Help needed building the best reloading bench

[ToughEnoughBenches]

We've heard that it can be pretty darn difficult trying to find a decent bench for ammo reloading, and we want to change that.

We are Tough Enough Benches, and we make benches and shelving from second hand industrial pallet racking. Pallet racking is great, as we can put it in pretty much any configuration that you need for what you need the bench for.

We want to make some custom benches specifically for ammo reloading, and we need your help.

Just tell us what you would like to see in an ammo reloading bench and we will throw it together and we can go from there. We've spoken with a few mates of ours, and they've given us some idea of what they would want, but we want to open this up to the community and get it right.

We've attached a picture of a similar bench to the one we have in mind at the moment, and here are the dimensions we are considering:

length of benchtop: 1500mm
width of benchtop: 800mm
height to benchtop: 900mm
Height of backboard: 900mm
Length of shelf: 1250mm
Width of shelf: 900mm

Tell us what you think, or what you would add/change

[Chronos]

Good idea.

I prefer my benches standing height. Nothing worse than sitting down to do something and having to get up again to grab the one thing that's out of reach.

And lockable cupboards would be a space saving thing for under the bench, particularly such a large bench.

Chronos

[handofcod]

Stability, stability, stability. I went cheap when I made my bench out of a heavy external door screwed into an ikea table frame. The whole thing shakes just fractionally when I'm seating projectiles which makes it difficult to seat and measure powder loads at the same time.

[ToughEnoughBenches]

Thanks Chronos, we will look into sourcing some lockable cabinets for the bottom shelf aswell! We don't actually make anything at sitting height, those are desks and IKEA can take care of that.

And I wouldn't worry about stability for these things handofcod, the clips used on pallet racking holds the beams in tight, if it shakes, it's because it's on ridiculously uneven ground.

What do you think of the sizes? Is 1.5m enough, or would it be better longer?

[Apollo]

I prefer my benches standing height. Nothing worse than sitting down to do something and having to get up again to grab the one thing that's out of reach.
Chronos

Alright for you "Young Fellows" but I have no intention of standing at a bench for hours unless it has a nice comfortable chair / stool to sit on that doesn't want to tip over if you lean off centre. Wait till you're carring a few injuries and you'll soon change your mind.

[petemacsydney]

thicker bench top (the wood thickness also supports minimal vibrations)

[ToughEnoughBenches]

How thick would you want it? We are using 18mm in the picture, but we can bump it up to what ever works best.

[Chronos]

I prefer my benches standing height. Nothing worse than sitting down to do something and having to get up again to grab the one thing that's out of reach.
Chronos

Alright for you "Young Fellows" but I have no intention of standing at a bench for hours unless it has a nice comfortable chair / stool to sit on that doesn't want to tip over if you lean off centre. Wait till you're carring a few injuries and you'll soon change your mind.

LOL when you're on your feet from 7-4 at work you'd think sitting would be good but I find I get a sore back sitting for too long.

Chronos

[5Tom]

Sturdy, solid and heavy. I used to reload off a bench kit found at Bunnings and while the dimensions (for me) wasn't an issue, the problem I had was the bench top just dropped in it's place and nothing actually secured it down. I had to be extremely careful FL sizing as the bench top would flip and/or wobble.

Now I use an old solid wood desk and is very ideal.

What I would want in a bench top?
1. A place for the Press (obviously) and a place for a Vice.
2. Shelving, cupboards or drawers.
3. A section on the bench that is hard metal (so tapping cases or the like doesn't dent your bench top)
4. Some type of hook system to hang things for easy reach (particularly reloading equipment)

[yoshie]

Heavy and sturdy and thick bench top. When sizing in the press you tend to get a lot of flex due to the leverage and a thin bench top will bend. Also adjustable feet so you can take all the movement out also so cases won't roll far.

I went with 40x40x3mm steel and a 40mm hardwood top.

[upup]

Stability, stability, stability. I went cheap when I made my bench out of a heavy external door screwed into an ikea table frame. The whole thing shakes just fractionally when I'm seating projectiles which makes it difficult to seat and measure powder loads at the same time.

Yeees!

That's the worst when you're bench is wobbling back and forth every time you use the press.

[ToughEnoughBenches]

Alright, so far we are looking at:

1.5mx800mm benchtop of 30mm< hardwood with a section of metal plate (centre or end?)
Backboard of pegboard to hang tools and equipment from
Lockable cabinets with drawers at the top on the shelf
Adjustable feet for stability


Now, do you think an overhang with a 400mm shelf would also help? Or would you rather just the backboard?

[DaleH]

Shelves on top would be an advantage - lockable ones even better.
Draws under the bench (and above cabinet doors would be good as you suggest.
The bench needs to be thick and solid so that there is no movement when sizing - also a lip at the front of the bench would be good to stop crap rolling off the bench (primers, spilt powder etc)
Lighting is generally an issue, so the ability to add lighting somehow would be appreciated.
The bench overhang needs to be looked at so that the hold down bolts for the presses etc don't interfere with the main support beam.
That will do for my $0.02 worth

[ToughEnoughBenches]

Thank you everyone so far for your help. Your suggestions are great, and pretty soon we should have a great looking setup that is perfect for ammo reloading.

