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Budget Beginning Bench you will never outgrow, for the novice handloader.

34K views 83 replies 42 participants last post by  Gunowner99 
#1 · (Edited)
Budget Beginning Bench you will never outgrow.

Bold subject line, eh? Let me qualify it down. I load for handgun only; 5 calibers, about 100-400 rounds per session and fewer than 5,000 rounds a year. I stow my gear in toolboxes when not in use. If this comes close to describing your situation, you might like to read on.

35 years after starting, I found I outgrew some gear and overbought elsewhere. So, I cleaned house. I emptied my bench and populated it with the best equipment I could find precisely fitting my loading needs. I could have saved a lot of experimentation and waste if I had known back then what I know now (about handloading and about myself).

Informed by my experience reconstituting my loading bench, I compiled a list of the barest essentials that would allow a novice loader to load well and which would still be gratifying in 30 years. (In my opinion and somewhat matching my style of shooting and loading.)

I think it makes an ideal shopping list for the handloader just starting out. I hope you do, too.

Press, scale, dies, a way to measure powder and a work surface are all you need, really. Everything else just makes it easier or faster.

$17 ABC's of Reloading. Ok, it's not really equipment, but tools without knowledge is just dead weight, right?
$10 Loading Data. The "One book/One Caliber" pamphlets are $10 each and are LOADED (get it?) with loading data.
$0 Loading manuals. They cost, but I didn't want to skew the budget; you do need at least a couple. Check the local library if money is tight.
$0 Eye protection. No cost, because you DO already have a pair of shootingglasses, DON'T YOU!?
$85 Press, Lee Classic Turret (Chosen because it is the only turret press that auto-advances at the discretion of the operator.)
$33 Dies, carbide. Lee because it includes a shell holder, a plastic dipper for powder and the "powder through" design.
$5 Work surface. Mount your press on a plank of scrap 2x8 and secure it to a (padded) coffee table.
$0 Dropcloth to catch any spilled powder or lost primers (dead or live). Use an old sheet. Quieter than plastic, less static and drapes better.
$150 plus shipping At this point, you can reload, but are limited in flexibility and speed.
$8 Lee Scoops/Dippers. Cheaper than any powder dispenser/measure and repeatability/cosistency is excellent.
$3 Powder funnel. Lee's funnel fits right in the their "powder through" die.
$161 plus shipping At this point, you are minimally equipped to load well. Not too convenient, but not handicapped to the point of terminal frustration, either.
$22 Lee Safety Prime. You can use your fingers, but this is so much better. Fits on the Lee Press.
$21 Scale, any brand. Lee's, at $21 is cheapest. You can do without, with the full set of Lee Dippers, but better to weigh. For peace of mind if nothing else.
$204 plus shipping At this level of investment, you are decently equipped
$33 Lee Auto-Disk powder dispenser/measure. It mounts atop Lee's "Powder through" die. With this, you may not need the funnel or dippers.
$50 Loading Bench. A folding workbench works fine for me. You can get a kit or build your own, too.
$287 plus shipping Now you are well-equipped as most reloaders, except for convenience accessories or tools you will use only occasionally.

Other stuff:
$20 Bullet puller I never used one for my first 20 years of loading.
$30 Calipers I had none for 30 years. Now that I do, I find uses.
$50 Tumbler Never had one. Got one now. My brass is prettier. Shoots the same.
$10 Loading blocks ($5, if you use, use two). For batch loading. Buy, or make with a plank and a drill.
$25 Powder Trickler - handy if you weigh each powder charge.

$34 misc accessories & tools, (e.g. chamfer tool)
$60 Difference to get a more user-friendly scale than the Lee
$0 Turret and Dies for 38/357 (included with basic setup)
$46 Turret and Dies for 45/454
$46 Turret and Dies for 44
$46 Turret and Dies for 45 ACP
$46 Turret and Dies for 9mm
$700 plus shipping To duplicate my entire current loading bench with all new stuff, misc accessories and tools and I would not be in the least inconvenienced in my loading endeavors.

