Reloading & Health

[Hondo 60]

Sorry I haven't been around lately,
My health has been poor.
(no, not the coronavirus)

Just like another member, I'm a disabled vet, who served in the Army as a Combat Medic.
Thank God I never left the states, but it makes me feel less worthy
than my brethren who got the all-expenses paid trip to the exotic jungles of the South Pacific.

Anyway, my reloading bench is down stairs & & don't have the $$ to put in a stair lift.
(It's about $10,000 - $15, 000)
Or maybe someone has one they don't use any more?
I'm disabled so a broken one that maybe works doesn't really help[

Does anyone know of a way I can get down to do my 2nd favorite hobby?
of course #1 is shooting the reloaded ammo.

TIA!

 

[DerMerchant]

Thank you for your service, and sorry to hear about your situation. Perhaps you could pay a trustworthy person to transport everything upstairs? Maybe someone else has found an affordable alternative to a stair lift?

 

[JO JO]

my father had an issue like this when he first lost his leg and what he did was he would scoot down the stairs on his but one step at a time kind of like a child playing ,
we also got a couch that could fold out to a bed for the living room downstairs so sometimes he would sleep down stairs
or maybe have someone help you put a reloading spot upstairs ?
best wishes hope you improve

 

[Hondo 60]

We don't have enough bedrooms to relocate.

That WILL happen when my daughter moves out, but she's only 13 - so I got at least 5 years to wait.
And to her the basement is creepy at night, even though only the laundry room is unfinished.

 

[JPIMBO]

Sorry you can’t do your hobby right now sir. Stuff happens don’t it? I’m in a peculiar situation now too with my reloading and there is just no end in sight. So I’ve done some modifications: got a hand press and now work on the deck. I have all of my stuff in a box upstairs where I can get to it. Fall is a great time to be outdoors the weather is almost perfect here- CA. I clean guns outdoors and rarely can go into my garage. I hope this helps and God Bless You. Being busy and healthy is comforting, so is having Jesus to look ahead to. Have a great rest, of your life.

 

[Hondo 60]

JPIMBO - Yes Jesus is the answer!
He fills my soul!

But sometimes he gives friends & acquaintances the answers to our prayers & dilemmas.

 

[Mr_Flintstone]

I don’t know your available space situation, but perhaps you could convert a desk, or table, or mount a small piece of counter top in such a way as to have an emergency reloading station, perhaps on a cart and movable so it can be stored elsewhere. You may not have all the bells and whistles, but I’ll bet you could do a lot with just the essentials in a small space.

Maybe even on something like this

 

[WestKentucky]

Make a chair lift? Automotive winches (with remote control) are relatively cheap and lumber would not be too terrible for building a set of rails and a platform to ride on. I’m not disabled and I am considering something similar for attic access. My wife loads up boxes so heavy that they are hard to shove up the steep ladder access so I can’t imagine what I’m considering being too terribly different than what I would recommend for you. It doesn’t have to be big or fancy, it just has to work.

 

[BLACKFIN]

Does anyone know of a way I can get down to do my 2nd favorite hobby?
of course #1 is shooting the reloaded ammo.

I don’t know where you live, or the space you have available, I recently built a custom bench to fit the space i had available, I’m willing to build a reloading bench for you for free if you are in the South Florida area and have some room in the upper floor.

 

[rfwobbly]

I’m willing to build a reloading bench for you for free if you are in the South Florida area..

He's in Freeport, IL.

 

[rfwobbly]

The only thing to "mount" is the press itself. Everything else weighs under a pound and can be easily supported by a flimsy portable table. When I was in college, I reloaded by having my press mounted to a board, which was clamped to a sturdy table when needed. When I was not reloading, everything I needed (including the board-mounted press) fit into a small box that was stowed in the top of a closet. So it can be done.

 

[Ru4real]

We don't have enough bedrooms to relocate.

That WILL happen when my daughter moves out, but she's only 13 - so I got at least 5 years to wait.
And to her the basement is creepy at night, even though only the laundry room is unfinished.

Sounds like you’ve made up your mind that it’s a matter of getting your body to your bench.

But you should step back and realize that you need to set yourself up for main floor living. In time, a mechanical chair down the steps won’t be enough to keep you mobile. It is only a temporary solution.

I don’t want to sound like a dick, but sometimes people you don’t know are the most honest to you.

 

[Hondo 60]

I’m willing to build a reloading bench for you for free if you are in the South Florida area and have some room in the upper floor.

Wow, what a generous offer.
But I live just a little ways from you - about 2 1/2 hours west of Chicago.

Both Mr_Flinstone & Jo Jo have ideas I may have to investigate.
Either a smaller wheeled bench or scoot down the stairs on my butt.

Winter in N.IL is not the time for a garage bench, but maybe I could store it upstairs somewhere.

 

[Hondo 60]

But you should step back and realize that you need to set yourself up for main floor living. In time, a mechanical chair down the steps won’t be enough to keep you mobile. It is only a temporary solution.

