Ok, let's keep it in metallic reloading for now but here's the question...what's the dirtiest mess you've had to clean up in your reloading equipment? I've got a Lyman sizing press for lead bullets that has lube that's been in it for 25 years. It needs to be cleaned. I'm only asking for a friend, .
I bought an RCBS luber-sizer (a really good deal) that had lube that had sat so long it was hard as a rock. It came out in large chunks and required very little cleaning.
Oh man I hope my sizer, uhh my friends sizer, does that. It would make life a little easier I suspect. Barring that l'm (my friend) is going to have to use a heat gun to soften the gunk up most likely. Fingers crossed!
I just put a 100 W light on it & use what is left in there.
My perception of dirty is a little messed up .......... I live & work in it every day
some days it's worse than others. Only clean thing here is my plate after I'm done eating !
Life long machinist/mechanic here so my working habits include keeping clean enough to do a good, safe job. I normally keep a shop rag in my back pocket and one or two on the bench within easy reach (for spills, etc.). I don't let spills stay on my bench/work area and all my tools are wiped occasionally during use and put away clean.
But back to the question; The first time I sprayed some bullets with powder coating I had one huge mess. I made a cardboard box into a spray booth and covered a lot of the surrounding area with rags and newspaper. I arranged two fans to move air and direct any air born powder outside. I coated about 100 bullets and found over spray was everywhere! Super fine powder "migrated" to every corner of my shop (10'x14' inside). Every exposed surface was lightly coated red. It took a couple weeks of wiping, dusting, etc. to get rid of the powder. I went back to spraying outside and tumble coating...
I've got an RCBS Lubri-Sizer I haven't used it ince about 1975. It will stay just the way it is—I figure it has another 50 years of punishment for all it put me through before I started pan lubing.
There was the time my mind went blank and I turned a powder measure, with full hopper, upside down to look at something.
There was the time I emptied my RCBS ChargeMaster of powder and poured in the new powder—without closing the drain spout.
I've got an RCBS Lubri-Sizer I haven't used it ince about 1975. It will stay just the way it is-I figure it has another 50 years of punishment for all it put me through before I started pan lubing.
There was the time my mind went blank and I turned a powder measure, with full hopper, upside down to look at something.
There was the time I emptied my RCBS ChargeMaster of powder and poured in the new powder-without closing the drain spout.
Ouch! Would hate to lose all that powder but blank minds can be a job hazard. I prefer to think you were just so relaxed from the hum of reloading that your mind stayed in its zen like trance a little longer than necessary.
I've got an RCBS Lubri-Sizer I haven't used it ince about 1975. It will stay just the way it is-I figure it has another 50 years of punishment for all it put me through before I started pan lubing. There was the time my mind went blank and I turned a powder measure, with full hopper, upside down to look at something.
There was the time I emptied my RCBS ChargeMaster of powder and poured in the new powder-without closing the drain spout.
Some say I am obsessive about keeping the reloading area clean. Decades ago when I was a young firefighter we had a run to the home of a "reloader" who had a flash fire at his reloading area. Best we could determine was that he had allowed a build up over time of powder in the cracks and crevices on his table. He was reloading some cases and at the same time on the opposite end of his table he had his lead smelter going. We were not sure of the ignition source but the flash fire across the table resulted in some singed hair, curled and burnt paper and one scared individual. This was before I really got into guns or reloading but I can still recall that scene and it has stayed with me and one main reason I try to keep things clean. The one problem with my area is the carpet on the floor but I vacuum that frequently. That carpet makes finding a dropped primer very difficult but I just have to live with it.
I haven't made much of a mess with rifle/pistol ammo. My messes seem to generate from my shotgun presses. I always throw a few and drop them back in the plastic hoppers, one for shot and the other powder. On more than one occasion I've forgotten to put the plug back in the top and flipped them over resulting in powder and shot all over Hell's half acre. Then one time I got a bad batch of reclaimed shot that had a bunch of sand in it from being collected. Didn't figure it out until the sand had worked it's way in to all the workings of my press. Had of course to completely disassemble the press to get all the sand cleaned out. What a pain.
When reloading Bottle neck cases, I clean the sizing die after I am done with it using denatured alcohol. Cleans them right up even the vent hole is clear. The biggest mess on my bench came when I got distracted while filling the powder measure and over filled it, the powder went every where. My shop vac is now always plugged in and ready to use.
I knocked over a 3lb keg of red dot, after just looking at it and saying "I need to be careful so I don't knock that over, and spill gun powder all over." Then twice tripped and knocked my Lyman Gen 6 over when it was almost totally filled with powder.
I haven't been that unlucky YET. I have dropped and spilled a charged 45acp case a few times landing right on top of 49 already charged cases in my loading block, had to empty all the cases and start over again, that happened when I first started reloading.
Remember I was very new to reloading. I know I may be giving myself a curse from the devil himself, but dropping a charged case onto the cases in the loading block hasn't happened again in the past 5 years
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