Portable Loading Bench

[Ben]

My friend Bryan needed a portable reloading bench. He lives in a home where it isn't feasible to have a large loading bench that would attach to the floor and wall. At the same time, he may be required to move to another location if the job market changes and would like the ability to move the loading bench just like he would another piece of this furniture.

My friend Kenneth ( who also reloads and is an excellent wood worker ) and I spent the afternoon yesterday building Bryan a nice portable loading bench. It is heavy enough to be super stable, but light enough to be picked up and moved by two people like any other piece of furniture in your house. The reloading bench is a free standing unit, It requires no screws into the wall or floor. The top and main body of the press is made with 2" X 12 " lumber. Screws and wood glue are used on all points where any two pieces of wood touch each other.

Bryan will start out with the little Lee Reloader Press. The little Lee press will work fine for him. He will be neck sizing 308 Win., 99% of the time anyway for this two .308 Win. bolt action rifles. He only wants to load 308 Win. right now ( you know how that goes.......He will probably add a caliber or two down the road ).

The bench has adequate working surface room to the left and right of the press for loading blocks, powder measures , etc. The maximum width of the unit is 29" to allow it to go though most inside doors. For basic reloading, he will also have adequate shelf storage areas also.

If you have a need for something like this ( or know someone that lives in an apartment , etc. ) this may have application in your situation.

Ben

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0502.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0503.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0504.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0505.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0507.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0514.jpg

[btroj]

A spent primer box? How will people know you are a reloader umless spent primers get tracked all over the house?

Nice looking bench Ben.

[Ben]

btroj

Yea, I think you're right, I may have done him an injustice not allowing him to have several hundred spent primers in his carpet and scattered all over his floor.

Ben

[sav300]

Ben and Kenneth,very nice unit.

[Ben]

Ben and Kenneth,very nice unit.

Thanks for those kind remarks.

Ben

[Casting_40S&W]

Looks good, all your bench needs is one of these.
http://www.titanreloading.com/press-accessories/lee-bench-plate

[Ben]

Can't argue with that. For right now Bryan is on a bit of a budget. I guess all things in due time......

[3006guns]

That was a very generous thing to do for your friend.....shows what kind of people shooters are.

I'm curious. Does the seat detatch for moving or storage?

[Ben]

That was a very generous thing to do for your friend.....shows what kind of people shooters are.

I'm curious. Does the seat detatch for moving or storage?

3006guns

Very interesting that you'd ask that question.

My friend in FL just emailed me and thought we were missing the boat by not making the extension that the seat is mounted on removable.

Would make for much easier moving and most likely if done properly not diminish the structural integrity of the bench at all.

Ben

[Wayne Smith]

Cut the seat off just at the point of the bench. Bolt two pieces of wood to it, one on each side, about two feet long with four bolts. These will surround the middle vertical piece of the bench, you can then put four bolts through. This will be as strong or stronger than what you have now and be removable with just four bolts.

[MGySgt]

Real nice bench - have to keep that in mind just in case the wife throws me out!

[Ben]

MGySgt

When I was 16 ( I'm 62 now ) , 16 yrs. of age is when I started reloading , if I'd have had something like this to load on I'd have been pleased as punch.

Granted , my bench is larger and more expansive now with more " bells and whistles " , but if push came to shove & I needed to do it, I could still make do fine with something like this.

Ben

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0503.jpg

[Ben]

That was a very generous thing to do for your friend.....shows what kind of people shooters are.

I'm curious. Does the seat detatch for moving or storage?

___________________________-

3006guns :

After considerable thought to your suggestion, we incorporated it into the project. Now the seat is removable and held in place with two 3/8 " dia. bolts with large washers under the bolt heads and nuts.

Very sturdy now. Little difference in strength of the unit , prior to or after the cut was made. Good idea, thanks again !

Thanks for your good idea.

Ben

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0523.jpg

The press may look to be sitting a little to the left ? Bryan is left handed and this was the most comfortable placement for the press for his own individual needs

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0529.jpg

[Ben]

Here is a photo of Bryan sitting at his new reloading bench.

" I think he likes it ! "

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/Photo0522.jpg

[MGySgt]

Ben I started reloading in 74 (23YOA) I was a Sergeant with a baby on the way.

I had my press bolted to a board that I clamped to the kitchen table. The board was a piece of 2X12 my BIL doanted to me.

Had all my 'stuff' in a tackle box, still have that tackle box. I would buy a pound of powder and 1,000 primers every other payday (back then about 20 bucks).

Shot mostly .38's, about all I could afford - but we sure had fun.

