Home made reloading trays

[Deacon_Man]

I bought some store bought reloading trays, don't like them worth a damn. I figured I could build something to suit my self. I took a 1x4 block of pine lumber, put it on my drill press and drilled 50 holes just bigger than my .45 brass. Then I took another block of pine and sawed off 3/16th thick layers for the bottom of the trays. I took them both and smoothed them up on my belt sander. I took the 1x4 blocks and routed the edges courved and smooth. I used super glue to bond the pieces together. And now I have two really easy to insert casings for reloading trays. Check out the pictures, and sorry I don't have a picture sizing program.

[lawdawg]

Nice Job!

[gdmoody]

Those are really nice!! Throw some Walnut stain on them and they will be even purtier!

[TheGunClinger]

I, like you, didnt like the commercial trays so I decided to make my own. Here is a link to a thread about how I made some trays of my own. It was great fun and I use them all the time.http://thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=92514

[Frogtop]

I also made my own. Two from walnut and three from oak. I drilled a pilot hole with a smaller bit and finished each with a 1/2 inch Foster so each has a relatively flat bottom. I finished with tung oil. The wood is heaver and more stable than plastic and the half-inch deep holes support everything from 380 to 30-06

[sting75ray]

I have some that my great grandfather made out of walnut, only thing is one of them holds 45 rounds and the other one holds 70 rounds.

[soundguy]

did you use an endmill or regualr bit?

I saw some made from cigar boxes with the halves seterated, and one side glued on top of the other with holes drilled in the webbing.. etc.. i like yours..

[Deacon_Man]

Your reloading blocks look great. I enjoyed the thread you had for me to look at.

[BETH]

Boy oh boy what's next? nice job

[Orin]

Ditto... But I prefer deeper holes so the cases can't tip over. I use 2x10 & 2x12. Drop three times in a vat of urethane to seal.

[Deacon_Man]

Originally Posted by soundguy

did you use an endmill or regualr bit?

I saw some made from cigar boxes with the halves seterated, and one side glued on top of the other with holes drilled in the webbing.. etc.. i like yours..

I used a flat wood bit ground down to the hole size I wanted. I used my drill press and drilled the holes all the way through. I bonded my 3/16 thick wood to the bottom side. I like them much better than the store bought plastic.

John

[soundguy]

ahhh.. now i see! you drilled thru then bonded some thin under that... nice.

I'm going compliment you by copying your design tonight when I get home..

[soundguy]

well, mine doesn't look as nice, but I was so impressed by your wood block, that I had to go make one when i got home from work, while waiting for the wife to get home from work.

I had a piece of lefover pine plant and some thinner osv from my shelving project. marked the pine plank and got 10 colums / 11 rows.. etc.. cleaned up the holes and chamfered the openings a bit.. after choosing the best side.. bonded my osb to it overnight and put 2 coats of polyurethane on it. 2nd coat is drying now.

I had 2 holes that had some chipping at the mouth so i used some filler.. doesn't look the greatest.. but should be a great tray. I loved the design when i saw deacon man's blocks1 I sometimes set and do marathon 30-06 runs and will do 100-300 at a time.. and I run myself out of those lil plastic 40-80 hole blocks. with this 110 hole block I'll be back caught up.

thanks for the idea!!

[Mike1959]

Cool, thanks for the idea. Now i have things to do while i wait for when i can start buying my press and other goodies.

[soundguy]

it's so neat the stuff / ideas you can come up with browsing the forums. I plan on crusing them all to see who else I can steal good ideas from

[Deacon_Man]

SoungGuy,
I think your reloading tray looks really good, Nice job.

[soundguy]

it's a lower quality wood, and an old scrap bit.. pluss I didn't have my drilling jig tight and the bit jumped on 2 holes chipping the edges.. filler looks kinda junky.. but it should work fine.

thank you for posting yours.. it's a great looking idea!

[JLA]

Nice John!

[hjsmith00843]

You should sell these.

[Frogtop]

These are samples of the reloading trays I made. The walnut were made many years ago the the oak were made last year.

[soundguy]

forstner bit or?

how deep / thick.. got a side shot?

they look great by the way.

did you plane the top after drilling.. or drill thru a laminate layer on top for more even entry without surface damage?

[Frogtop]

Originally Posted by soundguy

forstner bit or?

how deep / thick.. got a side shot?

they look great by the way.

did you plane the top after drilling.. or drill thru a laminate layer on top for more even entry without surface damage?

I'll get back to you on the dimensions and thanks. Yes, I used a 1/2 forstner to finish the hole bottoms after drilling a 1/2 hole with a twist bit. The wood was finished stock so there was no work done after drilling except the finish coating. The sharp twist drill started nicely in a punch mark without chipping so no laminate was needed. I had a Craftsman drill holder (kinda like a drill press) for the walnut but the oak was drilled free hand (so rows not as straight) but using the same type bits. I load pistol and rifle ctg's and these work well for all. They are deep enough to stabilize the rifle cases yet not so deep to prevent picking up the 380 cases.

[soundguy]

beautiful! if i had hardwood scraps at hoke i'd make another. think I only got cheap pine though..

yours Do look superb with the finish.

and decaon mans have the nice side routing. man.. love looking at the stuff crafty wood people make...

[hjsmith00843]

You should start selling these. I would like a few.

[Frogtop]

Originally Posted by soundguy

forstner bit or?

how deep / thick.. got a side shot?

they look great by the way.

did you plane the top after drilling.. or drill thru a laminate layer on top for more even entry without surface damage?

The walnut blocks are 4 X 7 3/4 X 5/8 holes are 1/2. The oak are 4 3/8 X 7 1/4 X 5/8 holes are 1/2. As mentioned earlier, the walnut were made quite a few years ago and the oak last year. I had a radial arm saw when doing the walnut and didn't when doing the oak. The walnut was some scrap that was given to me and I bought the oak and had it cut so that's the reason for the difference in size. I do recommend the use of a drill press to keep the rows and hole depth uniform.