Apartment Reloading and presses

[Nyghtfall]

OK, it's been a while since I reloaded. About twenty years. But I am getting back into it. I have a question. Do the bolts for most presses line up the same? In other words, can I drill the holes in my bench for the press to mount on and have them fit different brands of presses. Or do each brand have their own bolt pattern?
Also, I am going to have to get by in a very limited amount of space for a while. I am thinking about either a hand press or building a small frame-type structure to hold just the press. I just wanted to know how others handled reloading in a small or limited area. Are the hand presses worth it, or would I be better off either building something or maybe getting the portable thing that Midway sells? Has anyone ever tried using one of those Black&Decker portable workbenches for reloading?

Thanks

 

[JPM70535]

I really don't think a B&D Work mate or anything like it would be sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of cycling the handle on your press. I know I need a rock solid bench to allow seating the primer consistently by feel on my 650 Dillon. Maybe if you were using a single stage press and doing your priming with a hand held tool,the B&D would suffice.

 

[RugerSAFan]

I'm currently utilizing a borrowed B&D in my place.

Bolted two single stage presses to a 2x6, and clamped the 2x6 to the B&D. The initial intent was portability, but I never disassemble.

Wobbles slightly; I wanted to attach my powder measure to the flow through die, but won't until I get a sturdier platform.

Currently works for me.

 

[Standing Wolf]

When I lived in a rat hole apartment in Silicon Valley, the People's Republic of California, I C-clamped a sheet of one-inch plywood to my dining table fore and aft. One end hung over the end of the table about five inches. I bolted my trusty old Rock Chucker to it and loaded away. The table wasn't very sturdy, but sturdy enough. I found it helped to pad the pressure points of the C clamps with cardboard to save wear and tear on the plywood and bottom of the table.

 

[444]

I have two presses mounted on those Midway stands. One is an RCBS Rockchucker, the other is a Lyman T-Mag II. Yes, they can tilt when putting a lot of leverage on the press. It dosn't bother me in the least. I have been using them for years. I now have three big strong workbenches full of reloading tools and still keep the two presses on the Midway stands. I use the Rockchucker frequently including yesterday and last night. The only problem I ever had was with a stuck case. I broke the top of the stand clear off, but it didn't tip over. I simply ordered another top from Midway. One nice thing about the Midway stand is the fact that you can buy the top seperately, if you wanted to mount several presses or other tools you could switch them out.
Another small, no space loading set up is the old Lee Loader. It takes up less space than a paperback novel, however it isn't really suited to apartment loading because of the noise.
I also own a Lee Hand Press. That is the way I would go if I were you. It is perfectly functional and uses standard dies. I haven't used mine a whole lot. I have done some .44 Mags and some .38s in it. It worked fine. I intended to take it to work to deprime/resize cases during lulls in activity, but I decided it was too politically incorrect and I didn't want to draw unnessessary attention to myself. It would also make a good set up for loading at the range when working up a load. I would imagine that full length resizing a fairly large centerfire rifle case might be a little much. It would probably work, but it wouldn't be my first choice.
When I lived in an apartment, I had a full sized bench with the Rockchucker, but I am single and lived in a two bedroom apartment.
What are you planning on loading ? If it is only pistol, go with the hand press. Bigger cases take more leverage and almost demand a full sized press. I have never used one of those Workmate benches for a press although I do use one for my trimmer. I would imagine it would work pretty well. It would be more solid than those Midway stands. And you could take the press off and fold it up. You could take something like a 2x6 and mount a press on one end and a powder measure on the other end. I built a table top for mine and use it as an informal bench rest combined with a lawn chair. They come in handy for all kinds of shooting stuff and I bought mine for $15; it is a Chinese copy I got at Harbor Freight & Tool.

 

[charleym3]

I spend about a week each year reloading after work. Around 6-8000 rounds. My Dillon 550B is bolted to a 20X20 piece of , forgive my incorrect spelling, Melamime (?) 5/8 inch particle board with white formica on both sides. I push the computer out of the way and "C"-Clamp the front of the melamime to my office desk and put 500-600 bullets on the back. Rock solid. I put the scale on a different table that doesn't wobble or catch a breeze. ker-chunk ker-chunk ker-chunk. That time is comin up soon.