When my 13 y/o moves out, I'll have space upstairs.
I've already expressed this to my family.
So 5-10 years down the line that question will be answered

 

[Obturation]

Op, hope you're health improves soon.

I reload in the basement but I do have one press that's mobile. I'll show it but you guys got to promise not to laugh ...


Old chair, small press, something heavy so it doesn't move around. I did this so I could do brass prep outside while my kids are out in the yard or whatever. It's not perfect but I can prepare a lot of brass pretty quickly anywhere a chair can go, I don't load on an app obviously but it has been handy for some things. something simple , small and easily moveable may be an option ? I don't think you're putting a Dillon on a chair but within reason it works ok for me if I can't be downstairs in my cave.

Goodluck.

 

[LiveLife]

Yes Jesus is the answer! He fills my soul!

But sometimes he gives friends & acquaintances the answers to our prayers & dilemmas.

Then let the power of the Holy Spirit take over your reloading life and don't let mere bumps on the road of this world keep you from enjoying your life's journey of reloading hobby/passion.

My health has been poor ... my reloading bench is down stairs & & don't have the $$ to put in a stair lift.

A man's home is his castle. You should do whatever you want/wish. I have reloaded over 600,000 pistol rounds so far and will work to reload 1,000,000 or die trying.

And here's a suggestion from another Army medic ... Portable reloading bench. There are many solutions to life's problems and when Plan A doesn't work, it's good to have Plan B, Plan C and so on.

I started out reloading on 6' and 8' HEAVY benches in the garage but some decades back, started building portable castered bench and haven't looked back and built several for friends over the years.

My current primary bench is 2'x3' that allows both standing and more comfortable sit down reloading. With presses mounted at the ends, I can resize even thicker walled military .308 cases with an empty bench (Key to no-flex top is 11 layer plywood top reinforced with 2x4s) and move the bench through any doorway for out of the way storage when I am not reloading - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/diy-reloading-station.873165/#post-11601547

I am currently building another 2'x4' bench to mount Dillon 550/650 on in addition to my 2'x2' bench that I am planning to mount C-H 3/4 station "H" type presses.

Best part? I get to reload anywhere in the house away from cold/heat of the garage and be close to wife/family.

 

[magyars4]

Midway, I'm pretty sure...used to make a small portable pedestal table designed to hold ( bolt on ) a small press. It's about 18" square. sorry about the quality of the picture, I've got a crappy tablet and it's still dark out

 

[mstreddy]

Hondo, I'm another that would recommend a small portable bench that you can set up in your living area, so you don't have to go down to the basement too often. Live Life and a few others have built those types of benches and you can see some ideas. For a "temporary" bench you may not need all the space of your full bench downstairs. The idea is to keep you reloading through the physical limitations.

But, as to your long term care mobility options, you may want to check with any outfits that help out Vets with accommodation additions to their homes. There are some that may do it for free or small cost.

 

[Bush Pilot]

Didn't Lee make a small portable device that would hold a press at one time? Maybe not the highest quality but it might get you by..

 

[FROGO207]

You might contact the VA and see if they have ideas about a chair lift for you. There seem to be many resources that are advertised to help. Burn up the phone lines and get in line for a free or low cost chair lift. Maybe a used one can be installed for you. FWIW most times that someone around here needed one fixed a battery replacment was all that was needed. Prayers things are solved.

 

[Legionnaire]

Thank you for your service. I am sorry to hear about the bad health. Health isn't a problem for me, but in my basement-less house in TX, I've had to figure out a portable system so that I don't have to be in the garage, which is too hot for much of the year. I bought a small table top and attached an Inline Fabrication QR plate to it. I clamp the table top to the top of a B&D Workmate and set it up in my study. Easy setup and easy storage. You'd just need a small lockable cabinet for your dies and components.

 

[bullseye308]

The simplest, and cheapest way to do it is this. Get a 2x6 of an appropriate length, a Lee Reloader or O press, a Lee bench primer, and 2 clamps. Mount the press on one end, the primer on the other. Clamp it to whatever table or counter you want to load on and have at it.
I have one I take to the park in the summer to prep brass while the kids are playing and I can also take it to the range to work up loads as I shoot. Use 1/4-20 bolts and wingnuts keeps it simple and setup/tear down is quick and easy.
Sorry about your health problems, you are not alone. I recently had a triple bypass and before I was recovered, I got cancer. I have loaded ammo galore and can’t shoot it right now. Next week I’m having shoulder surgery and will be down till spring, so just know you are not alone.

 

[noylj]

All clean reloading can be done on the main floor and all the dirty jobs can be done outside/garage.

 

[Glenn Berryhill]

A friend of mine put in a freight elevator at his house for $7,000. Not sure if that would work in your situation or not but it's a little less than the stair lift you mentioned. It is not "truly" meant for transporting people but it can be done safely as long as you don't put your fingers in the pulleys, etc. They have got on it many times.

 

[Hondo 60]

Glenn Berryhill
The freight elevator might work, but I'm not able to do that kind of work.

I know, I know - sucks to be me right now