Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Reload Bench Idea

I just had a house built. The builder bought two extra base cabinets on accident and just ended up giving them to me. They are 46” wide x 25” deep. The boxes appear to be MDF.

I was thinking about putting a counter top on them and using it as a reloading/gun tinkering bench. Do you guys think this will be strong enough? What kind of counter top? I’ve used butcher block to make countertops before, but birch seems like it might be a bit soft. Laminate countertops aren’t too expensive.

How about this idea? Screw together a cabinet base at the appropriate height. Build with a 24" gap between the cabinets. Apply locking casters. Mount the cabinets to the base and use whatever countertop or 2 pieces of 1/2" plywood doubled up for the top. I like the idea of mobility...

You bring up a good point. The way I’m thinking of doing it, it wouldn’t be easily moved. These cabinets are heavy.

Did exactly that at the old house, laminate worked just fine. Using butcher block made out of hardwood in the new house, although the butcher block tops we put in the house from Menards are quite stout and would work just fine.

My reloading room is built out of the remains of our old kitchen. We remodeled it in the mid 90s and took all of the uppers, lowers and counters and put them in our reloading room. As you can imagine it wasn’t a tight fit do to the layout of the kitchen and the measurements of the reloading room but a little thinking goes a long ways. It came out really good. I did another remodel in there last year and removed and relocated a few of the uppers so it is a much better fit. I even painted the 40 year old cabinets. For the top/bench, I used an old solid core door that was part of the remodel to span where our counter tops didn’t fit. Now, there’s a continuous top and an area where you can slide a chair under to be more comfortable. I topped the top and backsplash with epoxy so it looked better and hid the seams. That part could have turned out better so now I will add laminate from a contractor I know and then it will look the best since it’s continuously flat and level. I wish I could post pictures, but no matter what I do or forum help I get, they’re too big and I’m not smart enough to downsize pictures enough to satisfy the rules.

They will work great. Reinforce the tops of the cabinets with some 2x4's or similar to screw the countertop to. If it is MDF it will be particle board under it and it's easier for screw to out of particle board.

Do you think if I did that and bolted the top down, it might make it easier to disassemble if I need to move it?

As far as a bench top goes 3/4” plywood works fine if you have a good support system. I framed mine with a 2x6 band and 2x4 “joists” starting with one centered and another on each side mid distance to the end. Smoothed the plywood grain with wood filler, palm sanded and stained. Put 3 or 4 coats of urethane on top and it’s held up for 12 years now.

That's how I do it as well. Extremely stable that way. I hate to bring this up, but I see a lot of reloading benches with absolutely no support under the press. Why guys do that is beyond me. The other thread with the beautiful epoxied bench top is a good example of that, but I didn't want to chidt on his thread. You guys can do what you want, but I want my bench rock solid, especially where the press is mounted. Also if you are using a beam scale, elevate it a bit and have it on a separate surface than the bench top. That doesn't seem to resonate either.

Before I populated it.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/185474.jpeg

That's pretty sweet buddy..

Thank you sir. That’s Version 1.01 Learned a few things after using it. Like the swing arm of a Rockchucker rolls under and hits the 2x6 before the ram is up completely. Thus the added 2x4 with the base plate on top to move the press out a little. And if anybody is wondering about getting the aluminum base for RCBS tools, do it. It makes for a very strong mount.

And what it looks like after a weekend of work. Obviously I should have made it 8’ instead of 6’. I’ll stop the hijack now.

Nice!

For those lacking woodworking equipment or skills a butcherblock topped baker's table from the unfinished furniture store is a great alternative to building your own. Similarly my auxillary bench is a butcherblock topped microwave cart from the local big box hardware emporium. I have less money in both than it would take to build one bench given current lumber prices.

Butcher blocks and solid core doors work! When I built my bench I looked for a door and couldn’t find one. Then I got carried away with the project. One other thing I’ll mention for safety and OS moment prevention. Whether built up against the wall or portable make sure you have a way to completely immobilize the bench. When you’re putting power to the press on the down stroke is NOT the time for the bench to go scooting away or toppling toward you. Especially true if you have vertical shelving on the back.

