Re-purposed items on the reloading bench?

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Coffee cans, all sizes, for all kinds of things.
The embroidery hoops are the handiest things. I load in multiples of 100 and each hoop will hold a hundred cases or a hundred bullets. You don't have to reach up and over to pick things up. The Braums ice cream store paper bags are perfect to keep dust off your press when not in use.
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I ran into this shaker at a Goodwill store for $1. Dump the bullets and powder into this as you take cartridges apart with an impact puller. When you are through put the lid on (which is a strainer) shake the powder back into the jug and then pour the bullets back into the box. Very time-saving.
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Sorry, but every time I get into Photobucket they have changed the program. Now I can't figure out how to reduce picture size.
 
I stole a food tray from Hardee's and bolted my MEC shotshell loader on it on top the bench. Catches random loose shot great.
 
dickttx
The Braums ice cream store paper bags are perfect to keep dust off your press when not in use.
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Laughing, I used a paper bag for a while because I didn't want to pay the price for press and misc covers, then I found that the shot bags will slip over powder measures.
Got an old small pillow case that fit my presses just right and have been using them for a while now.
Funny, my Wife sews great, but I'll be danged if I can get her to sew me some custom covers, I even said I'd sell some for her and she could keep all the money and still nothing!!!
Oh well...Looks like I'm stuck with what I have.
Still keep a bag or two when I pull out the MEC's to cover them while they are mounted......
Dust is so abrasive, especially where I live (lots of fine sand) and my loading stuff is in part of my shop, the other part is for metal and wood working which makes more dust.
I have plastic curtains I fabricated for dividers from ceiling to floor that help a lot.
I made them out of thick heavy duty clear industrial trash bags. Sound stupid looking but actually look and work great. Think loading dock curtains for forklifts in A/C'd buildings....Same look, overlapped type.

TxDon
 
XD 45acp
I stole a food tray from Hardee's and bolted my MEC shotshell loader on it on top the bench. Catches random loose shot great.
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Great idea, I have one under my Mec 9000 I got at a garage sale for $1, It's especially great for when the press works itself unadjusted and drops shot without a shell present.
Then it's easy to clean up and I can adjust the nut so that stops happening.:)

TxDon
 
10years after selling all the rifles and focusing solely on bow hunting- I am starting all over again.

Anyway I dragged out the reloading presses and scales. No powder funnel, and no powder trickler to be found.

A broken carbon fibre arrow shaft with a small hole drilled in one side, a bottle top with two slightly offset holes- we have a powder trickler.

With a bit of messing around and trimming the rear of the shaft and refitting the nock a few times- I now can tilt the trickler backwards- tap it a few times with my index finger- and immediately dump 25grains of powder into the pan- tilt back, tap it, and then trickle to 25.7grains for the 223, or to 30.5 for the 30-30.

1000 rounds reloaded over a few nights- and the only issue is the threads on the powder tickler hold a little bit of powder. A bead of glue rubbed into the threads should resolve that issue.

And cut the back end of a 222 shell off, flared the neck using a pin punch to fit over a 223 shell and then wedged it firmly in 50cent funnel- job done.

Tex.
 

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I found the right straw and a little tape makes primers miss the chute much less often on my RockChucker.

The rest is storage finds. Costco snack cubic plastic jars are my favorite.
 
TexNAss
A broken carbon fibre arrow shaft with a small hole drilled in one side, a bottle top with two slightly offset holes- we have a powder trickler.

With a bit of messing around and trimming the rear of the shaft and refitting the nock a few times- I now can tilt the trickler backwards- tap it a few times with my index finger- and immediately dump 25grains of powder into the pan- tilt back, tap it, and then trickle to 25.7grains for the 223, or to 30.5 for the 30-30.

1000 rounds reloaded over a few nights- and the only issue is the threads on the powder tickler hold a little bit of powder. A bead of glue rubbed into the threads should resolve that issue.
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One thing I do know is that you can't keep a Good Man down..!!!
Great idea, reloaders are an inventive bunch.
Somehow through the years, I have 4 of the RCBS powder ticklers. Some bought as a package deal, one given to me by friends etc...

Good Job, Carry On.....

TxDon
 
I use lots of 35mm film canisters too... one for lead bullets that are too misshapen and I'll toss them in the next load I melt down. One for the powder from pulled bullets (will use as fertilizer in the garden in the spring)
 
A hockey puck makes a great bench block, especially for the impact type bullet pullers
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A roll of duct tape (or any kind that's more than one inch wide) makes a great block for knocking pins out of slides.

A hockey puck might work for that if it could be milled to accommodate a slide.
 
In my shack several coffee cans hold brass. Cottage cheese or margarine tubs too, for smaller quantities.
A sturdy old gift box is perfect to hold a few turrets when not I use.
An ice cream container with holes drilled is an ad hoc colander which separates my tumbler media and brass.
An old teletype printer table with a butcher block top installed makes a sturdy loading bench.
My used dryer sheets go in the tumbler to pick up dust.
A laundry detergent scoop I use for getting shot into the hopper.
Bristle brushes from Harbor Freight to sweep small powder spills.
Even the old garage cabinets are reused in the loading room.
 
Occasionally, the Wife makes a raid on my Reloading Room to recover her SS Bowls, cookie sheets, colander, cake pans, plastic containers, and other kitchen items I find useful. Most times I get told "Go buy your own stuff."
 
Go buy your own stuff."
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Ive heard that one a time or two. Lately everytime Im at the grocery store I buy one nice piece of tupperware, so I dont have to snag hers anymore. Its funny, I can amuse myself for quite awhile on the "storage" aisle at Target.
 
The only kitchen items that have found their way into my reloading room have been cast offs from the wife or things I bought myself specifically to be used for reloading..

Once used in the reloading arena, or any other non-food service tasks, they never see the light of the kitchen again.
 
+1 to never using those items in the kitchen again. That might need to be reenforced.
 
Speaking of never using re-loading stuff in the kitchen, I would advise everyone to not purchase 2nd hand pots/pans/utensils from places like garage sales, estate sales etc. to be used for food preparation in your kitchens.... You never know what those things have been used for.... JMHO.

The Dove
 
THe Dove

Speaking of never using re-loading stuff in the kitchen, I would advise everyone to not purchase 2nd hand pots/pans/utensils from places like garage sales, estate sales etc. to be used for food preparation in your kitchens.... You never know what those things have been used for.... JMHO.

The Dove
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Your right..!!!
I never gave it too much thought, then I remembered what I do with old pots and pans I get at flea markets...:uhoh:
I bought a good large cast iron kettle I use to melt large amounts of lead in with a propane burner.
Hate to think it could be cleaned up and sold for food use..!!:barf:

TxDon
 
The 35mm film cans is one of the greatest inventions of mankind..useful for holding all those small things that seem to get lost otherwise. Great for case gauges, and with pistol calibers, the shell holder fits, too.
I've found that milk bottles from Whataburger or Sonic make great containers for bullets, especially small rifle calibers. They're clear, so you can see exactly what's inside, and they fit perfectly 8up in an Akro bin.
The cardboard spool from a roll of packing tape was precisely engineered to hold a Lee CTP turret.
 
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I use tons of prescription bottles in the reloading room and elsewhere. One of my favorite uses for them is actually as a mini-tackle box for fishing.

I also have a drop tube made from a curtain rod, a funnel, and gorilla tape. It works great for heavily compressed load without crunching powder when seating.

Matt
 
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