There are many accessories that add convenience of functionality, but are so highly optional they do not belong on this "essentials" list, or belong down near the end. Besides, if I included them all, the list would be endless.

I chose a turret instead of a progressive because I am more comfortable with performing and monitoring one operation at a time and changing calibers is dead simple. I chose a turret instead of a single stage because it facilitates processing in a "pass-through" mode (much like a progressive) rather than the batch mode of the single stage. But I still do have the option of operating as a single stage in batch mode if I choose.

You could build this list using any mix of brands. I chose Lee's brand because the Auto-indexing is not available on any other press and the Auto-Disk powder measure is the most convenient I have seen, in combination with the Lee "Powder through the Die" design. The Auto-Disk is not convenient to adjust powder quantity, but it is light and compact.

Lost Sheep

P.S.
Thanks to Sue Kempf at Kempf's Gun Shop, and Mark and the guys at Factory Direct Sales and the technicians in Customer Support at Lee Precision.
 
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#17 ·
No offense taken



In fact, I took it as a tongue-in-cheek compliment. So, thank you.

The text you see is the second draft of an endeavor I began about a week ago in response to a newbie's post in another forum. It is still a work in progress and the feedback from all you kind folks will inform my third draft.

It also serves to clarify my own mind. Besides, I enjoy wordsmithing almost as much as reloading, shooting, making music.

Lost Sheep
 
#4 ·
Funny, that is the setup I have on order right now. And I have read my ABC's book that sits next to three different loading manuals. I just need a bigger bench to work from. I hope it really makes that big of a difference. Right now I batch load a hundred at a time. I size ever last piece of brass that I have and drop them into a box. Then I flare them all and put them back into the box. Now I have a few hundred or a few thousand that are partially done. Now all I have to do is prime what I want to load. I hand prime a hundred of them. Then I drop the powder and measure every tenth throw. But as I drop the powder I take it right to the seating die. (EDIT: I only take them right to the seating die if I am using a very even flowing powder like Bullseye or HP38 or similar) I find that if I take the time up front to size and then flare everything then batch loading can go pretty fast. But it’s relative. I spend time up front to save time at the end… The turret is just going to do what I do one step at a time. I am just hoping to be able to set the dies up and all but weld them into place. Caliber change will just be pop the turret off and put the new preloaded turret on again. I find myself spending too much time adjusting the dies every time I replace them in the single stage press. That was the reason I started to size and flare them up front to be ready for loading later. I think it saves time not just doing fifty or a hundred in each stage at a time. I do like that the turret seems to shake up the powder as it spins. That is a nifty bonus to the Lee turret design. And that is about as fast as I want to assemble the cartridge while still being able to measure the powder charge every so often.

BRL,

Not all of us want to fling ammo together. I don't know that I will ever fully trust a progressive press setup to make consistent ammo. The Dillon RL650 with all the bells and whistles would be one I would try, but it costs an arm, a leg, a first born, your soul, and a credit card to pay for a full setup. Ensuring consistent powder drops is my biggest issue.
 
#72 ·
What kind of dies are you using if yours are always getting out of adjustment. I use LEE`s, after years of RCBS I found LEE dies work better for me. One thing you need to do is get the die set, get the lock ring set, and don't move the die without using the lock ring. This will help you out tremendously, and if you must use another brand of dies, I suggest getting extra LEE lock rings to use, as they have the o-ring in them to help keep things locked down. Even after really cranking down on RCBS rings, they still eventually loosen up on me, and I don't have that problem with LEE.

Welding your dies in place won't be necessary with the LEE rings, and will make die cleaning easier innthe future. ;)
 
#5 ·
That is pretty much the path I took to my current setup. About the only thing I added was a Lee Classic Cast breech lock single stage press and bushings. I prefer this press for single stage operations over the turret. The drop in preset dies work great! And, the dies (with the bushings installed) fit back in the die case for safe keeping and organization. And, it's overbuilt.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Thank you very much for the info AND the time you spent putting it together.

People who help newbies are appreciated. We all have to start somewhere.

I've been searching the 'net and have a few similar posts collected already.
I'll be comparing them and expect to purchase equipment this year.
 
