I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas.
I have zero reloading stuff right now, except for a couple thousands rounds of brass I just bought from Dave Hughes. I just tallied up the price for a new RL550B and everything else I would need and the total cost was around 900 bucks at Brian Enos.com. Of course I picked out all Dillon stuff. I figured doing a one store, one brand buy would be the easiest and cheapest as far as shipping is concerned.
When it comes to case cleaners, media separators, digital scales, etc., are these items pretty much equal when it comes to manufacturers? I've looked at other brands, and it seems like there is not that much difference in prices when comparing them. But is the quality of other brands better or worse?
Is going with all Dillon the easy way out?
I read through all of the posts in the reloading forum looking for advice and info. I was surprised to read reloading on carpet is a bad idea. All of my rooms are carpeted other than the garage, and you know how hot garages are in the Texas heat and how cold they are in the Texas winter (north central Texas). I don't think the wifey will appreciate me pulling up carpet in our home office/computer/study/soon to be reloading room. Will reloading on carpet be a NO NO? BTW, she does most of the vacuuming.
Thanks in advance.
Reloading Wannabe Questions
Moderators: carlson1, Charles L. Cotton
Reloading Wannabe Questions
40FIVER
-
TX Rancher
- Senior Member
- Posts: 518
- Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:19 am
- Location: Fayette Co
I have been very pleased with the Dillon equipment I have bought. They are not the cheapest, but the equipment is worth every penny in my mind, and so far the customer support I have received is second to none.
As far as the scales are concerned, I’m sold on the digital scales over the older style mechanicals. They’re faster, and take up less room on the bench. As for accuracy, just read the specs and make your choice. Mine is an RCBS that I purchased 6-7 years ago, and it’s worked fine for me. I know folks that have Lyman and Dillon, and theirs work fine too. My suggestion on the scale is to shop price/specs and go with what makes sense for you. I bet once you get past the names on the outside, the guts (electronics) on the inside are pretty much the same if you stick to the major players.
My tumbler is a Lyman and it’s worked great for the 10-12 years I’ve owned it. I do like the size on the Dillon better, but I have to wait for my Lyman to break before I replace it, and it still seems to be going strong!
My media separator is an old plastic tub and one half of a minnow trap I had laying around. I pour the media/brass through the minnow trap, shake a few times to get the media out of the cases, and I’m done. I suspect the purchased media separators work good, I’ve just never used one since my “home brew� system works fine for me, and it didn’t cost me anything.
For years (or should I say decades) I loaded in a room with carpet. Primers can be a real pain with carpet, and it seems a few always escape the primer cup every session. A vacuum cleaner with the standard beater bar will sound like it’s coming apart when it starts to pick them up, and it will irritate your wife.
I bought myself a little 1 gallon shop-vac and used it to clean up after a reloading session, and that solved the problem. It’s also great for cleaning up the bench. That little dude has some serious suction!
Another thing to watch out for if you are going to reload in the house is dust from the tumbler. Some of that media always seems to find a way out of the tumbler/separator as a fine dust. I used to put the tumbler inside an old foot locker and that contained the dust.
About 6 years ago, I moved the reloading out to a shed outside. It gave me more room, I can make more noise, and it pleased my wife. I keep the powder and primers in the house so they are stored in a more controlled environment. True, it gets hot in the summer, but tolerable to reload late in the evening or early morning. During the winter, I put a little space heater out there, and it keeps it warm enough to load (note, I am a little farther south then you are).
A suggestion…if you can swing it, upgrade to the XL-650. I picked up one a few years ago and wonder how I ever got along without it! It’s one fine machine with an impressive load rate.
I have the electric case feeder, powder check system, and a monitor for the primers. It’s really a slick system. Maybe some other folks on the forum will chime in with their opinions on the 550 vs. the 650.
Get yourself a good sturdy table. Having a stable platform for the loader is the most important thing in my mind. Also get yourself a good light. I have one with a pretty good magnifier in it and it comes in very handy for checking the brass for cracks, flattened primers, and other issues after I’ve run them through the tumbler.
You will now get to spend hours pouring over reloading manuals/data and long sessions at the reloading bench in search of the “perfect� load. You will read large volumes of data on powders, bullets, primers, and cases and in short order will be able to bore anyone who’s not a reloader with extraneous information on performance. The list of tools and gimmicks you’ll “need� will continue to grow. The caliper for case length, the run out gage, bullet puller, case trimmer, primer tube fillers, and the list goes on. Welcome to reloading!