 

[coonan357]

before I cleaned out the spare room and built a bench in there I used my rs-5 on a B-D 425 workmate bench I bolted it right thru the board ( found out later its pressed paper) it worked untill I moved it over to my bench , then my buddy needed a bench so I bolted his redding press to it in some new holes I drilled and he used it until he tried to size some unlubed cases , snap !!! paperboard broke in half , I took off the board mounts and made a new board out of 3/4 cabinet grade plywood , still holding after 2 years .. yea it shakes alittle , but not as much as the midway stand his dad has .

 

[PaulS]

Nyghtfall,
I have plans for a small bench that is able to be taken down. I would be happy to share it with any who want to take a look. It's 30 inches wide, and just over 30 inches long. Sturdy as any bench made (won't rock even forming cases) and has an optional shelf for storage. It can be built by anyone with a handsaw, a drill and a screwdriver. (those who own power tools coould probably manage it too but it wouldn't have the same rustic appeal.

PaulS

[email protected]

 

[sm]

Taking a break from reloading at the moment.

I tooka pc of plywood and drilled holes to fit presses, after I inserted bolts up through this plywood I placed this atop another pc of plywood. C clamped to an old table, using wingnuts I could secure. If needed to change, loosen, remove, place new loader atop tighten and ready to go. I also had for a friend's press the bolts in place , didn't get in the way of mine, but handy when needed. I used a kitchen stand I refinished, supplies kept in cabinets below. Currently I'm using the Kitchen stand as intended, on top of the plywood boards, since refinished the same, people think its part of the design...someday all I have to do is flip flop, bolt and go.

 

[jw29650]

I use a piece of 3/4" plywood clamped to a workmate for my loading presses. I have two setups one is the Lee turrent for pistol rounds and the other is single stage for rifle rounds. The single stage has the Lee perfect powder measure screwed next to the press. The turrent has the auto measure on top of the bell die. On both setups I have screwed 1" x 1/8" thick bar stock steel strips to the side of the plywood base using washers as standoffs to allow mounting Acro bins to hold brass and bullets. On the turrent setup I have the Lee shot shell loader so that if I turn it around before clamping to workmate, I can load shot shells. The handle of the turrent press fits between the boards of the workmate. This setup is very portable and when weather is nice I load outside. When weather is not so nice, I load in the den.

JW

 

[griz]

Like lots of folks here, I started with a press bolted to plywood, which was C-clamped to the kitchen table. I used flathead screws from the bottom so the press didn't have to overhang the edge of the table.

I may have missed it, but I didn't see a reply to the bolt pattern question. Although there may be some occasional compatibility, intentional or not, every press I have used has a different bolt pattern. I think this is a natural byproduct of trying to get a big footprint for a big press.

 

[Frohickey]

I took two pieces of plywood, screwed these two together at multiple points around the edges. Then, I drill the bolt pattern for the individual presses, and countersink the hole. This piece is always going to be attached to the particular press. Then, I drill another 4 holes clear through the plywood, and these 4 holes match the 4 holes in my bench.

When I need to swap to a different press, the 4 bolts get undone, the press/plywood combo gets swapped with another press/plywood combo.

 

[sm]

My bolt patterns were the same.
I could fit 2 loaders if I wanted.

I left the bolts protuding for my friends reloader, didn't get in my way since I planned the layout beforehand. When he sold and replaced his loader, to one like mine ,I just removed the protruding bolts one day while cleaning up...if ever needed, I could still fit that style loader back atop again.

 

[Calanctus]

A friend of mine has had some good luck with an Ikea end table with a couple wall brackets bolted to the legs to keep it from tipping. Sure, there's some wobble, but everything stacks out of the way in a pretty small package. Plus, I think se said total cost was under forty bucks.

