Most people
simply don't think about physical energy when they plan to start reloading. So they get one year into the hobby and start having needless and unnecessary back and shoulder issues. These can sometimes be bad enough to end their reloading career !
If they do think about it, then sometimes they go
way overboard the other direction and build a "mega-bench". These may look "manly", but spending $1000 to support a $100 press is backwards thinking.
I believe the first step in achieving balance is to recognize the "main player"....
► Consider that 99% of your reloading equipment... the manual, the caliper, the box of primers, the notebook, the pen, the can of powder, the primer flip, etc tray could be easily fully supported by the flimsiest portable table.
Therefore, you need to focus your planning (and spending) on supporting the press.
► Because of the action of the op lever, the major force generated by the press is downward, into the floor. So, the press needs 1)
substantial support that's 2)
directly under it, carrying all loads directly into 3)
the floor. In short, nothing but wood and steel all the way from the press to (hopefully) the concrete.
► There are other twisting and flexing forces generated by the press, but generally these can be easily controlled by
multiple bench top attach points to the wall behind the press.
Using this thinking, we find the simplest, least expensive, most effective, (and yes, probably the ugliest) press support you can build looks something like this...
A small plywood top, tied directly into a stud wall, with the press sitting directly over a landscape timber that rests directly on the floor.
This is not presented with the idea that anyone will actually build this. It's merely here as a way to help get your creativity correctly focused on one of the
major health risks within our hobby, and
how simple it is to avoid.