Reloading bench

Reloading equipment, methods, load data, powder and projectile information.

Re: Reloading bench

Post by madang55 » 11 Jul 2018, 7:56 pm

Yellow tongue flooring is a very cheap and solid bench top. Its also waterproof with a very smooth finish
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 11 Jul 2018, 10:43 pm

Like homer says...go bigger with bench top.
& id go as deep as you can...
I rekon that one at less than 500 is too small.

Mine is 600 deep & its not enough...!
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 11 Jul 2018, 10:46 pm

See if you can grab an old table/desk/solid bbq etc from a hard rubbish collection then just screw a sheet of plywood cut to size, or cheap laminated timber slab to it as a top.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 11 Jul 2018, 10:48 pm

madang55 wrote:Yellow tongue flooring is a very cheap and solid bench top. Its also waterproof with a very smooth finish


Its just a wax type coating for a bit of moisure resistance-not actually waterproof.

Better off with ply if using thin top (up to 20mm) in my opinion.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by bladeracer » 12 Jul 2018, 12:38 am

Stix wrote:
madang55 wrote:Yellow tongue flooring is a very cheap and solid bench top. Its also waterproof with a very smooth finish


Its just a wax type coating for a bit of moisure resistance-not actually waterproof.

Better off with ply if using thin top (up to 20mm) in my opinion.


While it's not technically waterproof it is fairly resistant, and it's cheap enough that if you have to replace it after a few years in the paddock you aren't going to balk at the expense. I find ply worse, as the layers start to lift which gets really annoying. I lined my office with yellow-tongue, floors, walls and ceilings. My doors are two thicknesses of unpainted yellow-tongue, and have been exposed to the weather for over four years with no evidence of deterioration at all. Rain water actually comes in under the door and hasn't done any harm to the floor either.
YT is also the cheapest panel material I've found, cheaper than Gyproc or fibrous-cement, and much hardier.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by bladeracer » 12 Jul 2018, 12:40 am

Stix wrote:See if you can grab an old table/desk/solid bbq etc from a hard rubbish collection then just screw a sheet of plywood cut to size, or cheap laminated timber slab to it as a top.


The kitchen table I've been shooting off for much of the last four years is ply with a laminex top. The ply has deteriorated in the weather so that the lami has peeled up around all the edges. I need to replace the top with yellow-tongue very soon.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by bladeracer » 12 Jul 2018, 12:44 am

Stix wrote:Like homer says...go bigger with bench top.
& id go as deep as you can...
I rekon that one at less than 500 is too small.

Mine is 600 deep & its not enough...!


I've been using an old kitchen table, steel frame with a ply/lami top. The size is about right for me, especially if I go out with more than one rifle. But it's way too small for two shooters. The table was left in a rental property in town and brought out to our burn pile, so it was in excellent condition when I salvaged it for shooting from.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 12 Jul 2018, 12:08 pm

Sure yellow tongue is cheap & fine for a benchtop....but i prefer ply.
Personally if making a benchtop for reloading & using particle board id double up the thickness & do a glue rub joint between them, then screw them together.

& Blade, if your ply reloading bench keeps delaminating id bring it inside out of the rain...!!
If ply is delaminating for you, buy structural ply that has real glue...!!

Indoor laminate benchtops are not made for external use in the weather.

& as the most resistant--leave an off-cut of yellow tongue & structural ply in a puddle of water for 2 weeks & then tell me which one you rekon is most impervious to water...let me tell you you wont be using the structaflor again...!!
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by sungazer » 12 Jul 2018, 5:41 pm

The Formply is my go to ply for lining and structural use. I have it in the cattle truck that takes lots of wear and high pressure washes and continual being pissed on. Also use it in the horse stable doors with a light gal metal frame. Have made a dog kennel out of the stuff. all types of things. Really good value strong waterproof wood option.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Tiger650 » 12 Jul 2018, 7:25 pm

I have bought two benches from this bloke over the years.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Work-bench- ... XQq8BQ8bsf

First was 1.8m x.8m which I collected by arrangement on a Saturday, bloke had no change so owed me $10.00 which turned up in the mail a couple of days later.

Next bench was 2.4 x .8 which he delivered for little extra $$$ to Oakleigh, his employee bloke had no issues at all with helping me get it in position in the shed.

Quality is excellent, bench tops and shelves are 32mm yellow tongue, you cannot buy that retail at Bummings or whatever.

