Possible reloading bench???

Branwilder

Branwilder

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Durham Region, Ontario
I am currently planning a reloading room in my basement. I don't have a huge amount of space, but it should be more than enough. I have looked through a couple of the threads here where members have posted photos of their work area's and have got a tonne of idea's already.

When it comes to the bench it self I have been leaning towards building my own and customizing exactly to my space. However, I noticed this bench on sale at Lowes this week and feel that I might work well for my needs. (with some minor changes).

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What do you guy's think? The price is pretty decent and the built in power bar and light's are a big bonus.
 
Depends on your press. I know the rcbs rock chucker wouldn't work on that one because the lever assembly rotates past vertical and it needs a bit of an under cut to get full travel out of the ram.
 
I made one for like 50$, grabbed a jobmate folding bench (19.99) went to the shelving section and got 3 MDF shelves ( 8$ each ) Glued them together, then bolted them in all 4 corners ( almost 2 1/4" thick ) Then removed the press board and clamping mech and stuff off the bench, bolted the MDF to the Jobmate bench. Small enough I can throw in a closet.
 
It would work, although I agree with 07blackwater's comment WRT the Rockchucker.

Despite the photos of postal-code-sized cast-concrete benches, you can do good ammo on virtually any surface big enough to mount a press. My first one, which I used for years, was 20" x 24".
 
07blackwater said:
Depends on your press. I know the rcbs rock chucker wouldn't work on that one because the lever assembly rotates past vertical and it needs a bit of an under cut to get full travel out of the ram.
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Yeah I figured that I would have to make some sort of extension in order to have the press clear when fully depressed...

really who am I kidding, I will likely just build one myself. That way I can fully customize it exactly to my space and needs...

thanks for the advice guys!
 
The rock chucker doesn't need an undercut, it mounts in a way that when it overcams it won't hit the bench. Mine is mounted on a bench 5-3/4" thick with a flat face and it doesn't rub or touch anything.
 
i use to do it in my garage and i had a couple rubbermaid containers for all of my stuff. I took a piece of angle iron (3x3 aluminum actually), drilled 2 holes and mounted the press to it. Then i clamped the angle iron in the vice, worked well enough until i built myself a nice big bench. did the same thing with the powder chucker
 
I used one of those cheap black n decker folding work benchs. I reinforced it with 2x6's. It worked fine for my purposes, but had its draw backs. This would probably work well for what you want.

I recently upgraded to a costco bench. Having extra room to work with is amazing. Much more comfortable when spending hours at the bench. You don't want to be hunched over working the scale. I also installed a vice. I finished and had to note how much room was still left open on the bench. "So much room for activites!"
 
I used 4 project panels from home depot, some L brackets, and some machine screws and washers and nuts. Used the brackets to mark the holes, then drilled them out. Took longer for me to decide if I wanted to put a shelf in the bottom than it did to assemble it. It does what it needs to, and I stuck a 4" vice on the other end to counterbalance the press.
This way when I move, I can just disassemble it and reassemble it without needing to worry about traditional wood screws chewing up the wood and eventually making it unusable.
Not heavy, I need to use one hand to keep it from dancing around when I'm loading, but it's not bad at all. If I ever get a circular saw, or figure out how to saw in a straight line I'll get a fifth project panel and make a shelf, which will also add stability.

Plus, since there's minimal holes in the wood, I can take it apart and use it for something else if I ever upgrade. Probably turn it into shelving.
 
I used an old (real wood) dresser with a 3/4 piece of birch plywood on top Allow it to overhang a few inches to allow for the press swing,This not only gives me a bench it also gives me three drawers ,two of which have locks for ammo storage and one for parts.

Please ignore the mess


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I have the crappy tire bench for use as a gunsmithing/cleaning bench. I wouldn't use it for reloading unless you reinforce it ....especially the top......

I used an old Ikea desk and reinforced it with 2X4s and a sheet of 1.25" plywood screwed to the top and finished with black Arborite........I also lag bolted it into the wall.........that sucker does not move!!!!!!! I also cut a 1/4" thick 14" X 6" steel plate and screwed that to the top of the desk to use as a mounting surface for my Rock Chucker........VERY solid.......Added an old desk drawer unit for storage......

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Jdeere1 said:
Timely information. I am building a bench for my Rockchucker and I didn't know about the need for an undercut.Thanks.
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The reason I know is because I had to notch the bench I made last week to make mine work properly. It needs clearance starting 3.5" down and a 1" undercut or else it won't over center which comes in handy when using Lee neck sizing dies (among other things).

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