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Bench Ideas

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Idahoarcheryhunter

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Hey guys, looking to see some suggestions on a future bench I plan on building. I have been limited to a very small section in the garage to do most of my loading and to say I am ready for a bigger work space would be an understatement. I have an idea something along the lines of 36 inch high legs, 30 to 36 inches and depth and possibly 36 or 48 inches long. The top I was thinking either 3/4 inch or 1 inch plywood and possibly adding a shelf in the center of the bench about halfway up to store powder, bullets, manuals, tools etc. I also am curious about overall weight of the bench, right now where I am working the shelf it is on is lagged into the wall and I would rather not put holes into the wall in our spare bedroom can I make the bench heavy enough that it won't shake when running the press etc, that may be a stupid question I have just never worked on one not lagged into the wall. If you guys could post up some pictures of your benches to maybe spark some other ideas I would appreciate it.
 
You will have to secure it to the wall IMO. Definitely build some shelves under it and maybe one on top in a corner. I would use something smoother than plywood for the top or cover it.
 
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I don't think you can get a bench too stable. I have a piece of a huge glulam I plan to replace my current bench with. Double 1 and 1/8 plywood glued together would work well too. I don't like any movement in my bench. mtmuley
 
Will this bench have 1 press mounted? I have a temporary bench that is 8 foot long. I have a Dillon 550B, Redding 7 turret press and a Lyman lube sizer and a powder measure mounted. It's crowded to say the least. On a prior bench I used 1 inch plywood and topped it with a sheet of Masonite on top. The frame was 4x4 leg's and 2x4 braces. It was heavy and screwed to the wall. It was sturdy and did not move. It had a shelf underneath and peg board up top.

Dan
 
Dan O said:
Will this bench have 1 press mounted? I have a temporary bench that is 8 foot long. I have a Dillon 550B, Redding 7 turret press and a Lyman lube sizer and a powder measure mounted. It's crowded to say the least. On a prior bench I used 1 inch plywood and topped it with a sheet of Masonite on top. The frame was 4x4 leg's and 2x4 braces. It was heavy and screwed to the wall. It was sturdy and did not move. It had a shelf underneath and peg board up top.

Dan
Click to expand...
Yeah sorry I forgot to mention that, just one press mounted.
 
I think you'll find you need to mount it to the wall. you can always come back with some spackle and fix the holes. For the top, you can use plywood but be sure to top it with Masonite or some other smooth, splinter free surface. For mine, I used 3/4" MDF.
 
Here is what I did with a laminated counter top. Even with the weight of the steel support table I found that I had to screw it into the wall. I looked at plywood options too but I am glad I spent the extra money on the butcher block. I can sweep off any spilled powder with my hand with out worry of a splinter.

Good luck and post some pics of it finished.


4DA43BAC-CBF0-4E09-AA98-D4D45BC40BE7.jpg
 
Kick the kids out / don't let the mother-in-law come visit and convert the old bedroom into a reloading room. Get a piece of counter top (Home Depot scratch-n-dent) and a couple cabinet pieces. I would recommend attaching it to the wall studs.
ReloadRoom1.jpg
 
I mounted my press to a scrap piece of 2x8. Then I mount the whole thing to a spare kitchen table using C-clamps. The table is not heavy, not attached to the wall, and doesn't have shelving on it. When I was going to build one, before using this, I thought I had to have some heavy, over built table. I quickly realized that that is not needed at all. Glad I went this route before wasting a bunch of money on what I was going to build.
 
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Like others have said, bolt it to the wall. I'd go 30" deep rather than 36". It sounds good on paper until you realize you have to reach that much farther back to clean up stuff/find that hidden tool, etc. My set up is 2 benches w/1" plywood & supports under the press to keep it solid. I've also got an island that I use for cleaning and some work, but for just reloading and cleaning/general monkeying around with guns, this is my setup & I think I've about got it where I want it.

IMG_20180508_102427.jpg

My first bench was 30x36, with the top made out of 2x4's lagged together with allthread. It took a few years for it to stabilize, so you had to tighten the bolts every month or so but it provided a heavy, stable surface to reload, but I quickly out grew it and it's not being used at the moment. I'll likely move it out to the garage for the chop saw or drill press.

I've also got a decent bench with a grinder, belt sander and some storage/tool stuff for installing pads, stock work, etc.

IMG_20180508_102439.jpg
 
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I've never felt the need to bolt/screw my NRMA bench to the wall. That may be partly due to using a Co-Ax on an Inline Fabrication Ultramount, which probably spreads out the forces. It's also mounted back away from the front edge, so there's not as much torque there.
 
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I have two, CF rifle and handguns on one and shotgun on the other, In my experience you can't make it big enough! My top's are made with a double layer of 3/4" plywood, top really should be firm. My table is screwed to the wall INTO STUDS! My legs are screwed to the floor with steel L bracket's.
 
I appreciate all the suggestions and ideas guys, I will try to get this thing put together here in the next few weeks and throw up some pictures and yes I now have the go ahead to put it in the wall lol.
 
if you haven't finished it yet you could go with a freestanding bench.

mine is freestanding and i like that I can have something on every corner with the middle for storage/workspace



corners
1 2
3 4

1. case trimmer 2. vice
3. powder measurer 4. press
 
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