Useful Tips/DIY extras addons to make reloading easier

have to look for the file to print off a couple of these


thechineseguy said:
its not my invention but i bought this primer catcher for my rock chucker iv
works a whole lot better than the original primer catcher that the press came with

2v0zoye.jpg
Click to expand...
 
That is a great design! I'm gonna get one of those.

For me putting an LED strip on my Hornady Lock LnL was a great addition. So much easier to inspect the merry go round.
 
If it's the plastic ribbon then you can mark the little squares with a permanent marker and wipe them clean with a little rubbing alky on a patch of paper towel.

Mind you I really like the paper idea as originally posted by Alpheus. It's not just reminders of the situation. It's a history of the batch of brass in the box. And that's nice on a whole other level. When the brass starts to split and it's time to send the whole batch to Brass Valhala then the label gets tossed as well in favor of a new one for the new batch.



I've got a machine shop so a lot of my tricks are not easily doable by the rest of you. But of the tricks I've used which are they are pretty basic.

First up is take the time to get the press lever set up at the right height. You're going to spend a lot of time pulling on that darn "slot machine" so you want to be comfy and avoid muscle fatigue issues. For myself this means that my hand on the lever starts at right around shoulder height and then moves down. An inch or so one way or the other would be what you're looking for. But don't go too much higher or you're reaching up too much. And lower means that the bottom of the stroke causes you to lean forward and down. And that's going to add up over time as well.

The handy tray positioning shown in the first post is a great trick. But it's just part of having all the stuff arranged in trays or other containers in a way that is handy and so that the work flows easily with the two hands being able to easily move the components without risk of bumping into things as you are doing this. So take some time to find the right trays to hold the goodies so you don't need to lift up and out and then lower the parts to use them.

A visit to your local kitchen department baking area will have all manner of trays with various height lips. So there's no reason for having to shift stuff around.

Oh, here's a hint...... If your press is bolted securely to a somewhat larger thick plywood plate which is then clamped or bolted to your loading table you can set in some magnets into that plate. Then if you're using STEEL baking trays to hold bullets or cases then the magnets will hold the trays securely enough to avoid a casual brush with them dumping things on the floor. But with a smart tug they come free for storage or use elsewhere.

My handgun reloading setup has four rare earth magnets set into the base in this way and I use a break baking tray to hold my cases. This has worked out fantastically. It stops the tray from shifting around and covering the catch tray for the loaded rounds which is directly below the tray of cases.
 
BCRider said:
If it's the plastic ribbon then you can mark the little squares with a permanent marker and wipe them clean with a little rubbing alky on a patch of paper towel.

Mind you I really like the paper idea as originally posted by Alpheus. It's not just reminders of the situation. It's a history of the batch of brass in the box. And that's nice on a whole other level. When the brass starts to split and it's time to send the whole batch to Brass Valhala then the label gets tossed as well in favor of a new one for the new batch.



I've got a machine shop so a lot of my tricks are not easily doable by the rest of you. But of the tricks I've used which are they are pretty basic.

First up is take the time to get the press lever set up at the right height. You're going to spend a lot of time pulling on that darn "slot machine" so you want to be comfy and avoid muscle fatigue issues. For myself this means that my hand on the lever starts at right around shoulder height and then moves down. An inch or so one way or the other would be what you're looking for. But don't go too much higher or you're reaching up too much. And lower means that the bottom of the stroke causes you to lean forward and down. And that's going to add up over time as well.

The handy tray positioning shown in the first post is a great trick. But it's just part of having all the stuff arranged in trays or other containers in a way that is handy and so that the work flows easily with the two hands being able to easily move the components without risk of bumping into things as you are doing this. So take some time to find the right trays to hold the goodies so you don't need to lift up and out and then lower the parts to use them.

A visit to your local kitchen department baking area will have all manner of trays with various height lips. So there's no reason for having to shift stuff around.

Oh, here's a hint...... If your press is bolted securely to a somewhat larger thick plywood plate which is then clamped or bolted to your loading table you can set in some magnets into that plate. Then if you're using STEEL baking trays to hold bullets or cases then the magnets will hold the trays securely enough to avoid a casual brush with them dumping things on the floor. But with a smart tug they come free for storage or use elsewhere.

My handgun reloading setup has four rare earth magnets set into the base in this way and I use a break baking tray to hold my cases. This has worked out fantastically. It stops the tray from shifting around and covering the catch tray for the loaded rounds which is directly below the tray of cases.
Click to expand...

This is cool. Might have to rig up something similar.
 
BCRider said:
If it's the plastic ribbon then you can mark the little squares with a permanent marker and wipe them clean with a little rubbing alky on a patch of paper towel.

Mind you I really like the paper idea as originally posted by Alpheus. It's not just reminders of the situation. It's a history of the batch of brass in the box. And that's nice on a whole other level. When the brass starts to split and it's time to send the whole batch to Brass Valhala then the label gets tossed as well in favor of a new one for the new batch.



I've got a machine shop so a lot of my tricks are not easily doable by the rest of you. But of the tricks I've used which are they are pretty basic.

First up is take the time to get the press lever set up at the right height. You're going to spend a lot of time pulling on that darn "slot machine" so you want to be comfy and avoid muscle fatigue issues. For myself this means that my hand on the lever starts at right around shoulder height and then moves down. An inch or so one way or the other would be what you're looking for. But don't go too much higher or you're reaching up too much. And lower means that the bottom of the stroke causes you to lean forward and down. And that's going to add up over time as well.

The handy tray positioning shown in the first post is a great trick. But it's just part of having all the stuff arranged in trays or other containers in a way that is handy and so that the work flows easily with the two hands being able to easily move the components without risk of bumping into things as you are doing this. So take some time to find the right trays to hold the goodies so you don't need to lift up and out and then lower the parts to use them.

A visit to your local kitchen department baking area will have all manner of trays with various height lips. So there's no reason for having to shift stuff around.

Oh, here's a hint...... If your press is bolted securely to a somewhat larger thick plywood plate which is then clamped or bolted to your loading table you can set in some magnets into that plate. Then if you're using STEEL baking trays to hold bullets or cases then the magnets will hold the trays securely enough to avoid a casual brush with them dumping things on the floor. But with a smart tug they come free for storage or use elsewhere.

My handgun reloading setup has four rare earth magnets set into the base in this way and I use a break baking tray to hold my cases. This has worked out fantastically. It stops the tray from shifting around and covering the catch tray for the loaded rounds which is directly below the tray of cases.
Click to expand...

:needPics:
 
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