Good Monday Evening!
I have been working diligently to get my garage converted over to a handloading and bullet making workspace. This involves a lot of unpacking, organizing, and sorting through boxes of tools, components, and miscellaneous junk. I have posted pictures of the progress on the websites Instagram page.
Much of the time I would normally spend on the website, or it’s associated projects, has been spent trying to get things set up. Admittedly I am somewhat slow as I can be particular about how my tools are organized. For this reason I have not made much progress on some of the CAD work I was working on earlier. We’ll come back around to that soon enough.
In the meantime I’ve been working on a workbench for the new space. I’ve contemplated purchasing one ready made, but I also enjoy building these types of things even if I’m not much of a wood worker. I’ve been working through the design on Solid Works.
It really doesn’t take much of a bench to reload on. Actually you don’t need a bench at all. I’ve mounted my Lee Classic press on the top of a 4×4 post with a makeshift base. I’ve also repurposed some inexpensive desks. For the most part the forces required for loading are low, and while you can certainty break apart a flimsy desk I found its usually sufficient for reloading.
Swaging is another story. The large +70lb press needs a sturdy workbench to support it. While most of the forces of swaging are contained within the press, you have a longer lever and can stress a bench more then a standard reloading press, especially when drawing down jackets. Still, the bench as designed, is likely overkill. I’m still working through it, and given that I plan it to be a free standing bench, I.E not attached to the wall I’m reluctant to put a backing on it.
For those who are interested in the drone project, there has not been much of an update on that for sometime. However I got my hands on an Aeromao Talon. This was purchased by the company I am working for to conduct aerial surveying and mapping. There has been some issues, and it uses the Mission Planner software. I do plan on doing a write up detailing my impressions of this more budget fix wing mapping solution. The package we bought was still $15k, but it is not the $25k the Ebee mapping solution was.
That is pretty much all I have for this week. As I work to get the garage set up for reloading I’ll continue to post updates on the Instagram page. If you’d like to join the discussion you can check out our Facebook page. Of course if you have comments, questions, or suggestions please feel free to email me at jayandrew338@gmail.com.
We do not have any updates to the load database this week, if you have an entry you’d like to submit please fill out the submission form located here.
As always, Stay Safe and Have Fun!
The Ballistic Assistant