Reloading Bench Construction

[Flatland Shooter]

Its located in the garage.

I'll leave it unfinished. Just looks so good now and want to keep it that way. But then again, unfinished will allow me to resume reloading this afternoon.

Thanks.

[techj]

I like to put a coat of polyurethane on my benches. That way if something spills - or I clean a die and it drips - I don't have to worry about it soaking into the wood.

[9x45]

The important design feature of any reloading bench is the ability to resist the moment arm created by the up/down stroke of the priming handle. Doesn't have to be fancy, mine was made from just all scrap.

[rustybayonet]

Here is a simple medium cost bench I use.

Got the Harbor freight bench and added adjustable feet for height, peg board with frame and bolted it to the wall.

[rustybayonet]

Ooops! Double post, sorry.

Edited May 29, 2016 by rustybayonet

[jim m]

I used a 6ft piece of bowling alley with 4x4 notched legs and 3/4 in. shelf on bottom. I believe the remedy to some the reloading issues we have primer flips, powder spills can be directed to not having a Rock Solid and absolutely Level bench. IMO.

Jim

[rondog]

I just finished my bench build. I'd like to add pics but don't know how to load them. Can a guy get some help please uploading pics?

Edited July 24, 2016 by rondog

[Phlier]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

For years (ok, 28 to be exact) I've used a little Black & Decker Work Mate as a bench for mounting my trusty little Rock Chucker. It works well, and enables me to sit in the family room and process brass while watching TV with the family. But alas, the little Work Mate is about to swallow too big of a meal; I'll be ordering a Dillon 650 this next week (my wife's 22nd anniversary present to me! Not to worry, lads, I've ordered her a really nice vacuum cleaner in response. OK, not really, she's finally getting the Movie Room finished out.)

She has also given me one small (small!) bedroom in the house to use as my dedicated reloading room. Not only is the room small(!), but it's usefulness as a reloading room is hindered by two of the walls in the room having very large windows, effectively chopping it's true usability by half.

So my situation is that I need a reloading bench that will sit below window sill level that I can center on one of the windowed walls. Any space leftover between the bench and the wall will be filled in with vertical shelving units. After looking around quite a bit, I've found this: http://www.harborfreight.com/60-in-4-drawer-hardwood-workbench-69054.html

I'm not usually a Harbor Freight fan, but this actually looks to be a quality bench at an affordable price. Given the depth of the unit, I'm a bit concerned about fore-aft stability, but I think this can be mitigated through wall bracing, or just outright mounting it to the wall. I'm also planning on mounting a lip around the entire bench to contain errant primers, cases, small rodents, etc. I may also end up putting a hard laminate over the top, too.

What do you guys think? This is my very first crack at a true reloading bench, and I very much value your input, suggestions, criticisms, etc. Unfortunately, my wood working skills are limited to successfully sharpening a pencil 3 out of 5 attempts, so i can not build my own system. Any pefab alternatives you guys could suggest are welcome.

Edited July 24, 2016 by Phlier

[Phlier]

Here is a simple medium cost bench I use.

2016-03-03 16.59.06.jpg

Got the Harbor freight bench and added adjustable feet for height, peg board with frame and bolted it to the wall.

I should read a bit more thoroughly before posting! I see that rustybayonet and others have already found the Harbor Freight bench! Love the setup, rusty. I'll be looking to pretty much duplicate it.

[Phlier]

I did end up ordering the Harbor Freight bench, and it's.... nice. Not exactly ideal, but it's ok. The main problem is the lack of depth prevents it from being stable enough for reloading. I'll need to modify it some in order to anchor it to the wall or floor.

Two days ago, I found this: http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/work-benches/open-leg/adjustable-height/48-x-30-shop-top-work-bench-adjustable-height-1-1-2-top?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CjwKEAjwrIa9BRD5_dvqqazMrFESJACdv27GFKX43RCKTGzEkl14ltq32oiOgMAJh0Vy7j5jugIDXBoCK7bw_wcB

Wow. Long link! Anyway, the cross bracing along the back would make it a breeze to anchor to a wall, and the legs have bolt holes pre-drilled, specifically for anchoring to the floor. Think I may end up ordering one of these, as well. Anyone have any experience with the globalindustrial.com bench? I noticed in the reviews section that a reloader gave it a good review.

The fact that it is ten inches deeper than the HF bench should help a bunch with back/forth stability, too.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Phlier

[Steve RA]

This is a really good one and a number of people on here use them:

https://m.samsclub.com/ip/seville-classics-ultrahd-workbench/prod1490086