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Reloading in uninsulated garage.

sjohnston0311

sjohnston0311

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Looking to get into reloading, but the only viable space I have to do it is in an uninsulated, detached garage that I use for storage and some woodworking in the warmer months. Does anybody have a similar setup? Any issues with rust on the equipment, or the extreme temperatures or temperature variation effecting the components?
 
Id make or buy a small portable bench so you could reload in your house/apt or wherever. Heat, humidity and large temperature swings are not good for components and equipment. An old friend had a similar situation so he went with a portable bench and reloaded in his living room. His wife used to bitch about finding spent primers all over the place, but he didnt give a shit.......
 
Grendizer138 said:
9mm is $0.25/rd and you guys are still willing to freeze your balls off to reload?
Click to expand...
I guess that would depend how much you shoot and what you are trying to accomplish.

I had press it an unheated attached garage for a few years a long time ago, it did have a wood stove so I never froze my ass off while using it, never had any issues, the press really isn't any different than any other piece of equipment. I would probably store primers and powder with rest of the ammo.
 
Grendizer138 said:
9mm is $0.25/rd and you guys are still willing to freeze your balls off to reload?
Click to expand...
Depends on when components were bought.
When brass was free for the picking up off the ground at ranges and primers were 1.6 cents each and powder was 3 cents per round and FMJ bullets were under 5 cents per round it makes it easy to justify still reloading 9mm.

I can still justify reloading 9mm and .45acp at this point but if I had to buy components at today's prices, I'd be buying complete ammo.
 
Reloading in uninsulated garage
Click to expand...

I tried it but the keeper string from my mittens kept getting caught in the press.

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🐯
 
I do all my reloading out in the barn. I don't do much of it in the Winter, so heat isn't an issue. As far as rust, maybe give steel stuff a squirt of wd40 every now and then.
 
I have presses in the garage and the basement.
If it's too cold, I don't reload.

If you're worried about rust - put the press on a quick change mount and toss it in a closet when you're done.

Or just buy a cheap Lee press and a couple of cans of LPS 2. You won't get rust if you coat it and if you do you won't care about it.
 
An old neighbor had all his reloading out in his garage - it was an attached garage of a split level though. When he was younger, he would reload all year long, but he started to just ramp up his production in the fall when he started to get older. He didn't have any problems that he mentioned.
 
Grendizer138 said:
9mm is $0.25/rd and you guys are still willing to freeze your balls off to reload?
Click to expand...
He didn’t mention the caliber though.
And for those who want specific loads for action shooting, it’s still worth reloading 9mm so you’re not shooting super warm factory ammo.

But for those who just want to punch paper a few times a month from a stationary position, probably better off just buying factory 9mm.
 
DW357 said:
He didn’t mention the caliber though.
And for those who want specific loads for action shooting, it’s still worth reloading 9mm so you’re not shooting super warm factory ammo.

But for those who just want to punch paper a few times a month from a stationary position, probably better off just buying factory 9mm.
Click to expand...
No, I get that some guys make precision loads and that makes sense to me.
 
sjohnston0311 said:
Looking to get into reloading, but the only viable space I have to do it is in an uninsulated, detached garage that I use for storage and some woodworking in the warmer months. Does anybody have a similar setup? Any issues with rust on the equipment, or the extreme temperatures or temperature variation effecting the components?
Click to expand...
You’ll have to be very mindful of spraying down the press with some type of protectant/anti corrosion to prevent rust.

Powder manufacturers recommend storing powder in a cool dry place. No way I’d recommend storing components in the garage but that’s just me.
 
Insulate the garage-add a mini split.

Keeps it cooler in the summer when you're playing with your wood and warmer in the winter.
 
DW357 said:
You’ll have to be very mindful of spraying down the press with some type of protectant/anti corrosion to prevent rust.

Powder manufacturers recommend storing powder in a cool dry place. No way I’d recommend storing components in the garage but that’s just me.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of storing powder/primers in some sort of air tight container with dessicant to mitigate moisture. I figured humidity is probably more of an issue than temperature alone.
 
sjohnston0311 said:
I was thinking of storing powder/primers in some sort of air tight container with dessicant to mitigate moisture. I figured humidity is probably more of an issue than temperature alone.
Click to expand...
I actually broke my thumb moving something out of a cold garage when it had been below 0 for a week. The metal body of a drill press was so cold that it instantly froze my naked hand to where I couldn't feel me smacking my thumb into the tailgate.

I've found running heat for an hour ish before doing a 4 hour work session works out perfect. Particularly if you do it regularly to keep the chill out.

Ya, reloading doesn't sound cost effective for my use case. Def not for 9mm. I don't tend to have the necessary 2-3 hours of random time to dedicate, nor the space.

Would be a different story if I was into rifle precision or something similar.

Unless I was shooting like 2-3k 9mm / month, I'd not bother. I would however acquire dies and primer removal tools and a few basics. And some powder and primers. I just would leave everything sealed.
 
I'm planning to move my casting and reloading to the shed I'm renovating. I cast out there last winter and it was pretty comfy with a small propane heater. No insulation and the door open for ventilation.
Now it's going to be tight so some ventilation is in order and maybe a different heat system.
I could go with a small wood stove or one if those diesel heaters from Amazon. It's not a large space.
Reloading I do in batches so the same applies. A few hours here and there. Summer I don't seem to reload much anyway but a 5k btu window unit would be fine.
That's the plan anyway and it gets it out of the house for several reasons.
 

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