Height on reloading bench?

[Idaho_Elk_Huntr]

Im in the process of building me a dog/reloading shed. I am thinking of using a low swivel chair instead of a high stool. What height do you have your benches set at??

[Bill*]

I use a non-standard (read homebuilt) stool to reload. I just sat in front of a lower than comfortable table and put stuff on it (phonebooks and the like) till the press "felt right". It worked for me!!!......Bill

[leadman]

The ideal height would change with each individual according to their dimensions. The mounting plate of my press is 40". This allows me to stand or sit on my tall stool.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`m sitting in front of my computer desk in a office chair set low for the frau. I am using a yardstick set on my legs to get a clearence measurement. I would have the work surface no less than 6" above my legs and no more than 10" at the highest above my legs for clearence. The height is a personal thing you must at the end decide. After all you may hate the chair and get a different one that is a different height deminsion and have to alter the work surface height. Did you ever get the 180 gr. Noslers you were looking for?Robert

[S.R.Custom]

Im in the process of building me a dog/reloading shed. I am thinking of using a low swivel chair instead of a high stool. What height do you have your benches set at??

Depends on how tall you are --or more specifically, how long your legs are-- and how high the seat of the chair is above the floor.

I, too, sit at the loading bench. In my case, it's a padded standard height folding chair. In determining the height of my bench, I sat in the chair feet flat on the floor, lower legs perpendicular to the floor, and gave myself 1" from the tops of my legs to the bottom of the bench framing, with the intent of making it as low as possible. Keep in mind-- the lower the bench top is in relation to your seated position, the more leverage you'll have on the presses, and the longer you'll be able to sit there and full-length-size 7mm mag cases.

FWIW, I'm 6'2" with a 36" inseam, and my bench top ended up being 29" above the floor.

[mooman76]

I use my regular work bench to load from. I stand when I do allot of my loading and the final stuff I usually do from a rolling seat and my luber and turret press is on a portable stand. Whatever is a comfortable height for you to work from. These are comfortable to me. The bench is 36" and stand is 30" and I'm 5'9". If you deside to use from you chair sit in the chair and reach out to where it feels comfortable. That's your height you want.

[runfiverun]

i use stools to sit on and 42" to the top has always worked for me.
the stools keep me in a relaxed position but i can oomph a case if needed or stand up at the bench if i need to.
i do use strong mounts on my dillons and stand at them,but i am always getting more primers or powder or cases so it's more effort to keep standing up then it is to just stand.

[montana_charlie]

I've never tried dog reloading, so I have no idea how high the tools need to be from the floor. It might depend on the caliber of the dog.

Do dogs need to be annealed so their necks don't split?

CM

[markinalpine]

I've never tried dog reloading, so I have no idea how high the tools need to be from the floor. It might depend on the caliber of the dog.

Do dogs need to be annealed so their necks don't split?

CM

I reload my dog everyday.:bigsmyl2:
He discharges his loads all over the lawn [smilie=p:

I have two benches. A smallish, 2' x 4' top at 29" high, that I sit at with a 18" stool for case prep and utility stuff, and a 21" x 7" 6", 35.5" high bench I stand at for reloading. I'm 5"10".
Mark :coffee:

[WILCO]

I stand when I do alot of my loading.....

That's how I do it.

[briang]

My bench is at 51" to the top IIRC. It's so high so I can stand at it and lean on one elbow without bending over. I do occasionally sit at it on a bar stool though. I'm 6'6" BTW.

[Rockydog]

My bench is 42" high. Most of the time I work off of a 30" stool. There is a shelf across the front of the bench about 10" off the floor. Much of the time one foot or the other seems to end unconciously end up on the shelf. I'm 6' 4" tall. I can also work comfortably standing up from the 42" height with my guns on an MTM cleaning station etc. RD

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I secured two ten inch wide boards to the wall of my loading shed. The one with the presses is breast high, I have about a size "A" cup btw. The board with the mearsures and scale is eye level. I discovered many moons ago that I could not set and operate a loading press so I gave up on 36 inch loading benches. When it came to weighing powder, it was very awkward to bend over to see the scale, forget it. I did nail three pieces of thick carpet on the floor to stand on. That makes it much easier on my feet. If you don't nail it to the floor it will simply walk away. Anyway, that's the way I did it.

[Pepe Ray]

My credentials; 18 yrs in a mill. On a production line doing various jobs in the heavy to manual labor categories. All of which were repetitive, leading ,eventually, to carpel tunnel synd. and back nerve problems.

The watchword is "ergonomics".

