Re: redoing my reloading bench

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(does the math) being optimistic, i've got 20*365 days left, diminishing capacity as we go along. there are things i'd like to do and see before i depart this vale of tears and joy. i'm not doing near as much as i'd like. pandemic isn't helping. i'd like to hop in my car, couch surf and camp the country on the way to the grand canyon and mt rushmore and the grand tetons and points in between, but right now i'll settle for; walk the dog, pet the cat, work on my kayak... first, maybe a nap. go shoot some arrows.
Last edited by lurker on Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

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lurker wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:16 am wrecked my last set of 30-06 dies, stuck cases. F it. may order another set, may not.
You know what's cool. They're tempered so when you hit them with a .30-06, they explode. Can't think of any other use for fungoo dies.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

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I've been reloading for almost 20 years but I sold my house 2 years ago and moved into an apartment because I couldn't afford the maintenance and upkeep anymore mostly because I'm an old fart now (69). Can't reload in a 1 bedroom apartment. So I do my reloading at my 3.5 acre hunting camp in Hackberry, AZ. With cooler weather I'm in the process of building another 6 X 8 work shed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackberry,_Arizona

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lurker wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 4:51 pm wouldn't mind seeing some pics of that camp and shed.
I put up some pictures on a thread about living off the grid but I'm too old for that too. When I get my reloading work shed up I'll put up more pictures. Also planning on having a small forge for custom knife making.
me and poppy seed.jpg
small cabin interior.jpg

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You been following Gaz's thread on DIY knives, harriss? I'm not much of a creative, but a forge seems like the kind of hobby that could get far too expensive. Like shooting. Good thing I have self control. :lol: Whether it falls to reloading or smithing first remains to be seen.

I made it a point to do a lot of the traveling and car-camping gig while I was young and impoverished. Highly recommend, but less comfortable as one gets older and decrepit-er.

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Always wanted my own forge since I was a kid when we took an old Hibachi, got some coke from the local foundry, and used my mom's vacuum cleaner on blow to heat a piece of re-bar up enough to where we could pound it flat on a piece of railroad track, then sharpened it. We melted my dad's beer cans down in a crucible bought from the same foundry, took some molding sand from them and stuck a broom handle in there and pulled it out. Held the re-bar knife in there and poured the molten aluminum down in. Left a little shield kind of hilt guard on there.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

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I've done some knife making with factory made blade blanks. It's a lot of fun. I've been looking at some you tube videos about making a DIY forge with fire brick and a MAPP grade torch. I have a piece of railroad track for an anvil. You don't have to weld the angle iron for the forge if you want a bigger forge. If you have access to a drill press you can bolt the angle iron.



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I have some pictures of my old reloading and storage shed and the new shed I'm building. Been out working to get away from the political craziness here.

So I posted a picture of my old shed when it was brand new. This is what it looks like 2 years later. Buried in all that crap is over 50 lbs. of smokeless powder and about 14,000 primers.
close up old shed.JPG
This is my new shed. Just a 6 X 8 post and beam. Somebody gave me the old bass boat in the background and I gutted it and I'm going to use pieces of it for the walls to save some money. I got a ground anchor kit to protect it from getting blown over in high wind.
new work storage shed.JPG

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CDFingers wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:31 am It looks like it will be roomier than the first.

A brass, boat, eh? Would you be so kind as to pic it a few times?. I'm intrigued.

CDFingers
It's a rotted out piece of junk. It used to be nice but the previous owner let it sit out in the desert for 25 years.

There were 2 sheds. A 10 X 12 that I use as my hunting camp and a smaller 6 X 8. The smaller one became a storage/work shed. Then I bought some tools so I had to make more protected space.

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an admirable goal. 67 here.
i take reasonable precautions, avoid people in general, stay 6+ feet away from strangers, wear a mask, but pretty much don't worry about it. 2020 is one of those times when it's good to be a misanthrope. first half of 2021, too. maybe longer.
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

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CDFingers wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:52 pm Wonder how I made it this far.

CDFingers
because we dodged death a couple of times, more by random accident than anything else. some of my peers didn't make it past high school, some got bad numbers in the southeast asia lottery, some of us drove too fast, or abused the wrong substances or got the wrong disease. i had a close call 5 years ago with my aorta. life is too short for all this serious shit, :fishing: but if you don't pay attention it can suddenly get much shorter. :yikes:
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

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