Reloading bench tips, recommendations, etc..

[phylodog]

Seems most folks I've met who reload have a dedicated bench for the purpose. I'll be getting back into it and would like to put a bench together myself so I figured it might make an interesting thread seeing and hearing what others have found to work well, not so well or not at all. If you built your bench, what would you do differently next time? If you bought one, what is it and how do you like it? Pretty much anything and everything reloading bench goes so let's see and hear whatcha got.

I'll be loading on a single stage press for centerfire rifle only so I probably won't be building a huge bench but I need it to be solid as can be. Other than that I've got a clean drawing board.

 

[bulletsmith]

Double layers of 3/4" plywood glued and screwed together. Laminated formica on top and front. 2x4 frame and legs under making sure a leg lands on either side of where the press went. The whole thing is screwed to the wall and I truly get no movement from the bench.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I do well with a single layer bolted to my workbench. My workspace is repurposed kitchen cabinets and countertop in my garage. Very sturdy and stable, bolted down.

The chap I got my press from had it bolted to a single layer of plywood that I think he clamped to his bench. I ran 3 holes through it and put Tee nuts on the underside of my bench. I simply bolt it down when i am ready and it goes NOWHERE. For good measure I glued a rubber plumbing packing pad to the underside so it was less likely to scoot if the bolts loosened.

And when I know I wont be loading for a while I unbolt it and put it away and have my entire workbench back for projects.

I recently added a single stage press to have a dedicated "oops" station. (collet puller) so I bought a 1x8 oak board to replace the plywood that was too small to add the second station. So I now have a Lee Pro 1000 and a single stage on one board.

 

[Que]

I would build mine a little taller. Right now the legs are sitting on 6” cinder blocks.

 

[ROLEXrifleman]

I run 3 550's bolted to one of these.

https://m.samsclub.com/ip/ultra-heavy-duty-workbench/prod1490086

built shelves for it out of 2x4's and it's been great for the last 7 years.

run a lee 50bmg press bolted to a harbor freight drill press stand as single stage resizing station. Also works 1000% all the way up to 50 bmg

 

[King31]

Just build it plenty big and plenty sturdy. it's possibly to beef it up buy adding a 2x10 directly under the press, but I would much rather just build the whole top the same if possible. Make sure that it is at a comfortable height when you are seated. I believe DoubleHelix has a lengthy thread on one he built. You might get some good ideas from it.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ding/422474-reloading-bench-build-thread.html

 

[bwframe]

Lee makes a pretty interesting stand alone stand that could have you shooting your reloads while you are engineering your masterpiece bench:

https://www.brownells.com/reloading...a&utm_campaign=itwine&utm_content=100-010-152

I've not tried this, but it looks interesting. Wonder if it supports my new preferred "single stage" The Lee Classic Turret (indexed manually)?

Careful though or you'll end up like me and 10 years later, still using the temporary setup.

 

[Bookmark]

I made mine from 2X4's and an old butcher block counter top, but if you want to do something quicker, Rural King has a decent looking bench I saw a couple days ago. Not sure how thick the top is, but once it was attached to the wall it would be solid and the drawers underneath would be handy.

 

[Double T]

I will be keeping an eye on this thread. I need a reloading/gun bench. Want a vice on one end, and the press on the other.

 

[papa6x]

I have an old Craftsman brand steel work bench they were getting rid of at work. It has three drawers on it works very well.

 

[gregkl]

My first bench was cabinets I built with a laminate top. It worked good and doubled as a workbench for other projects.

Now I am fortunate to have three workbenches. One in the garage for "garage" type stuff. One in my basement utility room and a dedicated reloading/gunsmithing bench in my "safe" room.

The Utility bench is what I'm calling my "dirty" bench. I will clean firearms, tumble brass and keep supplies there.

My reloading bench is small and I have my powder measure and press(I only load with single stage) on a board that I attach to the top when I'm reloading. If I want to work on a firearm, I simply unbolt it and set it on a shelf next to the bench. The bench top measures 49" X 19". All my benches are tall enough to be comfortable standing or sitting on a bar stool.

Both of my benches in the basement are 2X construction base with tops I made by gluing and stapling two pieces of 1/2" OSB together and then I installed 3/4" solid oak hardwood flooring left over from my flooring job on top. Sanded and 3 coats of oil. They are super sturdy, very heavy and as they wear, a little sanding and another coat of oil will have them back in business.

 

[gregkl]

I will be keeping an eye on this thread. I need a reloading/gun bench. Want a vice on one end, and the press on the other.

You could do what I did if you don't have to have them both on at the same time. I bought some oak stair treads and mounted my press on one, my vice on one, and my bench grinder on another. I drilled two holes through the treads and the bench. I just swap out whichever one I need. Works great.

You can get fancy and buy track systems for your bench top, but I haven't had any misgivings about my design.

