Limited space for reloading?

[chezuki]

Good call on the Harbor Freight stand. I like it. I also have limited space and no dedicated room or bench for reloading. I do have a garage, though. Not quite as small as yours, but I rock it like this with my new press:

I keep the scale, calipers, primer tubes and other whatnots in the drawers when I'm not using it. The wheels are convenient for getting it out of the way to do other things in the garage. I may decide I want a more stable platform, though. Two of the wheels have locks, but its still a little shaky when I get going quickly.

I am stupid jealous of that 1050! Way to "ease your way into reloading".

 

[Jackson]

I am stupid jealous of that 1050! Way to "ease your way into reloading".

Yeah, I don't do "easing" most of the time. I put it in to the hilt and see how she feels at the bottom. I didn't want reloading to be a new hobby. I only want to reload so I can shoot more. I plan to spend as little time reloading as I can. I want to be able to load 4 months worth of ammo in a day and not fiddle with it again for that 4 month period. I primarily shoot one cartridge so I didn't have to worry about the cost of conversions and the like. I also split the cost with my shooting buddy who shoots the same caliber. We have only run one large batch so far.

With one guy pulling the handle and the other guy loading primer tubes, checking the brass level, and QCing ammo as it comes out, it goes pretty darned quickly. I think once we get dialed in we'll be able to maintain a pretty high production rate and spend most of our time on the range.

 

[partyboy6686]

Good call on the Harbor Freight stand. I like it. I also have limited space and no dedicated room or bench for reloading. I do have a garage, though. Not quite as small as yours, but I rock it like this with my new press:

I keep the scale, calipers, primer tubes and other whatnots in the drawers when I'm not using it. The wheels are convenient for getting it out of the way to do other things in the garage. I may decide I want a more stable platform, though. Two of the wheels have locks, but its still a little shaky when I get going quickly.

I got pretty much the same cart you did except I went with the 2 doors on the front instead of the 3 drawers. I put both of the locking wheels at the front of the cart. When I push it up against the wall and lock the 2 front wheels it is very stable. I also bolted 2 pieces of 3/4 inch birch plywood to the top of the cart because the 3/8 inch fiber board top included with the cart is very flimsy and cheap.

 

[chezuki]

the other guy loading primer tubes,

I just sold one of these a few months back, it loads the tubes for you!

Here's your next step!

[video=youtube_share;I9wGVRGbQrU]http://youtu.be/I9wGVRGbQrU[/video]

 

[chezuki]

And hell, just because I stumbled upon this one:

[video=youtube_share;eCsUscgCDJ0]http://youtu.be/eCsUscgCDJ0[/video]

 

[Jackson]

I got pretty much the same cart you did except I went with the 2 doors on the front instead of the 3 drawers. I put both of the locking wheels at the front of the cart. When I push it up against the wall and lock the 2 front wheels it is very stable. I also bolted 2 pieces of 3/4 inch birch plywood to the top of the cart because the 3/8 inch fiber board top included with the cart is very flimsy and cheap.

I also used a piece of 3/4" plywood on mine. I may move the locking wheels.

 

[Jackson]

And hell, just because I stumbled upon this one:

[video=youtube_share;eCsUscgCDJ0]http://youtu.be/eCsUscgCDJ0[/video]

I dont think my cart will hold that. I could only come up with enough powder to run it for a few mins anyway.

 

[BE Mike]

The carts may work fine for some presses, but my Dillon 650 requires a very solid platform. Otherwise it malfunctions.

 

[Jackson]

The carts may work fine for some presses, but my Dillon 650 requires a very solid platform. Otherwise it malfunctions.

The 1050 seems very smooth. I have never personally reloaded on a 650, but Ive seen them operate. Smoothness was one reason I went with the 1050. I think moving the tool head up and down on each stroke makes more sense than moving the whole shell plate. Also, priming on the down stroke means all the forces applied to the cart are downward. I'm not applying a side force on the cart when seating the primer as I would on a 650. I could see that pushing the cart away from me a bit. Ive loaded about 1400 rounds so far without any serious issues caused by instability. Just minor annoyances.

