New Reloading Bench; Suggestions Needed

Tbolt

Tbolt

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Hi All

My new reloading bench is almost finished.
I just have to get the rear shelving made.

What I need are some suggestions for the finish on it.
I was wondering if it would be better to leave it bare, or to coat it with something.

The wood that was used is some sort of Maple, (possibly Sugar Maple).
Not too sure of the type, due to the fact that the wood comes from my parents wooded lot in the Laurentians.
The top is approximately 1.125 inches thick.

Here are some pictures of the almost completed Bench.

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Any help that you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated.
 
I'd suggest 2-4 coats of a high gloss polyurethane. It will seal the wood and make keeping the top clean so easy. If you want to change the colour, you could stain it before the polyurethane but the wood looks interesting the way it is.
If it was fine furniture there would be better choices, but for a reloading bench it's easy and will look good too.
By the way, good job on the bench, it looks good and sturdy.
 
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Wow! Very nice indeed, and made by hand too, using Native Canadian Maple. Boy I sure would love to visit your parents wood lot with you and get enough to make myself one too. Maybe I could trade you a gun for the material?? Anyway do what TMS said, I think the grain is beautiful and it would be a shame to hide it in any way, so go clear. Basically what you are going to have here in the end is a very classic looking reloading bench.

Merci.. pour la Pics.
 
tms said:
I'd suggest 2-4 coats of a high gloss polyurethane. It will seal the wood and make keeping the top clean so easy. If you want to change the colour, you could stain it before the polyurethane but the wood looks interesting the way it is.
If it was fine furniture there would be better choices, but for a reloading bench it's easy and will look good too.
By the way, good job on the bench, it looks good and sturdy.
Click to expand...

I agree. Spilled powder makes a hell of a mess and the bench will be grey in no time.
 
I used spar varnish...it's a marine type varnish.
I used it on birch..about four coats with a light sanding between each coat.
It's not expensive and a quart for less than 20 bucks,goes a long ,long way.
It's gloss and you can find it at Home Hardware,Home Depot,etc.
Real easy to keep clean.
Kind of like glass.

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Well, this thread gave the inspiration to throw together a reloading bench this weekend. Although not as nice as the ones posted here, at least it is mine. I am planning on doing a marine varnish finish like Lef T, I have seen this finish and it is pretty smooth.

Anyways, here is my first attempt;

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Thrown together with leftovers from another project.

By the way Tbolt, nice bench you made there!
 
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I agree the Maple hardwood deserves to be shown off and protected with a varnish. With the plywood, I would cover it with a melamine of some sort.
 
Tbolt, I think your going to kick your self in the ass because you eventually will want to put your feet under the bench. With a lower bench that high you leave no room to go over or under the bench. Perhaps a square cutout for your legs to stretch out?

BTW, nice table!
 
Table looks good. I would recommend the same suggestion about leg space. Have a shelf underneath only 75% as wide as the top so you can put your legs underneath while sitting at the bench.

Regards,
 
Nice lookin' project Tbolt !

Get your rear shelving figured out ... my powder measure is bolted to my rear shelf at a very convenient working height ... and just high enough that a Hodgdon's 1lb. powder container will also go under the drop tube. The shelf.
besides the powder measure & trickler & scale, also holds all my dies and 1 lb. powder cans.

Suggest you might mount your press, case trimer, powder measure & anything else that get's bolted or screwed down first ... then remove all before finishing. I finished mine with a wiped-on/wiped-off coat of Minwax
"Puritan Pine" stain ... it's quite light & transparent ... makes white woods look like they've "aged" - then finished with 3 or 4 coats of satin urethane.
( I chose satin because I don't like shiney finishes ) ... best applied with a
2 or 2-1/2 inch foam brush. Sand between coats ... I use 220 grit.

You'll get a nice, smooth finish that's easy to keep clean & doesn't bounce
light back at you.

Also best I find to bolt the bench securely to the wall/floor.

Post-up another pic when all done & ready to go. !
 
Standing

If you intend on standing in front of your bench while reloading, you could place a footrest bar about six inches from ground level so you can put one foot on it when leaning forward and not strain your back because your forward leg takes up most of the effort.
We always included a foot rest in darkroom sink or table design; it made long hours standing almost pleasurable.
A thick rubberized mat on the ground helps, too.
Also, make sure your countertop planks are joined by gluing/screwing transverse wooden reinforcing ties under them so the effort of press leverage is repartited across the whole depth of the countertop instead of being exerted on the front plank only.
BTW, nice wood!
PP.:)
 
That is an amazing looking bench. Well done. I like the way you have the raised lip around your shelf. As BB said, you might want try a light stain to add some "warmth" to the wood.

For yourself and others that might be looking at building benches here are a couple of ideas my bench uses.

The top of mine used maple veneer MDF finished with several coats of satin urethane on top of "Golden Oak" stain. (or maybe Puritan Pine, can't remember)

The bench is made up with welded square/rectangular tube steel and then topped with maple veneer MDF (3 layers). Solid maple was used around the edges to provide protection to the MDF. This maple edging was cut in a "T" shape with the extended part 5/8" thick and inserted between the upper and lower layers of MDF. (the middle sheet was cut back to create the groove)

The table extends 5" over the front of the steel frame to mount presses, etc. and provides clearance for knees when sitting to work. The top is 38" high, comfortable for standing or sitting on a stool while working. There is 1 shelf, 3/4" plywood on a steel frame. 4 roll out dollies on the floor under the shelf for buckets of brass, lead.....

The steel was finished using a black satin paint (Varathane). Note that if you have worktables, furniture or railings that are a combination of naturally finished wood with steel legs etc... the satin black highlights the wood in an amazing way. The satin black also hides minor imperfections in the metal and paint but doesn't look as dull as flat black.

Good luck with your project.
 
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Hardwood floor finish is the best choice in my opinion for a high use surface such as a kitchen counter top or similar. I used it on oak veneered plywood I used for a counter top in my kitchen and it has stood up very well.
 
Lef T said:
I used spar varnish...it's a marine type varnish.
I used it on birch..about four coats with a light sanding between each coat.
It's not expensive and a quart for less than 20 bucks,goes a long ,long way.
It's gloss and you can find it at Home Hardware,Home Depot,etc.
Real easy to keep clean.
Kind of like glass.

137_3752.jpg
[/IMG]
Click to expand...


That is easily the most impressive set-up that I've ever seen. Is that 4 Dillon 650's side by side?

Nice!! :eek:
 
Demonical said:
That is easily the most impressive set-up that I've ever seen. Is that 4 Dillon 650's side by side?

Nice!! :eek:
Click to expand...

Nah, those seems like Square Deal B's to me. Still impressive to see 4 of them. The owner must be either too lazy to change calibers, or a ultra-high-volume handgun shooter.
 
(a) Square deals is correct
(b) too lazy to change calibres is correct.
You win a quart of spar varnish.
Oops..contest is not open to those outside of Ontario
 
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A long overdue update :redface:

The finish has been chosen Behr #45 Spar varnish; have added 1 coat so far to the top and it looks real good.
Will have some pics up soon.
 
A couple of pictures to show the progress.

1 coat of varnish Behr #45 applied to all surfaces that are going to be protected.
The top was already done and it looks even better than the frame and shelf.

Second coat to be applied in the next few days.

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Still trying to figure out the rear shelving, but that can be added later.

Once it has been given a second coat, it'll be making the journey to Montreal and i can get started on loading my hunting ammo.

The casters will be removed before I set it up.
Can anyone think of a good ground sheet to put under it?
Unfortunately I have no space that doesn't have carpet, and I don't want to have problems with static etc...
 
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