 

[55fairlane]

My bench started as a pile of 2x3 box tubing, all tig welded to gather with a 1/4 inch steel top....certan spots drilled and taped, for my 2 presses, my visas, ECT, I glues magnets to some old carpet to cover the whole thing when working on guns

Aaron

 

[bocefus78]

My presses are mounted to a 5' long steel framed bench with wood top that I bought used (I lag bolted this to the wall. It's solid as a turd after eating a pound of cheese and drinking a half gallon of milk). I then put used cabinets with 2 layers of 5/8 inch plywood covered in thin carpet from menards beside it creating a 10' long brass prep area and gun cleaning area. The whole thing is L shaped. I started reloading with just the 5 foot steel bench. Once I added 10 more feet, I don't know how I got by on just 5 feet. Especially because my loading bench becomes a catch all for all things gun related. Besides making it bigger, the best thing I did was get a good stool. As in this stool costs more than most sccy pistols. Makes the long sessions much more enjoyable.

 

[red_zr24x4]

Mine is U shaped . The center is a desk that the previous owner of my house left. Its made out of solid core doors. There are 2 Dillon 550's mounted to it.
The sides are 4x4 legs with a 2x6 frame and 2 layers of 3/4 plywood. screwed to the wall.
On one side is a vice and a RockChucker. On the other is a Dillon 650.

The sides are about 24" deep, 8' long. The desk part is 3' deep and 6' long

 

[snapping turtle]

The space in the room /basement / garage is a big factor. If space is rather limited then if single staging a good bench with the press attached for more dual use is nice. If as you say a dedicated bench I would assume space is not as big a factor. Dual use if space is needed single use if space is not an issue.

Things i I have seen as very cool and often not though of originally would be storage areas. Having what you need within reach does cut down overall time when using. My setup is portable to a computer style bench and the components and dies tumbler ect are stored on the other side of the room. It would be great to use that extra space as storage. I have seen some reloading benches with side storage areas that are on rollers. Like a pull out drawer with no sides. He is in IT and the sides he used were old UPS mounting rails from computer equipment. Tap and pull out and all the ammo cans are on them. One shelf for brass one for reload storage and the top one stores the lead and brass bullets. It came out top notch for something he thought up with equipment that was being replaced. uPS equipment is heavy and these rack mounts will hold a ton of weight.

The other item item that should be mentioned is lighting. I have great lighting overall and one of the flexible arms lights for spot lighting. Also have the retro lighted magnifying inspection on an arm also. If your vision is good you may think lighting is not a big deal. Wait a couple years you will be glad you have it.

Cement floors or can be hard to stand on for long periods of time. They sell mats for barbell and weight lifting areas that take the hard off the floor while being tuff and easy to clean up. Can double the time standing if one is not used to cement floors.

 

[Doublehelix]

Lots of great suggestions already. Here are a few of mine to add to the pile:

-It is never big enough. Make it so that you have one section for reloading, and one section for gun cleaning/repairs/upgrades. Add a vice to the cleaning/repairs side.
-Plan and measure your shelves for efficiency!!! I made my own bench, and added a shelf underneath. I use the floor to stack ammo boxes, and it is just about 1" too short to be able to stack two standard ammo boxes on top of each other! Dang. A little more thought would have gone a long way to making storage more efficient.
-You need lots of storage space. Things like empty cases, bullets, etc. I also made a magazine for storing primers, and another one for storing powder. 1" nominal wood thickness with easy blow apart walls (so you don't create a bomb).

 

[KingWeb50]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCvCxuR8Jhs&app=desktop

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Lots of great suggestions already. Here are a few of mine to add to the pile:

-It is never big enough. Make it so that you have one section for reloading, and one section for gun cleaning/repairs/upgrades. Add a vice to the cleaning/repairs side.
-Plan and measure your shelves for efficiency!!! I made my own bench, and added a shelf underneath. I use the floor to stack ammo boxes, and it is just about 1" too short to be able to stack two standard ammo boxes on top of each other! Dang. A little more thought would have gone a long way to making storage more efficient.
-You need lots of storage space. Things like empty cases, bullets, etc. I also made a magazine for storing primers, and another one for storing powder. 1" nominal wood thickness with easy blow apart walls (so you don't create a bomb).

Ditto what Double says.

Have you checked out Gladiator? I am using their shelving units for food/supply and ammo storage. I am big fan.

My martial arts club has one of their fixed tables with a fixed top. Those rock too. Check them out.

Shop Workbenches

I built a large "L" shaped table with a Dillon 550 on one end and vise on the other. Shelves underneath and over top.

I also have a table that I built when I started reloading in 8th grade. I use that as an island with a single stage Lee mounted to an end.

 

[whiskeytangofoxtrot]

Here is mine. 2x6's for table top with linoleum top for clean up. Built heavy and storage on bottom for heavy brass bins to hold it down. 6' long top space.