make it a little brighter for finding little screws and what not.

That bench is about 8' on each length. Gives you plenty of room for scale to stay away from everything else and not get bumped. Good lighting is a must. I did 4x6 legs full 2x4 framing for the top. I wanted heavy, level, zero flex - especially with the presses.

Then in the floating open center of that L bench, I have a standing height island thats about 3.5 x 3.5. Same countertop. This houses 2 presses on one side but expandable to about 4-6 total. Barrel vise on an adjacent side which I use for barrel swaps, cleaning, scope mounting, etc. All of my presses and anything else that could be mounted/bolted through the table top are instead mounted on blanks of the same counter top material about 12"x12" (make extra). Then if I get a new press, want to mount something else - you are drilling through that instead of drilling all kinds of different hole patterns through your finished table top. I've also seen people cutting templates with a dovetail/45 degree cut to have plates slide in an out (you obv need to countersink holes to get clearance).

The second reason for the blanks are also for strength with the press. So you have 5" total of laminated wood, one running E/W one running N/S. Then I toss a thin metal top plate to tie it all together. Everything is through bolted. You can generate a significant amount of torque with a press arm.

I recently added a wire mesh rolling cart that I got for free to get all of the bench that were previously in totes/drawered containers. Having anything on your bench just breeds the eventuality of clutter. Keep it clear at all times. Kind of like this: https://www.uline.com/Product/Detai...N3g8xjCBy2lp80VaTdRoCvBgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Lastly, picked up a bunch (like a whole kitchen worth) of cheap cabinets. They are out there on craigslist and marketplace. Hung them all with french cleats in case I wanted to move them around in the future. One keeps powder, one primers, one bullets for inventory types of items. One is dies/tools/etc. One I use for currently used items, open powder, bullets, and the like. This way I'm not accidentally opening multiple jugs of powder of the same type, just keeps everything simple. Works for me. I looked real quick and don't have any good pictures that shows the whole thing.

 

[JMayo]

HF wood working bench with 6" shelf on wall increasing the depth & 5" height increased.
Bench hole filled with dowels.

Shelving from Lowe's.

Cabinet on wheels for storage and cleaning rifles.
Another rolling cab.(red) for storage and pistol reloading press.