Vertical and horizontal structural timber are framing pine rather than knotty handyman s**t and screws are good inhex teks of correct length and diameter for purpose.

I suspect that the bloke has CAD and jigs and such to allow him to produce pretty much any bench at moderate cost, his material costs and ability to "nest" jobs from bulk materials obviously keeps his costs down

I could have wasted a weekend and spent more money at Bummings for either bench and would have ended up with an inferior thing.

The bloke is honest and his gear is good
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by vmaxaust » 13 Jul 2018, 6:52 am

[quote="Tiger650"]I have bought two benches from this bloke over the years.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Work-bench- ... XQq8BQ8bsf


Great value for money and ideal for any reloading or other workshop needs.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by bladeracer » 13 Jul 2018, 4:27 pm

Stix wrote:Sure yellow tongue is cheap & fine for a benchtop....but i prefer ply.
Personally if making a benchtop for reloading & using particle board id double up the thickness & do a glue rub joint between them, then screw them together.

& Blade, if your ply reloading bench keeps delaminating id bring it inside out of the rain...!!
If ply is delaminating for you, buy structural ply that has real glue...!!

Indoor laminate benchtops are not made for external use in the weather.

& as the most resistant--leave an off-cut of yellow tongue & structural ply in a puddle of water for 2 weeks & then tell me which one you rekon is most impervious to water...let me tell you you wont be using the structaflor again...!!


Leaving it submerged in a puddle is very different to leaving it out in the weather :-)
Even plywood doors delaminate fairly quickly if they're not protected.
I'll stick with the YT.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 13 Jul 2018, 8:08 pm

bladeracer wrote:
Stix wrote:Sure yellow tongue is cheap & fine for a benchtop....but i prefer ply.
Personally if making a benchtop for reloading & using particle board id double up the thickness & do a glue rub joint between them, then screw them together.

& Blade, if your ply reloading bench keeps delaminating id bring it inside out of the rain...!!
If ply is delaminating for you, buy structural ply that has real glue...!!

Indoor laminate benchtops are not made for external use in the weather.

& as the most resistant--leave an off-cut of yellow tongue & structural ply in a puddle of water for 2 weeks & then tell me which one you rekon is most impervious to water...let me tell you you wont be using the structaflor again...!!


Leaving it submerged in a puddle is very different to leaving it out in the weather :-)
Even plywood doors delaminate fairly quickly if they're not protected.
I'll stick with the YT.


I wasnt trying to convice you to switch to using ply Blade...!! :) im a huge fan of structaflor, i just think it & ply have their ideal uses... :thumbsup:
I just prefer ply for a bench top that has things bolted to its overhang where great force could be used--purely for the strength of the grain, as opposed to particle board that relies more or less on the glue....

I cant help but imagine a home handyman built bench with a heavy press bolted to the overhang of a single thickness of 19mm yellow tongue with the stuck case of a 300wm--a "touch" of frustration (& lets face it, us reloaders know that feeling well...!!) & it could snap or fracture the structaflor..but ply would take much more stress.

Having said that, & as i mentioned earlier if i was doing a benchtop with it id use a double layer (back to back with a scratched/etched & screwed a pva rub joint) for the strength so as to never have to worry about strength....& my reloading bench is just a kitchen benchtop which is just particle board (from the demo of a kitchen reno job :thumbsup: --its a shame we dont need a sink at the reloading bench as i have 8 of various sizes in the building rubbish pile)

Id never use ply for a door but would use the structaflor (as you have) for its linnear stability (wont warp in any given direction at corners) but its edges need sealing... :thumbsup:
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by bladeracer » 13 Jul 2018, 8:27 pm

Stix wrote:I wasnt trying to convice you to switch to using ply Blade...!! :) im a huge fan of structaflor, i just think it & ply have their ideal uses... :thumbsup:
I just prefer ply for a bench top that has things bolted to its overhang where great force could be used--purely for the strength of the grain, as opposed to particle board that relies more or less on the glue....

I cant help but imagine a home handyman built bench with a heavy press bolted to the overhang of a single thickness of 19mm yellow tongue with the stuck case of a 300wm--a "touch" of frustration (& lets face it, us reloaders know that feeling well...!!) & it could snap or fracture the structaflor..but ply would take much more stress.