The top shelf on the back of the bench pictured is lined solid with brass. It’s top heavy to say the least. Don’t even want to think about a topple. A bench needs to either connected to the floor or the wall behind. Wall fixture is easy. In my case I screwed a couple of short 2x4s onto the wall, each across two wall studs matching the position of the 2x6 of the top frame. Pre-drill a couple of holes in the 2x6 on each end and run 3” screws thru that and into the short ledger boards on the wall.

My father in law is a carpenter and he gave me a set of old kitchen cabinets that he tore out of a house he was remodeling. For a countertop, I used a double layer of 3/4 inch chipboard, for no other reason than I already had a sheet of it in the garage. I reinforced the area immediately under the press by screwing a scrap of 2x6 into the cabinet, and I also screwed it to the chip boards layers.

Works great, didn't cost me a dime.

I've found plywood to be too soft even when it is thick/laminated. I use maple countertops from Grainger. you can get almost any size you want and I have mine drilled and tapped to accept the various accessories like bench primer tools or case trimmers. The presses are permanently mounted. The benches are bolted to the wall so heavy forces like resizing don't push them around.

To the left of this bench is a similar one 8ft long for cleaning, etc.

Finished product before deciding on resting place for press and filling up.

Very nice buddy. Thanks for sharing.. A bench has to be solid, like yours. Looks great to me. Those saying a top layout like yours won't work, just don't know. 2x6 laid in tight and a thick plywood top glued and screwed is damn stout.. Also, something some guys don't get is a reloading set-up doesn't have to be huge. A small space works just fine/great:



What I like is having cupboards and shelves for keeping your reloading supplies in:


A good place to keep your powder and primers locked up:


50 pounds of powder in that lock box..^^

Whoooaa. I like that. Seen the plans before but not the finished product. I like the way the worktop overhang is done. I’d have scratched my head a while before figgering that out. What did you do for that finish?

Glued & screwed it is. Makes tight even tighter. Glue and screws together make the structure almost impossible to loosen up in use. Countersunk the screw heads everywhere they were used deep enough to hide with wood filler. Glue & screws on the work top, storage top, legs(2x4 & 2x6 cornered) and shelf/backboard.

Finished sorting and processing all the brass I’ve accumulated to my satisfaction so tomorrow I’ll do cleanup. I know there’s a bench under there somewhere.

Amen, I like the way you think buddy...I posted some pics of my new set-up. Screwed glued and tatooed. ... Works great for loading up good ammo. Nice and tight does it right..

shootem- minwax polyshades.

Looks like mahogany with that red tint. And that’s not plywood for the work top is it?

Law you're about the most organized loader on here!! laffin. That looks like a doctors office. But I like it; a place for everything and everything in its place. When you need something you know where to reach. I especially like your coffee can collection. Sure sign of experience.

Ha ha. Thanks buddy. I guess I like to be careful and precise. When I load, I always keep the pound of powder on the bench, so I don't forget what the heck I'm working with. I was telling someone else early this week, even though I've loaded a certain thing a 1,000 times, I always have the recipe in front of me as well. You can never be too careful when loading your own. Just the way I see it though..

I had this bench, I moved from Ca to Idaho and gave it to a friend. There are a few things I would/will change when I build my new bench. The length is one and the other is the 2x that sits vertical under the top. I had issues bolting some of my presses as the mounting holes were inline with that 2x. If I use inline precision mounting plates it wont really matter. Also Home Depot is stocking butcher block countertops, I have been thinking about doubling them for a 1 1/2 top thickness. On my last bench I had a 18ga galvanized top over the plywood not sure I will do it again.

Looks good, are you going to put the sliding doors on? I had taken mine off but missed the clean look it gave when closed.
Hbe you used the the mount you have on the coax press? I am thinking that is the way I want to go.
Jeff

I think the color of Minwax is called honey pine. It is oak plywood.


