Need suggestions

[elktrout]

I recently moved to the Gulf Coast area of the country. My new house does not have a basement, like my former residence several states away, so I lost my reloading room.

Setting up a reloading area in the garage seems foolish due to the heat and humidity most of the year. It appears I will have to set up something portable that can easily be disassembled and stored in a closet.

I reload everything: metallic and shotshell. Have any of you on this forum conquered this problem yourselves? Your suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Charlie98]

I live in the Dallas area. I got tired of seeing my equipment rust away, and I hated trying to reload in the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter... so I bartered with SWMBO... I got the closet in the spare room, and when I say closet, that's what I mean... 4.5'x5.5' That's it. I built a custom bench with a surface area of about 3'x2'... sometimes you have to make do with what you have. At first, I had to share it with some of the long-term storage stuff, but slowly pushed everything out... ...and eventually I took over the entire closet. Yes, it's crowded... but it works. This arrangement also allowed me to secure the closet, if need be, which may or may not be something you need.

Here's a photo of it... what you see is what I got... area-wise.



Shelves underneath, shelves overhead, and there is another shelf to the left.

Is it possible to have some sort of arrangement like that?

 

[Charlie98]

Another pick, a better one, with both my presses mounted. I can take down the single-stage press in about 1 minute if I need the space to operate.

 

[Rule3]

I recently moved to the Gulf Coast area of the country. My new house does not have a basement, like my former residence several states away, so I lost my reloading room.

Setting up a reloading area in the garage seems foolish due to the heat and humidity most of the year. It appears I will have to set up something portable that can easily be disassembled and stored in a closet.

I reload everything: metallic and shotshell. Have any of you on this forum conquered this problem yourselves? Your suggestions? Thanks.

When I first started reloading I had a old original Work Mate (it was heavy duty compared to the flimsy ones they have now) I built a shelf between the legs and put a plywood top on it. It could fit through the door from the garage into the kitchen with tile floor. The top is bolted through the top plus clamp in the jaws with a strip pf 2/4 also bolted from underneath. Worked out well for me. AC comfort when needed.If it was nice outside I would just reload in the garage,
I have taken over one of the bedrooms now with a different bench

 

[Bfh_auto]

Another pick, a better one, with both my presses mounted. I can take down the single-stage press in about 1 minute if I need the space to operate.

View attachment 1120100

I like that setup.

 

[igotta40]

I’m in the Houston area so I understand. I added a shop to my garage last year, it’s about 16’ x 20’ nice size but no air conditioning. Hopefully I’ll load enough during the cool weather to hold me over the summer. I keep a light coat of sewing machine oil on the bare steel parts of my gear.

 

[Charlie98]

I have taken over one of the bedrooms now with a different bench

The epilogue to my story is... I did finally take over the entire room. It was our 'craft' room when our daughter was growing up, and we used it as a homeschool classroom of sorts. But now that our daughter is all growed up, I kicked everything that isn't mine out... and now it's The Cave. Having said that, all that it really has afforded me is a place to put all my loaded ammos, a wall full of bookshelves for my books, a table to pile all my to do crap on, and some file cabinets... the reloading closet has remained unchanged, simply because it just works.

 

[Skgreen]

The ~closet method~ is the way to go when space is at a premium and privacy is desired.

I believe we have at least 1 member who utilizes the dead space under a stairway to reload.

Portable bench's are another option.

A small bench, leveled and anchored to a wall, has it's benefits.

I have enough room for 1 press on my bench, so Inline Fabrication's quick attach press-mounting system has come in handy.

 

[elktrout]

Great ideas, everyone. This gave me a starting point, especially since I am assessing the nice closet in our guest room. What the heck! We may have guests staying in it a few times a year, but they do not need the closet. My house is not a hotel. Thanks.

 

[AJC1]

You must not have seen many of my posts. the only thing that is exposed is the press, everything else is stored in the house unless in use. No rust no wet powder....

 

[Tilos]

My current loading "area" is in a closet under the stairs.
I have (too many) presses mounted on a common plate, stored on a shelf, with only one press on the bench at a time.
I have narrow/shallow shelves on both long walls up to the ceiling for components as well as shallow shelves above and below the "benchtop"(really a thick wall-to wall shelf) on the short wall.
Bench viewed from the door looking in:

Presses on common plates, stored on a shelf on a long wall:

Narrow shelves for components, presses under towels opposite wall:

A folding shelf, (visible in above bench pic) :

.

 

[Tilos]

Before the closet bench, I built a cabinet with a lockable bi-fold closet door front.
It was in a garage but could be built/bought as furniture grade and be in the house.
I had grand children with curious fingers around thus the locking cabinet.
Cabinet open:

Cabinet Closed:

.

 

[Bazoo]

Might consider a large rolling tool cabinet or a bench on casters. Atleast until you can secure a spot of your own.

 

[lordpaxman]

I reload everything: metallic and shotshell. Have any of you on this forum conquered this problem yourselves? Your suggestions? Thanks.

You may want to look at Inline Fabrication’s QC plate setup. It allows you swap out multiple tools/presses very easily.

My current loading "area" is in a closet under the stairs.

Did you kick Harry out?

 

[deadeye dick]

Don't know how much property you have. If you have the room buy a nice shed , wire it for lights and A/C and if need be heat

 

[CoalTrain49]

Nope.

I reload in our basement. Reloading in the garage would be a no go here in this climate. Too cold 6 months of the year and the wife would have a fit if I moved all of that stuff into room on the main floor. I wouldn't do that anyway because of the components. Our basement is a dual purpose rec room/reloading area. If I had to relocate I would need a dedicated heated place like a small out building or a basement.

