Lee 3 legged reloading stand

[deces]

I have one of the Lee stands and it works great. 30-06 down to 380. Akro bins fit the front of the stand and makes it quite handy. I modified the plate for an RCBS Rock Chuker and Lyman 4500 so I can swap them out with my Breach Lock pro, works like a champ.

How sturdy is it, does it tip or sway when you swage or anything?
What I like about is the bench plate storage, I wish lee came up with a cheap way to vertically rack the press on plates. Or even just a cheap mountable injection molded storage base and let us figure out what to do with them.

[richhodg66]

Wht is the height of the Harbor Freight stand? I assume it would require you to sit while reloading, but I suppose a riser of some sort could be arranged.

[jetinteriorguy]

Thanks for reading and responding to my post.
I just want to add that I have read the reviews of that HF stand and what other reloaders had to say is quite different from your experience.
I used the search feature in the review section to search for all reviews posted by reloaders and got about 43 reviews, all 5 stars.

https://www.harborfreight.com/univer...=grinder+stand

To quote a few:

""I used it for a reloading stand. Working better than lee reloading stand and cheaper just put a top on it and went to reloading""

""Replacement for my Reloader, Lee has the same stand only there's is labeled Reloader mount and it's $130.00. You can use this with little to no modifications.""

""Used for a reloading stand. Well-built and decent weight. So far very happy saving money and having a solid reloading stand.""

""Bought this and made a reloading table out of it. Works great and much cheaper than actual tables made for reloading. Heavy duty and easy to put together.""

Those HF stands are on "clearance" now, so I plan to buy one soon as they may be discontinued.
I am considering buying an Inline Fabrication Quick-Change Riser to mount cattycornered, to put a stand leg out in front of the press, as well as out-back of the press for less tipping/flexing.
jmo,
.

Aha, my bad. This isn’t the stand I had used. The one I used was the universal tool stand. Apologies for the erroneous info, it’s been about ten years since I bought it and I remembered incorrectly.

[JSnover]

For usually less than the price of the Lee stand, let me offer an alternative.. Food for thought if you will..

Attachment 305698



Just tossing this out there as an idea. I worked around these things as a pipefitter/pipewelder for many many years, They will hold a ton of weight. I own two just out of how handy and usable they are for just about anything you need a secure hold for.

You can often find these for sale used in Craigslist or Marketplace for pretty affordable prices. I gave $100 for the last one I bought used.

Compared to a tripod, the Lee stand is out of it's league, no comparison in strength and durability, and the tripod is infinitely more usable than the Lee.

How stable is it? I've used plenty of them on job sites and they're great but they didn't strike me as a rock-steady mount for other purposes.
Maybe I just never used one that hadn't been beaten half to death...

[Kenstone]

Wht is the height of the Harbor Freight stand? I assume it would require you to sit while reloading, but I suppose a riser of some sort could be arranged.

""Table height: 32 in.""
More like bar stool height for reloading.
For stand-up reloading you could add a riser, or cut-off the legs for sitting-in-a-chair reloading.
Pic of riser for my drill press:

or not:


.

[richhodg66]

Some presses do not mount over the edge ofthe work surface (Lyman All American turret), so wondering if mounting such a tool in the middle of the table area of this might reduce the need for it to be real stable.

Probably gonna find out soon, I picked one of these up at Harbor Freight last night, gotta look around at what scraps I have but I should be able to make it work. If need be, I'll put a riser deck on it, but I'd prefer to avoid it if possible.

[Kenstone]

Some presses do not mount over the edge ofthe work surface (Lyman All American turret), so wondering if mounting such a tool in the middle of the table area of this might reduce the need for it to be real stable.

Probably gonna find out soon, I picked one of these up at Harbor Freight last night, gotta look around at what scraps I have but I should be able to make it work. If need be, I'll put a riser deck on it, but I'd prefer to avoid it if possible.

Good call on the HF stand.
You can always cantilever a wood riser over and edge to mount the press on.
Or build the riser cattycornered to the stand so that one leg is out in front of the press and one leg behind it.
Lots of options.
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...=1#post5474968
jmo,
.
Edit: I assembled mine up-side-down, starting with the top (upside down) on my workbench and built up from there.
I put pins thru the bolt holes in the shelf and legs for alignment and put in the bolts one at a time:

A riser like this, only flat/not angled, would get the press into the middle of the table:



.

