What's your "Must Have" Feature for your Reloading Room/Space

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Everyone has mentioned good bench, lights and often shelves, but I'll elaborate on them just a little.

Lights are critical, but NOT fluorescent lights! If you are putting in new fixtures, use only LED - way less eye strain, brighter, and cheaper!

Lots and lots of storage - can't have too much. Better to have open storage space than junk piled around. I prefer simple long wall shelves on adjustable tracks/brackets - you can put anything on them, from books to stackable bins.

Make your work bench as large as possible, and choose the height carefully. My preference for work bench was formed as an electronics technician in the Air Force 40 years ago. All benches were tall enough that you could easily work standing up IF YOU WANTED, but there were always tall metal swivel stools with padded and adjustable seats (both height and lumbar adjustments). With that arrangement, anybody could find a comfortable work position.

And NO CARPET!!!!! Not ever! Primers, spilled shot, small parts, etc. are impossible to find, even on smooth carpet! And while you can always vacuum up spilled powder, ever try that with lead shot? You don't want to. If you want a padded floor, use rubber mats, but NOT carpet.
 
Post #2 would be my highest priority. Good adequate lighting! Then too, of course a sturdy work bench. I want adequate lighting on all my work surfaces as number one.

Ron
 
acastro makes an excellent point that MANY don't consider. Good LIGHT source. That would be one of my first considerations.
 
I thought of a couple of other things. I have a waterless hand cleaner dispenser and a paper towel holder due to not having a water supply in my reloading space (garage). I also bought a Ray-O-Vac brand book light at Walmart with a flexible neck that I have attached to my progressive presses using velcro above the powder charge station. Makes checking powder levels easy.
 
Shootshellz

Plastic reusable 'sleeves' for my fluorescent lights.
Click to expand...
Prevents accidental shattering and if one bursts, you want the pieces contained, not sending hot shards over an area where smokeless powder is located. Plenty of plastic containers for dirty and clean brass. A good electric space heater for wintertime. Heavy duty rubber interlocking floor mats (available at Costco) as I stand while reloading. Adjustable heavy duty shelving for component storage (try Home Depot). A magnetic strip with an adhesive backing is handy to stick to a vertical surface in order to store shellholders (no more searching through a bin or box).
Click to expand...

THIS is one thing I have been wanting to get, but keep forgetting.
I have busted many bulbs in my shop many times and it makes a big mess especially if you have things under them you don't want foreign particles in..!!

I think this is a great idea, not to mention the safety reasons.
My lights are kinda low over my benches, and end up breaking them from time to time doing stupid things.... I changed some of my bulbs to brighter ones and that helps also.
I use the 4' 1" tubes, F32 T8, 2900 lumens 5000k
These are bright and work well for me.
But they would be even better with the plastic sleeves....:)

TxD
 
Thanks for everyone's continued responses. A few take-aways/summaries:

  • I thought a lot of people who have small or esoteric things but the over-whelming response about lighting has me thinking about that even more. I was going to use shoplight tubes like I did in the old house but I'm sold on the LED strip lighting now.
  • I hadn't considered investing in a good quality chair, but I'm definitely going to look at a drafting-style chair now.
  • I have no pets, but will be working hard to keep the kids out.
  • The floor is already carpeted and that's not changing. I've spent a fair amount of time looking for dropped live primers on light carpet before so my only consolation is the carpet is dark blue.
  • I will definitely have a shopvac and some sort of hand cleaning in the space. Oddly, there's no washtub or anything in the basement of this house and no drain to install one.

Thanks all!
 
Most of the important stuff has been covered, so I'll add one that just fits my needs to a "T".

I had to laugh about the guys wanting music or other noise.....I'm just the opposite, I want quiet.....I don't concentrate well with distracting noise.....

But I know....some people thrive on noise....and that's fine for them.

I find it necessary to put up with shop vac noise.....but that's only once a month or so....I can handle that.

An air compressor is useful to blow press parts clean (especially a progressive) of powder or primer residue.....or even specks of corncob or walnut media........but I can't handle an air compressor starting up to replenish-- at just the wrong moment.....hate that.