 

[emb]

I lost all the way around and use the garage-through heat and cold. When our daughters finally left the house to set up their own, I waited a respectful period of time before wanting to claim one of the rooms. No joy. Came home one day, and one was the dog room. Came home another day, and the other room was the guest room and a place where my wife could get a restful night without my snoring (doesn't bother me). The last remaining room became her den. But, the garage is unquestionably and irrevocably mine (at least the part that that she isn't using with dog and grooming equipment-you get the idea). Defeated at every turn, I gave up. I'm in southwest Florida so it doesn't get too cold. Fans solve the heat issue in the summer until I have to temporarily turn them away from the scale. A thermacell solves the bug issue. Alas, family harmony. Good luck. My reloading equipment and supplies will not ever fit into just one closet. Now, if I could use my wife's walk-in closet, the size of a small room, ..... Yea, I don't think that's ever going to happen.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Might consider a large rolling tool cabinet or a bench on casters. Atleast until you can secure a spot of your own.

My first setup back in school was an old stereo cabinet/ stand(from them there olden days when you bought a stereo with cassette/8 track/ phono etc etc) it had casters. Wasn't extremely sturdy for resizing but it did work well enough. My press being a partner didn't help. The leverage wasn't as good as most single stages. I still use that press for seating/crimping though. Mounted on my bench of course.

I remember the whole stand would jar when I ran the expander ball back up through the mouth. Lol. So much you couldn't keep primers on it. Had to lay them aside.

 

[deadeye dick]

emb, I am married 54 years and counting. Gotta have some give and take. Your situation would be unacceptable to me. Most of my married life i had one hobby, motorcycles (been riding 66 years). Her hobbies or desires and yours should co-exist. I retired 22 yrs.ago from N.Y. and now have two acres with a 25 yd range. I took up shooting handguns here in S C 22 yrs ago along with handloading. Compromise, If she wants something she gets it (within reason and me the same Split the 3 rooms up, one for you, one for her and one general purpose room. If she won't compromise get rid of the dog or the wife HA HA You could also consider a nice HE shed (10x10 or bigger.
Hope i didn't step on any toes.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I recently moved to the Gulf Coast area of the country. My new house does not have a basement, like my former residence several states away, so I lost my reloading room.

Setting up a reloading area in the garage seems foolish due to the heat and humidity most of the year. It appears I will have to set up something portable that can easily be disassembled and stored in a closet.

I reload everything: metallic and shotshell. Have any of you on this forum conquered this problem yourselves? Your suggestions? Thanks.

Which Gulf Coast? I’m in Florida. We don’t have basements around these parts because of how close we are to sea level. You dig deep enough for a basement and you end up with an indoor pool. Humidity is a constant but not a problem. There’s ways to mitigate. Temperature changes can be a little unsettling - wake up to 30 degrees, by lunchtime it’s in the 80’s, and go to bed with it in the 30’s again. That’s hard on measuring equipment. I like the roving barstools idea but rolling carts that fit through doorways are a good idea, too. I just can’t do the Man Cave thing. I don’t like being confined.

 

[Seedy Character]

Lived south of Houston for 25 years.
Set up bench in closet. Same as charlie98. Worked out fine. We moved and now I get half of spare bedroom. All my loaders, metallic and shotshell, are mounted on a base plate that attaches to the bench. They store in closet.

My buddy uses a roller tool chest from Harber Freight. Stores in a small, hallway closet. Rolls it to living room and sits in recliner. It works for him.

 

[holl]

After moving to a smaller house a state away I had to give up a very large mechanical room/man cave and my own shooting range. I now have a 3ft x 16 inch wire cooling rack in a very small mechanical room which I have to share with a cat that I'm allergic to. The rack is anchored to studs for support and I made a top out of 1.5 inch thick plywood. All reloading stuff is stored in two tuff bins on the rack overhead. All ammo is stored in cans on the two racks below and one shelf mounted above the rack. I can barely back up far enough to take a pic without stepping in a litter robot and irritating the cat who doesn't like sharing her bathroom. I also have a small chest freezer next to me to use as a "workbench". It works, I guess.

 

[Hikingman]

Never have reloaded in a garage or basement. Air conditioned comfort is the deal, yeah.

The single stage and powder station are both bolted to a large table. Unfortunately, my dies, or components are usually out of site. So, it takes some time to pull items to the table to work with them. I'm on the Eastern shore of Mobile Bay.

 

[emb]

Deadeye, no worries. I really don't mind the garage and kind of like it together with the dogs and the wife. I do have a significant amount of the garage (3 car) for my shop and reloading. Gotta pick your battles, and indoor airconditioned space isn't one I care enough about to fight. Cheers.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I live in the Dallas area. I got tired of seeing my equipment rust away, and I hated trying to reload in the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter... so I bartered with SWMBO... I got the closet in the spare room, and when I say closet, that's what I mean... 4.5'x5.5' That's it. I built a custom bench with a surface area of about 3'x2'... sometimes you have to make do with what you have. At first, I had to share it with some of the long-term storage stuff, but slowly pushed everything out... ...and eventually I took over the entire closet. Yes, it's crowded... but it works. This arrangement also allowed me to secure the closet, if need be, which may or may not be something you need.

Here's a photo of it... what you see is what I got... area-wise.

View attachment 1120099

Shelves underneath, shelves overhead, and there is another shelf to the left.

Is it possible to have some sort of arrangement like that?

That old Projector looks quite happy in that closet. Looks good to me.