Set up and running!

[PennsyPlinker]

I'll get some pics and get them posted later on this afternoon, along with a description of how we set things up. Plain Old Bill, you are pretty close to me, and even closer to LastManOut! Thanks for the invitation. I usually learn things the hard way too, but as I get older, I am always up for easier when possible.

[PennsyPlinker]

Originally Posted by Pector55

Exciting to hear. I am a details guy so I would love to see the pics as well. In all the reading on the web about reloading, I see a lot of vague instruction so I ordered that ABCs of reloading book that another member suggested. Then I hope to join the crowd. I would like to see how you set yours up. I'll probably need to build a decent table for it.

Pector, I am in the "decent table" crowd, and despite having all the tools and materials, I have been putting things off. I have mine mounted on a scrap of butcher block with collapsible sawhorse legs under it to get started, and it ran just fine. The table is a little wobbly, but not in the direction that it needs to be sturdy.

[bdevil73]

I found this spreadsheet aw while ago when I was researching reloading. It will help you figure our your costs and how long it will take to recoup the money you invested. You can also use it to make labels for your reloads. I plugged some numbers in yesterday and figured it cost me a little over $.11 to reload 100 rounds of .45ACP.

[ihunt49]

Hey Pennsy,

I have approx. 3500 (+/-) mixed 9mm brass that are sitting here collecting dust.
I sold my 9mm so I no longer have a need for them. I was going to list them for sale tomorrow along with some other things but they're yours if you want them. I can bring them to the Sept.6 group shoot.

Let me know......

[Plain Old Bill]

Pennsyplinker and Last Man Out, I've been pleased to help many out, and any time you run into a bind- or just want to come by and compare notes- give me a shout. It makes me glad to pass on the know-how. Bill

[PennsyPlinker]

Here at last are the pictures for those of you doubters. As LastManOut says, this is a minimalist set up, but it is working. I will say more about that in a minute.



Here is my "bench". It is a scrap of butcher block countertop screwed fast to a 2x8 which is in turn screwed fast to some metal folding sawhorse legs. The whole process takes place on this little bit of benchtop. The casings come out of the big white bucket, and go into the press. They go through the various dies, and a finished cartridge comes out, and it goes into the green MTM box on the right to await its trip to the range. I have a scale for weighing out charges on the bench. I used it to check them about every fifth round or so, and they were dead on every time. The metal bar fastened to the bench is the base for an RCBS powder measure that we started our using, but discontinued once I found all the parts for the Lee powder measure.

Now for some details.



This is a closeup shot of the Lee Classic Turret Press. I do not have much in the way of comparison, except a very brief reloading experience using a Lee Loader to reload some .30-06 shells about 35 years ago. That one required a lot of pounding with a plastic hammer and was very slow. This is a lot faster, and now that it is adjusted, real easy to use.



Even closer up, you can see the primer dispenser and the primer cup. On the first stroke of the ram, the casing is resized and the spent primer is punched out. At the top of the stroke, the white box in the foreground (primer dispenser trigger) is pushed forward and down. There is a little bit of a learning curve to this, and mine was not working properly to boot. After taking it apart and fiddling with it (not sure what I did exactly) it started working a whole lot better. Anyway, the primer is "dispensed" into the little metal cup just underneath the shell holder. As the ram is lowered to its lowest point, the metal arm of the primer cup levers it under the shell holder, and pressure seats the new primer. Also at the bottom of the stroke, the turret advances one click and brings the next die into position over the casing.



The second die is the expander, which flares the mouth of the casing to receive the bullet. On this die, there is the option to attach the powder dispenser. The powder dispenser comes with a whole bunch of plastic wheels with numerous different sizes of holes in them. Using a chart, you select the size hole you want for the powder charge you want to use for that particular round. As the round reaches the top of the ram stroke, the case neck is flared, and the proper charge is dispensed into the case all at the same time. There are some plus and minus points to this system. On the plus side, it seems to be very accurate. I checked the charge with the scale about every fifth round, and it was right on. On the minus side, I have yet to discover how to vary the size of the charge easily - i.e. if I want to add another grain to the charge, I am not sure how I am going to accomplish that yet.

