Reloading bench ideas

[171farm]

I know there are a few posts where people are showing their reloading setups…rather than just those up with my questions I figured I’d ask on my own post.

Anyway, I’m new to reloading. A buddy of mine has been showing me the ropes on his equipment. I have my own coming and would like to start thinking about my setup. Here’s some questions I have….

-What size should I make the bench…anyone have any blueprints to share
-Should I use some of the in stock base cabinets lowes or homedepot has as the base
-Should I use some kind of metal legs or is wood sufficient
-What kind of top should I have? Plywood, 1 or 2 by, metal, laminate countertops, granite or something I haven’t even thought of

Any and all suggestions of anything would be great. Pics are a bonus. Anything I should avoid or definitely do?

 

[menhaden_man]

Built my first couple, bought my latest one. The packing bench from ULINE is great.

Industrial Packing Table - 60 x 30

Customize your work area with these packing tables. 1 1/2" thick composite wood top with rounded edges. Holds up to 500 lbs. 14" bottom shelf for additional storage. Adjustable steel legs 30 to 37" in 1 1/2" increments. Packing Table Accessories and pre-drilled Replacement Top available. ULINE...

www.uline.com

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I like to stand so I built my bench about belly height [I want to say this is about 42"?]. I have a 2x4 brace affixed to the concrete floor under the press so it doesn't give while decapping or seating. My benchtop is just plywood I had laying around. If I was starting new I'd probably look at some 3/4" plywood and maybe even varnish it for easy sweeping.

 

[11boo]

Built my first couple, bought my latest one. The packing bench from ULINE is great.

Industrial Packing Table - 60 x 30

Customize your work area with these packing tables. 1 1/2" thick composite wood top with rounded edges. Holds up to 500 lbs. 14" bottom shelf for additional storage. Adjustable steel legs 30 to 37" in 1 1/2" increments. Packing Table Accessories and pre-drilled Replacement Top available. ULINE...

www.uline.com

Those make great benches. I put a couple angle brackets to hold it tight to the wall. Rock solid, whatever you do there should be no wobble.

 

[OSU Fisher]

If you can swing cabinets, that’s my vote. The. Either use laminate tops or even high end plywood. Here’s mine. I got cabinets for free from someone doing a kitchen remodel on a rental house. Then made my own tops from plywood since my layout was different. Then sealed it with lots of polyurethane. It was a really cheap way of getting a descent setup with lots of storage.

 

[dla]

Christian Ed and Hobby info - Reloading Bench

My Setup

sites.google.com

 

[long hunter]

Definitely cabinets, and more than you think is necessary.

 

[BBarnett13]

I'm currently drawing up my reloading bench design (special thanks to my blueprint class in college). I bought a 6ft x 42" slab of 2" thick bowling alley lane I'm going to use as the bench top with 2x4 legs, braces and an overhead self I'm going to affix an LED worklight to with pegboard backing. I'm going to rip a 18" wide piece off of the slab to use as a lower shelf. It will look somewhat similar to the bench below, only beefier.

 

[Punkur67]

I have done a few setups over the years. I did plywood with a stainless steel skin on a couple and Butcher block on my last one. I prefer the Butcher block but it's expensive.

For cabinets I did some from lowes and also did some black garage cabinets from Amazon for my last setup. Build bigger than you think you need and layout your gear before bolting everything down.

Also the inlinefabrication.com mounts are great to be able to move stuff around







I am between houses right now so I have a husky tool cart that works ok.

 

[Harvey_NW]

In the process of redoing my bench. Used T&G cutoffs from the back porch cover of my new house and did an epoxy top. Seems like it will be a solid piece.

 

[mjs270]

My wife and I are building a house later this year and what I had planned for a reloading room just changed after seeing some of these pics. My reloading room just went from an afterthought to lots of thought. Thanks for sharing the pics!!

 

[dixiemagnum80]

Had a wooden “work bench” in my old room. Here’s what I did this time. Just found an old used metal desk. It was cheap and fairly simple to acquire. Reinforced below the press with a piece of 1/4” plate steel.

 

[Punkur67]

Found a picture of my first bench. I used a Craftsman work bench.

 

[7layerburrito]

I have done a few setups over the years. I did plywood with a stainless steel skin on a couple and Butcher block on my last one. I prefer the Butcher block but it's expensive.

For cabinets I did some from lowes and also did some black garage cabinets from Amazon for my last setup. Build bigger than you think you need and layout your gear before bolting everything down.

Also the inlinefabrication.com mounts are great to be able to move stuff around


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I am between houses right now so I have a husky tool cart that works ok.

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How's that Husky cart working out for you? Was thinking of going this way on a new bench -- any trouble mounting the Inline Fabrications frame to that top?

 

[Punkur67]

How's that Husky cart working out for you? Was thinking of going this way on a new bench -- any trouble mounting the Inline Fabrications frame to that top?

It's working fine so far. I have only loaded a few hundred rounds but it's not bad. Definitely hard going from a big bench and tons of cabinets down to a cart but it's getting the job done better than I thought. Mounting the inlinefabrication was easy and it's pretty solid.

 

[7layerburrito]

It's working fine so far. I have only loaded a few hundred rounds but it's not bad. Definitely hard going from a big bench and tons of cabinets down to a cart but it's getting the job done better than I thought. Mounting the inlinefabrication was easy and it's pretty solid.

Yeah, I don't have a ton of equipment and seems like a great way to keep everything stored in one place.

Did you have to countersink that hardware on the bottom of the inline mount or did you drill down through the metal of the cart as well?

 

[VernAK]

I threw out my old benches and bought the Husky roll-around, wood topped work bench tool cabinets from Home Depot on a hell of a black friday sale with Vets discount on top of that. I also put my Forster press up on the stand as Punkar did. All of my dies and ancillary gear are in the lockable cabinet drawers.

 

[Punkur67]

Yeah, I don't have a ton of equipment and seems like a great way to keep everything stored in one place.

Did you have to countersink that hardware on the bottom of the inline mount or did you drill down through the metal of the cart as well?

I drilled through the top and the metal top. I wanted it as strong as possible

 

[Rich M]

I have a 4 ft wide workbench and a 4 ft long shooting table I made with the legs from a broken folding table. Both work fine.

 

[Tremain4414]

How are y’all so organized? Mine looks like a small nuclear warhead went off…and minus the beers, this is pretty organized for me lol