Tight on Space Bench, and First Batch Reloaded

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Rebes

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Hi everyone, from the very start of all this, reloading was something I was very interested in...

I didn't have a ton of room to work with, so I decided to make a small reloading workspace under the stairs in my basement. I constructed a small bench, and added some lights. Let me know what you think! (Pictures linked below)

I picked up the Lee Pro 1000 for 9mm, plus the case collator, a tumbler, and separator.

For reloading supplies, I have almost 1000 rounds of brass already, plus I picked up 1000 124 grain plated round nose bullets, 1 lb of HS-6 powder, and several packages of CCI small pistol primers (Wholesale has them on sale for $4.04 for 100!)

Before I got started, I went over the whole press in detail, so that I understood how all the moving parts worked. I backed off the dies, and followed the directions to make sure they were set exactly right. I found that the depriming pin was set a little high, and wouldn't push the primers all the way out occasionally, which caused the shell plate to get stuck since the old primer wouldn't let it turn.

To clean the brass, I first deprimed them all, and then ran them in the tumbler for 4 or 5 hours with some polish... They came out looking pretty good!

I went with the minimum load to start with on the Hodgon web site (And on the container for the powder), and went with 5.9 to 6.0 grains of powder, and targeting about 1.150" overall length. I also already had a set of digital calipers, and picked up a digital scale. To get started, I measured out 10 powder charges, and consistently got 5.9 or 6.0 grains. I then measured out 10 charges and weighed them all together, and got 59.5 grains, so I felt like I was getting pretty good consistency.

I loaded 200 rounds total, being extra paranoid, checking the total weight of each loaded round, and the overall length of all 200. I feel like the length was very consistent, but the weight would vary by a few grains on the loaded rounds (Probably just the variance in the cases). At this point, i think if I consistently check for powder before placing the bullet (It fills the case about half way), I can be satisfied with the result. I will likely continue to spot check my rounds as they come off the press, but I don't feel like I need to check every one.

The press worked fairly well, although I had a couple of small issues at first... In the first 20 rounds, I had 2 primers seat sideways, and a couple that popped out of the shell plate before a case got to it. I did some reading and video watching online, and found that adjusting the timing of the shell plate should help. I did just that, and then ran the next 180 without a single misfeed or sideways primer. I found that adjusting the timing so that when the plate clicked into place, the priming piston was exactly dead center, seemed to help quite a bit. I never had the primer feed get stuck even once after that, which seems to be a common problem with the Pro 1000.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the results... Just taking it slow and making sure I understand the steps as I go. I plan to get out tomorrow and try them out!

LINK: Here are the pictures of my tiny bench, and the first 200 rounds

Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
 
Nice bench and good for you getting into reloading without a "coach". Many aren't confident enough to do this.

Aren't those first rounds a thing of beauty! Have fun shooting them.

Some thoughts:
- Take your barrel out of your pistol and check to see if your new rounds chamber fully
- When using a new powder/bullet combo, you may want to load 10-20 rounds at first to ensure that they will cycle your gun before making larger batches (....but it's hard to resist crankin' them out once you get started).
 
Thanks Pr... I have tried chambering and spinning them in the removed barrel, and they went in and turned nicely... They pass the plunk test!

I give a majority of the credit to the people on here and on YouTube for getting me going... Tons of good info, helped with the confidence! I am also an engineer by training, so I like this kind of mechanical tinkering... Loads of fun!

And exactly, I couldn't help it... Once I got in a groove, I just wanted to load a bunch! Now that I've got that out of my system, I'll probably start tweaking the load...
 
Thanks for the post..you give me hope that one day I will be able to do the same...been busy with work and work on brass etc when I have some spare time..but havent taken that final step to actually set up the press..I like how you used what space you had available and went for it..I keep thinking I have to have everything perfect looking and set up just right before I start...I realize that its probably never going to happen like that and its just better if I just go for it with what I have..what sources did you use for your info etc regarding the press...I bought a Loadmaster on boxing day but to be honest it looks a little intimidating to set up. Any info you could share would be greatly appreciated


Edit..just read the post above..will check out youtube, etc
 
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Nice work! I have recently gotten set up for reloading as well and it is no small task. I took my time and did 6 months of research so it was quite satisfying to crank out my first couple of hundred rounds. You've done a good job of checking your work.
The weight of your projectiles is what causes your cartridge weight to vary so greatly. I would recommend getting a case gauge for every caliber you plan reload. If you use the barrel of the firearm that you are reloading for to ensure feeding, they MAY not chamber in other firearms. But if they chamber in a case gauge, they will chamber in any firearm you load them into.
Have fun!
 
Awesome!