[MGySgt]

Yes, Bryan sure looks happy at his Reloading Bench - sure Like the design.

Drew

[geargnasher]

That's really nice, Ben, excellent concept. The first things I thought of when I saw the first pics were that the 2x12 that supports the seat and stabilizes the bench needed to be bolted through the center partition with carriage bolts so as to be removable, and I would have mounted the press off-center considerably to one side or the other to give more "working" room for powder measures, boxes of boolits/bullets, and loading trays. I see you fixed it!

Now that you got it all figured out, let me drop another idea "bomb" on you: How about bolting a set of wheels on the back that are just barely off the floor when the bench is flat, but would contact the floor when the seat end was lifted? You could put a heavy, steel pull handle on the back of the seat so you could just grab it with one arm, lift it up until the wheels touched, and drag it anywhere, including up and down stairs. The same concept as the rolling stair/platform units at the home improvement stores: Tilt it to make the wheels touch and roll it around. The only drawback is the wheels would have to stick out past the back to work, and that would crowd the wall unless they were removable, and also a decent pair of lawnmower wheels and some axle bolts would cost more than the wood used to make the rest of the bench. If you had some wheels off a junk "push" mower it might be worth it.

Oh, and PAINT that sucker! There's your new task, Bryan, get a quart of good semi-gloss latex enamel with primer in it and give it two nice coats of your favorite color (I recommend a light color for the top at least so you can see in the bins better and see stuff on the top).

Gear

[44Vaquero]

That's a pretty good design, and I like Gears wheel idea too! Lots of clever people around here.
That's what I love about this site.

[Gelandangan]

That is one sturdy bench!!
I am sure anyone would be really proud to own it.

Would drawers or doors be incorporated to the bench?
It will keep things tidy if and when the bench is moved.

[guidogoose]

Very nice craftsmanship Ben! I just curious where the portable part comes in though? I have my press mounted to a 4X4 block of wood attached to a roofing joist counter balance with, what else cast boolits. My "bench" is two folding tables arranged in a L shape.

[Ben]

Gear :

My friend Kenneth that helped in the construction of the bench, said..." You know, he really needs a set a wheels on the back of the bench, then pick up the seat end and roll it anywhere you want ."

Looks like great minds think alike.

Ben
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MGySgt :

Yes those were simplier days, we all ran on a VERY tight budget then.

Ben

[2wheelDuke]

I like that. I'll keep that idea in mind since it looks like I'm moving once again here.

[Ben]

I like that. I'll keep that idea in mind since it looks like I'm moving once again here.

It is heavy enough to be super stable, but light enough to be picked up and moved by two people like any other piece of furniture in your house. The reloading bench is a free standing unit, It requires no screws into the wall or floor.

[geargnasher]

Gear :

My friend Kenneth that helped in the construction of the bench, said..." You know, he really needs a set a wheels on the back of the bench, then pick up the seat end and roll it anywhere you want ."

Looks like great minds think alike.

Ben
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Yeah, he's probably spent most of his life doing things that normally require two or three people by himself like I have. You start to think like an Egyptian after a while, trying to figure out how to move stuff without hurting your back. The wheel, inclined plane (including the screw), the lever, and the pulley are the best inventions in the history of man next to gunpowder and penicillin.

If he does decide to add wheels, consider measuring the width of the aluminum pull-out ramps on moving trucks (they're pretty standard, just wide enough for refrigerator dolleys) if that's the way he usually moves.

Gear

[FUBAR 6]

Put one of these on a Black & Decker Workmate.

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0003700191

Weight the Workmate down

[Mike Kerr]

Looks pretty stout. I'll bet it gets a lot of use.

regards,

:D:D

[Ben]

By the way, the materials for the bench were $35.00

[frankenfab]

Nice, Ben!

I made one to be "portable" as in room-to-room. The wheels are not quite up to the task, as the bottom is 2" thick.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/12827500366be6151e.jpg

[geargnasher]

Hey Frankenfab, what's the Slab O' Granite for, a phono turntable?

Gear

[frankenfab]

It's where my scale and auto trickler are. The slab is on a pedestal and does not touch the surrounding benches, or back wall. I have a few of those slabs laying around. They're from a building that was torn down at the University of Central Arkansas.

[geargnasher]

I noticed the pedestal, that's why I thought the granite slab might have been a base for a Hi-Fi turntable. Often the pedestals go through the floor and have their own slab under the house, and the legs of the turntable are put on Myrtle blocks atop the granite. I'll bet it makes a stable platform for a powder measure!

Gear