Best set up for Decapping in front of TV

How about a nice comfy knitting chair and TV set installed in your reloading room?

The Lee Hand Press is not that difficult to resize. If it's rifle or large handgun cases then use lube.

Saw where a guy took a piece of heavy plywood about 10 inches wide by appx 30 inches wide where it would set over the arms of his easy chair held in place with a couple of carpet padded end boards. Had a single stage light weight Lee press bolted to it. He also used some moulding strips to make a raised lip around the board to keep things from rolling off the board.

Might try a take off of a TV tray idea where the legs at the bottom have runners that would go under the chair or the sofa to use the weight of both you and the furniture to keep it from tipping when you pull on the old press handle. Add the above top idea and you should be good to go !

Mount a single stage press on a Black and Decker Work Mate. You can fold it up and store it when not in use.

A single stage as mentioned above is a great idea.

You could also mount it to a suitable length of wood, and quick=clamp it to any surface your wife wouldn't hit you for adhering it to !

Dont do it to the coffee table !

blarby said:

A single stage as mentioned above is a great idea.

You could also mount it to a suitable length of wood, and quick=clamp it to any surface your wife wouldn't hit you for adhering it to !

Dont do it to the coffee table !

Click to expand...

I did it to an end table (mounted my press on a 2x6 with carriage bolts), but put a towel or several thicknesses of newspaper under the board. I used a belt to tie everything down (the belt buckle was one of those you could cinch up, not the kind that uses incremental holes). Nary a single scratch. Just make sure you have the mounting bolts counter-sunk to no metal sticks out below the wood. With the towel, the table was more dust-free than when I started.

Other times, I would open the drawer, stick the board in the drawer, then close the drawer to the point everything was wedged tight. This tilted the press back a little, making access to the ram easier than a straight upright positioning.

Lost Sheep

wstoldt said:

WIll this size work ok for a lee single stage?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25e...1&keyword=workmate&storeId=10051#.UKfRN4eACzI

Click to expand...

That should work fine, wstoldt. You can get the Lee Universal Decapping die to make it really simple. Since it doesn't resize, it's really easy to just run them up and pop out the primer.

Heres what you need to get.
It would be perfect for your intended use.

http://www.harveydeprimer.com/

rc

http://www.skilshop.com/skil-3115-02-mpp-x-bench-workbench/skln3115-02,default,pd.html?start=1&cgid=skil-x-bench

I agree with what the others said about a portable table and a single-stage press. I may be an exception though, since this is my reloading bench thanks to living in an apartment.

When I had the Lee single stage mounted on it, I brought the side that closes together with the other side so my mounting point was about on the center-line of the table. The plain MDF top was strong enough for me, although it did flex a bit with .308. I also had to hold my foot on the backside of the table to keep it down, otherwise it would rock back and forth during the sizing\expanding stage. I never had this problem with smaller rounds, though. A couple cement blocks on a piece of wood across the bottom fixed that, but I don't use them right now.

Now that I've got a Hornady LnL AP mounted to it, I added a wood flooring sample (1/2" blonde wood mounted to a 1/2" plywood backing) that just happened to be about the same size as the top, to the top and it's solid. It can still easily be folded up and put away or be moved out of the way.

Either way, I took an empty water bottle and zip-tied it to a leg for spent primer collection use. It works well, but you could also use a velcro strap or tape instead.

One of these at Harbor Freight, Whopping $20.00 bucks

http://www.harborfreight.com/folding-clamping-workbench-with-movable-pegs-47844.html

jcwit said:

One of these at Harbor Freight, Whopping $20.00 bucks

http://www.harborfreight.com/folding-clamping-workbench-with-movable-pegs-47844.html

Click to expand...

That looks exactly like my Skil X-Bench, even down to the tool slots and how they're cut for the leg braces. I got mine for about $40 at Lowe's, even though the SKIL website says it's $75.

I use a Lee Loader with the 1x8 oak board on my lap. Of course, my wife doesn't always appreciate the whacking of the hammer.

I like the next model up because you can fold the legs in and shorten it. That way, the table/press is lower which makes it at the right height when you are sitting on a couch or higher when sitting on a folding chair. I don't decap/resize in the living room, but I've used the setup with the Lee push through sizer for cast bullets. I've run a thousand bullets in pretty short order in front of the TV with the B&D workmate several times.

maudbid said:

I use a Lee Loader with the 1x8 oak board on my lap. Of course, my wife doesn't always appreciate the whacking of the hammer.

Click to expand...

An arbor press (or even a bottle capper) would provide the force required and be quieter.

Mind you, I have not done this myself, but understand it will work.

Would be worthwhile if you are among those who use the Lee Loaders. The hand press or a portably mounted bench press would work as well.

In my opinion.

Lost Sheep

rcmodel said:

Heres what you need to get.
It would be perfect for your intended use.

http://www.harveydeprimer.com/

rc

Click to expand...

This is the perfect solution if you ask me, I use mine all the time now!

Ive been using a low fold up lawn chair, small wooden wire spool and a single stage for years on an old army blanket for quick clean up.

To all those who suggest the Harvey Deprimer or the Lee Loader, reread the OP's orginal post. He also wishes to full length resize his cases, neither of these options do this, unless he's only going to do straight walled cases.

You're right, jcwit. I forgot he wanted to resize, too. You could attach a single stage to a board and clamp it to the Workmate. That ought to be rigid enough to decap/resize.

I like to use...

the old Lyman 310 nutcracker tool - it's quiet, fits in the hand, and works perfectly. I keep two handles set-up for decapping: one for small diameter cases and one for larger ones (the bushing which guides the cartridge case into the handle is selected to fit the cartridge(s) you want to decap.
PRD1 - mhb - Mike

Hds compac reloading tool

Not to rain on the parade, but decapping is the dirtiest part of reloading in terms of exposure to lead compounds from the primers. If you do it in a living area, I would do it over a hard, cleanable surface to mitigate the migration of lead to other places where cummulative exposure is likely.