Franco79 Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Anyone use granite as a top piece for a reloading bench to bolt a press too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmd6x Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 It'd be hard to drill through, but if you could get it set up, I think it'd be pretty sweet. We had a granite counter top in my house growing up that cracked accross the middle, I believe due to heat / cold changes? I wonder if the repetitive load from the press would cause the granite to crack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco79 Posted July 12, 2013 Author Share Posted July 12, 2013 I would bring my strong mount to their shop to trace the bolt holes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighCountryStalker Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Look into soapstone. It's what they make chemistry lab table tops from. Cheaper than granite, much easier to work with, chemically impermeable. You can basically work it with good wood working tools and bits. Then again, not sure what the advantage is to plain old wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
area51 Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 My body had his kitchen counter made out soapstone. I was pretty impressed on how durable the stuff is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZip Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Depends on the thickness but Granite will probably not hold up to the typical repetitive stress of the loading press. I used MDX with 16GA steel on top. I can see it flex a bit even though it is 1 1/2 inch thick and really heavily braced. I think unless you have industrial black granite like a layout table. That stuff is usually really thick though and free of fractures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMH Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Saw it done with granite years ago. It looked great but cracked within a month and the guy was ticked. I like wood with outdoor carpet on top, prevents stuff rolling off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
314shane Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 I have 2 reloading benches I would go with an mdx top It's easy to work with inexpensive and smooth you just need to support it and edge it. Wouldn't do metal is wory about static with powder around. And carpet on top of your bench would collect powder and need to be vacuumed up and that's a no no too. Just my views on things not saying you should do it my way It's just the way I'd do it. By the way one of my benches has a coated piece of mdx on it and after a while it started comming off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 I've vaccumed up a bunch of powder lol never had an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
314shane Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Me too but is it worth the chance of injury or damage to your home or body to use a broom. Just giving people something to think about when designing a reloading bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco79 Posted July 21, 2013 Author Share Posted July 21, 2013 What about Dura Poly for a bench top, since granite is out of the question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighCountryStalker Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 What goals are you trying to achieve with your surface selection? I assume easy to clean, durable, strong. Any others? Just wondering what drew your thoughts to granite and what you're looking to achieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scootertheshooter Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 A Formica countertop at lowes works great. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco79 Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 I got the approval from the wife to convert the garage to living area for my man cave. I dont want to put a bench in there and let it look like sh*t.. So Im trying to figure out what is going to be best for me and look decent. What goals are you trying to achieve with your surface selection? I assume easy to clean, durable, strong. Any others? Just wondering what drew your thoughts to granite and what you're looking to achieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
45 Raven Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 What about maple butcher block? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco79 Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 who sells them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phlydude Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Lumber Liquidators has all different types of wood countertops - they aren't cheap Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njl Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Go to samsclub.com and search for work bench. That should give you some ideas/options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpnewby Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 I wouldn't imagine such a hard surface would be desirable for a bench. Maybe if it's purely used for reloading, but mine sees lots of gun cleaning duty as well. It hurts my mind to think about that pretty steel sliding around on granite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpeltier Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 For over 25 years I was in the cabinet making business and 10 of them self employed. My house has nothing but granite countertops except my reloading bench. That is plywood with laminate (aka Formica). I would never use a solid surface for a reloading bench. Too much flex action imparted by the machine and granite is unforgiving when it comes to flex. Corian and other solid surfaces are no better, especially when it's cold out. I've personally seen them shatter like glass when slightly impacted in the cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpeltier Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 What about maple butcher block? Usually pretty expensive but would be a solid foundation. Only drawback would be cosmetic. The chemicals it encounters as a reloading bench would permanently stain it eventually and it will show such soiling with no easy way to clean it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agney5 Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Just a thought, for rugged but still plenty strong top. Make your own "chopping block" all you need is some ready rod, some 2x4's, fairly long wood screws, and wood glue. Layer the 2x4's as wide as you want glue in between the boards and use long wood screws just two at about 8" from the end to hold them together. Keep layering as thick as you want repeating the process. Then take a long auger bit and go through width of whole table top then run ready rod through and draw everything up tight. I used three, one on each end (6" from end) and one in middle. The thing to remember through the whole process is to keep all screws and ready rod on the bottom 2/3's of the top of the bench. Now the hardest part is finding someone with a planer to plane the whole thing for you to give it that nice flat smooth top. All in all it's cheap to do, strong as all get out, and looks nice. The down side is it's a bit labor intensive and logistics might not be easy for you. Just something to think about. Sent from my DROID RAZR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlamphere Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 (edited) I used 4 layers of 3/4 plywood and then topped it with some laminate flooring I got in an open box deal from Lowes for $7.00. Working very well. Laminate is easy to clean, smooth, but with a bit of texture. Secured it to the wall and floor and I am happy with how it turned out. Edited July 25, 2013 by jlamphere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpnewby Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 If I could have what I wanted, it'd be a butcher block. Any wood you use is going to stain - it's only character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agney5 Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Just another thought you could do the same design that I mentioned, but instead of planing the top, a piece of 1/2" birch plywood wood be great. It's relatively cheep and looks good. If a section begins to look bad unscrew and flip it. I know it's not ideal but is cheap and would be easy to replace the top if something happened to it. Plus your still getting that durability. Sent from my DROID RAZR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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