Reloading room suggestions?

[Surgeon308]

I've got an 11x13 room inside of a 20x40 shop I built.

Any suggestions on cooling this area in a La. summer?

I've got outlets above safe height and down low, air will be piped in from compressor, and 200A breaker box is inside the room for power.

Do you guys prefer open shelves above bench or cabinets?

220V plug will be installed in case I win the lottery and a 12x36 or 13x40 falls in my lap.

Other than size of room, anything I'm overlooking before I close in the walls?

I'd rather do it now rather than later.

 

[Silverbullet2]

In my bunker, (Man Cave) I beefed up the wall I mounted my bench to. I run right angle steel brackets that I welded up out of 2"x2"x .250 wall square tubing. I had my buddy jump on it, and it doesn't even quiver. He is 275 lbs, too. These angle brackets are every 40", and my bench is 120" long. i covered the plywood with 16 gauge stainless. I had them use there brake to put a 2" 90 for a lip. No matter what I spill on it, it's good to go. Light is a big thing for me. I have 6 4'x4 T5 fixtures, and I can see pretty well. Looks great, J

 

[aur0ra145]

I came here to say "good lighting and a radio"

But DAMN! My dream plan for a reloading setup has now been rewritten to include "Mancave within a Mancave"

 

[kansas]

Just a suggestion but I built a bench that was 6' long by 3' wide and set it in the middle of the room. Mounted my 550B on one side and my single stage on the other with a powder measurer on one end. By being able to walk all the way around the bench it gave me twice as much room for mounting presses.

 

[Rotortuner]

make sure you put enough outlets in. a room that size probably 6-7. i did my outlets down lower and then drilled holes in the bench so the cords from trimmer, cleaner etc run through those holes towards the back of the bench and down to the outlet. it keeps all the cords out of the way.

like already was said, lots of lights. i stayed away from fluorescents since they supposedly might interfere with some scales etc. My room is about the same size and i went with halogen track lighting. 4 tracks 12 heads total. they are the small heads. good lighting is a must and put it up to minimize shadows.

lay out a plan on where your going to keep your powder and primers etc. then put a heater etc away from that now.

cooling that room? kinda spendy, but look into the single head heat pumps. they are super efficient to run and will heat and cool. there is energy rebates available on some of them too. one would probably run a couple grand but would work great in there.

 

[Surgeon308]

I've got two 6' benches from Sam's Club.

Yes, this is phase 2 (two kids means my chit got moved out of house) I built phase 1 (20x40) two years ago.

I was thinking T8's for commonality with rest of shop? Will they affect Pact dispenser and scale (or is that like cell phone usage
at gas pump, people do it anyway)? I'm very fond of white light.

I've got a golden rod for safe, is dehumidifier necessary for components on shelf?

 

[Pinecone]

If all you are looking for is cooling, you can put in window unit. You can even put it into the wall to the garage. It will heat up the garage, but keep the cave cool. I just had a company put in a heat pump to heat/cool my entire garage. Not the cheapest way, but VERY nice.

You can never have enough bench space or enough storage space. I would put in cabinets.

I covered my bench with matt white laminate. Keeps the area looking clean and bright, and you can see things on it.

Look at the height. My loading bench is higher than my work benches, so the presses re the right height when I am standing.

 

[Sonic Crack]

Make sure your doorway is big enough to get your safe and anything else large in and out

 

[milo 2.0]

11x13 is going to be awckward for sheet goods! Storage is a premium, so cabinets will go farther than shelves. Build them to the ceiling, and keep a 2'ft ladder in the room. The ac unit, no matter where you vent it will take care of humidity.
I would build a bench that runs the whole length of one wall, the right wall when you walk in, put the safe on the door wall. Even though you might think of the safe as the focal point of the room, once you start using it, the safe will be nothing but a pain. Then put one of your 6 footers across from the bench for gun cleaning, designate a corner for tumbling, get a hanging shop vac above it.
As for lighting, I hate floresent, but after this year, I think that's about all there's going to be. I'm replacing my 300 watt bulbs with 300 watt floresent one, they seem to be ok as for scales, I don't think they utilize ballast?????? A 300 watt rgular bulb can generate a shit ton load of heat.
Track lighting above your bench might work, I have it in the gun roon downstairs, but pricey for what you actually get.
Build the bench height for standing or stool height, get a comfy one for you, one or two extras for buddies to come by and drink beer.
Lastly, leave a foot print for a standing beer fridge, not a big one, hotel room size, and have a big one in the shop to restock it.
At the moment you have the ability to make one nice cave, don't get ahead of yourself to finish it. Another thing on bench surface, my first one, I formica'd , the second was birch plywood, purdy, but my last two I used mdf board and poly'd it, actually looks good. And if you drill a hole or two out of place, you can plug them with dowel, sand and repoly, you wont have that luxury with countertop.
By the looks of things, you're building this yourself, and if you have a table saw and a dado blade, you could easily build your own cabinets. If there is a good wood shop in your area, they very well might have Russian birch plywood, 1/2" stuff is some of the stoutest shit made, and makes a nice cabinet, it's light colored, but there's stain.

