I am just starting to look at getting into reloading, as finding ammunition for 460 and 500 S&W is quite difficult and quite expenssive. I unfortunately have very little room for a reloading bench, and just noticed that Lee makes a small tripod reloading bench that is very small and portable looking. Does anybody on the forum having any experience with these and can advise how effective thy are?
Lee Reloading Bench
- Thread starter BBSE120
- Start date
X2 on the Workmate. It's sturdy enough to handle the task and folds small enough to jam in a closet if need be. Also handy for many other little projects, right now mine has an MTM gun maintenance box jammed in it's jaws, pretty great for gun cleaning or mounting a scope, etc.... Bolt all your reloading stuff (press, powder measure, etc...) to a small chunk of plywood an appropriate size for clamping to the top of the table. Makes it quick and easy to get setup, and therefore more enjoyable.
Check out the "Show us your reloading benches" thread- some good ideas there.
I have an old office desk in my room, and I use large C-clamps to hold down my single stage press. Works very well for me, and I keep the press in one of the drawers when not in use.
I have an old office desk in my room, and I use large C-clamps to hold down my single stage press. Works very well for me, and I keep the press in one of the drawers when not in use.
Rory McCanuck
CGN Regular
- Location
- Middle of Manitoba
Not the Lee stand, but something similar. I used a tablesaw stand, mounted some steel plates underneath, stiffened it and gave it a thick 2x4(flat) and plywood top. Worked well enough, but on-press priming still required holding onto the press to stop the whole thing tipping. The stand worked alright.
My new bench is lag bolted to the walls. Solid is better.
My new bench is lag bolted to the walls. Solid is better.
Maritime Storm
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Riverview, NB
My set-up for my shotshell presses is similar to above. I use a Mastercraft four legged saw stand/horse with a 3/4" plywood top and center shelf with both my my presses mounted opposite each other. It's portable and stable at the same time. The whole deal was put together under $50.
TargetAcquired
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- S. Ontario
No experience with the Lee tripod, but it is priced fairly dearly for something you could build yourself in an hour with like $20 worth of material. Take a close look at it - there's nothing special there.
If you can build cartridges, then you can build the stand.
If you can build cartridges, then you can build the stand.
The other option is to buy the lee hand held press, I have one song have reloaded 2k of 9mm and some 500mag on it. . If your going to load 25 or 50 at a time it will work fine. Just lube the cases (i use Lee's white lube mixed with 99% isopropyl alcohol 1:20+)
Snakehunter
CGN Regular
- Location
- Kenora, Ontario
I have my Lee Pro1000 mounted on the Lee tripod stand. It's very stable and the design allows interchanging different presses using mounting plates. As for portability, you have to hang a big concrete block from a rack underneath to make it stable. Once you move the block, the stand is very portable. For my single stage Lee press, I have it bolted to a square piece of plywood that is 12"x12" and 1-1/2" thick. I screwed two pieces of 3/4" ply together to make it that thick. Then I use 2 C-Clamps to secure the thing to a big, thick coffee table I own and reload while watching TV or viewing laptop.
