Bench for New Reloader

[Buzznrose]

your going to spend $200 to mount a $400 press. Don’t spend money you don’t have man, I did the same when I was young and learned that it doesn’t have to be perfect

agree….but…

How much fuel do you go through looking for something cheap?

If you have to buy lumber at todays prices, what is the cost for materials?

I’ve bought several Husky work tables in the last few years. They are all solid and serve many uses, and I expect them to serve me for many years, and get passed down.

The $199 table seems pricey compared to the press, but it is the foundation for the work. A table at an awkward height, or wobbly, or too small, would cause the reloading work to be harder.

 

[Mark_Mark]

agree….but…

How much fuel do you go through looking for something cheap?

If you have to buy lumber at todays prices, what is the cost for materials?

I’ve bought several Husky work tables in the last few years. They are all solid and serve many uses, and I expect them to serve me for many years, and get passed down.

The $199 table seems pricey compared to the press, but it is the foundation for the work. A table at an awkward height, or wobbly, or too small, would cause the reloading work to be harder.

if you got the money or not have at it. The OP on the other thread was using a CC and waiting for a settlement check to pay off the CC charge. I’m just trying to help the young man by advising not over spending. But…. it’s all good! I don’t tell people how to live their lives.

 

[BigBL87]

if you got the money or not have at it. The OP on the other thread was using a CC and waiting for a settlement check to pay off the CC charge. I’m just trying to help the young man by advising not over spending. But…. it’s all good! I don’t tell people how to live their lives.

Thanks. I'm not really in a rush since components won't be readily available for awhile still probably. Buying the press kit was kind of a special circumstance, was too good of a deal to pass up. I'd planned on waiting for the check to buy but didn't want to miss out on that deal.

We aren't scraping by or anything, just not alot of disposable income at the moment. Just had baby number 2 in Feb and my wife is on the unpaid half of her maternity leave, so just have to be a little more careful where we put money for a little while. If I can't find something in my price range I can wait, part of it was also to save a bit to be able to invest in rounding out the kit too.

I'd tossed around the idea of getting the Frankford Arsenal Reloading Stand, but it's very minimalist and I think I'll want to be able to expand what I have on the bench more than what it can accommodate. The sub $100 price I can get it for is tempting though.

 

[Tilos]

Wanted to see about recommendations for a pretty cheap option for a pre-fab bench. I'm not great with woodworking, so I feel like I'd save time and pain buying something prefab. I'm aiming to stay around or under $150 and don't need anything huge or otherwise special. I've found a few candidates but if anyone has other suggestions I'm all ears!

This one from Harbor Freight keeps popping up and looks decent:

https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-.../60-in-4-drawer-hardwood-workbench-63395.html

This happened to pop up in my searches, seems like an interesting option but wasn't sure if that gauge of steel is thick enough or if the rounded front would cause issues:

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/18...l-work-table-with-undershelf/522ETSG2460.html

There's also this one from Home Depot:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-4-ft-Solid-Wood-Top-Workbench-in-Black-20T002-1B/315538857

OK, I have that HF bench, don't use it for Loading but think it would be great for Loading.

A couple of points.
The drawers are shallow and only open about 1/2 way as the drawer hardware is cheap/short.
For loading I would stack the drawers on one side to allow for press mounting, I didn't do that though.
Some have combined 2 drawers into one deeper drawer (with dual slides), didn't do that either.

The bottom shelf is weak as the front and back boards have grooves/slots to hold the press-wood shelf and they spread apart when you put weight on it.
Nailing a couple of supports (front to back) under that shelf cure that though, I can put heavy stuff down there after this simple fix.
I used longer deck screws than what came in the kit, and just put angle brackets from to top to a studs on the wall behind it, and it's rock solid.
If you have baseboard were the bench will be, you may need to cut some off the back feet so the bench top will touch the wall when pushed up against it.
Brackets from benchtop to stud behind the drywall:

Or when using: when-in-doubt build-it-stout engineering method:


Go to the Harbor Freight site and look at the assembly instructions for a better look at what you get.
Here:
63395.pdf (harborfreight.com)
https://manuals.harborfreight.com/manuals/62000-62999/62603.pdf

.