So.......I just got an old CO2 tank refilled and mounted my blow hose & nozzle to that! It's silent! Amost zero noise! Just Shhhh! :) And since I only use it to keep my dies and presses clean of dust, powder, primer, corncob, or walnut dust or debris, I only have to fill the tank once a year.

One more "feature" of my cave (Garage). Since I have insulated G. doors, I found that the cement floor is the remaining source for most of the heat loss in the winter time. I found foam interlocking tiles at Sam's Club. They are hard enough to walk on....soft enough to stand comfortably on for hours, and they raised the temperature in my garage 10 degrees just by themselves. That means a lot less fuel is needed to heat the space, and I can do most of my reloading barefoot now....even in the winter.
 
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Good lighting and a bookshelf full of reloading manuals.

I'll usually listen to podcasts or the radio while I reload, nothing too mind-consuming.

Right now what I really need is more room!
 
Fluorescent lighting is history. I like can lights with mogul base led bulbs, placed often. They have zero warm up, no noise and are more reliable. If I never see another 4' tube in my life it won't bother me a bit.

I split seated and standing depending on the task I'm doing, about 50/50 which keeps all my body parts from complaining too much. Sitting hurts my back and butt and standing hurts my feet and neck. Hornady is giving away nice shop stools for free right now.

Some sort of compressed air is good. I've been getting by with can air but I'll soon go to plumbed air if I can get around to it.

HVAC
 
A floor. Due to knee, hip and back pains, I'm working standing as much as possible.

Minimal space, so I can't get multiple components in the work area and possibly mix them up.

Also a pocket for my iPod, and headphones. I'm addicted to comedy podcasts.
 
Since you are planning to use it for more than just reloading, my vote would be for a quick-change system like inline fabrication's.

Their flush-mount baseplate (actually mounted flush, not overhanging the front edge) is awesome. Add/remove/change presses or tools in seconds, and have a completely cleared bench when not reloading. I have found it indispensable, since in my situation bench top space is limited to 8' and the bench is used for a wide variety of things.

Of course, if you're going to have 30+ feet of bench top, this may not be a concern.
 
Good Shop Vac. A must have...After my girl sucked up a live primer in the carpeted man cave I am now assigned vacuum duties there :) Would like to remove carpet one day but there is a crap ton of stuff to move out..
 
First four answers to the question for me.

I am currently looking for a high bar stool with a back on it.
 
My entire basement is my man cave. My major reloading bench is steel framed and bolted to the concrete wall. It's 8' long and 2' deep. Other benches are up to 12' long. I have 18 4' flor lights plus a few regular lights. elsewhere. Several chairs at different benches. No radio or other distractions.
 
very sturdy bench, no shorter than 10' wide because I use it for reloading, gun cleaning, and other small projects like repairing my kids toys, and good lighting directly above it are a must for me. I also have a small air compressor that i always use when cleaning my guns. Plenty of outlets spanning the back of the bench against the wall and, of course, sturdy shelving to keep things organized. I also have a dehumidifier running at all times. Moisture is the enemy!
 
mahansm
An iron clad agreement with the spouse that the room is *not* for storage of miscellaneous junk that she "doesn't have anywhere else to put".
Click to expand...

Two hoarders living together are like two people drowning.
Imagining her junk not being there seems like an easy solution, but you can only control your own junk. [unless she dies first, but hold your breath waiting for that].

There is a book, "How to avoid compulsive hoarding:
http://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Compulsive-Hoarding-Save-Stop/dp/157224349X

I would give a copy to my wife, but she already has too many books.
 
Airgead said:
For the people recommending comfortable chairs (which I'm not opposed to per se) how are you using a chair with your press and/or bench? I have thought about springing for a nice drafting chair for the room, but I'm not sure how much I'd actually end up sitting in it. It seems as if I would be moving around too much to make the chair practical except for when actually feeding cases and bullets into the press.
Click to expand...

I built my bench ihigh ,.so I can stand and load.or sit on my drafting chair.
 
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