[richhodg66]

Some very inspiring ideas, thanks very much. Plan to go deer hunting in the morning, but I think this will be the afternoon project for tomorrow.

[Kenstone]

Some very inspiring ideas, thanks very much. Plan to go deer hunting in the morning, but I think this will be the afternoon project for tomorrow.

Some more pics:

[richhodg66]

That second picture with what looks like a Lee progressive, it won't turn over with something like that mounted that far off center?

Looking at the lower shelf on these, I wonder if filling that with molten lead and letting it harden inside would weight it down enough?

I am going to start with either (or both) a Lyman All American Turret and Hollywood Senior. Both can be mounted away from the edge of the work surface. I may build a riser of one inch oak like you showed and install one of the Lee quick change systems for other stuff. Maybe I should go buy another one of these stands while I can.

[Three44s]

I began loading at age 19 in ‘75.

I had to build a portable stand to get started. I used a bunch of 2x4 lumber and lag screws.

I built a base in the form of an rectangle with the long parallel runners about 12” apart and about 4’ long. Caped the ends with short 2 by pieces.

The riser in the same fashion attached just on the inside of each of the two long runners (base).

The top of the riser is bridged with a short 2x4 block and then topped with steel to bolt my reloading press to. Welded to the steel topper are four pieces of angle iron that run down the outside of the four corners of the wood riser pieces.

Two 2x4 brace pieces run from near the top of the riser to the runner pieces on the floor.

I loaded on this stand exclusively for nearly 40 years and still use it occasionally.

As time went on I added a height and laterally adjustable bracket to the left side and built a tray for brass to mount to that bracket and then switch to a powder measure during case charging. This is welded to the steel topper.

Three44s

[Kenstone]

That second picture with what looks like a Lee progressive, it won't turn over with something like that mounted that far off center?

Looking at the lower shelf on these, I wonder if filling that with molten lead and letting it harden inside would weight it down enough?

I am going to start with either (or both) a Lyman All American Turret and Hollywood Senior. Both can be mounted away from the edge of the work surface. I may build a riser of one inch oak like you showed and install one of the Lee quick change systems for other stuff. Maybe I should go buy another one of these stands while I can.

I grabbed those pics off the net, so I cannot attest to how those setups worked out.

When I was assembling mine, I considered mounting the shelf up-side-down with the lip up to keep stuff from rolling off.
I will be hanging patio blocks on wire like the Lee stand if I determine it needs it, pouring lead in the shelf is beyond my skill level, good idea though.
I built a rolling tool cart on top of a HF dolly and added patio blocks on it for less tippy, and that worked out well.

I have used these other stands from HF but they didn't work-out, I'm guessing because of the particle board tops:



.

[richhodg66]

I put this together this afternoon. More solid than I'd have guessed before you guys gave your endorsement. I have a pallet my son's tool box for school came on that has some nice, straight, square 2x4s of some kind of hard wood, I thing I am going to make a butcher block top which will be nearly 4" thick to add a little height. I set both the Hollywood Senior and Lyman All MAerican centered on the top and I believe either one will work fine.

Think I may go back to Harbor Freight and get another one of these.

[500aquasteve]

I have the Lee tripod one. It does have a weight hanger for support, but I never used it. I just hold the press in my left hand to counter the forces if needed, but the design is very sturdy and rarely need to add support. Maybe on thick carpet it might move around.
It is very space economic

[jetinteriorguy]

I grabbed those pics off the net, so I cannot attest to how those setups worked out.

When I was assembling mine, I considered mounting the shelf up-side-down with the lip up to keep stuff from rolling off.
I will be hanging patio blocks on wire like the Lee stand if I determine it needs it, pouring lead in the shelf is beyond my skill level, good idea though.
I built a rolling tool cart on top of a HF dolly and added patio blocks on it for less tippy, and that worked out well.

I have used these other stands from HF but they didn't work-out, I'm guessing because of the particle board tops:



.

