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When I am done loading I always dump the powder out of the hopper back into the jug it came in and take the primer tray off then put them back into my safe.

Does anyone leave powder and primers in their press when not loading?

Nope.

Powder resealed, primers put away, dies boxed & stacked, everything clean & in order.
I sure need to take another picture. Got more dies now.

Everything is ALWAYS cleaned up, put up and made ready for the next time....even if I plan to resume loading the next day.

I like to have things in order...and IMO it not a good thing to leave propellants or primers exposed to moisture in the air (more than is necessary).


Just the way I do it. YMMV

You know, it hadn't occured to me to DIY the bench, but it makes a lot of sense. Is 3/4" plywood w. strategically placed legs adequate to give the presses good stability? I like being able to customize the size/height/shape of the table for my limited space. Looks like you attached a backboard to the wall studs, and then attached the tabletop to that for greater stability? Do you have any more pictures of your work environment?

I just reloaded 75 rounds of 308 using a friend's equipment, and am feeling inspired!

longtooth wrote:Powder resealed, primers put away, dies boxed & stacked, everything clean & in order.
I sure need to take another picture. Got more dies now.

I built my bench out of scraps from Ike repairs. 3/4 plywood top with 2x4 legs. I added a bottom shelf to store tools. I bolted a piece of 2x6 to the top of the 3/4 plywood. I mounted my RCBS press on that and it is plenty sturdy. I had some scrap 1/2 plywood so I made some eye level shelves by gluing two sheets of plywood together. I have some heavy duty brackets so I can hold a lot of weight on the two shelves. I have plenty of room to store my dies, scales, bullets, tumbler and all the other misc stuff. I'm sure there are nicer benches, but mine works great and fit right into my low dollar budget.

Great looking bench, I love that you used Ike lumber.

A question about storing primers. I always put up powder and unused primers, but what about primers that have been seated? Often I will prime a bunch of shells and leave them in a an old covered coffee can or such. Think that is okay?

Monty

mblud wrote:Great looking bench, I love that you used Ike lumber.

A question about storing primers. I always put up powder and unused primers, but what about primers that have been seated? Often I will prime a bunch of shells and leave them in a an old covered coffee can or such. Think that is okay?

Monty

Unless your primers are kept in a hermetically sealed container with desiccant then they are subject to the same atmospheric conditions the primed shells in a coffee can will be. There are more important things to worry about - - - I store my primers in the factory package on the shelf I have never had a problem in almost 50 years of reloading.

I break my manual press down - - - I only empty the powder reservoir on my progressive press.

I don't pull the primers from the primer feeder on mine. I keep the box for whatever primers are in the feeder next to the press so that I know what's in it. My loading setup is in the house, so I'm not concerned about atmospheric conditions affecting the primers. I figure it is better for me to leave them in the feeder than to handle all of them, unless I need to change the type of primer (such as switching from pistol to rifle).

Powder gets dumped from the measure unless I'll be doing another load within a few hours using the same powder. Dies get put back in their boxes, everything else gets put in its place on the shelf.

my dillion
primers get put up
powder goes back in the jug
table and loader gets a wipe down with damp rag to collect any loose powder. followed by two covers to keep the dust off

I put powder back in the container, but I leave the primers in the machine.

Chas.

Edited to add: My reloading room is in the house. If I reloaded in the garage, I'd remove the primers also, because of the higher humidity as compared to inside the home.

I always put everything away when I'm through loading for the day.

If I'm going to change what I'm loading - say, from .45 ACP to .30/06 - I'm especially compulsive about putting everything away, cleaning up, and starting the new loading session entirely from scratch.

I leave everything set up; powder, primers, everything. I only use one powder so there is no confusing that. Being already set up allows me to crank out 100 rounds or so and then go back to do the honey-do's that I was supposed to be doing.

On the Dillon press I leave everything in the press. I have labels on the powder measures indicating what power and load is being used. I only load 2 calibres on the press and I have separate powder measures for each, so there's no mix ups.