Bolting Dillon press to workbench

[MoreIsLess]

Is there any reason why I could not bolt my Dillon 550b to my bench with wood screws instead of bolts. The frame of my bench is 2x4's so it would be hardfor a bolt to go all the way through a 2x4.

 

[Ex]

As long as your screws are stout enough and you can have full movement on the handle, it should work fine. Strongmount stand has slight advantage of giving some room underneath, making it easier to clean around.

 

[ljnowell]

I use big steel screws with 1/2" hex heads on them. Very solid.

 

[joed]

You can mount that press anyway you want, even glue it. But a word of advice, it can not move or you're going to have problems. I had to bolt my bench to the wall to get the press to work well.

 

[Sam1911]

My bench has several 2x4s under the front edge, but only the two layers of 3/4" ply back in deeper, so I through-bolt the rear holes of the strong-mount and use small lag screws for the front two holes.

Couldn't move it with all my weight on it.

 

[GJSchulze]

Keep in mind that it is not good enough that it feels tight at first, it must stay tight after thousands of handle strokes. Are you saying that you can't drill a 3/8" hole through the long side of a 2x4? A regular wood screw won't hold well enough for long enough and if you use a lag bolt/screw you'll have to drill a large pilot hole anyway.

You could bolt the press to a 3/4" piece of plywood with the bolts facing up from the bottom of the plywood and countersunk using flat washers in the countersink hole. Then using multiple wood screws, screw the plywood to your bench. Multiple screws as in every inch to inch and a half along the border of the plywood.

 

[david bachelder]

I had a RockChucker bolted down with 3/8" X 3" lag screws. After about three months the screws pulled loose.

In my opinion, for whatever that's worth, I'd do the drilling and bolt it down with bolts, nuts, washers and lock washers. All around the best bet.

Trust me.

 

[holdencm9]

Sam's idea should be good. If you can bolt the back side (the side that will be trying to lift up when you crank on the handle) that would be much better than screws.

 

[Rangemaster]

Use lags on the front two holes and use bolts on the back two bolts.

 

[Jcinnb]

I screwed a 2x10 about three feet long to the top of my bench. It sticks over the edge so I can put the two bolts of my RCBS a sockets width over the edge.

I have been at it for a year, closing in on my thousandths ptimer and still very tight and firm.

I also anchored my bench to the studs in the wall behind the bench.

Good luck. Use SS washers, too!

 

[mahansm]

I sunk some 1/4-20 inserts into the bench (1.5 inch laminated hardwood) and bolted the press down on strongmounts. Works great and it's easy to remove for other projects.

 

[jmorris]

I used drywall screws to hold presses to this desk, that was nothing more than compressed sawdust, for years. Not ideal but it did work for longer than I thought it would.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

3/8" lag bolts on all four of mine. Nothing is gonna move.

 

[ILLINI]

I recommend drilling the holes and securing the press with lag bolts. Back the bolts out and the run thin super glue down the holes. Allow it to cure. The threads in the pine will be much harder now. You can now run the bolts back down into the wood. Try to avoid cross threading. It will be much more secure now. You can get the thin super glue at the hobby shop. It is the consistency of water. Ask for "thin CA"...Illini

 

[Sam1911]

Just to reiterate what I and some others pointed out, the bolts or screws in the front two holes get very little tension or pressure exerted on them. The ones out back are those you need to be most concerned with. Seems like that bench would lend itself well to a set of through bolts with fender washers out back and you could just screw the front two with lags which would be more than sufficient.

 

[HighExpert]

I ran my 550b for years with screws...loading pistol. Then I started loading rifle. The press got sloppy in about 1000 rds. Strong mount and thru bolts are the way to go.

 

[mtrmn]

I will add that the strong mount is worth the extra money, if for no other reason it raises the press to a more convenient height above a standard height workbench.

 

[brickeyee]

The repeated load cycling will make the wood screws work loose.

You really want through machine threads, some washers on the wood to spread the load, and some split lock washers to try and stretch out the inevitable re-tightening that will be required.

Wood expands and contracts as the humidity change. The wood screws will come loose when the wood shrink in low humidity.

 

[kerreckt]

It should be obvious that something through bolted with a nut a washer is going to be superior to all else, assuming equal conditions. That is not to say that other techniques won't work. Just that they have many more variables and thus many more ways of failing over time and use. Do it any way you want while you still have the freedom to do so. I am sure federal regulations are being drafted as we speak. (LOL)

 

[greybeard57]

An extra long 3/8" spade bit is inexpensive at a hardware store, some 3/8" grade 5 all-thread, the appropriate number of Stover lock nuts and some heavy washes work very well. A 6" or 8" spade bit will do it through just about any wood benchtop. Just back the bit out every couple of inches and clear the hole, slow down to a crawl as the bottom is neared because the bit will push large chunks out of the bottom if you aren't careful. The better solution is to stop as soon as the point goes through, go underneath and finish the hole with a regular 3/8" drill bit.

My LM is mounted that way; my turret press is lagged down into a green treated 4x4 bench top with 3-1/2"x3/8" lag bolts. How secure they stay, only time will tell.