Thinking about start reloading

[olstyn]

it would be so nice I can be in the family room with the tv on and do the reload

This is a bad idea for more than one reason:

1. The TV will be a distraction, and reloading is a task that demands your full attention. You earlier raised concerns about double charging cases, and distractions are how that happens.

2. Priming compound is lead styphnate. This means that every time you fire a gun, you're atomizing lead. As such, fired cases are covered in a residue of lead. Dry tumbler media, therefore, is essentially lead-rich dust, and some of that lead-rich dust stays with the cases when you pull them out of the tumbler. If you set up your loading bench in the family room, you create a significant risk of contaminating your living area.

[LittleLebowski]

This is a bad idea for more than one reason:

1. The TV will be a distraction, and reloading is a task that demands your full attention. You earlier raised concerns about double charging cases, and distractions are how that happens.

2. Priming compound is lead styphnate. This means that every time you fire a gun, you're atomizing lead. As such, fired cases are covered in a residue of lead. Dry tumbler media, therefore, is essentially lead-rich dust, and some of that lead-rich dust stays with the cases when you pull them out of the tumbler. If you set up your loading bench in the family room, you create a significant risk of contaminating your living area.

Yup. I wet tumble and my depriming setup is set to deliver the spent primers into a mil jug full of mineral oil.

[olstyn]

Yup. I wet tumble and my depriming setup is set to deliver the spent primers into a mil jug full of mineral oil.

Some sort of wet tumbling setup is probably in my future. For now, dry tumbling happens in the garage, and I wear nitrile gloves while emptying the tumbler into the media separator and pulling the tumbled brass out of the separator into gallon ziploc bags.

My press dumps the spent primers down a tube into a milk jug too. The mineral oil is an interesting idea. I presume that's meant to limit the dust from making its way out of the jug?

[LittleLebowski]

Some sort of wet tumbling setup is probably in my future. For now, dry tumbling happens in the garage, and I wear nitrile gloves while emptying the tumbler into the media separator and pulling the tumbled brass out of the separator into gallon ziploc bags.

My press dumps the spent primers down a tube into a milk jug too. The mineral oil is an interesting idea. I presume that's meant to limit the dust from making its way out of the jug?

Yup on the mineral oil. You’d be surprised how well simply wet tumbling with brass, hot water, a little bit of Armor All Wash and Wax, and a pinch of citric acid powder works.

[JHC]

I looked at a video of loading 9mm using Lee press, I checked the price of Dillon

https://www.dillonprecision.com/squa...tml?pkg_cust=1

And Lee
https://leeprecision.com/9mm-luger-pro-4000-kit.html

Also my friend has been using RCBS single stage press for 40 years, he shot a lot.

Dillon is a lot more expensive. Is Lee or RCBS good?

I want to start slow, I want to get the basic setup. Any opinion what to get? My main thing is 9mm and 38special with some 45ACP, that's it, no riffle at all.

Early last Summer or so I decided I need to prepare to return to reloading having sold off almost all of my stuff back in the early 90's. Stupidly

I had this thought that Lee was equal quality for a lot less $$$ so I loaded up; Lee press, powder measure, scale etc. Then I left it all unopened all Summer until late Fall when I got desperate for ammo. Also dumb.

I guess the dies are fairly legit but for the rest of it, I'd not buy another thing from them. I don't know how Lyman, RCBS, and Dillon's quality has held up since the early '90s but I pretty much hate everything I set up. Flimsy, PIA to use, almost unitelligible instructions (I'd forgotten some stuff in 25 or so years).

[LittleLebowski]

Early last Summer or so I decided I need to prepare to return to reloading having sold off almost all of my stuff back in the early 90's. Stupidly

I had this thought that Lee was equal quality for a lot less $$$ so I loaded up; Lee press, powder measure, scale etc. Then I left it all unopened all Summer until late Fall when I got desperate for ammo. Also dumb.

I guess the dies are fairly legit but for the rest of it, I'd not buy another thing from them. I don't know how Lyman, RCBS, and Dillon's quality has held up since the early '90s but I pretty much hate everything I set up. Flimsy, PIA to use, almost unitelligible instructions (I'd forgotten some stuff in 25 or so years).

Which Lee press? I’m loading 1/3 MOA 6.5 CM ammo on my Breechlock Classic Cast nowadays and I’d take a chance on Lee turrets, but I wouldn’t touch a Lee progressive with a 10’ pole.

[Skinner Precision, LLC]

@Alan0354

Beyond the lead styphnate there are other trace heavy metals that can be found in the residue on fired brass. All in all, you don't want this stuff around living spaces (especially small children or food prep / food eating areas). I have had a variety of reloading setups as my life has progressed. The setup when I lived in a 520 sq. ft. domicile is a far different than my current setup. You can get by with a little or a lot. In a 520 sq. ft domicile, the setup included some ghetto solutions such as screwing a peice of ply to the top of a wooden, full case, of hirtenburger 308. surplus ammo just to have a portable work station to mount a little Lee C press for rifle ammo Here is my current setup circa almost completed construction in 2017. U shaped reloading bench, with 2 layers 3/4 ply screwed and glued, inset tool chests, shop made 3/4 ply overhead cabinets, metal shelves that are sturdy enough to hold GI ammo cans stacked 2 high, 2 deep the length of the shelves, room for brass prep and to mount over 8 presses.

[Borderland]

Which Lee press? I’m loading 1/3 MOA 6.5 CM ammo on my Breechlock Classic Cast nowadays and I’d take a chance on Lee turrets, but I wouldn’t touch a Lee progressive with a 10’ pole.

That's a good press, had one for a long time with zero problems. Well, maybe one. The primer holder piece that chutes the spent primers out to the collector keeps jumping off of it's pin and falling out. I've tried cleaning and lubing it but the design is flawed. Residue from spent primers builds up pretty fast in that slot and prevents the piece from pivoting when it needs to.

I think that's the only piece of Lee gear I have except for one die set. My dies are mixture of other brands, mostly RCBS.

[olstyn]

I think that's the only piece of Lee gear I have except for one die set.

I have the cheap Lee beam scale, and it honestly seems fine. My only real gripe is that it maxes out at 110 grains, so I can't verify that my 9mm projectiles weigh what they should. I have no doubt that nicer scales are nicer, but at least for setting charge weights for practice/USPSA ammo, it gets the job done fine.

[Alan0354]

Thanks guys for the warning, I did not think about the distraction and the contamination if I work in the family room. Good call. Thanks