 

[Tilos]

Thanks. I'm not really in a rush since components won't be readily available for awhile still probably. Buying the press kit was kind of a special circumstance, was too good of a deal to pass up. I'd planned on waiting for the check to buy but didn't want to miss out on that deal.

We aren't scraping by or anything, just not alot of disposable income at the moment. Just had baby number 2 in Feb and my wife is on the unpaid half of her maternity leave, so just have to be a little more careful where we put money for a little while. If I can't find something in my price range I can wait, part of it was also to save a bit to be able to invest in rounding out the kit too.

I'd tossed around the idea of getting the Frankford Arsenal Reloading Stand, but it's very minimalist and I think I'll want to be able to expand what I have on the bench more than what it can accommodate. The sub $100 price I can get it for is tempting though.

OK then
Here's a great "stand" for a great price that's better than the Lee or FA stand and is only $35:
Universal Bench Grinder Stand (harborfreight.com)
I have one of those too, but use it for my drill press...it even has a riser on it.


You could add these HF fold down shelves:
Folding Side Tray for 5 Drawer Tool Cart, Red (harborfreight.com)
I have made those out of wood...way cheaper.
.

 

[J-Bar]

Old desks can be pretty cheap at flea markets. The drawers are handy for storing stuff. My Dillon is bolted to a piece of 3/4” plywood which is then secured with screws to the desktop. Pix in a few days if the topic remains active.

 

[Mark_Mark]

OK then
Here's a great "stand" for a great price that's better than the Lee or FA stand:
Universal Bench Grinder Stand (harborfreight.com)
I have one of those too, but use it for my drill press...it even has a riser on it.

$35! now we talking! I like the storage space under it too

I think I’ll get one for my drill press and 1 for my grinder

 

[kmw1954]

Go to graigslist, search the Free. I found in my neighborhood someone that was remodeling a kitchen and was throwing out the cabinets. I was able to find 2 nice base cabinets , one with 4 drawers and one with a drawer and a door with adjustable shelves. Yes both were FREE!

Then wet to Home Depot and bought a 4'X4'X3/4" plywood and cut it in half (if you don't have a saw they will cut it for you) then glued and screwed the two halves together for the bench top. Cut a 2X4 to make cleats to attach to the cabinets to then screw the top into. Also this way you can set the work top height to your desire. Whole thing cost me less than $50.00

 

[Mark_Mark]

Go to graigslist, search the Free. I found in my neighborhood someone that was remodeling a kitchen and was throwing out the cabinets. I was able to find 2 nice base cabinets , one with 4 drawers and one with a drawer and a door with adjustable shelves. Yes both were FREE!

Then wet to Home Depot and bought a 4'X4'X3/4" plywood and cut it in half (if you don't have a saw they will cut it for you) then glued and screwed the two halves together for the bench top. Cut a 2X4 to make cleats to attach to the cabinets to then screw the top into. Also this way you can set the work top height to your desire. Whole thing cost me less than $50.00

I love recycling!

 

[Mark_Mark]

OK then
Here's a great "stand" for a great price that's better than the Lee or FA stand $34:
Universal Bench Grinder Stand (harborfreight.com)
I have one of those too, but use it for my drill press...it even has a riser on it.
View attachment 1075322
View attachment 1075323
You could add these HF fold down shelves:
Folding Side Tray for 5 Drawer Tool Cart, Red (harborfreight.com)
I have made those out of wood...way cheaper.
.

you have a clean garage! my garage looks like hell, can’t even fit a car in it

 

[Skeptic13]

I built mine and it has worked out great. My only advice is to go longer if you have the room. I made mine 4 feet and wish I had made it 6 feet. And go wood. Your going to want to put holes in it.

 

[GW Staar]

You can build one of these without much woodworking skill. Drawers are harder, but you can add a kitchen drawer base from Home Depot underneath where ever you want. The bench is 42" high with only one 3/4" plywood necessary for the top...since the torsion beam in front make a second layer totally unnecessary....glued and screwed.

With a 42" high benchtop you get 37.5" in the clear underneath, so a kitchen drawer base cabinet at the standard 34" high has a 2X4 width extra. This is about the cheapest way to get an strong simple bench though.....drawers could always come later.

