How much room do you need to reload ?

Are you looking for a permanent mount and area or something you can take down as needed.
I am just using a single stage rock chucker.
The only things that need space are the press and the powder measure.
All I did was mount these on a board and then clamp them to the work table as needed.
So my needs are the size of the board I based them to, say 6x8 inches and a couple inches of space for odds and ends around them.
When done unclamp, put on a shelf and resume using your table or bench.
 
The room available was a storage area underneath the stairs.
The door was a little over 28 inches so the reloading bench was 28 x 28 inches.
In order to get in or out, 9" in from the two corners, the front corner was bucked off to make a five sided table.
Three 4 x 4 legs were attached and braced with 2 x 6's.
The press was attached to what was now the fifth side or front.
It stood about three feet high and was used for over 20 years in that format until reloading was relegated to the crawl space and one foot was taken off each leg.
Now into its seventh decade it still is used on occasion but is more of a catch all now.
 
trebor2880 said:
I used to have a Lee and a RCBS press, mounteded to the dining room table. When/if company arrived, I put a pillow case over them.

Then I got married...
Click to expand...

So the press is now exposed for all to marvel,,, and the Mrs trebor is stumbling around the house with a pillow case over her head?:p

I suppose all the mandatory mask wearing thing doesn't bother her much then?:cool:
 
Solid oak stair board $20
Four 1/4" bolts, washers, wing nuts $6

C-clamped to a table in the living room.

Dillon 550 can be mounted and taken down in minutes, and it lives in a plastic storage bin in a corner when not in use
 
I use a Dillon 550 for pistol ammo, and I think a desk or cabinet with about a 18" x 24 or 30" top would be a fairly decent small space solution. The cabinet underneath can hold a lot of stuff, and even better if you can get a small wall mounted cabinet above the bench. Make sure you've got lots of light nearby, and hopefully not florescent ones.
Kristian
 
5.45 said:
Solid oak stair board $20
Four 1/4" bolts, washers, wing nuts $6

C-clamped to a table in the living room.

Dillon 550 can be mounted and taken down in minutes, and it lives in a plastic storage bin in a corner when not in use
Click to expand...

Same as I said but used a whole lot less words.
This.
 
When i lived down town I used the 3ft x 4 ft landing on my stair case with a portable ikea cutting board stand thingy and a single stage press. It was tight, but more than enough space to run a balance beam scale, tray, lube pad etc.

In my current house I am far more comfortable in a 180 sq ft work station with 10ft long work bench, but that is well beyond what is required.
 
Here is the reality.
Sell or trade your couch for a pull out model.
Sell the bed.
Keep the dog kennel where it is, you might need it.
Install a bench around the perimeter of the bedroom to mount your loading gear to .
In closet install shelves with 1' spacing. (Ammo, powder, primers, etc storage)
Oh! It's best to do it when your wife is visiting her mom .
Make sure you got a few friends over when she comes home.
You will need witnesses for what follows.
 
I would suggest if she is waffleing in whether or not you should do it in the house, she will not be happy with you doing it in the bedroom. I would not want tumbling media in my living space, and the first time you roll your chair over a dropped primer during a midnight quiet brass prep mission she will tear you a new one.
 
new210/22 said:
I would suggest if she is waffleing in whether or not you should do it in the house, she will not be happy with you doing it in the bedroom. I would not want tumbling media in my living space, and the first time you roll your chair over a dropped primer during a midnight quiet brass prep mission she will tear you a new one.
Click to expand...

Very true.....baby steps.
 
I have also mounted my press on a board and c clamp it to the coffee table. (Which is fairly light which creates its own problems) When I'm done it all goes back into a tote and put away.

Downside of this.. the coffee table is very low and after 3 or 4 hundred cases it can be a pain.. and I'm still young (sorta)

That being said.. clamp it to a higher table and get a chair.

Come to think of it, when I was single I had my press bolted to the spare expanding leaf of my kitchen table. Just popped it in and out as required.


Edit: Oh wow. Super necro post. Sorry all.
 
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I use one of those heavy solid desks with the double drawers on both sides. Both lock and are used for components and things when not in use. I use a nice office chair while reloading, which is wonderful in its own way.

I'm set up in the corner in the basement for now and can't wait until I get a small room, as I have already overgrown the desk space, but I'm all in head and shoulders into the deep end and need more room. A dedicated room is coming in short order as the kids gets older. I have the next one coming up and hopefully heading to college next fall, so I already claimed that room. Steel door and "safe room" are already in my vocabulary and plans.
 
I have a pretty big space but it’s used for more than just reloading, it’s 25’x14’ and my bench is 7.5’x3’. It’s my studio space, separate from the house with its own entrance. If I didn’t have a big area like I do I could easily get away with a med size desk with two drawers and a 5’x7’ space with some sort of storage shelf.
 
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