I did not put on doors. I made the shelves the same depth as the uprights. I used brackets with pegs for the shelves to rest on. In the upright behind the press you can see the holes for the pegs. I've got two Inline Fabrication mounts on the bench. The Forster is in a dedicated mount but the other has a quick mount top so I can swap another press, trimmers, bench primer, etc. I have 2x4s for backing under the plywood for the Inline mounts so they're quite solid.

Very nice job, looks great.

Finished product before deciding on resting place for press and filling up.
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I like your adjustable shelf idea

The name Ol’ Sparky comes to mind. 😀

No need to put metal over a good plywood top..

Ha ha. I don't know about that. Maybe a sure sign I drink too much damn coffee!!!!! I always like these threads of show and tell. What I posted pics of earlier was my old set up and some of my new. My new set up is smaller, but set up in the same fashion as far as use is concerned. Same bench top height, same materials, but more compact. Everything is solid though. I like using 4x4's for support legs and tying everything in good. I'm a steel worker, not a carpenter... Here are a few more pics to show that I bolted the framework to the cement floor with wedge anchors and I also screwed the bench frame to the wall. I also add a steel bracket diagonal brace under the press. My last bench, I used an oak 3x3. Both work equally well and ads more stability. This one is rock solid, just the way I like it:





I have always believed that rigidity is key to producing excellent consistently accurate ammo. Also the reason I keep my scale separate from the bench, so the vibrations don't have an influence on powder variance that is dropped from the powder measure. A lot of my ammo these days is just dropped from the Uni-flow. I like using powders that meter very consistently. This way I can load 300+ rounds/hr if I'm so inclined. Many ways to make something work though, as many of you guys have represented. Good stuff guys...

I’ve got some great ideas from this thread, thank you all!

Unfortunately it was starting to splinter and more than once I ended up with a splinter under a fingernail. That really sucked. Lol
The metal was better for function but looks not so much

Looks good
I need to get busy and build my bench

To the OP, Gooch, I think that will be a great setup. As to the slight hi-jack, when we moved a couple of years ago I was fretting about how to construct my new reloading bench. Someone turned me on to these at Harbor Freight: https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-...n-4-drawer-hardwood-workbench-63395.html

It has worked absolutely great. Heck, I don't think one can buy the materials right now for the cost of this.

I used a Kreg brand jig that makes drilling the holes for the pins super easy.

I used a 3 ⅛" Glu-lam beam. I cut it in half then glued and bolted the two. Halves together to give me 30" of counter. Very solid. The other bench has a ⅜ steel plate booked down under the press. Drilled& tapped it for bolts to hold press down

👍

When I moved into this house in 1978, this small bedroom downstairs didn't have a closet, so it became my reloading room. At that time I only had one single stage shotgun reloading press and a Rockchucker press for all of my rifle and pistol reloading. Luckily I thought ahead or just thought big and made my bench the full length of the room's long 11' wall. In the '80s my pistol reloading became more time consuming than I wanted to spend on the Rockchucker, so I added a Dillon 450 progressive press, and now I also do most of my .223 and .308 reloading on it.

My interest in shotgun shooting also grew beyond the output of my single stage reloader, so I added a Pacific 366 12 gauge progressive reloader to my bench. Then when I started competing in registrated Skeet shooting I needed to also reload 20, 28, and .410 shotshells, so I added Hornady 366 progressive reloaders in those gauges to my bench.

I also tried to make my bench stout, so the top of the bench is 2x6s laying flat and running the length of the bench. They are fastened underneath with 2x4s glued and screwed at right angles. The top then has 3/4" HD particle board glued and screwed to the flat 2x6s and that is covered with indoor/outdoor carpet.

There are two shelves of 3/4" HD particle board reinforced with flat 2x4s.

The wall left of the bench has top kitchen cabinets over a lot of shelves.

That is an industrial strength setup for sure.