Finished My New Reloading Bench

[RG1911]

I may not have poured my heart into this, but I certainly put in a bunch of unexpected work. (Note to self: If it looks simple, it ain't.) Also needed to get my "new" radial arm saw and drill press in working shape.

The top is a large solid core door from an auction; legs are 4X4s, and bracing is 2X4s. Held together with 3/8" bolts and lots of screws holding the top of the framework to the table top.

At 7'8" long and 36" deep, the bench is almost twice the length as the old one and 6 inches deeper. I now have enough room to maneuver.

You'll notice the lever-activated wheels on the legs. Once the bench is exactly where I want it, I'll raise the levers to retract the wheels and the bench will be solid.

Could not get a straight-on shot -- the workroom is still overgrown with boxes.




Still unpacking from the latest (and last!) move, so still looking for a few items, such as reloading blocks, and probably will rearrange some items, but the machinery is ready to go. Disassembled the Dillon and gave it a good cleaning and lubrication.

Cheers,
Richard

[poppy42]

Looks good . I had to custom make a bench because I moved out of the house with a garage into an apartment with my wife . And the only way my wife would let me keep it in the living room was I had to kind of make it look like furniture. And the funny thing is I don’t think mine 11 be done because there’s always something you can add to it or a new piece of equipment that you acquired and need to add something on or do something differently!

[RogerDat]

Very nice. Once you get some weight on it doubt it will even vibrate from using a press. Looks like you could hide under it in a tornado. Only problem I personally have with a large bench is I can tend to have three or four projects going at once. Looks messy just because of all the stuff going on. Or sometimes I just get behind and the mess accumulates and expands to fill available space.

My next project has to be more shelves.

[Outer Rondacker]

Hey I have that press. Bench looks like it will work fine. Will out last most of us so you can pass it on.

[redhawk0]

Looks great...I made mine out of a solid core door as well. I knew a guy that worked construction and it was a left-over from a job. They were going to throw it away...I grabbed it quick. It makes for a real solid table.

redhawk

[EMC45]

My old reloading bench was a mineral filled fire proof door. Weighed about 100lbs. Screwed onto 4X4s, cased out with 2X8s. That was a heavy sucker!! That bench looks great!

[MaryB]

More bench space you have the more junk you toss on the top thinking "I will put that away later"!

[Bzcraig]

Excellent work.

[richhodg66]

More bench space you have the more junk you toss on the top thinking "I will put that away later"!

Yep. That's my problem.

[Shawlerbrook]

Very nice !

[Shopdog]

Looks great.

Only thing we've found to even come close to alleviating bench clutter is,roll around mechanics/machinist boxes.And there needs to be more than one,or a cpl even.Whether it's in the machine shop OR the cabinet shop....tooling,fixtures,hand tools go in a drawer.If it isn't painfully convenient to "put back"....it ends up piled on ANY horizontal surface.Could wax on endlessly how this has proven itself in pro shops over the last 40+ years.Good luck with your new bench.

[jd9770]

Very nice. I’m redoing my Reloading room and all this gives me more to consider.

[JSH]

Take heed to the comments on the wide benchs gathering clutter. Mine is 24" wide and needs curbs .

[MaryB]

Mine needs an archeological dig through the layers... I really need to clean that thing up

[country gent]

In one shop We found putting tooling in drawers it disappeared since it wasn't in sight. (Gages mikes other tooling) hanging it on peg board with an outline around it didn't disappear as fast.

[Plate plinker]

Looks stout way to go!

[Shawlerbrook]

Nothing like a strong, roomy work bench !

[mold maker]

I remember once, in a time long gone, when I had a new bench with acerage of empty space.
While it still has a press mounted (somewhere) moving anything causes an avalanche. It was left behind when I moved, and another was built with much less depth to collect clutter.
So far the phycology has almost worked. It stays relatively clean.
While I envy your bench, I know my limits, and would soon
fill it with unrelated stuff just because there is space.









While I envy your

[Iowa Fox]

That turned out very nice. Where did you get those wheels?

[Walter Laich]

make sure you take plenty of pictures of the clean top. If you are like many of us 15 minutes after starting it will be covered with all sorts of stuff

at least mine is