As far as the scales are concerned, I’m sold on the digital scales over the older style mechanicals. They’re faster, and take up less room on the bench. As for accuracy, just read the specs and make your choice. Mine is an RCBS that I purchased 6-7 years ago, and it’s worked fine for me. I know folks that have Lyman and Dillon, and theirs work fine too. My suggestion on the scale is to shop price/specs and go with what makes sense for you. I bet once you get past the names on the outside, the guts (electronics) on the inside are pretty much the same if you stick to the major players.
My tumbler is a Lyman and it’s worked great for the 10-12 years I’ve owned it. I do like the size on the Dillon better, but I have to wait for my Lyman to break before I replace it, and it still seems to be going strong!
My media separator is an old plastic tub and one half of a minnow trap I had laying around. I pour the media/brass through the minnow trap, shake a few times to get the media out of the cases, and I’m done. I suspect the purchased media separators work good, I’ve just never used one since my “home brew� system works fine for me, and it didn’t cost me anything.
For years (or should I say decades) I loaded in a room with carpet. Primers can be a real pain with carpet, and it seems a few always escape the primer cup every session. A vacuum cleaner with the standard beater bar will sound like it’s coming apart when it starts to pick them up, and it will irritate your wife.
I bought myself a little 1 gallon shop-vac and used it to clean up after a reloading session, and that solved the problem. It’s also great for cleaning up the bench. That little dude has some serious suction!
Another thing to watch out for if you are going to reload in the house is dust from the tumbler. Some of that media always seems to find a way out of the tumbler/separator as a fine dust. I used to put the tumbler inside an old foot locker and that contained the dust.
About 6 years ago, I moved the reloading out to a shed outside. It gave me more room, I can make more noise, and it pleased my wife. I keep the powder and primers in the house so they are stored in a more controlled environment. True, it gets hot in the summer, but tolerable to reload late in the evening or early morning. During the winter, I put a little space heater out there, and it keeps it warm enough to load (note, I am a little farther south then you are).
A suggestion…if you can swing it, upgrade to the XL-650. I picked up one a few years ago and wonder how I ever got along without it! It’s one fine machine with an impressive load rate.
I have the electric case feeder, powder check system, and a monitor for the primers. It’s really a slick system. Maybe some other folks on the forum will chime in with their opinions on the 550 vs. the 650.
Get yourself a good sturdy table. Having a stable platform for the loader is the most important thing in my mind. Also get yourself a good light. I have one with a pretty good magnifier in it and it comes in very handy for checking the brass for cracks, flattened primers, and other issues after I’ve run them through the tumbler.
You will now get to spend hours pouring over reloading manuals/data and long sessions at the reloading bench in search of the “perfect� load. You will read large volumes of data on powders, bullets, primers, and cases and in short order will be able to bore anyone who’s not a reloader with extraneous information on performance. The list of tools and gimmicks you’ll “need� will continue to grow. The caliper for case length, the run out gage, bullet puller, case trimmer, primer tube fillers, and the list goes on. Welcome to reloading!
Media tumblers can be the same.
Midway and Harbor Freight carry nearly identical units. Harbor Frreight also has replacement vibratory bowls, prefilled with walnut hulls. They also have the cleaning media in larger bulk boxes cheaper.
Scales, calipers, etc. I would also look at Harbor Freight brfore purchasing.
Midway and Harbor Freight carry nearly identical units. Harbor Frreight also has replacement vibratory bowls, prefilled with walnut hulls. They also have the cleaning media in larger bulk boxes cheaper.
Scales, calipers, etc. I would also look at Harbor Freight brfore purchasing.
Ø resist
Take away the second first, and the first is gone in a second.
NRA Life Member, TSRA, chl instructor
Take away the second first, and the first is gone in a second.
NRA Life Member, TSRA, chl instructor
, it greatly annoys the neighbor.-
cloudcroft
- Member
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 6:07 pm
- Location: El Paso
Most of our neighbors are great, and we try to get along with everyone, really we do, but... there's always one. You know, the Gladys Kravitz of the neighborhood. Has to make everything THEIR business. On a first name basis with the city code enforcement office, reporting every possible little violation. That neighbor.cloudcroft wrote:Why do you think "annoying the neighbors" is something to boast about?
-- John D.
It's not like we are right on top of each other, on postage stamp size lots. We are all on 2 acres. So, our "media tumbler" is not right under their bedroom window, and we don't run it after dark, either.
But that didn't stop them from calling in a noise violation, and getting the local sheriff to come out. We talked for awhile, and he left happy... after buying 1000 pieces of 9mm brass.
