I will soon be putting together a new reloading bench. I'm looking for good bench designs or plans. What tips have you got, what sort of "be sure to include...." type of things you can't imagine living without on your reloading bench. Probably 6 feet long at the most. Photos appreciated! Thanks much!

Just went through this myself.
It isn't much but it works for me right well.


Got the plans from:
http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/workshop/bench/below20.html

I made a little modification to the width and height to fit in my specific area. Seems the more space I have on the top of the table the more junk seems to accumulate there!

FWIW

p.s. I have way less than $20 in mine as the lumber was free except the OSB.

Good luck on your project. I built my bench 15 years ago and no brag, just fact, it's the best reloading bench you can have. The plans are available for $5 (along with other excellent info for beginning reloaders)from The National Reloading Manufacturers Assn www.reload-nrma.com The bench is large, free standing, super sturdy, and has planty of storage. I reload for numerous pistol, rifle, and shotgun rounds and cast bullets. Plenty of room for all. Get the plans and buy the lumber, plywood and hardware called for. Take it all to a local, professional cabinet maker and pay him to cut it all to the specifications. He won't screw it up but if he does he must do it over at no charge to you. You can then assemble it at home with a drill and wrenches. One suggestion I offer not mentioned in the plans is to add to the bench top a sheet of thin Masonite which is very smooth and makes clean up much easier. Also, fasten your presses and sizers to the bench with C-clamps so that they can be easily moved to more convenient places. No need to drill holes in your new banch! Have fun!!

Best advice I have is to make sure your top is good and strong. Old solid wood door (real wood all the way through), doubled 3/4" plywood, maple butcher block for wood working benches etc. Then put it on a solid support that can be adjusted to the dips etc in the floor. You can buy these leveling glides if you have wooden 4x4 legs, or something similar if you have a metal leg. The last thing you want when you are doing some case-reforming is to have the bench top bend or have the bench rocking due to a leg that's just a little shorter than the other three.

Here is an early pic of my bench, it's about 5 feet long and was initially set up for shotshell reloading (you can see the MEC on the right side) but subsequently I added a metallic area.
The top is made of 2x6's on edge and covered with a galvanized sheet metal top. 4x4 legs with a shelf about 10" off of the floor to keep reloading, gun cases, ammo boxes and stuff on.
It's made of 2x4's covered with 3/4" plywood. A very sturdy bench.
I installed two stainless steel tubes, about 12" long x 1" diameter, just below the benchtop which accept the slightly smaller tubes mounted on the MEC loader. (You can see the tubes at the base of the MEC.) It works rather well and keeps my benchtop available for smithing and such without the clutter. I simply switch the tubes mounted on the loader to another with wingnuts and away I go!
The large grey cabinet houses 4 MEC loaders and sizers, the white cabinets house primers, loading tools, powder and such. (The primers and powder are up high and in separate cabinets to avoid any low flying sparks.)
I really need to take another pic as the bench has progressed so you can see how it functions better.
Oh, the thing hanging overhead is a shot hopper that I made to hold 75# of lead shot, which I use a small hose connector to feed the shot bottle with. I saves the hassle of trying to feed shot bags up high and losing shot. It's on an overhead pulley that is in the rafters so all I do is lower it to the floor and pour the lead in..........works fantastic!

Geoff,

Whatever your planning ~ It's not big enough
Double it and add extra storage above it and under it............

I keep two RCBS single stages with powder drop measure between them for rifles and two Dillons next to them. One set up for small primers, the other large. Two lubrisizers are also mounted to the front set up for my usual .44 and .357 loads. Someday I'll add one for .45 Colt. That takes up eight feet of the face of my bench....

Buying used is the way to go. All that equipment cost less then $400 combined...Thank goodness for antique stores, pawn shops, and KTP......

Giz

You must not make it too deep. You must consider what kind of press you will be using to consider how high you will make it. If you use a Dillon 650, you will want to reload standing up. With the Dillon "Strong Mount", it will raise the height of the press, so a lower bench top might be just fine. Also, the bench cannot be too sturdy and steady. I strongly advise you to secure it too a wall, if at all possible. This is absolutely necessary if using the Dillon 650 press. You can do this by using steel "L" brackets.

Here is mine:

This bench was made entirely of salvage material. The kitchen cabinets were salvaged from a kitchen fire. The bench top was made from three 2X10's with a layer of 1/4" plywood top. The legs were telephone pole cross ties. The base is all bolted together and I have moved three times since it was built in 1962 and I take the top off intact and moved the assembled leg assemblies. It is bolted to the back wall and is EXTREMELY heavy and solid.

The die rack is simply a base board of 1"x6" (actual measurement) with pegs glued in holes of the appropriate size for the Dillon toolheads (individual Dillon racks were costly as I needed eleven of them). The 1" pvc spacers keep the decapping pins off the deck (don't need to bend them ).