#7 ·
Lost Sheep,
I apologize to you if you took my comment wrong, but I was simply trying to put the time it must have taking you to put all that information together in perspective.
I type with two index fingers, and it would have taken me a year just to type all that information, much less gather it all up.
Sorry Guy :eek:
 
#8 ·
I will make a comment and ask a question or 2...

Been reloading since 'bout 1970 plus or minus a year of so--sort of forget. And a progressive press would be the last thing I would want unless I was reloading hundreds and hundreds of rounds and shooting them and letting the brass lay for someone else to salvage, i.e. semiauto handguns etc...

And now my 2 questions:

1. At what station of the progressive press do you trim the cases?
2. At what station of the progressive press do you clean the primer pockets?

Just curious as I have never really gotten an answer as to how both processes are done while cycling the cartridges in a circle from starting, to them being loaded, and then dropping into a container.

That has always puzzled me so I never really needed anything but an ol' RCBS Rockchucker. 'Nuff said...

Good-luck...BCB
 
#16 ·
You don't, as Ale-8(1) posted.


Once every dozen or so reloadings of a case, a trim might be appropriate, but no more often than that. And that can be done before approaching the press. I've never done it. Don't even own a case trimmer.

Primer pocket initial swaging/forming only needs to be done once, if at all (military brass with a crimp on the primer pocket, for example). Primer pocket cleaning has never been an issue with me, so I don't. I have gotten good ignition forever in my Rugers, Colts and Dan Wessons.

Lost Sheep
 
#9 ·
"And a progressive press would be the last thing I would want unless I was reloading hundreds and hundreds of rounds and shooting them and letting the brass lay for someone else to salvage, i.e. semiauto handguns etc..."

If you're going to let the brass go, you don't need a press of any kind.

As to your questions, they have the same answer . . . you don't.

But you knew that.

:)
 
#10 ·
Ale-8(1),

I actually know shooters who salvage range brass, mostly from public ranges where the brass lays on the floor after being fired. They get the stuff for a song and a dance (certain types that is) and they reload it on a progressive…shoot it…and let it lay. So one might need a reloading outfit if that is the method of shooting that some use as it is still cheaper than factory ammo…

And the answer, “You don’t” is why I never purchased a progressive loader…

I clean the primer pockets every other time and I trim as needed. Some brass stretches more than others and needs trimmed quit often. I trim after I size…

That is just a bit of advice that I give to people who want to start reloading. Progressive presses are enticing and seem “cool and neat” but they are the worst and expensive first investment they can make in my opinion. They can be difficult to set up and without experience, even single stage presses can cause one to swear and become frustrated. That is the last thing that one needs to be when starting…

(Watch a beginner set up a crimping die with a 3-die handgun set!)

To each his own…

BCB
 
#12 ·
I purchased a auto indexing turret press and the first thing I did was take out the indexing rod~!:D
I prefer the single stage reloading method. And, as mentioned above, you should trim cases after they are sized. And, I set up a little $30 dollar press as a standalone decapping press for the sole reason of decapping my brass prior to cleaning. I want clean brass running through my dies, so I decap with a decapping ONLY die. That way my brass is clean when run through my sizing die.
 
#66 ·
And, I set up a little $30 dollar press as a standalone decapping press for the sole reason of decapping my brass prior to cleaning. I want clean brass running through my dies, so I decap with a decapping ONLY die. That way my brass is clean when run through my sizing die.
Question, I am getting the Lee turret press. My plan is to tumble brass first, then run through resizing/decapping die. Since they are carbide dies, shouldn't I be okay here? They should be clean anyhow.
 
#13 ·
MidLife,

I agree with you...

Certainly a method used by some--the extra press to get the brass ready, and then "let 'em fly" in the progressive press...

That is why I recommend the single stage to begin with, and then if you want to go progressive, well, you have the method you are talking about...

Good-luck...BCB
 
#14 ·
Lost Sheep, great post! I've seen a lot of "noobs" get into trouble without some guidance when it comes to reloading. Glad you posted this, hopefully it will help out the newer reloaders.