 

[PaulS]

All who got the plans for my bench designs,
First I would suggest placing another piece of 3/4 inch plywood on the top (glued and screwed into place - it makes it indestructable) and second I would like to have your feedback after you have a chance to look them over / build them. I have three and use them only but it would be nice to hear what others think about them - I can take the criticism (maybe improve them where they need it) and third What would you say the plans are worth - the bench costs less than $50 to build so the plans can't be worth much.

PaulS

 

[Zero]

B&D Table didn't work for me

After about 1000 rounds, I raised the ram, and the press pulled off a big chunk of the particle board top. So I found a nice thick topped table at work they were going to throw away and I'ts been there ever since.

 

[Poohgyrr]

Well, there sure are a couple of ideas here.

I've had a Lee Pro 1000 on a Midway stand for years. It works "fine" for everything except 44 mags- too much flex. So I simply load the .44's and rifles on an old RCBS on my garage workbench made from 2X4's and 1/2" plywood.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Back when I had limited space for such things as reloading, I made a table using two pieces of 1" plywood screwed together. I found a company that sold the folding legs like are used on large folding tables in schools, offices, etc. Mounted these to the plywood and wound up with a very sturdy table that I could easily fold up and stick in the garage or slide under the bed.

 

[Scout.308]

When I was living in an apartment, I got an old table, drilled holes for my Lee Progressive's base, and then installed threaded inserts into the bottom of the table. Once snugged-up, it was plenty sturdy.

It took only a couple of minutes to set-up the press, and less to take it down for storage. I covered the table and the holes with a table cloth. It was convenient and discrete.

Don't bother with a hand press, they're for travelling IMO. You'll soon wish you had a "real" press, so start there. I had great success with my Lee, but now prefer my Dillon. Good value and great service from either. Load 'em up!

 

[Sven]

Great tips - excellent thread!

 

[admiral]

i just took a piece of scrap wood, routered it, marked and drilled holes for the press. bolted the press to board and drilled a hole at the other end to allow another bolt, wingnut and large washer. our kitchen table pulls apart in the middle allowing me to open it up just enough to pass the bolt through and tighten the washer/wingnut from underneath the table. works pretty good. hope this helps.

 

[SDC]

I've had the same problem, and the way I handled it was similar to some of the suggestions above; I bolted my presses to 1x8 pieces of wood, and then I clamped those pieces of wood to a bench (most tables aren't stiff enough to handle the strain of reloading, so I bought a pre-fab work-bench at Home Depot). A bonus for this way of doing things is you save space; you only mount the press you're using at any one time to the bench, and it leaves you more room for scales, components, etc. on the bench.

 

[craigz]

I've got my Dillon 550 bolted to a two foot piece of 1x12, which is clamped to my office desk. I used the Dillon strong mount, so the press doesn't hang down over the front of the desk.

After drilling holes through the 1x12, I drilled one inch wide holes on the underside about a half inch deep, to recess the bolt heads. Once the press was bolted in place, I glued some rubber toolbox liner on the bottom, to prevent scratching up the desk it sits on.

With the whole assembly clamped to the desk, it is very steady, but this is a big L-shaped desk (modular, from Ikea). The desk has a shelf attached to it, and I had to put some spacers between the shelf and the wall, to prevent it from rocking too much when cycling the press.

Of course, the big advantage of this is that I can unclamp the press and put the whole thing away on the closet shelf, out of site.

I don't think this arrangement would work using a small table or desk, unless you bolted it to the wall or the floor. Progressive presses try to move around a lot when you get going at high speed. I have a couple of monitors and a fax machine on my desk shelf, and after loading a few hundred rounds, they start to shift forward a bit.

By the way, I have to agree that the Lee hand press is a great product. I use one to deprime my rifle cases. However, I wouldn't want to use one for the whole loading process.

 

[Phil in Seattle]

I have my press mounted to boards that I simply clamp to my old TV stand. I really like the routing that Admiral did though. I think I see a modification in my future.

 

[W.Va.Glassman]

If your apartment has a snack bar,mount press on a 2x8,c-clamp to top.I keep a press mounted to mine.