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.