I built myself a bench!

[halfded]

Built myself a reloading bench after getting tired of using my woodstove. Turned out pretty good considering I don't do a whole lot of wood work. It's made of 2x4's and 2x6's held together with 2 1/2" coarse thread screws. The front edge is double reinforced and the piece that the press is mounted on is attached with 3" screws. The press is countersunk with 1/4" carriage bolts and 1 1/4" washers. The whole thing weighs 50 pounds or better and is very sturdy. Thinking about putting some vinyl tile down on the top for easy cleanup of spills and stuff; not sure yet. Total cost was $30 and about 6 hours of my time. BTW, if anyone's curious, the materials to build this bench will fit into a honda civic or other small vehicle. I still have enough scrap to make another small shelf if I want. I wish I had taken a picture of the frame underneath the press before I put it together but I was racing a rainstorm.




What do you think?

 

[Winston_Smith]

Very nice. Glad to see the safety glasses .

 

[halfded]

There should be a manual there too, but I had it upstairs with me comparing sources.

 

[z3ro]

Very nice work! the only question is, wheres mine?

 

[oldreloader]

nice bench

 

[hydraulicman]

nice bench.

welcome

 

[Cosmoline]

Nice work! Based on my own experience with benches, though, you will be better served with a larger, higher shelf on the back. Something that can hold both some manuals and die sets. I'd say a foot higher with twice the depth and a lip around the outside.

 

[viking499]

Nice Job. As you go along, you will be adding more shelves and storage areas for manuals, more powder, dies, bullets, etc.

 

[jmorris]

I think Winston has good eyes.

 

[halfded]

z3ro, I believe I left yours at Home Depot...didn't have time to build it either sorry! Just kidding, I'd be happy to share the specifics if anyone wants to build one.

Already looking at expanding shelving, note the brass sitting on the unused mini-fridge. Probably gonna cut a piece of plywood for underneath to stack bags of brass and extra components or something. It would have 2 shelves on top, but I need to pick up another 2x6 for that. Other than the brass, everything fits pretty good...for now. Loaded 80 rounds of .38 special a little while ago and it worked well, no movement at all. Gonna partition a small section for the primers too maybe. Not sure why, just sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[halfded]

Just realized I had the same picture posted 3 times. Fixed it now, you can see the side and the top a little more.

 

[oldreloader]

benches

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=218720

Look at all these benches.They may give you some ideas on your shelving.I just built a new one myself and got some ideas from there.My bench is made like yours but I altered the shelving to suit my needs.My bench is on page 49 of that thread.

 

[Walkalong]

Excellent. Nice and solid.

 

[rfwobbly]

Whoa now!

That's way too nice. You need to bust up that top shelf and kick in one of the legs so it wobbles a bit every time you pull the lever. Starting out with a bench that nice will leave you with no stories to tell around the campfire in ten years.

What the heck were you thinking? Or drinking?

 

[ants]

The camo butt pillow on the chair makes it perfect. It just wouldn't be the same without it.

 

[Crowbar Muldoon]

No kidding--and new wood too? I made mine outta old warped scrap lumber I had around.....I'm coming over there, halfded, if only to spill some coffee and drool on that fine bench.

 

[krs]

Halfded,

You've started out with the most important thing about a reloading bench done to the max. It's STURDY.

Big, small, elaborate and fancy or not fancy - no reloading bench is worth having if it's not sturdy.

Well done!

 

[Birdhunter1]

Nice bench, the only thing I would add other than more shelving is get some 1/2" MDF and cut it to fit your top, then you have a nice smooth hard surface without the cracks between each of your 2x6's. I used 3/4" OSB advantec flooring left over from a job I was doing for mine but my next one will be MDF. I built my large shop table out of a 2" thick laminate core door and 3/4" MDF on top with 2X6 framing underneath. It is heavy enough for two guys to barely lift and carry it and sturdy enough to mount a barrel vise anywhere and not rock the table.

 

[counterclockwise]

That looks alot like mine. May I suggest, build a lower shelf and attach it to those lower rails. Stack everything heavy you can find on it. It will add overall stability to the bench.

 

[z3ro]

I wish i had the room for one of these. Apartment living fails once again

 

[moooose102]

nice job! i especially like the hi-tech seat cushion! LOL! i could never live with anything that small, but that is me. it is a nice little bench, GOOD JOB!

 

[halfded]

Lot of people like the butt pad. Made by Remington..sold at walmart for $3. When you get up, give it a shake and its ready for next time. On the plus side, I can take it out shooting with me and it fits the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket nicely. Waterproof too for ground seating.

 

[Guinny_Ire]

I really like what you did. I think I'm going to use your setup for workstation for my guns. I've been using the plans from the ABCs of Reloading, the ones you see floating around on the internet from a defunct reloading equipment group. I've been able to use all scrap wood so far and finished the bench part last night by gluing down an extra piece of veneer we had left over from our cabinets. Installed my press on it just to feel good about it. Hope to have it done in the next week or two as time permits.

 

[halfded]

I still have my list of measurements and can lay out the basic idea of how I built it if you'd like. 6-2x4's and 3-2x6's (or 2x8's) is all it took. I've also added another full length shelf over the other one since the picture was taken. Got lots of space now.

 

[Guinny_Ire]

Sure the ball park measurements would be nice (width, depth, height) as it always seems when I wing it I overbuild big. I'm guessin' abt 26" deep, 40 high, and 44" across? Looks just big enough to sit down, clean a pistol, break a rifle down etc. (my kid would probably take it over to build models lol). Definitely building one and a stand for my drill press.