The third die seats the bullet, and crimps the case. I have mostly three die sets, although the one that I ordered with the press came as a four die set. I bought four hole turret plates just in case I decide I want the crimp die as well for each set. It would not make much sense to buy three hole turret plates and then have to go out and buy four holers if I want to make the switch.

Some comments:

Yes, I know I have the arm on the ram set way down low. I don't need it any longer than that, at least for the stuff I am loading right now. I have to be careful how much leverage I allow myself, as it is easy to break stuff. Besides, this lets me sit a little closer.

I also know that this set up is probably not ideal, but it has gotten me moving. This stuff has been sitting in boxes since last fall, and I have an RCBS Rock Chucker that has been sitting around even longer! But now I am moving, and it is fun. While this is all that is needed, it is not all that is needed. Not seen in the background are all the boxes of leftover parts, components, and other stuff needed to reload. But they can live in boxes for now, and brought out for use when I need them. My long term plan involves a stand alone 17' x 13' building on my property. It has heat, AC, lights, phone, and is in range of our wireless router for the interweb. We used it for many years to home school our three daughters, but that is no longer needed. For the past couple of years it has been a storage room for stuff. A lot of that stuff is being redistributed, some to the burn pile, some to other buildings on the property, and some may even stay! There I will have a real nice bench, with storage for components right at hand, and ease of access for everything. But I have to do a few things to keep Mrs. Plinker happy first before I put any real work into making it a retreat for me.

Finally, I am a novice when it comes to reloading. I do not pretend to be otherwise. I hope this helps someone else out, and if I can answer any questions, I will. Thanks again to LastManOut for his help in getting it all up and running. I am now off to shoot some of these newly minted boolets and see if they were put in with the point going in the right direction.

[PennsyPlinker]

Originally Posted by Plain Old Bill

Pennsyplinker and Last Man Out, I've been pleased to help many out, and any time you run into a bind- or just want to come by and compare notes- give me a shout. It makes me glad to pass on the know-how. Bill

Thanks Bill! I will be glad to get in contact with you in the near future.

[LastManOut]

Originally Posted by Plain Old Bill

Pennsyplinker and Last Man Out, I've been pleased to help many out, and any time you run into a bind- or just want to come by and compare notes- give me a shout. It makes me glad to pass on the know-how. Bill

You helped me plenty POB, I'm happy to share some of wht you showed me with PaP

[Thom]

Nice setup !

I have exactly the same equipment and have found it quite satisfactory for loading 9mm, 38 special and now 45ACP. Though disparaged by many of the "blue crew", I have found that the Lee equipment provides considerable "bang for the buck" and is holding up well after 2000 rounds or so.
I usually tumble/polish my fired brass as the first step, then de-prime and size it in batches of 100 or so. I use a Lee Auto Prime to prime them all then set them aside until I'm ready for a reloading session. The operation just seems to go quicker when I then run it through the three dies needed to charge and bell it, place and seat the bullet and finally, use the factory crimp die to finish off the round.

I might suggest a tumbler, and the Cabelas kit ( tumbler, sifter, polish and media) at 57.00 is a good deal IMHO. The tumbler is the same that berrysmfg.com sells alone or in the same kit for much more. ( in fact the warranty card gets mailed to Berry's ! ). I've been using the included media for all 2000 cases so far and am less than halfway through the media and polish included in the kit. ( I might add that Berry's plated bullets have worked out very well for me in all three calibers and prices are reasonable.) I have found that cleaning the brass not only makes it look 'purty', but makes it easier to both spot signs of case problems and runs through the de-priming/sizing die more smoothly.

From Lehigh County, you're within driving distance of Stockertown where TNT Reloading is located. Tony carries a pretty extensive line of supplies and his prices are great..........especially when by picking up powder or primers in person, you avoid a $20 UPS hazmat fee. Visit his site at tntreloading.com and see what he has. He is open only Mon-Thurs evenings as he travels to many shows on the weekends.

Continued fun and good luck in your reloading enterprise !

~~~~~<'{{><

[Farbmeister]

TnT has lots of goodies.

I wish they would make some gunshows up north... like leesport or something close.