Swaging Bench

[barryjyoung]

I finished a swaging bench last weekend that may be of interest to you. I wanted a bench that would absolutely not move at all no matter how long a handle I put on my Cast Boolits/Aneat swaging press once I get it finished. The idea is that I will want to show bullet swaging operations on You Tube when I get it done. So, the bench needs to be more rigid than average so the camera will not shake. The photos attached will give an idea of how I built it. The legs and the section of bench between the legs are made of laminated beams made from four 4X4's glued together and bolted through with 1/2-13 threaded rod. The legs stand on 4X4 pressure treated feet and shims are then beaten into place to lift the legs and bench up against the 1/2 inch threaded rod. The feet are attached to concrete floor with 4 inch long Red Head sleeve type 1/2 inch diameter Fasteners. This made the bench top nearly as rigid as I wanted it to be by itself. Next I bolted a pressure treated 2X4 to the poured concrete walls with 3 inch Red Head 1/2 inch sleeve type fasteners and hung slightly too long joists from the 2X4 ledger with Strong Tie Fasteners. The joists being a bit long pushed the bench away from the wall into a rigid "sprung" condition of tension. Now the bench absolutely does not move no matter how hard I try to move it. I inlet a 1 1/4 particle board top supported on nailers with 3 inch drywall screws. Finally I screwed down a 3 inch X .187 wall steel angle along the front/top edge of the bench and mounted 3/16 steel plate on top of the bench over the laminated 4X$ top section and 1/4 inch plate underneath. All presses will be mounted to 1 inch thick steel plate which has a common bolt pattern and bolted through the two steel plates and laminated 4x4's. Thanks to Whiterabbit for his help with the engineering on this project. I am going to make one more of these benches if anybody is interested in a more detailed construction series I can document the next one.

Barry

[williamwaco]

Yikes!

I have used angle iron for 50 years but I never had a concrete bunker.

That is GREAT!

[mosby's men]

I am interested in seeing how your going to mount stuff on your bench and in what order .

[newcastter]

You could probably swage 50 cal with that bench.....Looks great and will work wonders for you.
Overkill IMO however I have no idea of what you are or plan to swage.....
Great Job!

[shooterg]

You could probably swage 105mm projectiles ! Serious overkill but cool.

[barryjyoung]

Thank you for the encouraging comments. The bench will be used for filming YouTube videos using a huge 65 pound purpose built swaging press as well as many reloading presses. I built it sturdy so the camera will not shake during filming.

[Lizard333]

I'd say your bench is adequate. Over built, maybe not. I thought I over built mine and it still has flex. My Walnut Hill still has a little flex in it, despite extra plates. My bench top is 1.5 inches thick plus steel plates.

What brand of press you building it for? You have some clearance issues depending in which press you have in mind. I had to notch my front to get the proper clearance.

[barryjyoung]

What brand of press you building it for? You have some clearance issues depending in which press you have in mind. I had to notch my front to get the proper clearance.

I am building this bench to fit the swaging press I am building from plans here on Cast Boolits at http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?76514-Lets-make-a-Swage-press
and I believe I have overcome the clearance issue by mounting my presses to 1 inch thick steel adapter plates which will be bolted through the table with an appropriate overhang. I have all the swaging press parts squared up and cut to length. Just need to do the holes and thread milling. For handloading I will be mounting a Lee Loadmaster, Lee Classic Turret, RCBS Rockchucker, Pacific Super Deluxe, a 1/4 ton Arbor Press and a RCBS Lube-A-Matic II sizer/Lubricator. All will interchange quickly with a common bolt pattern on each adapter plate.

Thank you for your interesting question

Barry

[dragonrider]

I like it.

[Guardian]

Mount your camera to the wall and there won't be any shaking of the camera.....or if there is, the shaky video is the least of your worries.

[Randy C]

I'm looking forward to seeing the end picture.

[BT Sniper]

Can't "over build" anything in my opinion. Looks good and should make for a heck of a swage bench!

Swage on!

BT

[gimling]

plan on swaging TANK ammo??

[ronaldod]

Thank you for the encouraging comments. The bench will be used for filming YouTube videos using a huge 65 pound purpose built swaging press as well as many reloading presses. I built it sturdy so the camera will not shake during filming.

Why not mount a rail to the ceiling and have your camera working from there. Like those lamps at the dentist.

an example : http://vimeo.com/38412761

[JakeBlanton]

As they say, "Anything worth engineering is worth OVER-engineering".

[barryjyoung]

Mount your camera to the wall and there won't be any shaking of the camera.....or if there is, the shaky video is the least of your worries.
Excellent advice. Will do. Thank you.
Barry

[barryjyoung]

Can't "over build" anything in my opinion. Looks good and should make for a heck of a swage bench!

Swage on!

BTThank you BT. I know you know all about swaging. I appreciate the evaluation.

Barry

[barryjyoung]

Why not mount a rail to the ceiling and have your camera working from there. Like those lamps at the dentist.

an example : http://vimeo.com/38412761

Also a superb idea. Thank you.

Barry

[barryjyoung]

Here is the latest pic from half an hour ago. To avoid having to notch the bench I attached each off my 5 presses to a one inch thick piece of steel and then bolted that through the double steel plate/laminated 4X4 bench top with 4 bolts 1/2 inch in diameter. There is NO flex in the 1 inch thick steel mounting plates and they allow mounting right up against the edge of the bench. Net result is ZERO movement. I had a huge friend of mine reef on my Loadmaster and the press frame flexed a little, but the mounting plate and bench did not move at all. Please note that only the Lee Classic Turret press is mounted. The Rockchucker, Arbor Press and Lee Loadmaster are just sitting there waiting for a storage rack to be built. Presses only mount on the right end between the 3.5 X 14 inch legs.

This bench was built for swaging with a Cast Boolits swaging press as shown here

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?76514-Lets-make-a-Swage-press

and so it needs to be sturdy. I believe this has been accomplished, now I will make a second bench just like it but not as sturdy for the hydraulic swage press I am building.

Thank you for all of your help.

Barry
87752

[mosby's men]

really great design

[barryjyoung]

Thank you Mosby's men

[barryjyoung]

Here are a couple pics of the finished swaging press. Next is to make a hydraulic version, then dies.

Barry9455994560