Building new bench top, ideas?

[kmw1954]

I understand that you don’t want your bench to have holes everywhere but just a suggestion, drill and tap your single plate with your main press’s holes, add a new configuration of holes as you add a new press. Similar presses will probably have similar footprints though. .

Exactly correct and was already the plan. I have 3 presses I use all the time and two have the same base mount. The 3rd press is similar but not the same. From a mock up I made in another board I can share one bolt hole of the 3 in the mount. So for now there will be 5 tapped holes and the 2 left exposed have enough room to fill the holes with button head screws to keep the junk out.

Something else that keeps popping up about the size and materials. This bench will have one purpose and that is to reload on. No gunsmithing, no gun cleaning, no solvents. In my case I do have another bench to better handle all that. This build is more than large enough for reloading chores.

[kmw1954]

This is about how it will look once finished and is still in progress. the 3rd picture shows about where the plate steel will be located and that mat is also the same size as the plate.

[onelight]

That looks like it will a great place to load. Good job.

[abunaitoo]

I just don't like my press flexing around.
I've tried 2x8 and it just flex to much.
I can see the concern with a metal top damaging things.
I use a towel to keep things from rolling off the table.
I do case forming, so just don't like all the flexing.
With all the flexing, over time won't the table crack????

[Baltimoreed]

Looks good kmw, [don’t think it’s big enough though] I like that it’s open underneath, sitting imo is always better than standing. Your press location is off to the side so if it somehow gets springy a piece of angle iron will stiffen it right up. More pictures when you get it good and cluttered up.

[1eyedjack]

anyone tried engineered lumber for a bench top??? 1-3/4" thick by 24" wide LVL ( laminated veneer lumber - think plywood in long lengths ) should be more than stout enough & you can purchase a cut off sometimes at a reduced price ! It ain't cheap but really strong!!

[kmw1954]

Well thank you everyone I hope you've enjoyed the pictures and conversation. Will keep updating as I get along.

[kmw1954]

Finally getting almost done. Finally got the plate cut and the top material is also no cut and fitted. Still need to drill and tap 2 more holes for the ABLP Press and then still need to get hardware and drill the plate to bolt it to the top. Also found another old computer desk and salvaged the shelves which I think looks better and will be more useful than the old hutch.

So here are some pictures showing what I was originally intending to do and how it will work out... 3 different presses and the plate w/o a press mounted.

[onelight]

That looks like it will be very solid nice job!

[onelight]

With your ABLP will you be able to mount a bin to catch the loaded rounds when they eject from the press ?

[kmw1954]

With your ABLP will you be able to mount a bin to catch the loaded rounds when they eject from the press ?

Not sure how I am going to do that yet. With the cutout under the press and the press set back from the edge I am not quite sure how it is going to react. Though a few others tat I have talked to have mentioned that their finished rounds were bouncing out of the bin when mount as designed. I will be able to mount the bracket to the bench, but I may fab a different chute to fit between the press and the bin.

So far from the testing I've done it is very solid indeed and with the socket head machine screws I can swap out the whole press in just a few minutes. No need to have them all mounted as I can only use one at a time anyways.

[JeepHammer]

After 35 years of moving, rentals, cobbling things together to make them 'Sort Of... Work',

Stands & small tables that pulled forward when the press was cantilevered over the front edge,
Nothing like trying to keep the table out of your lap when sizing, wall slapping, rocking across the floor,
All from not enough base strength & press mounted cantilevered over the forward legs...

Then there was size restrictions,
Small apartments require compact workstations.
And there were landlords, you can't just nail/screw to the floor & wall...
And it has to be small enough to go in/out common interior doors.

SO!
Failure analysis, why had all other benches,
Must be self supporting, no rocking from too high of presses (leverage over the bench),
No forward/backward rock so the bench doesn't try to tip forward or slap the wall,
Diagonal reinforcement so the bench doesn't twist and 'Walk' across the floor,

And being disabled (military),
I need to sit down, I need the PRESS at a specific height when I'm sitting down.

This is where a little failure analysis comes in, and change the design to compensate for the force applied...

Either you can angle legs forward (takes up room, trip hazard, toe buster) to keep the bench from tipping towards you with an over the edge cantilevered press,
OR,
You can inset they press into the bench into the bench so it doesn't stick out beyond the legs/support.

I choose inset presses, no toe busters on the floor, the press isn't a hip/elbow buster, you aren't as likely to break/damage the press whole doing something else in the room, and I don't need those trays on the sides of the press for cases & bullets since the bench surrounds the press on three sides...



All that 'Red' or 'Blue' stuff is 'Tacti-Cool', but it's actually Band-Aids & scabs for a poor design support bench...

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Materials,
Since I wanted this bench to go through interior doors and down hallways,
It couldn't be excessively heavy.
No big hardwood cants, no heavy steel legs, etc.
BUT,
Not so light weight it would stay in place.

There was a restriction on budget so it had to be common materials.

Two sheets of 3/4" plywood, cut on a panel cutter at the big box store so it's square,
And you don't need a rip saw & guide for roughly square panels,
Some long, aggressive wood screws, some short aggressive wood screws, some common 2"x4"s, a 2"x6" brace under the presses, and some odds & ends.
Complete under $200.

Tools,
Square, saw, drill motor & bits, pencil & tape measure.
Dirt simple.