When looking for reloading manuals (aka Speer, Lee, Hornady, Lyman, etc...) I recommend buying atleast two. Helps to compare loads between two different sources.

KILLERtj
 
#22 · (Edited)
Won't argue that point, but my question still is not answered!!!

At what station are these processes done?

My whole point is to demonstrate that a progressive system many not be the best for beginning reloaders. Plus they are very expensive if you get a good one...

I do trim my cases and I have never reloaded a cartridge a dozen or so times and not had to trim! Since semi rounds taper crimp, the length may not be so critical. But, I crimp into the crimping groove of all the boolits I cast for my handguns (revolvers), and length can be an issue. I clean the primer pockets maybe every other time. And, I clean the cases in a vibratory cleaner every other time also...

Consistency and pride in the finished product is a very appealing aspect of the handloading hobby...

BCB
 
#19 ·
I shoot for fun, not for competition. Having said that, I have loaded thousands of rounds for both revolver and pistol on my lee classic turret press. I have never trimed a case and I have never cleaned a primer pocket. The classic turret press was my first press. I was not difficult to figure out how to set it up and make it work.

You can fine tune the process and slow it down as much as you like for either accuracy or just because that is the kind of person you are.

I consider case trimming and primer pocket cleaning to fall into the fine tuning catagory.

Dano
 
#20 ·
I, too, have a "deprime only" setup using a cheapo LEE press. Everything else is done on a 'Chucker.

I have never -- NEVER -- length-trimmed a straight-wall handgun case in over forty years of reloading. Yes, including cases for semi-auto pistols. This has presented exactly zero problems.

"Bottleneck" rifle cases are another matter altogether.

:)
 
#21 ·
Ever since I have been reloading, I have trimmed my cases (if required) and cleaned the primer pockets (if required) and I can attest that I have had zero problems. :D Additionally, I check the COAL length of each of my finished rounds and this has never caused any problems with my finished rounds. :D
 
#23 ·
I completely agree!

I haven't seen a press that does those two functions, yet. But, then again, I am new to reloading this year. Maybe there is one, but, I don't need one. I have the hand tools. :)
Case trimming of striaght wall cases comes up frequently here. It seems the (perceived) majority think it is not a critical function for handguns. I am of the minority, however. I do it. I would also encourage new reloaders to consider adding it to their learning process. Ammunition, I believe, that is not mass factory produced should be held to higher standards. I have 2,500 factory new cases from a reputable case manufacturer and while the majority of the cases are uniform, there are some that are outside of specified tolerences. I consider it prudent to strickly adhere to loading manuals and charge weights AS WELL as other measurements and functions of the reloading process. The COAL and trim length are valid considerations. I probably spent $15 bucks on the below tools and consider it worth it for the serious reloader. But, that's just me! :D



 
#24 ·
BCB, we understand your point: progressive presses do not provide for trimming case length or cleaning primer pockets. OK?

Just so's you know, I tumble-clean my cases after each firing, after depriming so the tumbling does a pretty good job of cleaning the primer pockets. I examine them on a random basis and "ream" them when/if required . . . by hand . . . not in a press.

Everyone is of course welcome to trim cases as they see fit . . . if there's any need.

:)
 
#25 ·
BCB, we understand your point: progressive presses do not provide for trimming case length or cleaning primer pockets. OK?
Good, that was my entire intention…

My point is that the progressive reloaders have a place in the handloading hobby, but I honestly don’t think it is for the beginning reloader…

An ol’ timer started me into reloading nearly 40 years ago—his advice, get an RCBS Rockchucker press with a moderately priced reloading kit. That is what I did and I have all of the components that came with the RCBS kit. I have since upgraded and added to the components, but the original equipment is still used every time I “build” a functional cartridge. The Rockchucker single stage is still the only press (partially true) I have had and I think I have shot a few rounds…

Part of the reloading hobby is observing every step of the reloading process. It gets very difficult to do that with a progressive press, pull the lever and every time a loaded round falls in the bucket—well and good…

