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Anybody reload in an apartment?
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Author:  mrokern [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:07 am ]
Post subject:  Anybody reload in an apartment?

Not that I'd ever consider breaking rules about flammable materials. Just curious...

Does anybody here reload in an apartment? How dirty is it, how safe it is, how do you store your materials safely, etc.?

-Mark

Author:  macphisto [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

I started reloading when I lived in a one-bedroom apartment and did so for about a year. I never had more than a couple thousand primers and a few pounds of powder on-hand. I kept them stored in their original packaging, away from heat sources, and had no issues.

As for cleanliness, no big deal other than picking up spent primers that occasionally made it to the floor. I spilled a full hopper of Unique on the carpet one time, which sucked; vacuumed it up and moved on. I definitely wouldn't recommend tumbling cases anywhere near your living quarters due to the lead dust; that's a job for a garage or a basement workroom.

Author:  Blued Steel [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

it's safe. When was the last time you heard of a fire or disaster blamed on reloading. As forcleaning cases there are nontumbling options just using hot water. For years I used the bathtub and a net laundry bag to clean cases.

Author:  mrokern [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 2:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

Now that I'm stepping up into .45, I'm getting more curious about this. LOL

Author:  EJSG19 [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

This is probably a broad generalization, but I think the likeliehood of having an incident in an apartment as opposed to a house is pretty small. Powder spills cleanup pretty easy, and if the building is on fire, a couple pounds of loose powder aren't going to make much difference. I suppose if you started the fire, by lighting that powder, that'd be a different story. But thats pretty easy to prevent.

There may be a time when you accidently touch off a primer or two (heaven forbid an entire tube of 100), so the noise could be an issue (but you'd have to have some nosey neighbors). But good, careful procedures should prevent the vast majority of potential accidents.

I say what you do in your apartment is your business as long as it isn't illegal. So hurry, before anyone tries making it illegal! Kidding... But in all seriousness, I wouldn't let this stop me from reloading.

Author:  nframe [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

I live in a house now but I lived and reloaded in appartments for a few years after a divorce. It was safe and without incident except for one that was anoying at the time. It came about when the city (Elk river) mandated annual rental inspection came around. Usually I "sanitized" my reloading setup for these walk thrus but one year I forgot. The city inspector was a female who was not into guns, hunting and all that goes with it even tho it was a small town. At first she didn't know what all the stuff was then someone told her,Well she had a fit right there, wanted to call the police and fire dept. She was afraid the whole thing was going to go up any minute. A person with her calmed her down and told her it was safe and lots of folks reload etc. I was at work at the time but I heard all about it from the caretaker later.It seems funny to me now.

Author:  nframe [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

Just thouht of something else. I made a small but very heavy bench that did not have to be bolted to the wall. the top was just 2' x 3' but it weighed 100 lbs empty. keep your opperation small and neat in an appartment.

Author:  mrokern [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

nframe wrote:
I live in a house now but I lived and reloaded in appartments for a few years after a divorce. It was safe and without incident except for one that was anoying at the time. It came about when the city (Elk river) mandated annual rental inspection came around. Usually I "sanitized" my reloading setup for these walk thrus but one year I forgot. The city inspector was a female who was not into guns, hunting and all that goes with it even tho it was a small town. At first she didn't know what all the stuff was then someone told her,Well she had a fit right there, wanted to call the police and fire dept. She was afraid the whole thing was going to go up any minute. A person with her calmed her down and told her it was safe and lots of folks reload etc. I was at work at the time but I heard all about it from the caretaker later.It seems funny to me now.


That would be a problem for me, theoretically. Not that it couldn't be moved to a person's garage for those few days...in theory. :mrgreen:

Author:  Blued Steel [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

Or just made to look like a locked desk. all of my reloading spaces can be covered and locked up.

I know someone who retro fitted an older TV entertainment center to a locked gun space in a dorm setting....

Author:  mrokern [ Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

nframe wrote:
Just thouht of something else. I made a small but very heavy bench that did not have to be bolted to the wall. the top was just 2' x 3' but it weighed 100 lbs empty. keep your opperation small and neat in an appartment.


Stupid question on my part, but how heavy does it need to be (and why)?

-Mark

Author:  nframe [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

The bench can move when you pull on the press handle, such as when resizing rifle cases. Most folks just bolt the bench to the wall and it's fine. If you live in a rental you don't want to make a lot of holes in and marks on the wall. Just my way of looking at it.

Author:  EJSG19 [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 7:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

Yep, heavier the better for reloading. A work surface with shelving underneath is the way to go if you can't lag it to the wall. Put some sandbags on the bottom shelf, or your bullets, or anything heavy. Life is much easier when the work surface doesn't move around. Need to be precise with your powder scale and things, and I think it takes less effort to operate the press handle if the work surface is rigid.

No hard fast rule on how heavy. But you'll figure out how much weight you need as you go. Also depends on how stable of bench you start with. Wide base will obviously be better than a narrow base, front to back.

Author:  DeanC [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

If you are sizing bottle-necked magnum rifle cases, you need a pretty sturdy bench. If you are sizing straight-walled pistol cases you can get by with a setup like this:

Image

Author:  Pat Cannon [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

A neat setup I've seen recently is a press clamped to the seat of a sturdy wooden barstool.

Author:  mrokern [ Fri Jul 24, 2009 1:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anybody reload in an apartment?

DeanC wrote:
If you are sizing bottle-necked magnum rifle cases, you need a pretty sturdy bench. If you are sizing straight-walled pistol cases you can get by with a setup like this:

Image


My main interest is .45, followed by 9mm, followed MAYBE by .223

-Mark

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