It cost only time to build and a VERY few dollars. Easily built with a builders saw (or a hand saw) and drill with bits. It is movable (movers just LOVED me (NOT) as it is quite heavy).

Dale53

Here is a picture of my reloading bench. As mentioned by others, attach the bench to wall or studs for the most stable setup. I like to stand while I reload, so my bench is 36" from the floor.

Thanks all. Nice bench set ups! I am of course cheap, and frugal is very much the point. I am thinking a 4 footer isn't going to cut it. A Rock Chucker on 1 end, Dillon 550 on the other, some storage, etc. and I want to be able to take it apart without too much trouble. Looks like for the first time in my life I am going to have an entire room, say 8X12 feet but I am not sure 'cuz I haven't measured it, to do with as I want to. My space, all for me! Reloading, a smaller gun maintenance bench (the 4 footer probably), and I am thinking probably my computer set up. My fly tying will no doubt also end up in this room.

After a number of configurations, for my convenience I found having a bench separate for reloading, from my 'cleaning & fiddling bench' is very beneficial.

My reloading chamber is a 16'x16' square that incorporates the home canning storage in one end, the pressure tanks for the private well in another corner (all very out of the way and tucked in) and a large amount of 'multi-use room'.

I happened across a pigeon hole cabinet built for holding die boxes; so at 4x12 it server well. In another area I have an old pigeon hole cabinet with bins 6-8" high X 14" that hold a bunch of extra stuff, and another pigeon hole cabinet with 12x16" bins. My 650 is bolted to 2x10" which is one/half of the top (2-2x10"x6' long)

Has 1 1/2" pipe legs screwed into threaded brackets screwed onto bottom. Bottom shelf made of old angle iron that has screw-bolts at each corner. Can take the whole thing apart if needed.

My first bench was of the school of "heavier is better". 2x10 works fine, and it never moves around. Isn't bolted to wall or floor, but probably the considerable supply of cast lead on the bottom shelf stabilizes it.

Have a half-sheet of plywood laying on 2 3-drawer filing cabinets on other side of room for cleaning, etc.

Will try to get a photo up for this, it sounds more complicated than it is.

After building my bench, I had a problem of it flexing when I raised the ram of my lee turrent, so I mounted a 2x4 directly under the press down to the floor, all flex problems solved.

Geoff, I hope this helps.

I have attached some photos of my latest bench which I built a couple of years ago.

I think the most important consideration are proper height and sturdiness.

My bench is 39.5 inches high which allows me to load standing or sitting on a stool. It is anchored to the wall by a knee brace which provides rigidity and resists uplift. I am 5 feet 10 inches tall and it works for me.

I use a section of a steel wide flange beam to set my scale and clamp powder measures. It is heavy enough to stay put during operation and can still be moved for convenience. I am an architect and I pay attention to ergonomics.

I am fortunate in that I have a 1500 square foot shop/studio for my toys. My reloading section is heated and cooled with a heat pump to keep everything at a proper temperature.

I hope this helps.

I have also shown a gun vise which I made many years ago from oak. Anyone can make one. I use leather to pad the jaws. It has served me well.

Lafayne

Geoff,

I looked at the other bench photos and while storage is nice, I personally don't like cabinets under the bench because I like the leg room for a stool - maybe just because I am older and lazier.

Just make sure it works for you. With the proper height - experiment before you build - you can load standing or sitting although some operations I only do standing. Also, 36 inches is the standard kitchen cabinet height and has been forever, but it is not the correct height for me to load. Don't buy base cabinets at Lowes or Home Depot just because they are 36 inches tall with the top. Don't be concerned about drilling the top for bolts - it's just a loading bench and not your dining table. Clamp the presses for a while to get the feel of things then bolt them in place.

Just my opinion. Good luck and good shootin'.

Howdy

Here is my little slice of reloading heaven. No, it does not usually look this neat, I cleaned it up for the photo.

I recommend making a bench as long as the space will allow. This layout developed over time, the bench on the left came first. It is only 5 feet long, and soon prooved to be too short to accomodate all the equipment I wanted to put on it. Six feet would have been better. I agree, don't make it too deep, you can only reach in so far in comfort. Deeper than that and the benchtop becomes a catchall for litter. I also agree that 36" high may not be ideal for everybody. My benches are more like 38" tall. To reload shotshells I sit on a high stool. To use my progressives I sit in a rolling office chair. You can never have too much storage space.

Do make it as heavy and stable as possible. You are exerting an incredible amount of force when you crank the handle of a loading press. I found 3/4" plywood to be too flexible, I doubled up the plywood on the edges to make the bench top stiffer.