How much room do you need to reload ?

Last place I lived in I used the 4x4 spot under the stairs that’s useless storage . Now I just reload on the computer table . Really only need room for the trimmer and press. Everything else is in totes on a shelf beside.
 
Best bench I had was an old hardwood dress I bought for 5 bucks at the bible college. It was heavy and draws and I just bolted a piece of 1/2 inch steel plate on the edge to bolt presses to .
 
My advice based on a Dillon 550 setup is 30 inches across. 36 if you can swing it.
You need room on each side to manage bullets and cases.
 
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.
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Just fire up the lead casting pot on the dining room table and she’ll be happy to give you your own space lol.
 
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.
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Wait… you don’t locate the dropped primer immediately? Must be nice! Haha
 
Years ago I wanted to do some reloading while for weeks far away from Home so I looked for a small reloading Bench. While in a local Hardware Store I saw this red Mechanic type Toolbox on sturdy Casters for a couple hundredth Bucks so I took it took it home, fitted a 3/4" Plywood Plate on the Top Surface and mounted a Rockchucker on top of the Right Corner.
Well guess what, this setup did the Trick perfectly and is still in use. The Bottom Cabinet holds pretty well all Reloading Dies and various Boxes of Projectiles giving it some serious weight. The two Drawers on Top hold Reloading Books and other Reloading Tooling.

Meanwhile back home I rearranged. Over the left corner is now the regular Rockchucker with Uniflow Powder Dispenser mounted. The right Corner sports a Rockchucker with Piggy Back including RCBS Uniflow on top. The middle in the Back has a Pacific Shogun Press mounted and besides a Lyman 45 Lubesizer plus there is also a RCBS Bench mounted Priming Tool.

This shows how space can be maximized if one wants to. Would also be a perfect setup for someone living in a Apartment as it could easily be rolled into a Closet and out of sight. Measurements are Height 32", with 26.5" and 14.5" deep. Unfortunately I do not know how to post a picture on this site otherwise I would.

Cheers
 
My Lee single stage is currently bolted to an old fashioned school desk and all the tools and dies fit in the shelf underneath, not a lot of space is required to do it but definitely a sturdy place to mount your press is a must
 
padawan said:
Been trying to convince the wife to allocate some room for a reloading station. I would be completely green in this aspect. Have always used factory ammo.

I’m talking 9mm.....and perhaps .45 in the near future.

I just Need the the bare min of required space To get a decent set up going.

I would like a progressive press.
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A long time ago (late 1970's), I started to re-load with a Lee Loader - needed a couple square feet of floor space to pound the brass into and out of the sizer die - all the reloading stuff I had then would likely have fit into a shoe box - including powder and bullets and primers. In many more ways than one, I started to "spread out" as I got older - with my first press, that got mounted on a stand-up-to-use plywood box I made, perhaps 3' x 3'. Then I started to sit down on stool to reload - now sitting in an office chair to reload, or to use this laptop computer - I made a "work bench" at height that allowed chair to fit - current set-up way more than needed for reloading - is 24" deep x circa 8 1/2 feet long - Bench mounted primer tool has been screwed down on it for months - RCBS Rockchucker press is bolted to it - overhead shelves have various powder, bullets. Drawers along sides have primers - brass in various containers around the room.

There is a 12 gauge, 20 gauge and 28 gauge reloading set on shelves across the room - with various supplies like wads and hulls for each in totes - I reload for shotgun so seldom, I take them down and mount / assemble here at the "work bench". I believe others have their shotgun units set up constantly. I was in a guy's basement where he had four presses set up on a work bench that must have been 12 feet long - I do not even own that many! So, "minimum" space that you need to reload, I would say is perhaps a meter by a meter (not counting storage of components) - and I do not think there is a "Maximum" space needed, once you start getting supplies, etc. spread out. Current set-up lets me have various reloading manuals, cartridge trays, etc. within reach - but lots of empty space that is filling up with "stuff" - sights, mounts, triggers, etc, or trays of parts from various "projects" not yet completed.
 
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yomomma said:
I got to build a 12x20 shed because wife did not like me firing the woodworking tools in the basement
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Win win then, lol. Glad I now have a separate shop and studio space where I can make noise or mess at any hour, used to have the studio in the house previously and the wife didn’t like the constant paint smell.
 
You can save a lot of space by setting up your bench using dogs (like a woodworker would use). That way everything is removable when you're not using it. You can accomplish the same thing with wingnuts and bolts fed up from underneath.
 
I use a 2’x2’ table for all my reloading. Everything is stored in different places until I need it then I pull out what I need and place it in the table an go to work. It’s not the best but it’s all I’ve got currently.

B
 
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