Plans for just the bench are available to Download free:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?resources/inexpensive-no-flex-bench-how-to.6/

 

[Buzznrose]

Thanks. I'm not really in a rush since components won't be readily available for awhile still probably. Buying the press kit was kind of a special circumstance, was too good of a deal to pass up. I'd planned on waiting for the check to buy but didn't want to miss out on that deal.

We aren't scraping by or anything, just not alot of disposable income at the moment. Just had baby number 2 in Feb and my wife is on the unpaid half of her maternity leave, so just have to be a little more careful where we put money for a little while. If I can't find something in my price range I can wait, part of it was also to save a bit to be able to invest in rounding out the kit too.

I'd tossed around the idea of getting the Frankford Arsenal Reloading Stand, but it's very minimalist and I think I'll want to be able to expand what I have on the bench more than what it can accommodate. The sub $100 price I can get it for is tempting though.

OP, I understand! I lived a career as an enlisted military troop with a family. I know what it’s like to have little to no discretionary spending money. Not trying to push you to spend more than you can afford or justify.

All I’ll say is I usually spent more in the long run by…

1. Being in a hurry and…

2. Trying to go the cheapest route.

Learning to live frugally has been a benefit for me. It’s about…

1. Research and questions (like you are doing)

2. Patience for the right deal

3. Thinking ahead

4. Buying gear that can, where possible, serve multiple purposes.

Good luck! The RCBS press will serve you well.

 

[Buzznrose]

if you got the money or not have at it. The OP on the other thread was using a CC and waiting for a settlement check to pay off the CC charge. I’m just trying to help the young man by advising not over spending. But…. it’s all good! I don’t tell people how to live their lives.

Understood, and I do agree not to overspend…debt can suck the life from a family!

My point is we sometimes try and go cheap with something that won’t work and we end up paying more in the long run.

Kinda like rushing in to make bullets and either have to spend a few hours breaking them back down (been there done that) or worse, damaging a gun or body part.

I stole a saying a long time ago…”if you don’t have time to do it right, you’ll make time to do it over…”

 

[Remington1911]

A tick over your budget but I have two of these as well as some of the rolling drawer cabinets, these things are built STRONG as hell.

https://www.sevilleclassics.com/pro...KXDG1WglvR6QdyG--GFidWKYXoBQY4e4aArnnEALw_wcB

I have my vice mounted to one of these tables, but not my press I don't see any reason in the world it would not work, and I can safely say it will last a lifetime.

I have my reloading stuff mounted to this guy, sorry well outside your budget.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...pqDBNATi3wCzeGSl9e8aAvgdEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Everything dealing with reloading is held in this one unit, bullets, powders, primers, tools for working on guns, all the mags for all the guns are in the longest drawer. I love this thing.....but I started out on the table I linked and as the years went by I just added to it using the same seville stuff, All my gun and other hobby stuff is in these storage units.

If you have a sams club around that is where I got mine, you can see them there, good thick metal, and thick wood tops.

 

[J-Bar]

Old student desk set up in a spare bedroom/ den:

 

[Mark_Mark]

Understood, and I do agree not to overspend…debt can suck the life from a family!

My point is we sometimes try and go cheap with something that won’t work and we end up paying more in the long run.

Kinda like rushing in to make bullets and either have to spend a few hours breaking them back down (been there done that) or worse, damaging a gun or body part.

I stole a saying a long time ago…”if you don’t have time to do it right, you’ll make time to do it over…”

I completely understand with your point. And if guy wants to buy a nice table, i’ll be quite. But I personally have mount my Rock Chunker on a flimsy side of the road table, a $10 Ikea square storage thing, and a coffee table. They all needed some bracing but worked great for single stage work. I get it… some people like nice things. but other (me) like Clutter.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Understood, and I do agree not to overspend…debt can suck the life from a family!

My point is we sometimes try and go cheap with something that won’t work and we end up paying more in the long run.

Kinda like rushing in to make bullets and either have to spend a few hours breaking them back down (been there done that) or worse, damaging a gun or body part.

I stole a saying a long time ago…”if you don’t have time to do it right, you’ll make time to do it over…”

I agree with this 100%!