Under doubled layer top, 2"x4" surround on 3 sides, YOU pick the height for the press to sit.
Front brace is directly under the press, and the press sits BEHIND the side walls which support the top.
No pulling forward as you pull the handle, no wall slap when you lift the handle to get cases out of sizing dies.

The back is 4'x4' and doesn't reach the floor.
This leaves space for uneven floors, base boards, power cords, etc, and it raises the back so you can mount shelves or tools.

It's 2'x 4' with a top slightly smaller, and 8sq.ft. of floor space, virtually all 8sq.ft. of floor space useable for storage.

Since the top is just shy of 24" deep, and the press is inset, you can EASILY reach everything on the bench or surround.
The 3 sides also keep things from rolling off the bench, or things from outside from hitting your reloading equipment.

2"x4"s upright in the corners give you something super solid to screw to, panels work as cross bracing in all 4 diagonals without added reinforcement.

[JeepHammer]

Then there is that collectively expensive die collection, cause gauges, shell holders, ect.

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I partner my progressive presses with tool head presses, this makes setting up for tearing down 'Mystery' rounds, or rounds that don't pass QC a snap, this is an old Lee 'Turret' (tool head, not a real 'Turret') with folding handle that complements the progressive quite well.
5 second tool changes and your culls are components again, and that's REAL handy!

Even if it were a single press, a dedicated work station keeps your stuff organized, and keeps it from harm....

This is a board, couple hinges, a little latch, and some brass rod cut into pins for gauges & shell holders.



You can't beat KISS (Keep It Stupid Simple).
A board, some holes, some brass pins from brass rod (any hardware store).
Your brass case deburring tool works equally well on brass rod pins you cut yourself...

Case gauges, case holders, stray dies, tool heads, all sorted & protected by holes in a board...

[JeepHammer]

I continued the self supported bench idea when I expanded, and since it's a work station and not a permanent fixture, I can move them around for space or move them period...

This is another workstation that's for a case roller & Dillon Super 1050,
If you look to the right of the bench, you will see the 2'x4' dolly leaned up against the wall.
Not much to it either, no sense in wasting money on something you only use a few times a year for space or cleaning...

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I begin at the beginning. Simple idea, but took 35 years to sink in.

Comfortable SOLID chair, feet flat on the floor, then workstation with bench top adjusted so the PRESS HANDLE is just below my shoulder ball/socket joint.
This means I can put a bunch of pressure on that handle, both down & back up WITHOUT shifting my body, leaning over, or reaching above the shoulder.

It puts the bench top up where I don't have to bend excessively to measure propellant weights, get bullets or brass to the press, and I'm close enough to the press to see everything without stooping.

Ergonomics makes reloading MUCH more fun when your eyes, neck, back, shoulders, elbows or back isn't killing you.



Amazing what a coat of cheap paint will do for crude plywood construction!

This one does have anything but used primers below the bench top, so it got a drawer for caliber changes & spare parts.

[kmw1954]

Jeep, thank you for taking the time to share your work and pictures, I have seen this posted elsewhere also. Looks very well built, sturdy and functional. The idea behind mine is to be a dedicated bench for only reloading as I have another bench for heavy dirty work. That one will support a bench top drill press.

This bench incorporates 2 kitchen base cabinets as you can see, older ones made from all plywood panels, and each one is very sturdy. I then have a cleat that is bolted and glued to the sides of the cabinets and that is what the benchtop is bolted to using 5/16" bolts. So the whole thing can be unbolted and moved in 3 pcs. very easily. The benchtop is 24"X48" and 28" above the floor. The cabinets are 24" deep by 18" wide. As you see the cutout in the steel plate is also to allow for recessing the press from the front edge. Not quite as exaggerated as yours but still works. Plus with the Lee Red base presses it allows the spent primers to fall thru and into a waste bucket. I am actually quite pleased with the way it turned out.

[JeepHammer]

Begin at the beginning...
Which turned out to be my big butt in a chair.
(Maybe I started at the back end? )

If you get an idea you can use, there you go!

I yanked a Rock Chucker off the bench top once, chip core top that got wet and I was trying to resize old .30-06 milbrass,
I cracked myself in the privates with the Lee press shown when the board I had the press bolted to slipped out from under the 'C' clamps I was using...

I just got tired of making due with what I found and actually threw a few brain cells at it for a couple days, and this is how it turned out.

I figure with $1,000 in press & dies, tool heads, etc, $250 case feeder, $500 bullet feeder it was just plain time to build a dedicated bench to protect it all...
The Lee press isn't worth what a Dillon caliber change & die set is worth, but it still works well so it got a home too.

I'm not much of a carpenter, but this was simple/easy enough even I could knock it out in a day...

[Drew P]

IKEA sells solid oak butcher block counter top material in large slabs. It’s nice stuff for the $

[MaLar]

I bought a damaged solid core door cut the bad edge off. Made some square tube brackets and mounted it to a wall, Been using it for decades.

[Ozark mike]

After I broke a 2x12 press mount I decided to try 2 PCs of 3/4 ply was still holding until I took it down to do a remodel of the bus

[kmw1954]

IKEA sells solid oak butcher block counter top material in large slabs. It’s nice stuff for the $

Well I figure I have about $40.00 invested in this and that includes the plywood, MDO, Masonite, glue, steel plate, a 5/16" tap and drill bit, sandpaper and all the odds and ends hardware and fasteners. The 2 cabinet ends were Free salvage. Should last the remainder of my lifetime and be very functional.