 

[BE Mike]

The 1050 seems very smooth. I have never personally reloaded on a 650, but Ive seen them operate. Smoothness was one reason I went with the 1050. I think moving the tool head up and down on each stroke makes more sense than moving the whole shell plate. Also, priming on the down stroke means all the forces applied to the cart are downward. I'm not applying a side force on the cart when seating the primer as I would on a 650. I could see that pushing the cart away from me a bit. Ive loaded about 1400 rounds so far without any serious issues caused by instability. Just minor annoyances.

Yeah, the 650 is a great pickup, but the 1050 is a luxury limo. Too bad it doesn't come with a chauffeur!

 

[Jackson]

Yeah, the 650 is a great pickup, but the 1050 is a luxury limo. Too bad it doesn't come with a chauffeur!

By most accounts I've heard, the 650 is a great press. I even had a few people recommend it over the 1050 as the better value. For my purposes though, and after reviewing the way they operate, I think the 1050 was the right choice for me. So far, I have no regrets.

 

[chezuki]

By most accounts I've heard, the 650 is a great press. I even had a few people recommend it over the 1050 as the better value. For my purposes though, and after reviewing the way they operate, I think the 1050 was the right choice for me. So far, I have no regrets.

I'd love to have a 1050 for the same reasons you got one. I ONLY shoot 9mm, and I shoot a lot of it. I'd much rather shoot than reload. I loaded 10,000rds of 9mm on a $200 Lee Pro 1000 last year, but I spent a LOT of time reloading.

 

[Jackson]

So save your pennies and get a 1050. I dont have the numbers in front of me, but you're probably looking at a 2 year break even over factory ammo at 10k/yr. I have a spreadsheet for that somewhere. Maybe better at current prices.

You could sell a kidney or a testicle, too.

 

[chezuki]

You could sell a kidney or a testicle, too.

Off to the classifieds! I'd assume I list those under "parts and accessories"?

I'll have a 1050 some day, but it's pretty low on the priority list right now since I have a functional tool for the task.

 

[Jackson]

I dont know much about the pro 1000. It is an auto-indexing progressive, right? How much slower can it be? Can it be fitted with a case feeder?

 

[chezuki]

I dont know much about the pro 1000. It is an auto-indexing progressive, right? How much slower can it be? Can it be fitted with a case feeder?

It has a case feeder, but not an automated one like the Dillon. There are 4 vertical tubes that hold 25 9mm brass each with a collator on on top. You dump cases in the tray, jiggle it, and it correctly orients them and fills the tubes. Once you load 25rds, you rotate the tube assembly 90 degrees to start feeding from the next tube. If I'm really focused I can pump out 500 rounds in an hour.

 

[partyboy6686]

Here's my limited space reloading setup. 2 Dillon Square Deal B presses. Press on the right is dedicated to 45acp since that's the majority of what I shoot. Press on the left has 4 caliber conversion kits with it. It currently is set up for 44mag. But also can load 9mm, 10mm, and 40cal on it.

 

[Giddaltti]

Skill table does the trick!

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Just picked up the Harbor Freight stand Wednesday evening. I think it's going to work great. I have a Lee turret press and a Rock Chucker that I have mounted on two sections of 2x6, which makes the whole set up portable. I just use two C clamps to hold whichever one I'm using on my bench. Now that warm weather is here, we practically live on our deck, so the new stand will let me reload out there.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Another benefit to this stand... it will let me try this eventually, without making a big mess in the house! Now I don't have to throw away the beautiful GP11 brass, or any number of non-corrosive Berdan-primed 7.62x51 brass...


[video=youtube;ZQNDgjcgofY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQNDgjcgofY[/video]