New to reloading, but I'm not sure it is practical for me...

[Enochwel]

Here is my issue. I live in a very small apartment with my wife. We are planning on having children soon. I love shooting and am a club member so I can shoot anytime I want, as many as I want, and as long as I want. 10k rounds per year? So long as I can afford the bullets... but the .38 special bullets are so expensive.
Reloading!
Awesome! I love tinkering with things, so I need to start reloading.
At the range there is a table I use to clean my gun. I can see myself possibly reloading out there if the machinery is mobile enough. I don't have anyplace at home I can use as a designated reloading area especially with my wife considering everything as a baby area.
Is reloading too messy to do in the living room? Does it produce dust in the air or anything a pregnant woman should not be in the vicinity of? This will rule out reloading indoors at my apt., such as I 99% expect. Any thoughts on how I can make this work?

Which reloading machinery could work for me, if any?
Cost matters a lot.

Addendum: I will be storing everything either on a top shelf or in closet within the central air system.
thanks!

 

[Enochwel]

Actually I believe I found the answer to the biggest problem:
Portable Reloading Bench?Free Plans « Daily Bulletin

 

[baboon]

You need to reload @ home. To much to think about dragging off to the range unless you set up like a benchrest reloader. Only seen one benchrest reloader & I guess his cases were prepped @ home & he was just dropping powder & seating bullets. I thought it was crazy, but that's just me.

Can't imagine weighting powder outside! Hell my electronic scale is sensitive to the A/C vent.

When I was younger & single my table was in my living room of a 1 bedroom apartment. While dating me wife she was cool with the reloading & guns. Most everything was right therein it's own corner.

My RCBS equipment has a lifetime warranty. Used equipment is out there & cheaper. I would not buy used dies unless I could see them.

 

[Countryfried Frank]

That is a tough one. The dustiest part of the process is tumbling brass. If you wet clean with stainless pins you can avoid that. Beyond that, Lee makes a tripod to mount your press on to make it more mobile. I've also seen a 4' ladder repurposed as a mobile loading press stand. It's doable but not the most convenient. One other bit of advice, watch out for low case fill cartridges like .38 Special. Weird things can happen when there is a significant amount of empty space in a cartridge. A low energy density powder like Trail Boss will keep your car fill relatively high and help avoid problems.

 

[DubiousDan]

When I lived in an apartment I used a Black and Decker Workmate as a loading bench and attached a Lee Turret press to a piece of 2x12 and attached that to the Workmate with a couple bar clamps. It worked well and the Workmate folds into something that stores easily in a closet or under a bed. My brother attaches a Dillion 550b to a Workmate.

Black & Decker WM425-A Portable Project Center and Vise - - Amazon.com

Amazon.com: TEKTON 39182 12-Inch by 2.5-Inch Ratchet Bar Clamp and 18-Inch Spreader: Home Improvement

 

[Recoil45]

Reloading in a small apartment with a baby is not a good idea. I'd have concerns with lead and the baby. Tumbling especially cannot be done in the home.

 

[Bozz10mm]

Small apartment with babies, children, TV, telephone, spouse = lots of distractions. Something that doesn't mix well with reloading.

 

[DubiousDan]

Reloading in a small apartment with a baby is not a good idea. I'd have concerns with lead and the baby. Tumbling especially cannot be done in the home.

I'd be more concerned with the baby getting hold of a spent primer. In any case tumbling can be done outside on a patio as can the reloading. You can clean the cases in warm soapy water with vinegar or citric acid added. Won't be as shiny as tumbling but if rinsed well there is no dust. After washing I let them dry in the sun for a couple days or if I'm in a hurry I'll put them in a pan (never used for food) in the oven at about 250 degrees. I like doing this because dust from the primer pockets causes the primer arm of a Dillon 550b to stick after a few hundred rounds. Washing the cases eliminates this problem.

