Building my reloading bench

[mosquito]

Craftsman!

 

[AZ_M&P]

Here's the whole "bench"... pretty cushy I guess.

 

[KnotRight]

I am using an old 8 foot school lunch room table with an office chair from Office Depot. The table weighs about 45 pounds.

 

[devony]

I was going to write about how nice the bench looks, but now I have to google to find me a stool like that

 

[smokindog]

Have you looked through this thread?

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/76011-bench-design.html

 

[MasterTech1960]

Home Made

My Dad built me this bench in 1984. We talked about it and I went over what I liked. He had built one for himself but much bigger. I went over to his house one day and he said he had something in the basement for me. I was very happy and still am. My Dad is still with us at 77 and comes over and watches me load. We BS and it is the best.

 

[devony]

My Dad built me this bench in 1984. We talked about it and I went over what I liked. He had built one for himself but much bigger. I went over to his house one day and he said he had something in the basement for me. I was very happy and still am. My Dad is still with us at 77 and comes over and watches me load. We BS and it is the best.

That's very nice

 

[mosquito]

My Dad built me this bench in 1984. We talked about it and I went over what I liked. He had built one for himself but much bigger. I went over to his house one day and he said he had something in the basement for me. I was very happy and still am. My Dad is still with us at 77 and comes over and watches me load. We BS and it is the best.

This is the best post in this thread!

G

 

[BE Mike]

My Dad built me this bench in 1984. We talked about it and I went over what I liked. He had built one for himself but much bigger. I went over to his house one day and he said he had something in the basement for me. I was very happy and still am. My Dad is still with us at 77 and comes over and watches me load. We BS and it is the best.

That was super nice of your dad. Sounds like you are making some great memories.

 

[MasterTech1960]

Thanks for the kind words. I truly love this bench. It looks old school with the wood . My dad tends to over build. This bench is quit heavy. Things that the picture does not show, the top is reinforced with 1/4 inch steel plate where the presses mount. The top is bolted through and is double thick else where. Beleave me it does not flex or move. It will outlast me and will be passed on to my oldest son. My Dads bench will most likely will go to my youngest son.

 

[Jaymo]

My buddy has that same HF bench, for the same reason, and he likes it a lot.

We both use office chairs when reloading. Much more comfortable than standing or sitting on a stool.

 

[BE Mike]

Thanks for the kind words. I truly love this bench. It looks old school with the wood . My dad tends to over build. This bench is quit heavy. Things that the picture does not show, the top is reinforced with 1/4 inch steel plate where the presses mount. The top is bolted through and is double thick else where. Beleave me it does not flex or move. It will outlast me and will be passed on to my oldest son. My Dads bench will most likely will go to my youngest son.

That's old school. Back in the day, everything was built to last. Sadly, now everything seems to be built to throw away after a while.

 

[ageingstudent]

My bench is recycled CVG fir 4X12 on 4X4 legs bolted to the wall. It's really stout. It's 8' long with a shelf underneath. I added a 5' table top in an "L" shape so I don't have to move so far from case prep to off-load. Underneath the table top is a couple old cabinets without drawers. Also recycled--free is good Just another idea if you have the room. I like the wrap around it's convenient.

 

[RevolverDen]

Not to be a Debbie downer, but it looks like the lower drawers on that bench might get in the way of your knees. I would also remove the arm rests from the chair. I load sitting down when loading on my Dillon 550, single-stage press or MEC 600 Jr. I load standing up on my Dillon 650. You have a good start; you'll sort things out.

My friend brought over his Dillion 550 B last night and we did a mock set up on my bench. The drawers are well out of the way for knees and the reloader. I find I rest my feet on the stool which keeps my legs back, I have perfect reach to the bench top, reloader lever all while being able to I keep my back against the chair's backrest and taking advantage of the armrests. If I needed to fully open the top drawer, then I would have to scoot back some.

This set up works well for me, YMMV.

I have since mounted a second 2-shelf wall cabinet next to the original one pictured. And have two steel double-door locking 5-shelf cabinets on the way as noted above.

For those who asked or wondered, this is a large well-ventilated space. Storage for the powder is cool and dry.

Just need to get my order sheet completed for the reloader, accessories and supplies...