New Reloader some questions

[RustyFN]

1) is my petstore bought stuff ok to use?,

Yes, that is what most of us use.

2) will it be loud enough that people will hear it in the basement?

I tumble mine in my garage. I will load it on the bench and turn it on. As soon as I walk through the door into the house I can't hear it anymore. So not very load IMO.

3) how long should i run it for?

1 to 2 hours with walnut depending how shiny you want it. I hear twice the time with corn cob. I perfer walnut and tumble for 2 hours.

 

[mike240se]

I am having a hard time finding a workmate except the models that i dont want. Does anyone have any other ideas for small workbench in your apartment?

Also, tumbling went great with walnut. I want to use the nu finish, it seems like a lot of you guys use the nu finish, its completely safe for the brass/chamber/dies etc? i assume its amonia free?

 

[The Bushmaster]

Sorry guys. I'm a Nu-Finish descenter. Didn't do a thing for me except make it harder to hang on to the cases when handling them. Now I'm stuck with a $5 cantainer of car polish that I don't even use on my cars. I'll continue to my "just plain" media without adding anything to it.

 

[Rock_Steady]

Another option that you could use for the tumbler if the noise would seem to be a problem - build or scavenge a small cabinet, make a hole in it to feed the power cord through and put the tumbler in there. If you're really concerned about it, find yourself an eggshell foam mattress and stable it ont he inside of the cabinet - more soundproofing, take it down to a dull roar.

I like using some kind of treatment on the media, keeps the dust down and bit and helps keep the rest of the equipment clean. Two trips throught he tumbler seems a bit excessive for handgun brass, tho. Just clean enough to work with works for me.

Good luck! Enjoy the new hobby. As for a workbench, heck, just about anything will work. Check out sears for a workmate or a clone something near it.

 

[mike240se]

The noise wasnt too bad at all, i put it in the bathtub on a piece of cardboard and ran it for 2 hours, i couldnt hear it in the next room with the door closed.

 

[The Bushmaster]

figured as much. My Lyman 1200 really doesn't make that much noise. If you encase it make sure it has plenty of ventilation for the motor or it will over heat.

 

[mike240se]

Great news guys, i couldnt find the workmate but found a great replacement. Its made by husky the home depot brand and called the x bench. Its portable, unfolds to form an x with metal legs, then a nice big solid top with mount holes to mounting ply wood. I then bought a 24x48 inch piece of plywood (actually its the mdf or whatever stuff, harder heavier and smoother surface, seemed better for cleaning gun powder spills, etc.) and it looks like its going to work great. It cost $35 for the x bench ($25 less than the cheapest workmate) holds 750lb max (the workmate is like 350 max) and i think it holds a bigger piece of plywood. You can actually use up to 32x36 inch plywood but i thought it would be over kill and then i would have had to buy a $25 full sheet of ply wood, the 2ftx4ft sheet i bought is big and cost $6. So for about $40 it seems i got a nice bench. I havent gotten home with it yet but i am excited.

One thing i noticed in my reading is mixed info regarding my powder, i bought the only handgun powder the local place has, its UNIVERSAL and also says CLAYS on it. The hodgons book and manual i have have different loads listed for UNIVERSAL and CLAYS and both are different than the 5grain load listed on the powder container. And none of them are for my exact bullets (115grain complete copper jacket leadsafe roundnose from midway). I was going to go with whats on the bottle since that is for 9mm fmj round nose 115grain, but wasnt sure since its higher than the manuals. Any ideas? I hear its actually descent handgun powder though, burns clean.

EDIT: I figured out the powder issue, its actually UNIVERSAL, its clays technology, clays is for shot only. I foiund the exact info in my manual and its all sorted out.

 

[RustyFN]

Sounds good. We expect to see some pictures when it is set up. I have also seen at Lowes, not sure about the Depot one inch thick butcher block tops for a good price in pieces about the size you are talking about.
Rusty

 

[mike240se]

Sounds good. We expect to see some pictures when it is set up. I have also seen at Lowes, not sure about the Depot one inch thick butcher block tops for a good price in pieces about the size you are talking about.
Rusty

Yeah I will upload some pictures when its all set. The device is actually called the Husky 750LBS Capacity X-Workhorse.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to mount the press and powder thrower on this thing? Maybe some pictures of your lee setup? I will have some over hang on the right and left side of about 8 inches on each side. I was thinking of mounting the press on the right side (i am righty) on the overhang facing towards me hanging off the board. I was thinking of putting the thrower either next to it or on the otherside or perhaps on the back facing me. It should work nicely, even better than the workmate from the looks of it. Its even designed to be used with a big ass power saw in the picture, so its heavy duty.

EDIT: does anyone oil their challenger press? the instructions dont say to but i was reading the instructions for the turret press and it says to oil it every time you use it.

 

[mike240se]

I am almost there!

I built my workbench, mounted my press, started assembling everything...

The lee safety scale is next to imposible to read, its terrible trying to see those 3 lines for the 1/10 grain measurement. I am going to see if my local store has the 5-0-5 or something. Unfortunately my bench is not exactly stable, it yaw alittle bit so i think i gotta find somewhere stable to put the scale but still have it in reach....

Any suggestions on mounting the lee perfect powder dispenser? I have a hornady reloading tray and the funnel the kit came with. I expected the funnel to go in the case but it appears to wrap around the entire case, but still seems like it will work.

On the hornady universal reload tray, do i put the brass in the raised slots on the 9mm side that are round? the cases fit perfect in them.

If i am stuck reloading outside the press, how do you guys normally load each case? dispense it directly into the funnel and bullet while in the tray? or take the brass out of the tray and hold it under the dispenser with the funnel? or dispense from the thrower into the pan, put the funnel over the brass in the tray and dump it off the tray? i dont know how this is going to be easiest but i want to ask now before i mount the thrower. If i dont raise it, everything wont fit under its dispenser tube if i throw directly into the brass in the tray.

sorry for the confusing question, just want to get this thing mounted right.

 

[qajaq59]

I don't like any real fine dust in my crushed wallnut shells so before I use it I simply take it outside on a windy day and pour it from one bucket to another. That way any real fine dust is carried off and I don't have to bother with it.

And if you put a few folded towels under the vibrator it'll dampen most of the noise.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Towels under the tumbler

And overheat the motor. Could dampen the vibrator action too.

 

[NavArch]

I am using a Midway tumbler. I found two ways to minimize the noise that eliminate noise generation and noise transmission.

1. There are two wingnuts in the assembly. One is vible on the outside. The other is inside, securing the plastic bowl to the remainder of the mechanism. I replaced the interior wingnut with (bottom to top) two small o-rings, fender washer, and a 2" long hollow steel sleeve. This takes up all of the slack in the system without needing to strain your fingers on the wing nuts. No slack, no noise.

2. I have a neoprene pad that is used to provide friction without clamping when I use my handheld router on small wood pieces. I sit the tumbler on the folded pad.

Prior to these two steps, you had to have ear protection to be anywhere near it. Afterwards, when tumbling brass in the basement, you have to listen very carrefully to hear it on the first floor of the house.