One of my sayings in life is, "Don't' do what I do. It won't work for you. I'm me and you're you. You do you and be the best you you can." Yeah, I've got a lot of gibberish-sounding sayings in life.

Point is, we can give advice and describe what we do and how it works for us but, that's not the other guy. I started the whole barstool-reloading "bench" thing back around 1987, after living in a boarding house where I couldn't reload or even keep a gun at all because it wasn't private or secure. When I moved back to a private home, my home, I found I didn't want to setup a new reloading room or dedicate a space to just reloading. I like to be mobile. I don't like closeting my self away indoors to do something I enjoy. If I was like that I'd watch television and buy ammo. I can haul my stools and tackle boxes out to the living room, the porch, the oak stands, the lake, the gun club/range... anywhere; and, I'm ready to load using the tools I'm familiar with, not some cobbled-together subset of good tools I only use "out there." That works for me. Not saying it'll work for anybody else. In fact, I'm pretty sure it won't. What I am saying is, it's good for the OP to have input - that's why we're here - but we should all try to avoid "pushing" our way of doing things on anyone else. I'm not accusing, don't take it wrong, this has been a great thread, I'm just saying it seems like there's been a little bit of, "MY way is the ONLY way!" kind of thinking going on. But, I could be wrong... it happens fairly often.

 

[dh1633pm]

I made some nice work benches using 2x4 basics. Four to be exact. Work well and are relatively inexpensive. As you can see from all the posts let your imagination be your guide.

https://2x4basics.com/

 

[lightman]

Look at a company called ULINE. They sell commercial and industrial warehouse material, office and shipping supplies, packaging materials, ect. They have packing tables that would make a great loading table. Somewhat over your stated budget but worth a look. After we get moved I plan to order a table and some metal cabinets from them.

My current loading bench is made from 1-1/4" pipe and angle iron. Its been reconfigured a few times over the 40 some years that I've had it. But I also have some welding skills.

 

[Mark_Mark]

we are literally debating about a rectangle table that a high school kid in shop class can make

 

[Mark_Mark]

do they still have shop class?

 

[BigBL87]

do they still have shop class?

Don't believe so in alot of places, though I had them when I was in school. That aside, it's not my forte by a long stretch. Woodworking for whatever reason is something I seem to struggle with based on my experience since becoming a homeowner. Learned alot of things, but my carpentry skills still suck.

Not to mention, with the price of lumber, by the time I build something myself and am unhappy with it (which is likely), I'll probably wish I'd just bought one anyway. I'm leaning hard towards this bench from Sam's Club. I like the mobile one linked from HomeDepot, but the one from Sam's Clubs seems like it may be a bit more solid.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Don't believe so in alot of places, though I had them when I was in school. That aside, it's not my forte by a long stretch. Woodworking for whatever reason is something I seem to struggle with based on my experience since becoming a homeowner. Learned alot of things, but my carpentry skills still suck.

Not to mention, with the price of lumber, by the time I build something myself and am unhappy with it (which is likely), I'll probably wish I'd just bought one anyway. I'm leaning hard towards this bench from Sam's Club. I like the mobile one linked from HomeDepot, but the one from Sam's Clubs seems like it may be a bit more solid.

Why didn’t you say so! Yeah man, go with prefab, are you good with assembling?

 

[BigBL87]

Why didn’t you say so! Yeah man, go with prefab, are you good with assembling?

Usually don't have issues as long as everything is there that's supposed to be, haha. Also tossing around the idea of a tool stand or that Frankford Arsenal Reloading Stand for the press and powder measure, and using my "general" work bench for most other stuff. That bench, I inherited when we bought the house.



This is what that bench looks like, also have one set up for gun cleaning next to it you can kind of see. Need to declutter it hardcore obviously, but I could probably toss a tumbler on there especially since I don't need to bolt it down and can move it if need be. I could also probably buy a shelving unit (probably in the Plano Outlet Store, they're stupid cheap there) and move alot of that clutter to make room for reloading supplies. The stand solution might actually be my best way to go the more I look at it. I just don't want to mount the press to that bench because I already have the vise and bench grinder on there, and adding anything else would make the middle of the bench pretty much useless space-wise.