I thinking of having an unemployed friend build me a functional, basic reloading bench. I will be loading a variety of rounds from pistol, rifle and possibly shotgun.

What should I tell him for size, storage, height, work space...? I will be taking it with me if I ever move, so it must be light enough to move or take apart.

If you had to do it over again, what is and isn't essential?

I probably spend around $400 or so for supplies and labor.

I can tell you rite now, if it were I in your shoes and considering spending $400 on materials and loading for several different guns, it's gonna be heavy. Especially if you store everything on/in the bench. But kudos to you for helping out a friend !
I built mine, 30x72, (2) 1/2" sheets of plywood ( just cause I go over-kill on the mounting surfaces). Mine is completely open underneath, no cabinets or drawers. I finished off by putting a 4 foot, 12" deep section of industrial shelving on the top. I have to say, I would have done things different in some areas. Here's a hint, I saw a VERY usuable, MUCH more compact metal Receiving Desk in one of our warehouses this week. Several good sized cubby holes on top. Plenty of drawers and work-surface area. And MUCH more compact than mine. Look some up on the net and see if you like those as a "go-by"

Many roads lead to Dublin, but here is what has worked well for me for fifteen years:



I built it following these plans from the National Reloading Manufacturers Association:

http://www.shotgunsportsmagazine.com/downloads/bench_plans.pdf

The bench is heavy and sturdy enough to work well, but when it needs to be moved, the major sections can be unbolted and are then quite manageable.

You can find lots of other plans and comments by googling "nrma reloading bench."

If I were starting over I would build a free standing bench so I could set it in the middle of the room and have work stations all around it. I would also build it out of oak or maple with wedged through-tenons to hold it's sub-assemblies together for easy knockdown if it ever needed to be moved, yet still be solid/heavy enough to withstand serious work. The top I would do as I did on my current one: 3/4x2�x72"strips of maple glued together face-to-face to make a top 30" wide. (Think bowling alley or basketball court.)

I bought a metal router table from Rocker and added lockable wheels. Put 2ft. by 3ft. 1/2" thick baltic birch top. Mounted press and powder fill on opposite sides. There is a shelf on the bottom which houses a 6" high plastic bin for the rest of my reloading equipment. Powder ,primers, brass, and completed reloads kept in lockable metal storage cabinet. I can move it where I want and it is very stable when the wheels are locked. Keep it in closet and wheel it out when I an ready to reload. I have $170 dollars in this setup I assembled 5 years ago. Very pleased with it and the reloads I turn out. Buckfever1

I'm liking everything about this post and especially the bolded sections.

Love wedged through tenons!

These same points are of utmost importance to me too.

I suggest you focus on building the bench top as stout as you can. I did so and then bought some relatively inexpensive but quite capable steel workbench legs from Grainger. They are tucked under the heavy top so as to be nearly unseen. The frame for the top is 2 ea 2''x2"x3/8" angle iron, 1/2x2" slat supports topped with a prefabbed Formica kitchen countertop from Lowes. It is very very stout and screwed to the wall.

As suggested by others it is bolted together at every point & can be taken apart and moved easily. I would say the entire structure weighs around 250 lbs. It spans 8 ft with nothing underneath but the legs 8" inset from each end.

I should be more precise about the weight.

My wife's grandfather made a workbench out of an old railroad car. It sits on our back porch. It took six men to get it from the truck to the porch.

I want something a couple of guys could reasonably handle. Since it will be in the basement, I don't want to pay more than a twelve pack of beer to move it.

Dess,

I built mine, following the plans I linked above, in my garage. Then I single-handedly carried the components down into my basement and bolted the components together. When/if we move to another house, I will unbolt things and it will be easy to get upstairs.

Also, if you study the plans, you will see that the 3/4" plywood top sits on a 2x6 on the front of the bench that has its long side horizontal. When the top is screwed to this, the front of the bench where the press is mounted is plenty strong. After all, the design is distributed by the National Reloader Manufacturers Association.

One last point, this is a complete set of plans that you can give to the person who is building your bench, and he will find them easy to follow. After all, I did.

But, as I started my first post, "Many roads lead to Dublin."

Good luck in finding a set of plans that will meet your needs.

Here's a few pics of one I built out of Eastern Hard rock Maple about 20 years ago and in reality is a cabinetmakers bench design. The top is 30in. deep by 7ft long and is 3" thick, laminated face to face maple with mortice and tenon breadboard ends the same goes for the leg and stretcher construction. I built the base to be a knockdown contruction with captured nuts in the tenon frames. The top weighs about 250-300lbs sans the vices. Since I built it, I have made and checkered stocks at this bench, fixed stocks for friends, reloaded here, cleaned my rifles and just about everything else. If I was to build another bench I would still make the top as heavy as possible, there is no wiggle and it's stable as a rock, which if you are doing any detail work is highly important

That is a superb bench there BD but you're a cabinetmaker too aren't you?

The tail vise, the dog holes, and the dust collector tell me you are.

Great bench, I love it.

I concur

I built this for ~$200 material. It is hell bent for stout with the metal plates bridging the uprights where the presses are mounted.

Thanks fellas, and yes, I are one, once in a while. Actually, I cut timber for a number of years. When the timber business went on it's azz with the spotted owl stuff, I was qualified to go off to school and get re-educated and trained as a Union Carpenter and then followed that up about 10 years later going through a couple of years in the Union Cabinetmakers apprenticeship. I subsequently earned my journeyman's ticket for both sides of my trade. I made the bench to do multiple duty from building furniture to gun stocks,reloading,and the occasional duck decoy thrown in just for fun.

It looks hell bent for stout also, is it all steel construction? if so, I bet it takes more than a couple of fellas to move it.
Great bench!!!!!
BD

I took your advice and got the plans to my friend. He's excited for the work and is tweeking the plans a bit. Pictures to follow when he's done. Thanks!

Dess,

There were some outstanding and super sturdy benches posted. I certainly hope you will be as happy with the plan from the NRMA as I have been for 15 years. It is well thought-out and does the job that most of us need done.

Best,