But, to this day, I still look at each round I am loading at each step of the process. Slow? Yep, a little bit, but I still manage to get a couple of hundred rounds a month from handguns. Used to be many more, but I have somewhat slowed down at bit…

I started casting boolits only 10 years ago, so I was a bit uncertain. I could have taken the “buy a progressive press” type of advice and purchased a Magma boolit casting machine and consumed 100’s of pounds of wheel weights and cast 3000-4000 rounds per hour. Now wouldn’t that have been a moronic thing to do? Instead, I purchase and inexpensive Lee 10-pound pot and a good mold. My first was an RCBS 38-148-WC. It was a reasonable investment into a field that I wasn’t sure I wanted to pursue. Well, I did pursue it and I have upgraded some of my casting equipment. I cast all that I can shoot using a 20-pound pot now and cast a couple of hours each month. And I have approximately 20+ molds (some people have hundreds) without going and counting them. Still, I could have started with an $11,000 Magma casting machine…

If one starts with a somewhat labor intensive means of reloading, I think the observations and learning process will be greatly enhanced. THEN if one feels the must go progress, well have a go at it…

But I would be willing to bet that most will stay with the tried and true single stage reloading outfit…

You don’t start a young hunter to be out with a 300 Winchester Magnum and expect that person to have a nice shooting experience. A 6mm, or an ol’ 30-30 or other lesser recoil rifles would be better. After the shooter gets experience, well let them decide…

That’s my opinion—ain’t bad mouthing progressive, but they have a purpose that fills a small niche in the reloading hobby as far as I am concerned…

BCB
 
#26 ·
Gotta agree on the Classic Turret Press. That's probably the most versatile single press out here; will do anything from .25 ACP to .460 Weatherby. Nice list there, Lost Sheep. I would take your $287 point and add a tumbler. The reason for the tumbler is two-fold.

1.) I find it easier to see case defects when the brass is all nice 'n' prettied up.
2.) It helps to keep powder grit out of the dies. I know, the carbide resizing ring won't care, but clean(er) dies are rather easier to use. Also helps keep light scratching of the cases to a minimum.

It should not, and does not, take a lot of money to get started with a good reloading bench.
 
#30 ·
Lost Sheep, it sounds to me like you're on the right track.

I started with a 'Chucker and have remained with it all these years. I have nothing against turrets or progressives, they simply aren't necessary for the volume of reloading/shooting I do.

I do the "batch thing". After shooting, the cases get deprimed, tumbled, resized, then bagged up until I feel like messing with them again.

Next time around I re-prime with a little LEE hand-primer, flare the cases, and store 'em again.

Last step is to charge the cases and seat bullets, then crimp them in a separate operation. I just like the final two-step approach for seating/crimping. Whatever works for you. To me, the reloading is as much fun as the shooting. It's "quality time in the dungeon."

It's all good.

:)
 
#31 ·
I do the "batch thing". After shooting, the cases get deprimed, tumbled, resized, then bagged up until I feel like messing with them again.

Next time around I re-prime with a little LEE hand-primer, flare the cases, and store 'em again.
I wanted to use this approach, however, found I couldn't do the second step. :( I load 357 magnum, and I can't prime in advance since they use different primers based on the load (powder). I suppose I could label the containers for what primer is in the cases. But, I haven't done that yet.
 
#32 ·
I would add (from experience) that no matter what anyone tells you the LEE dies are the best and easiest to set up out there. Loads of people recomended RCBS dies, so that is what I bought at first and they are OK. I then tried a set of LEEs and found that the set-up was easier, instructions were better and they seem more consistent (do not self-adjust). The Lee Factory Crimp dies are a must if you are reloading for a lever gun and give a real good, professional crimp.
I have been reloading for a while on a single stage (Rockchucker Supreme), but now my 9 year-old is shooting 9mm, 38 and 357 I am looking at my next press. 3-400rds a week is hard to keep up with on a single stage!!
Looking at the Lee Pro 1000. Mixed reviews, but appears with time spent on initial set-up it is well worth the money. Would love a Dillon, but just cannot justify the expense.
 
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