 

[Pinecone]

With lighting there is fluorescent and then fluorescent.

Put in high CRI and high color temp lamps, and it is close to daylight. Philips makes some lamps with color temp in the 5000K range, and a CRI around 90. I have these in my garage, and while working, you don't notice when the sun goes down, as the quality of light does not change.

I got mine at Home Depot.

 

[Layton]

Put in the absolute most bench space you can fit and line it with more power outlets than you think you'll ever need. And you'll still run out of both and/or that 1 open outlet will be in the wrong place or in the way.

edt: and I just cut a whole on the outside wall for a window unit AC. A rather small unit will do wonders in that small room inside your shop.

 

[fish30114]

I got my room set up in zones. I have three tables in there. One is for the reloading, one is for cleaning and the third one is for brass tumbling/cleaning. I built all my tables with cabinets for bases and used butcher block tops which I got from Grizzly. They are good looking and hell for stout.
I still don't seem to have enough 'cubby' holes above my benches, I think it's a good idea to have pegboard behind whatever benches you use. Plan out things like vise locations, gun cleaning vise as well as press locations. I just have a small portable shop-vac that I tote around wherever I need in the shop.

I like drawers a lot and use a couple of drawer only base cabinets for one bench, these drawers get bullets. Another bench I actually used an old chest of drawers, and these drawers hold brass, cleaning suppplies, and assorted tools. I recently added a new 'table' utilizing several base cabinets with drawers, and it likewise stores lots of completed rounds, and various supplies, like reloading blocks, dies etc. I agree with the poster who said put more electrical outlets than you think you'll need, and on lighting, I actually like, and use a couple different types of lighting. I use the 300 watt incandescents for main lighting in the room, then each table has specific halogens for it.
I agree that a simple wall unit will be sufficient for your room, and I would also plan a fridge if there won't be one close at hand elsewhere in you 'main' shop. I actually like carpet for my flooring, stuff doesn't bounce off and 'hide' from you when dropped, and it's easy to vacuum up for clean-up. Definitely decide on whether you like to stand or sit to reload, and build your table heights accordingly. One thing-the carpeted floor is great, but it does make rolling the offfice chair I use for reloading difficult to roll around. I probably need to get one of those acrylic floor mats, but so far I'm just living with it.

Good luck on your setup, you look like you've got the ingredients for awesome spot.

 

[spradley]

I use a Mitsubishi Mr. Slim 18000 btu heat pump in my shop but you won't need one near that big. The unit itself is quite small and has a remote control. The condenser sits outside and is whisper quiet. These do not take up window space and can be mounted just about anywhere. Look em up or call your heating and air folks.

 

[Sniper Uncle]

If all you are looking for is cooling, you can put in window unit. You can even put it into the wall to the garage. It will heat up the garage, but keep the cave cool. I just had a company put in a heat pump to heat/cool my entire garage. Not the cheapest way, but VERY nice.

You can never have enough bench space or enough storage space. I would put in cabinets.

I covered my bench with matt white laminate. Keeps the area looking clean and bright, and you can see things on it.
Look at the height. My loading bench is higher than my work benches, so the presses re the right height when I am standing.

+1 for cabinets. Keeps the dust down on things, and adds a finished look. Little harder for those you don't want to know exactly what you have to see things you'd rather they not see.
Also, second the thought to build your benches to custom height. Really think through what height you want your presses, versus your prep tools, and build different heights to accommodate. You can also build to match standing height, and then get a bar stool of correct height to allow you to sit at the standing bench if you choose to.

Lights, lights, lights. Directional lights are really nice to point at your critical work areas, ie. where you have your scale or press.
Like the white laminate idea, also the stainless idea----laminate easier to work with and cheaper. I also like the idea of the poly'd board.
Might consider some form of pigeon-hole drawer set-up for your bullets, so you can remove a drawer to your work area and then replace in the set when done.
Would recommend against holes through the bench for cords--maybe another way to route them without places for stray primers or bullets to wander off. Yes, I know none of us ever lose those items, but if we were to lose hold of one, best not to have holes it can go into. I have high mounted outlets, and have my cords go straight up to ceiling and then over to outlet.
Room unit a/c is good idea. If you do it in an interior wall, be sure to remember to make a drain for the condensate to flow where you want it to. Otherwise, you will have a puddle on the floor, and might create a mold issue.
Good luck, and please post pics of construction and finished cave,
Tim

 

[David S]

Hi Surgeon308,

That looks like a fabulous start on your reloading room. I'll warn against one simple mistake I once made in another context: assuming it's convenient to do so, make sure that interior door opens outward (toward you as you open it), not inward. Inward imposes much stricter limits on where you can put benches and what-not. Please forgive me if I'm just stating the obvious.