As for your suggestions DaleH,

A lip around the benchtop is a great idea, and we can definitely do that.

Lighting is a little bit more difficult, as it would mean getting in an electrician for each bench (we don't make any other powered benches)... Which isn't a major problem, but would increase the cost a bit. Though we could put a bracket at the top that lighting could be fixed to later on. We will have to see how it looks once we've made the prototype and get costings to make it an extra.

And we were thinking that with the overhang. It'd be useful, but to avoid getting in the way of the press it might need to be too high.

[yoshie]

An over hang at the front of 100mm to 150mm would be good, some presses like progressive ones have a large "foot print". Instead of a peg board, I find that backing that holds container that clip on better. You can just buy the container sizes that suit what you usually reload.

[Aster]

How thick would you want it? We are using 18mm in the picture, but we can bump it up to what ever works best.

I say this without knowing what the impact on cost is for this, but I'm of the opinion there's no such thing as a bench that's too thick.

With the forces applied through a press, IMO 18mm isn't going to be ideal and will allow for noticeable flex and accelerated wear.

+1 to Yoshie's comment on a 40mm hardwood top from me. You're bench can never be too solid.

[reddog]

I used the structafloor 19mm sheeting on the top for mine but went with 3 sheets so its nearly 60mm thick
on top of 50x50 x3 frame 3metres long only because that is a section of the shed its in (fits in between the posts)
And like Chronus when I'm reloading i dont really like sitting so its 1 metre high + 60mm for the top and 900 wide
so i can put shelves in later . Drawers under the bench are really a must , havent put them in yet . As for a light
what about plug in fluros ? Easy for you to make a bracket for and you dont have to worry about wiring .
Its also a great height for bar stools so after your finished reloading when your having a beer , its like being in the best pub ever

[1886]

Guys, I don't have a bench but a reloading cupboard that may give you some further ideas.

It is all housed around a 1 1/4" thick walled square tube frame 1400mm's long that is behind my pc and like Apollo, I have no intention of standing up .

The Dillon is bolted to the bench threw the two cross rails on the top of the frame and the RCBS threw a plate welded to this frame. Both presses are positioned in from the bench edge for easy use. Nothing moves as the frame is dyna bolted to the wall at the rear and right side
.


I also fitted a 3 pin plug electric board with switch panel for the case feeder, bullet feeder, air pump, scales, roof light and a spare.



On entering my pc room nothing looks out of the ordinary.



I swing around in my comfy pc chair (which I am sitting in right now ) and open the doors and basically just crank the handle as its all automated and anything needed is within arms reach. It will do 100 completed rounds in 4 minutes taking it easy with cranking etc.



I fitted a mirror to the roof to view the cases in the feeder, a swivel spotlight and the air compressor is on the bottom right for keeping the press clean etc. Cases are in plastic containers on the shelves.



Since these pics were taken all I've added are a few extra small tools on wall hangers as I've not had to change anything as it suits me perfect and it's a treat to use. Reloading in the cold shed is a thing of the past
.

[Bills Shed]

Very nice. Purpose built and neat.
Do you have any issues with the board / shelf the the Dillon is mounted to? Like the idea of dedicated power points and hidden.
My bench is made out of old hard wood pallets and scaff hardwood planks. I swage projectiles on it and so it needs to be solid. I run an inverter for a power supply as my reloading room does not have power.
Bill

[yoshie]

Awesome setup 1886!! Looks like you knew exactly what you wanted and went and built it.

[yoshie]

I haven't quite setup, as I've just moved house, but I find this setup good. It's bench height, however my previous setup was up at desk height and found I got a sore back.

20140315_114031.jpg (115.9 KiB) Viewed 6009 times

[handofcod]

Here's a photo of my bench. Today I threw together a set of plywood shelves to free up space. It's all bolted to a solid external door which is screwed into a cheap metal desk frame from Ikea.The legs are height adjustable which is handy, I just wish I could bolt it into the wall to stop the shakes when using the press but since I rent that's out of the question.

[1886]

Do you have any issues with the board / shelf the Dillon is mounted to?

No, as mentioned the Dillon is mounted threw two 5/16" flat steel bars you can see welded across the top of the frame and the RCBS to a similar plate. I size 45/70's in the RCBS and its rock solid. The Dillon is setup for 357 Mag.

The frame pic doesn't show them as this was a trial fit to determine where they needed to be positioned but there are 3 x 5/16" welded tabs against the rear wall with dyna bolts and one on the right side wall.

The actual top board takes no stress. Its just a platform for working off etc.

The cupboard sides and rear wall are also bolted to this frame as well as screwed together. The shelving unit is standalone with its own back panel and it is just panel pin nailed into the rear cupboard panel. So if I need to change the shelving or add more then its easy to pry off and redo accordingly but so far there is no need

[Brute]

Nice setup 1886.