Reloading Bench Help!?

take the pallets apart then make a bench with the free lumber,remember it will be to small real soon
CC

I used this kit, along with 2x4's, for the framing of my bench. I then went to Home Depot for the plywood, and they also cut the 4x8 sheet for free, making it easier to get home.

http://www.strongtie.com/products/diy/kwb.html

Find a solid core door for the top.

You got a circular saw, that's about all you need to make a good basic bench. Lumber isn't very expensive. This thread would go much better if you had tossed out a price you could spend?

The only problem I see with pallets is they don't offer up any good solid heavy lumber. You want a reloading bench to be sturdy. There have been several threads on the subject, maybe a forum search would help. Some very basic and some quite elaborate.

Ron

I built my first bench with strongties, 2x4s and 3/4" plywood (2 layers for the top).

Second bench I decided to save some money and not use strongties. Just 2x4s and this time 1/2" plywood (2 layers for the top again). Came out just as strong. I used these plans. Not using strongties saved about $50 based on my local price for the ties.

I used these plans the second time around. Now I have two great benches in my room.

http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/worktabl/tablefig.htm

If you have the hardwood pallets they may work. But you may need to run them through a planer to get them flat. Could be used for shelfs.

Best to use your tools to cut up new lumber and build a good bench.

johnandersonoutdoors said:

I built my first bench with strongties, 2x4s and 3/4" plywood (2 layers for the top).

Second bench I decided to save some money and not use strongties. Just 2x4s and this time 1/2" plywood (2 layers for the top again). Came out just as strong. I used these plans. Not using strongties saved about $50 based on my local price for the ties.

I used these plans the second time around. Now I have two great benches in my room.

http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/worktabl/tablefig.htm

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That is exactly what I had in mind and very similar to what I built years ago. Any idea about (as in roughly) what the cost was?

Ron

The cost to me for my second bench (using the plans I linked in the post) broke down something like this:

8 2x4s = $22
2 4x8 sheets 15/32" sheathing? plywood = $42-44
screws, glue, sandpaper = $10

You can break down all the pallets and glue the wood faces together making sure to overlap the edges by 6-8 inches and then cut off the overhanging pieces. Kind of a poor mans glue-lam board. Show us your loading room maybe more ideas will arise. I made a nice utility bench for the garage with two discarded 2-drawer file cabinets and a discarded counter top. Left a space in between the cabinets to get my legs and a chair in there. It's about 6 feet wide and plenty sturdy. Heck, you come down to Northwest Indiana with a pick-up and a buddy to help lift it and I'll donate it to you.

S.billy said:

Find a solid core door for the top.

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This. Go to your local Lowes, Home Depot or Menards, go back to the door section and buy a damaged solid core door for the top. Typically you can pick one up for less than $20.00

There's alway someone tossing out kitchen cabinets and countertops. Even if there's some water damaged panels in them, the cabinet framing should be strong enough and they are all made the same height and different width when in a matched set. If you can score enough, you can mix and match for width, shelves. cabinets, maybe even score some slide-out shelves or a slide-out garbage shelf. That cabinet where the sink goes would be great for legroom, etc..
If the counter top isn't going to work, then go with the door option. Mind you an older counter top might have a raised radius at the edge. This could help keep all those round thingies on your bench.
Good luck

2x4's are cheap. Plywood is fairly cheap. I used 2 layers of 3/4" plywood for the top, I don't need that much. It's heavy.

You have a circular saw you can make this one out of one sheet of 3/4" plywood and attach to the wall. RNGR1

Allot of good ideas! I went the solid door rout after seeing them build a work bench for a fella in his basement in a corner on this old Hous. I took our kitchen table we had from wally world. Placed solid door on top Lag Bolted. I Have a SDB DILLION A T-7 Turret lighting gem pro.scale Beam dill. Dillions issues of the Dillions Gal's! Mind U MAN CAVE Material! and a whole lot more! I Hade to put in 1 by 6's for support on the ends for support of the legs. and balance the other end w/100s of rounds! All in a 14 by36 ft storage BLDNG.

G11354 said:

I'm in need of a decent reloading platform but cant afford to buy a bench or the power tools beyond my circular saw and power drill ... have a surplus of small wooden pallets that I've been collecting from work and was wondering if anyone had suggestions?

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Good ideas suggested so far.

Circular saw, cordless drill and hammer are all I ever used to build reloading benches. Over the years, I built several reloading benches for myself and other new reloaders and most of the times used whatever scrap 2x4s and plywood/OSB sheeting was available for the top reinforced with additional 2x4s to reduce/eliminate bench top deflection for resizing even thicker walled military .308 cases.

I would suggest you use the dimensions of around 2'x3' or 2'x4' if you plan on using the bench later inside the house - the bench will turn in through the interior room doorway from even the narrowest hallways. The height of the bench top will depend on whether you operate the press ram standing or sitting down. 34"-35" is a good height for sit down reloading bench and you'll need taller bench top if you plan to reload while standing.

Although my current reloading bench is built from kiln dried 2x4s (no sticky gooey sap from green wood and no warping) and hardwood veneer plywood, you can certainly use lumber from wooden pallets as they are often built from hardwood. You can use the heavier frame rails for legs and thinner top pieces for supports. If the pallets are made from hardwood, you may need to pre-drill the holes so your screws/nails don't break/bend.

I added caster wheels from Harbor Freight furniture moving dolly as they can handle the weight (I typically store around 500+ lbs of bullets/components on my bench) yet it will roll easily on carpet/hardwood without scratching the floor. I built my bench with a tall back wall to support overhead clamp lights and pegboard for easy tool/component storage using pegboard hooks. With the presses mounted at the ends, the bench will not move on hardwood floor when resizing thicker .308 military cases and roll through narrow doorways.

Here's my castered 2'x3' bench but the C-H 205 single stage will be replaced with Dillon 650 soon.

Gorilla rack set up as two sections side by side with some 3/4" marine grade plywood glued and screwed into a 1.5" thick top. That will give you an 8" long bench to work with. If the pallet wood is smooth cut, layer those to get the same thickness

When I moved into my house over thirty years ago I was lucky do to the fact that there was a bar in the basement. It quickly became a first class reloading station.

I'm sure you've looked through the "show us a picture of your reloading bench" thread. If not have a look there.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=218720&page=32&highlight=bench

I used 3 cabinets that were going to be disgaurded and 1 sheet of plywood doubled. Not knowing how much room you have makes it hard to guess.

Another fan of the solid core door. My bench is the bottom 24" of a 36" wide solid core door. My reloading room is the 3' wide spot under the basement stairs. 2x4 legs and attached to the wall for extra support. It is very sturdy and does not flex.

I built this one using 2x6 and 3/8 plywood. The top is 2x6 with a finished plywood surface. No hardware (that gets expensive) other than a few screws. One nice thing is it can be moved and you can build it 8' wide if you want. Cost was less than $100.

Harbor Freight

http://www.harborfreight.com/60-inc...3314a&utm_source=1012&cid=mEmail_s1012_c3314a