As soon as you get a funny feel with the primer, adjust the timing. Keeping the primer feed chute full is the key to easy priming. I like to keep a can-o-air handy to blow away the odd powder speck. Hs-6 is as great choice because of the case volume, the metering and the availability.
 
Good work. As mentioned above previously I would run a small batch first before committing to a larger batch. Here is a few more tips
check and recheck as you go along.
Make sure only one powder on the bench at a time.
Verify your loads from a proven to work small batch you have tried in the firearm. Don't trust your memory to tell you what grains of powder you were using.
If using lead for your bullets clean your seating and crimp dies well. I found this out the hard way when my seating depth was going all over the place. Had rings of lead in the dies.

Have fun and I hope all those rounds shoot well for you. I too started without a coach but thanks to good advice from this forum and reading the manuals I was good to go. I have a lee classic turret and a lee classic single.
 
Rebes said:
Thanks Pr... I am also an engineer by training, so I like this kind of mechanical tinkering... Loads of fun!
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The engineers on this site have to stick together but let us know when the OCD kicks in and you start to run finite element analyses of your barrel's behaviour under different powder loads so we can talk you down. :p
 
Even though I have a large 2 car garage, with two young children's stuff in there, I have little room for work space and my reloading set-up is about the same size as yours. I kind of like it like that - it keeps only what I need to use in front of me and everything else is put away; leaving me focused on what is at hand all the time. Enjoy reloading.
 
Pr589 said:
The engineers on this site have to stick together but let us know when the OCD kicks in and you start to run finite element analyses of your barrel's behaviour under different powder loads so we can talk you down. :p
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Whiskey! STAT!! no time to pour....bring the bottle....

Excellent use of space, congrats and that "OMG, am I doing this right?" feeling doesn't seem to go away but it gets easier to answer "Yes" after a while.
 
good job!
i would recommend preparing for a larger reloading space because you will run out of space before you know it. lol
 
Thanks for all the great comments!

For those interested in the reloading space... It basically came down to location and climate... It seems like every other square inch of my house is taken up by kid stuff and other random junk, and this was the only decent space available. I designed it so I can still slide stuff in under the bench to hide under the stairs, like boxes and Christmas decorations. I would much rather have this set up in my garage, but I haven't finished/heated my garage yet. My garage is just too cold in the winter for this, and the rest of the year, the humidity in there is too high. One of these years I'll finish it up, and then I'll have lots of room for reloading! The other consideration was proximity to the rest of my gun stuff... I plan to keep everything else stored in safes or closets in my basement, so for now it just worked out better! Like camster, I did try bolting it to a 1.5" x 4 foot piece of double plywood, and then clamping it to my desk, but I found that it just moved way too much, and the setup/cleanup was taking far too long. The ability to leave it set up with powder and primers ready to go is much better!

As far as the press goes, I've already learned quite a bit about it. I find that it's a bit finicky as far as the shell plate timing goes... It seems like the adjustment screw is kinda loose, and the timing seems to work it's way off a bit. I find that just a bit off can cause the primer ram to jam up against the underside of the shell plate, which is the biggest concern. As it works it's way off from the centre, that's when it starts to tip the primers onto their side. I might have to take it apart to see how to tighten that up a bit. I'm also not really impressed with the primer ejection method... it basically dumps them into the space underneath the press, which is sealed up against whatever surface it's on. Aside from drilling a hole straight down through the bench surface, I'm not sure how best to get the primers out of that spot. I think it could probably hold 500-1000 primers in there, so taking it off every now and then wouldn't hurt... Another option would be to raise the press from the bench with some stand-off posts, maybe 3/4 to 1 inch. I could then slide a tray underneath to catch primers as they eject. Still have to think on that one. I think the most important thing about getting started is to run single rounds through for the first several, and understand exactly what each stage is doing. And using digital calipers and a scale are essential to double checking your work as you are getting familiar with the process. It was intimidating at first, but by understanding the process, it helps to make it less scary.

I did get out to the range tonight, and put 50 rounds through my new Ruger SR9... Recoil did feel a little light, and I had a couple of fail-to-ejects in the 50. I think I might have to bump it up one level on the powder on the auto-disk powder dispenser. Overall though, i was pretty happy with the performance... I think just a touch stronger will help a bunch. An added bonus, I managed to pick up more empty casings than I shot... The two guys beside me were shooting 9mm as well, and they didn't care that I was picking it up!
 
Rebes said:
Loads of fun!
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No pun intended, right??:p

Do you mind if I ask how much your equipment ended up costing you? I've just started to research reloading as I want to get into competitive shooting (and am already a hunter, so a nice custom load suited to my hunting rifle wouldn't be such a bad thing), but I've heard the start-up costs are somewhat prohibitive.

Your bench looks awesome, great use of space!
 
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