 

[Tcruse]

If you are reloading to save money, if you switched to 9mm (now available at Walmart, Federal Aluminum under $.20) would that not save as much money? I figure that reloading 9mm costs about $.15-.18 depending on bullet and power cost. So, at $.20 per round it makes sense only if you consider it as something you do for the enjoyment of process.
BYW - Reloading the Federal/CCI Aluminum cases works just fine.

 

[orbitup]

I have my Lee turret press mounted to a 1x6 so I could clamp it to a counter or table anywhere. I've actually thought about taking it to the range with me but I would have to measure powder sitting in my truck and I haven't thought of a way to comfortable do that yet.

Maybe you could do case prep at home and load at the club? I use a small ultrasonic cleaner and it works great.

As far as the kids go I would be worried about lead and spent primers. Sometimes those little things can get away from you (the kids and the primers).

 

[ROGER4314]

For many years, I used a folding table of approx 3x3' to mount my presses. The body of the table was a solid core door and the legs were standard folding sets. Harbor freight sells them for about $15.

My house is only 1000 square feet so I spread a movers blanket on the dining room floor, moved the table on top of it and reloaded right there! When reloading was finished, the table was folded up and stored, then the mover's blanket was folded put away. It worked great!

Now, I have removed the carpet in the house and cleaned out the spare bedroom. The tile floor is easy to keep clean and the dedicated room is perfect for reloading and small projects!

My picture gallery is full so I can't upload any pictures but the reloading table is in my profile gallery.

Being inside in A/C is not just comfortable. Your powder will meter badly outside. Add the sweat from your hands and you'll have a real mess. As others have said, your scale will not operate well outside.

Flash

 

[ed308]

l wouldn't want to tumble brass in an Apt due to the dust. And spent primers would be a concern a well since they are easy to loose. You could resolve the brass cleaning issue by using either a SS pin tumbler or ultrasonic cleaner. But you still have the primer issue. Might be better to wait a couple of years or go in with another person on a reloader who has room to store it.

 

[ROGER4314]

Tumbling is done outside on the front porch at my place. It is very dusty.

Flash

 

[Dawico]

Go for it.

Run the tumbler outside. Mount your press to a piece of wood and C clamp it wherever you want.

It is an enjoyable bobby and before long your kids will want to help.

As far as contaminants go it isn't like you are starting a meth lab or anything. Be clean and use common sense and you will be fine.

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

You don't have to tumble. Just get an ultrasonic cleaner.

 

[robertc1024]

Lots of good advice - as usual. I just started the process and got an ultrasonic cleaner too - works great, no mess. I agree with trying to keep up with the spent primers though, they seem to go all over the place. I was originally interested in .38's too because of their cost and if you shoot as much as you do, it's probably worth getting into.

One caveat though, I started out trying to do it as inexpensively as I could. After loading a few hundred rounds, I already started upgrading my equipment to be more efficient. Before you start buying equipment, put a list on here and learn from other people's mistakes and experiences. I easily wasted $100 on cheapo stuff which was a big mistake.

 

[orbitup]

Lots of good advice - as usual. I just started the process and got an ultrasonic cleaner too - works great, no mess. I agree with trying to keep up with the spent primers though, they seem to go all over the place. I was originally interested in .38's too because of their cost and if you shoot as much as you do, it's probably worth getting into.

One caveat though, I started out trying to do it as inexpensively as I could. After loading a few hundred rounds, I already started upgrading my equipment to be more efficient. Before you start buying equipment, put a list on here and learn from other people's mistakes and experiences. I easily wasted $100 on cheapo stuff which was a big mistake.

^^This^^

 

[robertc1024]

Grasshopper learns - occasionally.

 

[Army 1911]

Another option is to rent a small storage locker (climate controlled if not too expensive) and load there. I did that back in the '60s. Course the rent was lower but so was my income.

 

[Charlie]

Tumbling is not necessary! Fun, yes. Necessary, no. If you feel like you have to clean your brass, an ultrasonic cleaner will clean them better than tumbling, less to almost no noise, no dust, not messy, much quicker (6 to 8 minutes) and they will be much cleaner than if tumbled (did I mention that)! Tumbling basically make them "prettier" on the outside.