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Picture of jbcummings
posted
I’m about to down size and move. I’ve reloaded for several years, but I had a bedroom inside that I converted to a gun room and did all my reloading, cleaning and such in there. With the move, I’m going to have to move that operation into a garage. In north Texas. Read that as hot in the summer, relatively cold in the winter, occasionally very cold in the winter and humid quite a bit of the year. It’s nice garage. Keeping me relatively comfortable shouldn’t be too hard. But there’s absolutely nothing that can be done to counter that rolling garage door and the humidity that will be coming under it. If it’s 80% outside, 75% inside the garage is probably the best I can hope for.

Any of you guys have a similar situation or have any tips on keeping the Dillion press and all my dies from going to rust? Powder, primers and such I can keep in a controlled environment until ready to use, but that press and the dies are going to be exposed even in a storage box.


———-
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.
 
Posts: 4306 | Location: DFW | Registered: May 21, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Gallo Pazzesco
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I have exactly the same situation. A few years ago my wife and I, now empty nesters, downsized to a 2400 sf home and, in the process, I had to give-up my old dedicated 1200 sf detached building that I had used exclusively for reloading (I also had a detached 1400 sf bldg that I used as a wood shop) .... now I am using a room (reloading only) in our garage that is roughly 12'x5'.

It took some doing.

First of all I am in SC ... famously hot is our catch phrase, our slogan. Lou Holtz once said, "During summer practices being in SC is not hell but it's right next door" and he wasn't kidding. My Texas family visit often from Dallas, Marfa and Midlands and they always comment on the heat here during their summer visits ... so I can relate to your dilemma.

Here's how I solved mine.

I downsized equipment. I sold off my two 550s and two 650s. I kept my Rockchuckers and my T2 and a Pardner. I kept both the MECs along with some peripheral things like scales, dispensers, swagers, a vise, etc., .... but I had space issues with even that little bit of stuff.

I still had over 500 lbs of propellent, 50k pieces of brass and 100k primers plus all my reloading books and manuals accumulated over the decades.

All of my stuff in my old reloading facility was custom built right down to the trap door I could open that would allow me to shoot from inside the room down a 300 meter line range.

So in this new room, 60 sf vs 1200 sf ... and with no climate control ... here's how I did it.

I emptied the garage storage room (as stated, 12x5) and built above counter cabinets in there, enough to hold most of the powder, primer and pills, but I had to make sure all that weight wouldn't pull the cabinets off the wall. Long story short .... I managed that, plus I built a custom bench that fits under those cabinets that, along with another bench I bought from Sportsman's Warehouse, I placed under the cabinets.

Still, that only offered me 24 sf of benchtop space and, even after sacrificing all of my beloved progressives ... it still wasn't much to work with.

I solved that thanks to Inline Fabrication. I invested in their rail hanging system along with their quick change system and it has worked really well.

Finally, on climate control, (which is humidity control and which isnwhy we often have well over 100° days here a year because we have heat factors drastically elevated because of our high 80%+ year round humidity), the garage storage room I moved into is adjoining the main living area inside the house and as with on most conventional foundations it is below floor level, on the same level, same slab, as the garage. So I was able to go underneath the house and cut open an opening for a vent in order to adjoin/extend exisiting HVAC ductwork with the newly cut vent opening that dumps cool air into my new reloading room. It was easy and it looks great. That's meant doing a little weatherstripping and insulation work in the room but that's been relatively easy as well and my room rarely gets above or below the low 70s even on 115° summer days here.

A small hanging fan keeps air circulated.

It's early and I have to get some things done this morning before Church but I'll try to find some progress pictures and post them today.

Oh ... and a simple fix for A/C? A DeLonghi from Costco but warning ... there will still be cuts into walls or foundations for the vent hose plus they make a lot of noise and take-up some space. And they're not going to work well in an open space like a garage where there is no air seal and the door is going up and down all the time. I know ... I tried it. I've got several floor units we use for emergency power outtages that run off the generators. They are awesome modern technology, far superior to window units imho, but they are not practical to cool a space like you've described in heat like ours where, not only will you be doing precision work but, you will also be storing powders that will have their self lives shortened by heats above 90° .... and, as you know, we have nights where the temp never drops below 90s ... plus add 10-15 degrees for the garage because it retains heat overnight.

