To those who stand when they cast / load

[ghh3rd]

To those who stand when they cast / load:

I'm interested in find out what the nominal bench top height is.

[waksupi]

Depends on how tall you are!

[Trey45]

Or how short you are.

[243winxb]

46 1/2" for casting with a Lee 10# pot. I am 6' 3"

[WILCO]

I'm working off of a Craftsman bottom rolling box with plywood.

[atr]

36" for both,,,Im 6 ft

[mooman76]

Mine is 36" and I am 5' 10" Also I top pour which might make a difference since I am reaching into the top instead of bottom. Whatever is comfortable to you.

[462]

Casting and reloading benches are both 36" high, and I'm 6-feet. I stand when casting and sit while reloading.

[GP100man]

If bottom pourin I like to see the spout , If ladleing a comfortable heigth .

Just too many combos to say , cooker , electric pot, & different pans !

Whatever ya use make it comfortable before ya start with a 10-20 lbs of hot alloy!!!

[dudel]

I'm working off of a Craftsman bottom rolling box with plywood.
Same here. I bottom pour, I sit.

[HangFireW8]

To those who stand when they cast / load:

I'm interested in find out what the nominal bench top height is.

Standing, put your hand on your hip and find the point of your pelvic bone in front under your belt.

Most people find that the optimal bench height for standing work. It also works well for tall stools (preferably of adjustable height with a foot-rest ring near the bottom).

No bench height is optimal for both standing and office-chair height sitting work.

-HF

[unique]

Here's a rule I picked up from blacksmith and seems to work for me.

The height of the table should be same height as elbows. This minimizes bending and back strain.

Stand up straight with arms bent 90 degrees like you were holding cafeteria tray and set table height to tray height.

[Buckshot]

http://www.fototime.com/EB8491CA90B0461/standard.jpg

.............My benchtop is 42" tall but as in the photo my 20lb Lee sits atop a milk crate. This places the sprueplate at a height I can see the top of it standing normally in front of the setup.

..............Buckshot

[Ickisrulz]

I'm 5'8" and my loading bench is 42". I don't know how anyone can stand and pull on a press handle that is at a typical workbench height. It kills my back...and I have no back issues. I know everyone is different. My casting area is about 36inches high. I use a ladle and have no discomfort.

[Bret4207]

Elbow height or a bit higher. I can not sit and cast or even sit and load. Just can't. Sometimes I can sit on a stool for a while but before long I'm back on my feet.

I got into higher benches working on chainsaws. Had a waist high bench that was fine for lawn mowers and stuff like that. It was useless for saws, casting, etc.

[WHITETAIL]

I sit when I reload.
And sit when I bottom pour.
My bench is 32.5" high.
I am 5'6" and use a captans chair
from my first table and chair set.:redneck:

[Fixxah]

http://www.fototime.com/EB8491CA90B0461/standard.jpg

.............My benchtop is 42" tall but as in the photo my 20lb Lee sits atop a milk crate. This places the sprueplate at a height I can see the top of it standing normally in front of the setup.

..............Buckshot
Mis-use liable to prosecution.;)

I like to sit for both reloading and casting, but then again, I am not tiny.

[winelover]

Standing, put your hand on your hip and find the point of your pelvic bone in front under your belt.

Most people find that the optimal bench height for standing work. It also works well for tall stools (preferably of adjustable height with a foot-rest ring near the bottom).

No bench height is optimal for both standing and office-chair height sitting work.

-HF

Works for me, I'm just over 6' tall and out of curiosity I went and measured my bench height and compared it to HangFire's recommendation. Well it came within 1/2"[smilie=1: My reloading bench height is 40 inches. I use a bar stool that swivels, has a back and tubular foot rest, when I choose to sit. I cast outdoors and use a B & D Workmate at maximum height ( 32") with a 3/4" plywood top clamped to it. I sit in a folding lawn chair, since I use a bottom pour pot.

Winelover:lovebooli

[skeeter1911]

Here's a rule I picked up from blacksmith and seems to work for me.

The height of the table should be same height as elbows. This minimizes bending and back strain.

Stand up straight with arms bent 90 degrees like you were holding cafeteria tray and set table height to tray height.

I was gonna say belly button height. But that's about the same, for me anyway.

[bootsnthejeep]

I'm 5' 10" and my reloading bench is 39" to the top surface. Casting bench is about half an inch shorter. And I wish I'd made them a bit taller. I think Unique's blacksmith has the right idea, I don't know about anyone else, but I end up trying to work on everything near my chest, might as well be resting it there. And I agree with Ickis, I actually have to stoop to one side a bit to go full stroke on my Dillon and I definitely start feeling it after three or four hundred rounds. Everytime I use it I'm reminded I need to build or buy a Strong Mount for that thing, or build a taller bench next time. Having the Dillon up higher would be much easier for keeping an eye on all the stations as well.

[DLCTEX]

My bench is 38" tall and I'm 6'2" I'm thinking of raising the bottom pour to at least 42", but 38" is a good height for reloading for me.

