If You Had it to Do All Over Again....

greyling22 said:

not my setup, but I like the looks of the t-track in this bench. I cannot do it because I have a formica top on mine.
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Sorry, but no cats in the reloading room! Media looks a lot like litter to them. Heck, piles of brass work for them too. I've had to shoo our cat away from brass air drying in a pile.

I wouldn't use a bench at all. They just collect clutter. I greatly prefer stands. I would use a very heavy machine tool stand with a cast iron base pedestal and thick plate steel top. Cast iron and steel would be my preference, but I could also see casting the pedestal in concrete with a plate steel top. I would never use wood for a reloading stand or mount a press on a wood bench. I'm not saying it can't be done well, just that I don't care for that.

If you can get a smooth wooden counter top, white makes it easiest to see dropped primers, etc. Using lots of gloss enamel with a poly coat over will last a long time. Don’t use dark colors, you’ll regret it the first time you’re looking for little things on it.

My bench was a little deep, so I got a 12”x36”x4’ tall metal shelving unit to hold dies, powder, manuals, etc. within reach.

I have read in computer forums that Formica isn’t a great option because it can create static electricity, so I’d stay away from that as a surface with primers and powder about.

Good luck!

Mount your presses, powder measures, gun cleaning cradle, etc. on 3/4" plywood bases - and C Clamp them to the edge bench as you need them. That way you can move things around all the time. This way my RCBS RS Jr, Forster Co-Ax, Dillon 550 and 650 can all take center stage when I need them, and slide to the back when I don't.

labnoti said:

I wouldn't use a bench at all. They just collect clutter. I greatly prefer stands.

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This is largely the direction I have moved over time. I DO use bench priming and seating tools, but I really don’t need much more than 2x4 for 3 presses, and if I were starting over, that’s all I’d have. 2x8 for 5 presses if I kept my 44mag and 223rem progressives set up.

Certainly I would have more room and it would include an emphasis on aesthetics, not just function. More room and more equipment. I do a good job of keeping my small space well organized and would continue that practice with lockable cabinets designed by me (as I designed my large gun cabinet). With beauty in mind, I would have shooting themed art (hunting, shooting, western and Native art) and trophys. Now my reloading corner is in the garage and not very useful during frigid winter days. My gun cabinet is in the house in a spare bedroom. Oh what a room my fantasy can create!!

I would also make sure I had good light overhead and an adjustable height stool. Inevitably whatever height bench you build, it will be wrong.....
Pintrest has a reputation for chick stuff, but there are some amazing things on there. Reloading room ideas, bench construction plans and ideas, you name it.

I recently retired and returned to the family farm where I came of age. For me, it was less a question of having to do it over again than (re-)adapting to the reloading bench I built when I was 17. The biggest change I would make would be to use factory-made drawer slides (rather than field-fabricated ones that rely on beeswax) and I would put smooth drawer pulls on the drawers that can't catch on the pleats of clothing.

hdwhit said:

I would put smooth drawer pulls on the drawers that can't catch on the pleats of clothing.

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Absolutely astonishing how often that happens. Almost as astonishing as how terribly it rankles me!

Total investment for all 3....$50 Recycled upright pianos. Easy to add shelving. And they’re moveable if you want to rearrange. Have since added a 4th.

Looks great Bigbore......wish I could into the dark space. Early on with my digital camera, I learned to ignore the "turn the flash on" signal from the camera. The flash made the same problem. Try it without the flash.....you may be surprised. Great idea!

Now I can see it better....my computer?

My last “clean sheet” followed advice from above. Perimeter bench that’s not too deep 18” is what I made. I used a shelf on the bottom to store things and everything stored there adds stability from the weight, as does having the “wing”.

I did the same narrow shelves so I don’t have to go digging through them either.

BigBore44 said:

View attachment 835556 View attachment 835557 View attachment 835558 Total investment for all 3....$50 Recycled upright pianos. And they’re portable. Easy to add shelving. And they’re moveable if you want to rearrange. Have since added a 4th.

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One of the nicest classic setups I have seen! Excellent
Made me think of one other class setup that was a Armoire. Could close it up and it sat in a living room.

If using the Lee classic turret, you can trace around a spare turret then use a router freehand and make small shelves that hold your extra turrets. The ones not being used were always in my way on the bench so I made these little shelves to get them out of the way. I know they make die holders for the Lee turrets but I'm cheap and I didn't need to take up more of my already precious shelf space.

kidneyboy said:

^^^ what these guys said ^^^^^

When I moved the reloading room having a very solid and level bench was the biggest priority and lighting was next.

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Go with LED lighting trust me on this one.

As mentioned build longer, in hindsight I would have built to 8ft. I didn't plan on one of my buddys reloading with me at the time. Went heavier to take the beating of resizing and storage. Tusker mentioned LED lighting...YES!! Had a little swing arm lamp and power strip on an extension cord I was using, I wired in a LED over head and new power outlet. I just had a vent put in for heat during the winter.
Just set a stool where you imagine sitting for hours to reload and think about the things you would like. Imagine pulling the handle on the press, will your bench be high enough, too low. Is the space too cold, too hot. Dies or tools within reach, have enough light to see everything? Lots of things to consider, but I did just sit on a stool and imagine it and literally started marking on the walls where I wanted the bench etc. A blank slate is a wonderful thing! Hope you have fun with it!!