Anyways, I'll try to upload pics today to give you an idea of my fix to a similar problem to yours.


___________________________________________________________
In a nation where anything goes ... everything eventually will.
 
Posts: 104 | Location: South Carolina | Registered: September 18, 2020Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Gallo Pazzesco
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Gallo Pazzesco:
I have exactly the same situation. A few years ago my wife and I, now empty nesters, downsized to a 2400 sf home and, in the process, I had to give-up my old dedicated 1200 sf detached building that I had used exclusively for reloading (I also had a detached 1400 sf bldg that I used as a wood shop) .... now I am using a room (reloading only) in our garage that is roughly 12'x5'.

It took some doing.

First of all I am in SC ... famously hot is our catch phrase, our slogan. Lou Holtz once said, "During summer practices being in SC is not hell but it's right next door" and he wasn't kidding. My Texas family visit often from Dallas, Marfa and Midlands and they always comment on the heat here during their summer visits ... so I can relate to your dilemma.

Here's how I solved mine.

I downsized equipment. I sold off my two 550s and two 650s. I kept my Rockchuckers and my T2 and a Pardner. I kept both the MECs along with some peripheral things like scales, dispensers, swagers, a vise, etc., .... but I had space issues with even that little bit of stuff.

I still had over 500 lbs of propellent, 50k pieces of brass and 100k primers plus all my reloading books and manuals accumulated over the decades.

All of my stuff in my old reloading facility was custom built right down to the trap door I could open that would allow me to shoot from inside the room down a 300 meter line range.

So in this new room, 60 sf vs 1200 sf ... and with no climate control ... here's how I did it.

I emptied the garage storage room (as stated, 12x5) and built above counter cabinets in there, enough to hold most of the powder, primer and pills, but I had to make sure all that weight wouldn't pull the cabinets off the wall. Long story short .... I managed that, plus I built a custom bench that fits under those cabinets that, along with another bench I bought from Sportsman's Warehouse, I placed under the cabinets.

Still, that only offered me 24 sf of benchtop space and, even after sacrificing all of my beloved progressives ... it still wasn't much to work with.

I solved that thanks to Inline Fabrication. I invested in their rail hanging system along with their quick change system and it has worked really well.

Finally, on climate control, (which is humidity control and which is why we often have well over 100° days here a year because we have heat factors drastically elevated because of our high 80%+ year round humidity), the garage storage room I moved into is adjoining the main living area inside the house and as with on most conventional foundations it is below floor level, on the same level, same slab, as the garage. So I was able to go underneath the house and cut open an opening for a vent in order to adjoin/extend exisiting HVAC ductwork with the newly cut vent opening that dumps cool air into my new reloading room. It was easy and it looks great. That's meant doing a little weatherstripping and insulation work in the room but that's been relatively easy as well and my room rarely gets above or below the low 70s even on 115° summer days here.

A small hanging fan keeps air circulated.

It's early and I have to get some things done this morning before Church but I'll try to find some progress pictures and post them today.

Oh ... and a simple fix for A/C? A DeLonghi from Costco but warning ... there will still be cuts into walls or foundations for the vent hose plus they make a lot of noise and take-up some space. And they're not going to work well in an open space like a garage where there is no air seal and the door is going up and down all the time. I know ... I tried it. I've got several floor units we use for emergency power outtages that run off the generators. They are awesome modern technology, far superior to window units imho, but they are not practical to cool a space like you've described in heat like ours where, not only will you be doing precision work but, you will also be storing powders that will have their self lives shortened by heats above 90° .... and, as you know, we have nights where the temp never drops below 90s ... plus add 10-15 degrees for the garage because it retains heat overnight.

Anyways, I'll try to upload pics today to give you an idea of my fix to a similar problem to yours.


___________________________________________________________
In a nation where anything goes ... everything eventually will.
 