Yours,

David

 

[BIRDHUNTER]

I built a similar room a couple years ago. Lots of good advice here! Plugs, lots! If you go with shop lights get good ones like mentioned and you will probable want outlets near or on the ceiling. Cooling, I went a portable unit. I picked it up on line from Costco. You just need a 5-6 inch hole to exhaust the warm air, the unit comes with the needed kit. Does a great job and doesn't take up a lot of room. I only use it during the summer. During the winter I use a small heater and a small dehumidifier which works great. If you go this route you will want to run a home run wire with dedicated outlets because the unit draws +- 9 amps. I would run a 20amp home run straight from your box. Once you start running all the electrics you will draw more than you than you would think. Also get a small temp/humidity hygrometer, runs on batteries. My bench is L- shaped and wall shelves running the length with pigeon holes, etc.. Strengthen the walls for sure by putting some horizontals between the studs.

Looks great so far, good luck!

 

[fish30114]

One thing I thought of to add. If you are planning on stainless media tumbling, even more so. That is to plan on a sink if possible. If you are going to tumble with stainless you will definitely want one. I actually thought of adding one, but in my basement where my shop is, it would require being on an inside wall that is covered with bench, and plumbing it straight into the sump pump. Which I didn't want to do...I actually do the stainless tumbling in an upstairs laundry room. But...in hindsight I should have put a sink in my shop.

Just a thought I had when thinkin about how great your 'cave' can be!

 

[jmtgsx]

Lots of good suggestions here. I just finished off an attic reloading room that's 12'x14'. Im in Okla, so I get HOT summers and cold winters. I went the mini-split route for heating and cooling, and I insulated the snot out of all my walls and ceiling. For flooring, I went with some hard rubber 3/4" stall mat. They come in 2'x4' mats and are square enough to butt up against each other fine. They also help deaden footfalls and other noise (air compressor.) I've only got a 6' bench for now (Sam's heavy duty steel with butcher block top.) I installed track lighting over the bench and a regular incandecent ceiling fixture lights the rest of the room. Looking into replacing the track lighting already...look at high output led's. I hung a 4'x6' slatwall board on one wall for firearm display. I hate pegboard and this is infinitely re-arrangeable. I have some smaller slatwall over my bench with shelves and hooks. Not quite arranged yet to my liking, its a process. I have 2 industrial shelving units for tools & supplies. I'm only going to have one press at a time on bench, due to space constraints. My single biggest challenge is clutter. I've got to get it more organized. I'll get a couple of pics up in the next day or so.

 

[TRP173]

Not much to add here except I found that things get lost in wall cabinets and went back to shelving, makes things easier for me to find. I do all the tumbling outside have heard too much about lead vapor going airborne from a tumbler in confined space. Light, receptacles and storage space is like Time there's never enough.

 

[RugerSlinger]

I am in the process on planning out my room also. I ma not as blessed to have that much room but I think I am going to get about a 10x10 room. I really like the sink Idea. I just received some cabinets from a kitchen that had some water damage so those were free.
I just bought the house and every room needs to be gutted and redone. There is no flooring in the whole house and yet, some how, I convinced the wife the gun room was more important than the kitchen and the bathroom. This is the third room to be completed, first was the bedroom and the office is still in production, then the reloading room. I don't want it to look like a work space but more of a place the would be fun to hang out.
A lot of what was already said is what I found I needed when I was working in my old basement reloading and now I can actually have a clean and organized work space. Any ideas on bullet and brass organization would be great!

 

[Sniper Uncle]

Bullet organization could be done with one of those pigeon hole/drawer type deals---I think you can get them at Harbor Freight---definitely at Grangers. That way, you can mark the "drawer," and you can pull it out to act like a tub while you reload.
I do my brass in square ziploc serving savers. I have different sizes, and as they are "disposable," they are cheap. They last well too, can be marked, are see through, so I put a sticky inside with the brass condition----ie. dirty, cleaned, sized, primed.... The sticky shows through, and is easily changed as the brass goes through the process. I put the brass size in magic marker on the outside.

Any better ideas, I'm Listening!