The Lab Ledger
The chapters keep their scenes. This page keeps the running score.
On this page
The chapters keep their scenes. This page keeps the running score.
Every claim in the Reloading Lab traces to something the bench did or has not yet done. The chapters narrate those events once, where they matter. This page holds the cumulative state, so the story does not have to stop and recount it, and so one dated line here can record what the bench proves next.
Current state
| Capability | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Bench commissioning and layout | proven in nightly use | the containing-system walkthrough passes; Norma's car fits |
| Sizing setup calibration | closed for this configuration | about twenty calibration cases became scrap while the Dillon die was adjusted |
| First bounded case-processing run | observed | fifty cleaned, once-fired Lake City 5.56 cases entered; forty-eight passed first headspace inspection; two exited to rework; two accepted replacements restored the set to fifty |
| Primer-pocket swaging | observed | the RCBS station worked the accepted fifty-case set |
| Readiness rule | six facts, still open to production evidence | first proposed as five; review found sized missing; production later split clean and added complete drying |
| Software miniature | thirty-seven examples green | browse the project, or download and run it |
The garage decisions (full table)
The three decisions that carry Decisions Have Gravity are rows one, three, and six here; the chapter's bins apply to all eight.
| Decision | Reversal cost | What waiting could teach | Action | Evidence | Deferral closes when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preserve parking and safe circulation | high if violated after build | little about whether the household needs it | decide now | containing-system walkthrough and nightly use | continuous obligation, never deferred |
| Commit the whole layout | high after mounting and loading | reach, door swing, working envelopes, stakeholder movement | build full-scale proof | real objects pushed through real movements | containing-system walkthrough passes |
| Drill the press holes | high and visibly permanent | final neighbor positions and operator feel | defer actively, then commit | neighbors settled; operating envelopes exercised; mount fixed 4 inches from the front and just under 6 from the side | before first physical case-processing cycle; closed |
| Keep a role for the small press | local and reversible | workflow reveals teardown and force cost | decide when evidence arrived | brass-preparation flow gave it a job | role reopens if flow changes |
| Move the entire bench a few inches | low relative to remounting tools | actual cabinet swing and corner access | try the change | door opened and operating envelopes were rehearsed | observed fit and access pass |
| Reserve unknown swager space | commitment premature; losing all space costly | actual footprint and reach | protect the option, then spend it | red tray marked uncertainty; the installed RCBS station later swaged the fifty-case set | real tool positioned and exercised; closed |
| Add press accessories | individual changes cheap; ambiguous aggregate failure costly | each change reveals fit and interference | one-at-a-time proof | baseline photograph, then inspect each change | affected movement passes after each addition |
| Commission sizing before live stations | setup errors become more expensive after primers, powder, and bullets enter | headspace results from the intended die and real brass | tune one controlled configuration first | about twenty calibration cases became scrap; the bounded lot then measured 48 of 50 on first inspection | sizing loop produces measured output; closed for this configuration |
The brass path, station by station (full trace)
The six load-bearing stations appear in Wednesday Morning; this is the complete path.
| Point in the journey | State established here | Decision owner | Possible exit | Evidence status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range bag | identity not yet trusted | none; still a candidate | none yet | observed |
| Tumbler output | free of range dirt | tumbler owns no admission decision | none; everything is transformed | observed; later distinguished from final residue removal |
| Loading block | expected caliber and case-like shape | classification boundary | wrong-context bin or foreign-material exit | observed |
| Dillon preparation pass | primer removed and full-length sizing performed | configured station owns the transformations | calibration scrap or work continues to measurement | observed; about twenty setup cases became scrap |
| Headspace inspection | measured acceptance after sizing | operator with gauge and acceptance policy | rework | observed; 48 of the first 50 passed, 2 left for rework |
| Primer-pocket preparation | pocket prepared after accepted replacements restored the set | RCBS swager | rework if the pocket cannot be prepared | observed on the fifty-case set |
| Magnified inspection | visible defects observed | inspection station | quarantine | observed, including crushed mouths |
| Final cleaning and drying | lubricant and preparation residue absent; case dry inside and out | preparation flow plus release inspection | rework or continued drying | planned; equipment not yet exercised |
| Readiness line | current required facts hold together | readiness gate | rejection with every failed reason | evolving working model; not crossed by the fifty-case set |
| Progressive live-ammunition line | primed, charged, seated, crimped, position by position | production line | held plate on fault | designed, not yet live-proven |
| Final inspection and record | released material and its provenance | final inspection and batch record | quarantine | designed, not yet live-proven |
Open obligations
- Final lubricant-removal cleaning, complete drying, and release inspection of the fifty-case set
- Primer, powder, and bullet stations: no live ammunition has been produced
- The range round trip: no produced batch has made it
- Physical fault recovery: designed and modeled, not yet executed on the bench
- The next configuration: nothing beyond the bounded 5.56 set is proven
Revisions
Append-only. When the bench closes an obligation, it gets one dated line here; the chapters do not change.
- 2026-07-22 — Page created from the state the chapters record.
- 2026-07-22 — Took custody of the full garage-decision table and the station-by-station trace; the chapters keep the rows their narratives carry.