Having said that, & as i mentioned earlier if i was doing a benchtop with it id use a double layer (back to back with a scratched/etched & screwed a pva rub joint) for the strength so as to never have to worry about strength....& my reloading bench is just a kitchen benchtop which is just particle board (from the demo of a kitchen reno job :thumbsup: --its a shame we dont need a sink at the reloading bench as i have 8 of various sizes in the building rubbish pile)

Id never use ply for a door but would use the structaflor (as you have) for its linnear stability (wont warp in any given direction at corners) but its edges need sealing... :thumbsup:


Funny you should mention that, I'm sizing .300WM tonight, but my bench top is only a single thickness of 19mm YT - I'll let you know if it's a problem :-)
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 13 Jul 2018, 9:52 pm

RightO...you do that... :thumbsup:
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 6:59 am

Mate I have looking for something on gumtree to buy and convert into a reloading bench however nothing caught my eye, so I decided to build my own. Couple of hundred bucks of timber in it.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 7:01 am

Stage one.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 7:48 am

Starting to come together.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 7:51 am

Next bit.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 7:55 am

Got this far yesterday. Just need to finish storage shelf, chuck some filler in screw holes and to cover the othe imperfections, then hopefully a few coats of clear this arvo. Mount my press etc tomorrow and then it’ll be done.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Blr243 » 20 Jan 2019, 8:13 am

Perhaps you only have enough equipment to half fill those shelves ? Regardless of what your family says I give you permission to spend whatever you like to fill it up completely. ( all the extra weight will make it very stable and we all know how important that is for making accurate reloads )
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 8:40 am

:D :lol:
Yeah mate there is a bit of storage space but I’d rather have to much then not enough.
Will do my best to fill it.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 8:42 am

By the time I chuck all my cleaning gear in there as well as tools and other kit, I’d say it will be fairly full.
Was thinking of making one or two compartments lockable to store powder and loaded ammunition.
What do you blokes reckon?
Any suggestions?
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 20 Jan 2019, 8:47 am

Hey Jimtom...

Wait until its filled Jimtom...& you get some sticky cases to size...
And everything on the top shelf ends up on the floor... :lol:

(Yes its obviously happened to me... :roll: )

And don't worry if you cant fill it...not too far in the future you'll be needing an extension... ... ...
... ... TO THE HOUSE... :lol:

Good work mate...looks great...!!! :clap: :thumbsup:

Leave the screw holes...just colour the screw heads black & tell people you pre-drilled them at the range with well placed shots... :thumbsup:
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 8:54 am

Do you think the hutch on the back is to high / big?
I can see your point mate with stuff maybe falling off top shelf but would have to give it a fair old nudge.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 20 Jan 2019, 8:56 am

Lockable sectiins sound like a great idea mate... :thumbsup:
But if you intend on buying more rifles, (im not sure what you own & how much you shoot), & have space next to the bench, lockable sections might be unnecessary because honestly you will fill that matchbox in no time...!!

Im in that boat & am keeping my eyes out for a seperate lockable cabinet to hang next to it.

If you dont have the space, might be a good idea... :thumbsup:
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 9:01 am

At present I just have a lockable steel box that I intend to secure to the bottom shelf, that will serve as my ammo locker in the interim.
I would have liked to make the bench bigger however I am very space limited unfortunately.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Stix » 20 Jan 2019, 9:04 am

JimTom wrote:Do you think the hutch on the back is to high / big?
I can see your point mate with stuff maybe falling off top shelf but would have to give it a fair old nudge.


Jim my bench is similar size to yours... except im a carpenter & built mine with framing timber, 40mm thick benchtop & 100x100 posts & all screws are 100mm 14 gauge....& it still moves... :shock:

The idea will be to fix the shelf unit seperately to the wall, or at least a fixing or 2 into the wall for a little lateral support. :thumbsup:
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by JimTom » 20 Jan 2019, 12:00 pm

Thanks for that mate, yes I am definitely no cabinet maker or chippy.

This is the end product after a few coats of clear.
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Re: Reloading bench

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 20 Jan 2019, 12:08 pm

Darn looks nice... but the question is will the bench top hold the your weight when you pump up the press.

I got what looked like a timber table.... but it had chipboard bench top..... so after a fair bit of reinforcement it worked for now... but I know its going to break soon. I need more ammo and powder storage though......

and been thinking of the house extension idea...... except it cost will be about the same as building a new bigger house... lol
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