[steg]

6'2" here, but I found that if I'm looking down at what I'm doing, I'm ok, but if you have to crane your neck while working, that's when that stabbing pain comes on, and takes all the fun out of it.............steg

[randyrat]

I'm 5'9" and my bench is 41" high.... I wish it was about 3 inches taller because my neck hurts once in a while when i look down too long. I do use a tall seat once in a while.
keep in mind, if you like to sit make room for your legs.....So recess your shelves a bit, if you build shelves under your bench, beleive me it will make it nice.

[JIMinPHX]

Bar Height.

[10mmShooter]

I'm 6 feet even, with elbows bent at 90 degrees and handles in hand the molds are right even with the talbe top. Perfect for me. 42.75 inches high.


http://www.keithrussell.net/casting.jpg

[Joe C]

I always stand when i am casting (anymore) !!!!

Long time ago i was sitting while casting and had a "lead spill" , it wasn't a lot , but it did run onto my lap !!!!

Lucky , i was wearing a heavy duty shop apron , and it caught the lead with no damage to me...............

Last time i ever sat down while casting , i now stand , with plenty of room behind me to back up in a hurry if necessary .........

Joe

[Shepherd2]

I stand up for casting and reloading. I never have been able to do either sitting down. I've got my bottom pour furnace up in the air pretty much like Buckshot's. I can look down to see the sprue plate without stooping. I built a wooden platform form at the height I wanted and made sure it was stable so it wouldn't tip over. I would have used a wire milk crate but Buckshot got the last one.

My reloading bench is a work table I got on sale at Sears. It's OK but I'd like something higher. I do have my Dillon 550 and SD on strong mounts so that raises them to a height more comfortable for me.

[WallyM3]

I'm 5' 10", my reloading bench is 42.5" high. Right now I sit to cast at a make shift (unsatisfactory) arrangement.

I stand to reload and my back appreciates it.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb92/Wally_100/DSC_7737.jpg

[Bret4207]

Wally, that's just disgusting! Can't you at least throw some spilt powder or spent primers around? How do you find anything in a well lit, well organized space like that?:bigsmyl2:

[WallyM3]

Bret, the rest of my life makes up for it.

[excavman]

I agree with JoeC, I stand with plenty of room behind me in case something BAD happens.

Larry

[Nate1778]

Whatever the proper height is for standing whilst casting is not my bench height. My neck hurts from looking down after a while.

[AZ-Stew]

Wally, that's just disgusting!

Those exact same words are the first thing that came to my mind.

I can just hear it now... "WallyM3 (snaps to) standing by for your inspection, sir!"

Regards,

Stew

[WallyM3]

(buuurp!);)

I was forced to post the following picture in my own defense over on AA. It's entitled: "Not So Neat."

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb92/Wally_100/DSC_7738.jpg

[EMC45]

My reloading bench is 41.5 inches tall. It is comfortable standing or sitting in my drafting chair while loading. I stand/sit about 50/50.

[sleeper1428]

(buuurp!);)

I was forced to post the following picture in my own defense over on AA. It's entitled: "Not So Neat."

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb92/Wally_100/DSC_7738.jpg

What a great looking room!! Man, I'll bet you think twice before you chuck up a big fly cutter in that nice vertical mill and start throwing a lot of big hot metal chips around that room, at least I sure would!! Great setup!!

sleeper1428

[WallyM3]

Not any more, sleeper. I even use flood cooling (didn't have a compressor for a while). The trick is a wet/dry shop vac. Every so often I take off the top and dump the contents into a 55 gal trash bag.

I moved the B'port 4 times and the lathe 8 times to get it to the point where I wasn't a) walking into things, b) tripping over things and c) the work seemed to flow right for me.

Believe it or not, when I bought this place, there was already a loading area inside the house. (The shop is attached to the house, 1,320 sq. ft.)

[Um...I think they call this a hijacking.]

[whisler]

My casting bench is adjustable in height so I can sit or stand as I choose.

[shooter75126]

I'm around 6'2" and I built my bench 42" tall. It's darn near perfect for me.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I bought an inexpensive wooden woodworkers bench from Costco some years back. It had a woodworkers vise on the right side and all kinds of drawers and good solid contruction etc.

Naturally it came from China but again it was cheap and I needed a decent surface for a reloading bench.

However it was too low for me as I prefer to stand when I reload.

How to make it taller? Conrete building blocks are readily available and are cheap.

I simply obtained 4 of them and put them under the legs of the workbench and then reattached the workbench to the wall for stability.

It worked for me at my price.

[jimb16]

I'm 5'9" and my bench is 42 inches. Its a compromise. I use a Mec loader on it that is fairly tall and an old Pacific press that has a low slung handle. I can comfortably work with both with the bench at that height.

[WallyM3]

I prolly should mention that I have made two or three handles for each press. If an operation does not require much mechanical advantage (decapping, expanding), I use a shorter handle and thus reduce the cycle travel. In repetitive operations, that can be a significant savings and less demanding on old bones.

[a.squibload]

It really depends on how long your legs are. Optimally they should reach the ground...

[EMC45]

I failed to mention that I am 5ft. 9in. tall. 175lbs and dangerously handsome......