Progressive Portable Reloading Bench

[bl4ckd0g]

OK, I am the nomadic type and I spend most of my time off from work in my fifth-wheel trailer. The huge basement workshop has been gone for a year and I need some creative substitutes for reloading.

I've been using a Frankford Arsenal portable stand (don't like it for my single stage and a Huntington Compac for brass prep while I'm at work, but I have a new issue.

I recently bought a used RCBS Pro2000 at an estate sale and I'd like to be able to use it in my fifth wheel. I don't have any counter space to C-clamp a mount to, so I need a portable bench.

My fabrication skills are very limited, so I would need something that is very stable and heavy. This excludes the FA stand, Workmate bench, or TV table.
It also needs to be very stable, like a wooden cabinet with bottom storage so it doesn't fall over when the trailer is moving.

I would certainly appreciate your input.

 

[pruav]

I read people have good luck with a folding work table.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/s_10153_12605_Tools_Garage+&+Tool+Storage_Tables,+Clamping

 

[bofe954]

Any way you could set up some kind of quick release so you could mount your bench to the floor when using it? Then you might be able to get away with a workmate type bench.

 

[ants]

Blackdog: I use a Stanley WorkMate. Attach the press with 1/4-20 bolts with wing nuts. When traveling, pack away the press and fold the WorkMate. It all fits under the dinette, unless that's where the dog sleeps.

 

[David Wile]

Hey Blackdog,

I have had a 5th wheel for about 15 years now, and I would be hard pressed to figure out how to use a press and other things without a permanent bench. The problem with the portable and folding workstands is that they are too light for operations which require force on the downstroke and the upstroke. There is also no practical way I can see to mount and work equipment on the dinette table. Just too light.

I am in the process of building a new bench in our new house, and I am doing something that may be applicable to the camper. I have six shotshell reloaders, and four or five metallic presses I use. In my old house, I ran out of room for permanently mounted presses. This time, I had two 3/8 inch steel plates about 12X16 inches made to use on my new bench. My idea is to mount the two plates to the bench about six feet apart and use them for mounting my different presses. I will locate each press and mark where the bolt holes should be for each one. Then I will drill and tap each location for a 5/16 inch bolt. If I want to use my RockChucker, I will take it off a shelf and bolt it to the plate. If I want a different press, I will remove one and put another in its place. With the steel plates, I should be able to store all my big presses on a shelf with a lot less space.

Now, what does that have to do with your situation? If you are in a campground, you usually have a picnic table at your site. If you were to take a 2X12 about four feet long and mount a steel plate about 11X16 inches on it, you could drill and tap holes in the steel plate and use bolts (without the need for nuts on the bottom) to hold your press solidly in place. You could then lay your 2X12 board across the picnic table and hold it fast with four C clamps. Most picnic benches would provide enough weight to do your reloading without being unstable. You could also drill and tap your steel plate to mount other things that you want to be solid such as your powder dispenser, case turner, lubrisizer, or whatever. When done reloading, put your press and gear in storage boxes, and your 2X12 four foot loading board may be thin enough to fit under the sofa.

That would mean loading outside all the time, but I don't see how you can use a press in a camper unless you are willing to make some major alterations to get something that is solid. I know my wife would not let me make any such changes to our camper. Then again, when I am in my camper, I am usually in warm climates where loading outside would be comfortable. If you are in Wyoming, I express my regrets to you. My brother lived in Jackson for 20 some years, and I hated visiting him there. That place can get frost in the dead of summer, and that's way too cold for me. I had some nice visits there, but I don't ever remember it being warm after the sun went down. I was there one time when they had a parade for some reason or other, and I saw a fellow riding a full grown buffalo down the street in the parade. No fake. That is the absolute truth. That was worth the trip to see someone riding a big buffalo.

Oh well, that's the best I can think up for using in a camper.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

 

[jmorris]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=264459&highlight=portable+reloading

 

[bl4ckd0g]

I think that I'm going to visit a few used furniture stores and possibly a cabinetmaker on Monday.

1. I'd like something more permanent than a folding table, especially for a 50# cast iron press. I'm would not want the table flopping around when I move my trailer. So that's out of the picture.

2. I have two receiver hitches, both on my truck and trailer, but progressive reloading in the rain, wind, and snow does not sound like my idea of fun. Besides, I already have my Compac W press which is a godsend for my .45-70.


I'm focusing on something like a 12"x18" industrial cabinet with a sturdy, reinforced raised table so I can mount my partner press, Pro2000, and trim-mate with available storage below. I currently store most of my reloading stuff in a hunter's plastic dry box (also makes a nice stool).

We'll see what I'm able to cobble together.

 

[nelson133]

Go to surplusrifles.com and search for reloading bench. They have a plan for one built of plywood with a wide base and smaller top that is pretty stable and breaks down into top, base, and the pipe connecting the two.

 

[Doug b]

Dillon used to have a mount for the hood of a pick -up truck but I don't know if they still have it or if it's adaptable to other presses.My wife put her foot down on this one soooo hard you probably could have heard it in the next county.

 

[Daryl Licht]

I have a Dillon 650 mounted on a B&D Workmate. I used two layers of 3/4" plywood, 24" square for the top. This has worked OK until I can build a proper bench for it. You're not gonna load 800 rds/hr, but it is a lot more stable than one would think.

 

[bl4ckd0g]

I think that a variation on the suplusrifles.com portable table is just the ticket.