Pilsner
WKR
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2018
- Messages
- 444
a couple things I learned visiting my buddy's semi-commercial reloading and smithing space a while back:
double whatever thickness of bench top you think you need and then coat/paint the top bright white. Use some kind of laminate in a single piece so that there are no seams to catch random spilled powder.
He found some 24"x36" metal magnetic flat trays and cerakoted them white to put under his rifles/projects when he is working on guns so that any dropped parts are instantly stuck to the tray and stand out against the white surface in an easy to find manner. Optics screws and primers what I seem to drop the most when handling them.
More shop lights than you think that you will ever need, including at least one or two that are pointable. The best I've seen were removed from an old dentist office that was getting demo'd. They are super bright, have easy to position long "necks" on them, and are cheap if you can find them used.
An old upright fridge or freezer with a dehumidifying bar makes a great enclosed, lockable space to store powders, primers, and finished loads. Bonus points if the light still works when you open the door.
If in doubt over built the F out of it.
Having a HF $35 little shop-vac type vac unit hanging by the bench will keep your bench top cleaner with nearly zero time invested since its always charged and handy. I'm speaking of the little thing my Mom used to call a "Dust Buster". A spritz bottle of water isn't a bad idea if you are in a dry climate to make the powder inert before vac-ing it up.
You can never have to many shelves/nooks/storage provided you can keep it organized (my downfall).
Magnetic knife racks that wall mount are great for frequently used tools to keep them at hand but also off of your work surface.
"If you build it they will come" has a corollary around my place; "If its a flat surface you fill stack sh!t on it instead of putting said sh!t away".
-Doc
Edit to add:
+1 for T-tracks and the reload press stands that fit into them. They are on my short list for my own bench rebuild.
double whatever thickness of bench top you think you need and then coat/paint the top bright white. Use some kind of laminate in a single piece so that there are no seams to catch random spilled powder.
He found some 24"x36" metal magnetic flat trays and cerakoted them white to put under his rifles/projects when he is working on guns so that any dropped parts are instantly stuck to the tray and stand out against the white surface in an easy to find manner. Optics screws and primers what I seem to drop the most when handling them.
More shop lights than you think that you will ever need, including at least one or two that are pointable. The best I've seen were removed from an old dentist office that was getting demo'd. They are super bright, have easy to position long "necks" on them, and are cheap if you can find them used.
An old upright fridge or freezer with a dehumidifying bar makes a great enclosed, lockable space to store powders, primers, and finished loads. Bonus points if the light still works when you open the door.
If in doubt over built the F out of it.
Having a HF $35 little shop-vac type vac unit hanging by the bench will keep your bench top cleaner with nearly zero time invested since its always charged and handy. I'm speaking of the little thing my Mom used to call a "Dust Buster". A spritz bottle of water isn't a bad idea if you are in a dry climate to make the powder inert before vac-ing it up.
You can never have to many shelves/nooks/storage provided you can keep it organized (my downfall).
Magnetic knife racks that wall mount are great for frequently used tools to keep them at hand but also off of your work surface.
"If you build it they will come" has a corollary around my place; "If its a flat surface you fill stack sh!t on it instead of putting said sh!t away".
-Doc
Edit to add:
+1 for T-tracks and the reload press stands that fit into them. They are on my short list for my own bench rebuild.