Posts: 104 | Location: South Carolina | Registered: September 18, 2020Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Caught in a loop
posted Hide Post
My first thought is most sane, and as I go on it gets more ridiculous.

store it in a dry box of some sort with rechargeable dessicant in there.

Wrap it in some of that corrosion inhibitor paper.

Vacuum seal it using a space bag and a dessicant pack.

Keep it well oiled using motor oil or something and call it a day.

Slather it with cosmoline every time you store it and clean it up every time you go to use it.

You might use one of these or it might get the creative juices flowing and you might come up with something else entirely.

Edit to add another sane idea: inline fab makes a quick change bench solution. I highly recommend investing in it. It's how I swap between my 3 presses, and you can even go so far as to pull the press every time you're done and carry it inside


"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
 
Posts: 3346 | Location: Memphis, TN | Registered: August 23, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I Deal In Lead
Picture of Flash-LB
posted Hide Post
A friend of mine has had a similar situation in his last 2 houses.

What he did was wall off a small area in the garage, maybe 8 x 10 feet, insulate it and intall an in wall air conditioner.

Expensive solution, but worth it to him.
 
Posts: 10626 | Location: Gilbert Arizona | Registered: March 21, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
The Unmanned Writer
Picture of LS1 GTO
posted Hide Post
Insulation and an air conditioner plus one of those propane tank heaters.

Just did this to mine.oh and note, do not increase the thickness of the insulation beyond the size of the studs.

Makes for wavey drywall.







Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.



Only in an insane world are the sane considered insane.


The memories of a man in his old age
Are the deeds of a man in his prime


 
Posts: 14020 | Location: It was Lat: 33.xxxx Lon: 44.xxxx now it's CA :( | Registered: March 22, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just an ACARS message
with feelings
Picture of qxsoup
posted Hide Post
I reload in my garage.

Presses stay in the garage, covered with an oil soaked towel.

dies, powder and primers all live inside the house in airtight ammo cans until I need them.

Every time I use a die i wipe it down with CLP.


____________________________

220/229/228/226/P6/225/XO/SP2022/239



 
Posts: 3062 | Location: The Queen City (the one in Ohio) | Registered: May 12, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of jbcummings
posted Hide Post
Thanks guys! I’ve got a few ideas from this that’ll likely work for the arrangement it’ll be in.

Thanks again for the ideas.


———-
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.
 
Posts: 4306 | Location: DFW | Registered: May 21, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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posted Hide Post
I live in Florida so I don’t have to talk about weather conditions. With no basements I have to reload in my garage. My house has three car garage so I use a portion for reloading, but I reserve all my reloading for the winter months. Garage temp reaches 110 degrees in summer. I store my powder, primers and ammo in a temperature controlled room inside the house.
 
Posts: 393 | Location: Florida Gulf Coast | Registered: October 17, 2015Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
When I moved into my current home the previous owner had installed a workroom into the garage for is rock polishing hobby. It had the whole works, drywalled ceiling, walls with drywall, and an entry door. Basically it took a 24x24 garage and made it into a 1 1/2 car garage with a parking area in the 1/2 for lawn mower and sweeper. Total size was roughly 8 x 12 feet so small area and a small window air conditioner for the summer and a ceramic heater for the winter. It seems to me the logical solution for those without a basement would be a small insulated shed. While it might be a touch on the costly side I would expect that today there are combination heat pumps /air conditioners designed specifically for small space climate control.

BTW, I have a nice roomy basement so that room in the garage is long gone and I now have 2 motorcycles, 2 cars, and 1 garden tractor in the garage along with some large tools chests and items like a gen set, mower, and snow blower.


I've stopped counting.
 
Posts: 5599 | Location: Michigan | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Avoiding
slam fires
Picture of 45 Cal
posted Hide Post
I think it was about 1970 I started with one 550 and one rockchucker loading in garage in Atlanta area.
Last year a friend came and I taught him the basic on them.
he buys two 550 to mimic my setup.Two months later he brings his presses [rust buckets] .
I ask what the hell,find out he had a pool and stowed chemicals along side of his presses.
My opinion is this ,not the weather but rather the stuff you stow in the press area.
 
Posts: 22407 | Location: Georgia | Registered: February 19, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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