Best practice? Moving your reloading shop...

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Jeffpatton00

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King County, WA
I'm going to be moving and am curious if any of you have suggestions for the best way to organize the move of all reloading equipment and supplies. My own approach would be to aggregate all powder in one box, bullets in another, then brass, reloading tools, gunsmithing tools, shooting accessories, etc. Seems straightforward for the packing process, but my interest is on the unpacking and re-organizing end of things - I have my shop pretty well set up and the last time I moved it, things ended up pretty disorganized for a while. Anyone have experience that might be helpful? thx
Jeff
 
I ended up getting several of the large rolling tubs from Home Depot (70 gal HDX) - bullets on the bottom, powders next, then lighter stuff on top of that. The bullets were way too heavy and small to box up on their own, although a medium moving box from Home Depot held exactly 40 Hodgdon 1# canisters. Too much of the equipment was oddly sized and packed better in the tubs than the boxes. Cheap towels or moving blankets got it all packed in tight.

Took an inventory while packing, and when I unpacked I left all but 2# of each the powders packed in the crates. Left a lot of duplicate boxes of bullets packed away also. It's too much stuff to have it all out all the time, so I have my inventory list and go shopping in my own boxes when I need something. New items get added to the catalog and stored. My bench had gotten out of control with too many different projects going on, so I started a project list and only let myself have one thing out at a time. Never loading multiple powders or cartridges at the same time, but measuring this and loading that and doing statistics on this load, etc. Making the big To Do list helped me out a lot, I swear I'm going to keep the bench clean this time..... we've all heard that right?
 
Last edited:
QuietTexan said:
I ended up getting several of the large rolling tubs from Home Depot (70 gal HDX) - bullets on the bottom, powders next, then lighter stuff on top of that. The bullets were way too heavy and small to box up on their own, although a medium moving box from Home Depot held exactly 40 Hodgdon 1# canisters. Too much of the equipment was oddly sized and packed better in the tubs than the boxes. Cheap towels or moving blankets got it all packed in tight.

Took an inventory while packing, and when I unpacked I left all but 2# of each the powders packed in the crates. Left a lot of duplicate boxes of bullets packed away also. It's too much stuff to have it all out all the time, so I have my inventory list and go shopping in my own boxes when I need something. New items get added to the catalog and stored. My bench had gotten out of control with too many different projects going on, so I started a project list and only let myself have one thing out at a time. Never loading multiple powders or cartridges at the same time, but measuring this and loading that and doing statistics on this load, etc. Making the big To Do list helped me out a lot, I swear I'm going to keep the bench clean this time..... we've all heard that right?
Click to expand...
Thanks, and I especially like the idea of the inventory, I'm going to adopt that as I pack.
 
I had a plan, took an inventory and marked
My Totes. That helped a lot but Unfortunately my shop layout and the wife gave me another room to expand into. Those considerations meant I would set my shop up and change it around 3 more times before I got it where I like it. 7 months later I'm still tweaking it, but it's working well so far.
 
To get better organised in the new location, take lots of photos of your previous set-up prior to packing.
I have 2 large coolers, 150litre and 200litre, that I used to transport powder/primer/brass. (Do not put primers and powder together!)
I moved my machines first, set them up where they could be accessed the easiest, then set about putting in benches/shelves cupboards.
I build engines, so I had to have a 'clean room' that has a positive air pressure to keep dust out. This is also where I assemble my rifle builds.
Majority of my loading is done at home, but I do assemble rounds here too to check headspace and function. Just have the basics and my gunsmithing tools.
I have found that there is always something you miss if you don't take photos.
I positioned my lathe once so close to the wall that the tail stock had no where to go.
I still slap myself to this day when I remember that goofball move. Hiring a forklift to move it a second time ain't cheap. LOL.

Cheers.
 
Jeffpatton00 said:
I'm going to be moving and am curious if any of you have suggestions for the best way to organize the move of all reloading equipment and supplies. My own approach would be to aggregate all powder in one box, bullets in another, then brass, reloading tools, gunsmithing tools, shooting accessories, etc. Seems straightforward for the packing process, but my interest is on the unpacking and re-organizing end of things - I have my shop pretty well set up and the last time I moved it, things ended up pretty disorganized for a while. Anyone have experience that might be helpful? thx
Jeff
Click to expand...
I always save all my rcbs boxes makes it a little easier
 
Jeffpatton00 said:
I'm going to be moving and am curious if any of you have suggestions for the best way to organize the move of all reloading equipment and supplies. My own approach would be to aggregate all powder in one box, bullets in another, then brass, reloading tools, gunsmithing tools, shooting accessories, etc. Seems straightforward for the packing process, but my interest is on the unpacking and re-organizing end of things - I have my shop pretty well set up and the last time I moved it, things ended up pretty disorganized for a while. Anyone have experience that might be helpful? thx
Jeff
Click to expand...
Costco sells some really sturdy bins. Pack just like you said then just label with making tape.I wouldn't store anything in your garage because of the varing temperatures over the year.
 
You don't indicate if you are having movers do the move or yourself. That would be the most important factor to start.

Organizing is easy. If you like what works for you now, take a few pictures or a quick video before you break it down.

I recently moved to another state using movers. Pain in the Ar** to move ammo. Split it up into various boxes so its not too heavy for the movers. Tool boxes also work out well.
 
I moved my reloading room and took a lot of pics and wrote down what I would change. I also put a packing list in each tub or box. I had saved my major component boxes for the press, sonic cleaner, brass prep center etc for the repack. I am getting ready to move it all to a new room in the house and will follow the same procedure a bit. I don't pack or store primers with my powder store. Just to be safe. pack and mark all your brass, sized, fired but not clean etc you will never remember. box and well mark all your dies and accessories. all your hardware instructions and reloading info sources. pack together. Mark all your bullet bags the little tags in bulk pack bullets isn't enough, mark again to verify. Check all your bullet weights against its markings to verify before reloading. When you start reloading only have one powder on the bench at a time. Have a good move
 
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