You can not establish a "best" dimension for ANY benches etc. Everyone is different. Even those of the same height. Short torso w/long legs vs.long torso's w/short legs etc. A position that you may find comfortable in a preliminary trial may be a bad mistake in the long run.

Stand erect and place the elbows on the work surface without bending or slumping the shoulders. That elevation will give your back the position it needs for extended use, your eyes will be closer to the work and , keeping your hands over the surface, the small parts that you drop will not bounce so far. :p

submitted with love.
Pepe Ray

[Doc Highwall]

I set up my benches so that it is a comfortable height standing and then get a chair/stool that puts me at the same height as standing. The height of your bench is also dependent on the make of press that you use, some are taller and have a different stroke of the press handle. I have both RCBS and Dillon presses and if you mount the Dillon's on their strong mount you will need a lower bench. I would make the bench so that when the press handle is in the lowest position that you do not have to lean over causing back pain.

[sundog]

I use a "teller's chair" just like the tellers at the credit union where I work. Don't go cheap, get a good one. My bench height is --- wait one === 33". Chair is on the bottom. So, you can go higher with the bench an inch or two. I spend A LOT of time at the bench. Comfort is equal to length of time I can work on a project.

[Sprue]

I prefer a happy medium of 40" where I can sit, or stand comfortably. I normally stand though, regardless of what I'm working on.

Should I decide to sit, I have an adjustable chair/stool with a back support, I also have a padded bar stool too.

[Heavy lead]

Don't know how tall my bench is, but it's up there. Basically I made the height so it was comfortable to work at while standing and then bought a good power adjust shop swivel stool with a back and foot rest so whether I'm sitting or standing everything is the right height. As far as my casting area, that is stand only in case I have to get back quick.

[20nickels]

Something different.
I'm in the process of making a tool stand with the seat attached. Made out of 2x4's to save weight and bolted together for full adjustability with any user or accomodate any press/sizer. The seat will adjust side to side, forward and back and up/down. It will also have a solid backrest for keeping you planted in the priming stroke, your own body weight will keep it all wherever you put it. It will also come apart and fold up for storage and portability. I agree with the above poster on less fatigue with ergonomics, it will likely look like a piece of excercise equipment when I'm done.

[Char-Gar]

I have built several benches in the past 6 months for my shop.

The loading bench is 42" so I can work standing or sitting on a stool as I choose.

the lathe bench is 39" which puts the lathe spindle two inches above my elbow. This has proved to be a good working hight for me.

My general workbench is also 42". This places work in a vise at elbow height. For the most part I work standing up at that bench. At that height I can do so without stooping.

I am 6'3" tall.

Like others say, there really is no standard height. It depend on how you are built and how you prefer to work.

[Ivantherussian03]

one word--customize--

[EMC45]

I am '5,9" and my bench is high enough to where I can load standing or sitting. I sit in a drafting chair and it adjusts for height.

[Big Boomer]

I went about building my reloading bench very scientifically. My good wife saw what I had used in the past and went to Sears and purchased their best adjustable height stool. It is spring-loaded and has movement from 28 1/2" to 33".

I assembled the thing, sat on the stool and hung my heels on the stool brace about 1' or so off the floor. Then I stood up, and with my feet flat on the floor and my rear end perched on the stool, guesstimated what the height of the reloading bench should be. I'm 6' 3" and weigh 200 lbs. The bench top should be, I reasoned, about 37" to accomodate my Dillon XL650, old Hornady Pacific Pro-Jector, Lyman Spar-T turret press, and Star lube-sizer (along with an old Lyman 450 lube-sizer). Worked out nicely

How's that for science at its best, perhaps reasoning backward! 'Tuck

[Nora]

I made mine to feel comfortable with a padded folding chair (30" high). Mine is made from a 40" wide counter top remnant and 4"x4" legs. I built it as a kid wile living with my parents, when I started loading. It still suits me today, though their is now a dresser and several shelve next to it to hold all the needed accessories.

Nora

[mike in co]

i do some reloading at my computer desk..an L shaped corner desk 8' per leg, 30" to the top, the presses are loaded on 19 linear ft of work bench set 41" high, i stand most of the time but do have two industrial high chairs that will work at the bench.

mike in co

[Cherokee]

I do 90% of my reloading standing and have for about 50 years. My bench heigth was set 2" below my elbo because many years ago when I built it, that was recommended to me as the most comfortable heigth to work on the bench. It's 36.5" high for my 6 ft & 180# body. I have not regretted the heigth and will also use a stool some time. I did put a 2" wood spacer between the reloading presses and the bench top a few years because I only use them standing. My Dillon 650 is on another 36" high bench with a strong mount. Works for me.