Beginning of of my reloading room..
- Thread starter 1stmar
- Start date
Looks good so far. Nice start.
My reload bench occupies an entire 8.5sq feet. There's shelves above it, some shelves in a room in the house, and some closet space used. I reload quite a bit and have a good amount of equipment and components. So I think you'll be okay.
Looking forward to the pics.
My reload bench occupies an entire 8.5sq feet. There's shelves above it, some shelves in a room in the house, and some closet space used. I reload quite a bit and have a good amount of equipment and components. So I think you'll be okay.
Looking forward to the pics.
ATPBULLETS
New member
nice space...
Oh wow, nice start. My room is a 2' x 3' bench and the corner of my work bench. The whole room is probably 10 x 11 but has to be shared with the water softener, the furnace, the water heater, some storage, and my other hobby (electronics & radio). The room is definitely too small so guns get 2' x 5 ' on one wall and that's it. It's a nice bench/cabinet though so I'm not complaining. Can't wait to see your setup unfold.
Looks like a good start.
The only advice I will proffer is the same adage you hear when people ask about what size safe they should buy: however big you think you need for a bench/shelving/storage, make it 50% bigger.
And yes, I say this from experience. When I started and built my setup, I thought it was plenty big, now I am maxing out room and negotiating with my better half about moving her bookshelves to the other end of the basement so I have room to expand. The work surface on my bench is 20 square feet (8' X 2.5') and I have about 40 square feet of storage in my shelving units (3 shelves at 1' X 8' and 4 shelves at 2' X 2"), and I need more.
The only advice I will proffer is the same adage you hear when people ask about what size safe they should buy: however big you think you need for a bench/shelving/storage, make it 50% bigger.
And yes, I say this from experience. When I started and built my setup, I thought it was plenty big, now I am maxing out room and negotiating with my better half about moving her bookshelves to the other end of the basement so I have room to expand. The work surface on my bench is 20 square feet (8' X 2.5') and I have about 40 square feet of storage in my shelving units (3 shelves at 1' X 8' and 4 shelves at 2' X 2"), and I need more.
I'm still in the proses of building mine . Well It's built and fully fictional but I'm still changing things and it is close to how I will be leaving it . That brings me to my point of this post . If you have never had a reloading room/ bench / what ever . Don't over do it with where you THINK you want everything and build it complete . All you will be doing is demo and moving some things later and it may not work well doing so once everything is set up . Just keep adding as it's needed . After reloading for 6 months the only thing thats in the same place as when I started is my 2 desks and small file cabinet I keep fired brass and my powder in . I use desks instead of a bench . One is for reloading the other is for cleaning and other tasks . I have an office chair on wheels and I just push my self around from place to place . The room is long-ish and narrow 13'x7' . I can reach my most used items from my chair at the desk and 90% of everything else with a simple push back into the room .
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Thanks for the feedback.
- if I could go bigger I would have. But I need the other space for my kids
- it is below grade, I have a dehimidifier and central a/c
- I am only building the room, a bench and some shelving below the bench at this point. I will be sorting out additional shelves, cabinets etc later. I agree I need to sort it out after I have been in the space
- I think the room size will work, I am reloading now in my garage in a similar amount of space and bench room
Welcome any ideas and feedback. Walls are up, need some taping and compounding then the bench and door.
- if I could go bigger I would have. But I need the other space for my kids
- it is below grade, I have a dehimidifier and central a/c
- I am only building the room, a bench and some shelving below the bench at this point. I will be sorting out additional shelves, cabinets etc later. I agree I need to sort it out after I have been in the space
- I think the room size will work, I am reloading now in my garage in a similar amount of space and bench room
Welcome any ideas and feedback. Walls are up, need some taping and compounding then the bench and door.
I hope you did not take my advice about going 50% bigger as implying that the room was not big enough as that was not what I intended and I apologize if that is how it was read. To be honest, I would love to have a nice, big, clean room like that for my setup. I am in the corner of an unfinished basement with the furnace, hot water tank and chest freezer 3 feet behind me....
My comments in regards to going bigger were meant strictly for the surface area of the work space and storage.
If you have been reloading for a while, I am sure you know better than I do what your needs are and what you are comfortable working with.
I look forward to seeing the progress. I always enjoy the threads that pop up occasionally where people post pictures of their setup. There are always great ideas people have come up with and I have stolen quite a few of them.
Not at all jay, I'm in agreement, bigger is better, just as it is with a safe. The bench will be longer then what I use now. I plan on adding to the bench later or using that space for storage. I intentionally am delaying that decision until I move all my reloading gear in, determine my storage needs and build to suit. I will not be cleaning weapons in this room, I will continue to do that in the garage due to the smell. Im putting plug mold along the wall behind the bench and track lighting above it so I can maximize my flexibility. I will have a small narrow shelf eye level above the bench for among other things a beam scale. Other then that I'm still weighing storage ideas. Possibly akro bins for brass, cabinets for primers and powder (and perhaps brass). I need something strong for bullets and loaded ammo. Probably strong shelving. And something for parts (press parts, tool heads, spare pistol and rifle parts... ) and misc stuff.,
All ideas welcome
All ideas welcome
In 50 years as a CPA and four years of serious reloading, I have found that bigger is not always better so far as desk/bench space is concerned. It just gives you more room to pile unnecessary stuff. My present reloading bench is only 20 inches deep. That means that I can easily reach anything on it and I tend to only put the things I really need on it, and it gives me plenty of work space.
I am not able to attach my bench to a wall so it is free standing. I have 2x8 runners across the bottom and store my bullets there. Five or six thousand bullets add a lot of stability.
I would not be in a hurry to build it out as actually using a setup/arrangement often leads to a more efficient layout.
Good luck on the progress of your area.
I am not able to attach my bench to a wall so it is free standing. I have 2x8 runners across the bottom and store my bullets there. Five or six thousand bullets add a lot of stability.
I would not be in a hurry to build it out as actually using a setup/arrangement often leads to a more efficient layout.
Good luck on the progress of your area.
1stmar, that's going to make an awesome reloading room, or as I like to call it my "Armory" it's 8'4" x 6'. I do miss the basements that you have up north. Here in Texas, builders get this deer in headlights look when someone asks why they don't build basements.
Here's an old picture, its a converted closet with a/c. I do the gun cleaning, brass cleaning, annealing and neck turning stuff in the garage.
Here's an old picture, its a converted closet with a/c. I do the gun cleaning, brass cleaning, annealing and neck turning stuff in the garage.
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