I would make the top thicker and heartier, the press will put a lot of stress on the lip area. .02 ,looks great and lots of room when you put that bottom shelf in.
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Building a reloading bench
- Thread starter jsquared
- Start date
Im thinking about that now, going to add two braces to the middle and see how it feels, maybe have to push the press back off the lip and cut the lip back on that corner.
hahah no its in the basement
hahah no its in the basement
This is a real nice set up! Although, you look like you need more space...
In general:
- You can never have enough storage
- Unless bolted to the wall or floor, you can never have enough weight, i.e., build a sturdy lower shelf and use it to store your lead
Height is really a function of your personal preference and workstyle. If you load standing up, a higher bench works best, or you can raise your press up on some type of mount. If you load sitting down, height depends on your chair (adjustable height chair is a plus). 34" is typical workbench height.
The lip of your bench is really a function of the strength of the bench's top, and whether or not you want to attach stuff underneath. A reloading press puts a tremendous amount of torque on the leading edge of the bench. Most equipment will work without a lip, but a little extra cleanance behind the leading edge of the bench can be helpful.
Shelves...built to taste. It's easy to accumluate a lot of reloading knick-knacks. Again, generalizing, more storage is better than less.
My bench is baesd on the popular NRA reloading bench design, primarily 2x4 and 4x4 construction. Pretty heavy duty. Bench top is 35" high, white melamine 3/4" glued/bolted to a 1/2" plywood sheet. A hardwood insert is in place of the melamine where my Lee Classic Cast Turret is bolted. Lots of shelves, lots of weight stored below.
See this helpful thread:
http://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/showthread.php?37225-Show-Your-Reloading-Bench/
You might want to mount your press on a piece of plywood and clamp it to the table before bolting it down. You might try it in several areas before deciding on a final place.
Keep the bottom shelf clear and you can use it as a storm shelter.
Keep the bottom shelf clear and you can use it as a storm shelter.
Make it bigger than you think you will need. My bench is about 24 feet and still need more room. I have one room in my basement that is my reloading room. I put mine toger with screws so I could take it apart if need.
Thanks for the tips everyone, thats a nice looking setup too RB. I like the shelves you have going on, want to do something similar on mine. Decided that the 3/4" ply top was definitely not going to cut it, especially with the 3.5" lip I have, so I took it off and am laying down a row of 2x8's front to back as the base layer. Going to put the plywood on that, and masonite on the plywood. Should be about 2.5" thick in the end and a lot more rigid. Will take some pics once I get a chance.