I’ve used both of these as well. The one on top works quite well, but I did construct a new deck out of 2x12’s for a good solid mounting surface. It is on the shorter side so without a riser it’s for sitting down. The one on the bottom didn’t work at all, no matter how you tightened all the bolts it just had too much flex.

[fatnhappy]

For usually less than the price of the Lee stand, let me offer an alternative.. Food for thought if you will..

Attachment 305698

This is commonly called a "tripod" in the pipe business, these things are THE handiest work spaces for pipe and other things, they are portable, the legs fold up, and they are very strong and very stable. You can mount a press to a 2x6 and bolt or c-clamp the 2x6 to the tripod, you could use a plece of steel for this purpose, you can use the chain vise to hold a large tray with tools or bins for ammo by putting a leg on the end, the possibilities are endless and you can use it for a ton of other things. Plus it will easily hold it's resale value.

Just tossing this out there as an idea. I worked around these things as a pipefitter/pipewelder for many many years, They will hold a ton of weight. I own two just out of how handy and usable they are for just about anything you need a secure hold for.

You can often find these for sale used in Craigslist or Marketplace for pretty affordable prices. I gave $100 for the last one I bought used.

Compared to a tripod, the Lee stand is out of it's league, no comparison in strength and durability, and the tripod is infinitely more usable than the Lee.

Yeah, I have one and use it to clamp barrels while scope mounting.

a 5/8" steel plate on a portable tripod. I have one leg adapted for plugging into a reese hitch.

[richhodg66]

So, messed around a little and came up with this for the little Harbor Freight Grinder Stand. After I put the first one together, I was impressed enough to go back and buy another one, stable, simple and cheap enough and I can see all kinds of uses for one, not just for reloading.

So, I'm not the smartest guy in the room anywhere I go, but figure a press that doesn't hang over the edge of the work surface is the way to go. Enter the Lyman All American Turrent Press. It's mounted pretty much in the center of the deck I put on the stand and with the added height of two 2x12 planks, I can work it standing without having to stoop. Not at eye level, but I don't think it'll need to be, and it's about riight for sitting in a chair. I haven't ever used one of these, so there's a learning experience coming. I have shell holders and priming stems, etc. I want one of the 3d printed primer catchers for it.

I bolted a square piece or 2x12 to th top of the stand with elevator bolts from the top, recessed so the heads stay flat. Mounted the press to an identical piece of 2x12 using elevator bolts so they are recessed and the two planks mate up flat. I'll get some smaller C clamps, these were handy.

This is going to allow me to mount other presses, tools the same way as this Lyman and be able to change tools quickly. I have a Hollywood Senior and also a C&H H type press that also mount away from the edge so if I need a strong press with good leverage, I can. Figured I'd make one of these planks with one of the Lee quick-chnage plates attached so I can swap out powder measures, bench priming tools, etc.

Gonna try stacking ingots in the tray shelf and see if it helps, might not be needed. I have a cheap old 9x9 cake pan I plan to cast a lead weight from to drop in that tray if I need to. All in all, I think I'm off to a good start and will be able to load in the house where it's more comfortable in the Winter than the shop and also keep my wife from being a relading widow.

[hc18flyer]

I do something similar to 'fatnhappy'. I use farm 'disc' blades as a base, weld a 1" waterpipe riser, and a plate to mount my press on. I also have an 'ear' welded at my bench height, so I can clamp it to my small reloading table, using a pipe style Vise Grip. I primarily use my Coax press and have that mounted above bench height. I also have a similar stand for a Lee C style press, mounted at eye level for rifle bullet seating, seems to work well for me. That way I can have a clear bench, move my press in when I need, and it is solid. hc18flyer

[rbuck351]

I have no distracting things in my loading area, not even a radio. Getting distracted while reloading is not something that would work out well for me.

[Three44s]

I do something similar to 'fatnhappy'. I use farm 'disc' blades as a base, weld a 1" waterpipe riser, and a plate to mount my press on. I also have an 'ear' welded at my bench height, so I can clamp it to my small reloading table, using a pipe style Vise Grip. I primarily use my Coax press and have that mounted above bench height. I also have a similar stand for a Lee C style press, mounted at eye level for rifle bullet seating, seems to work well for me. That way I can have a clear bench, move my press in when I need, and it is solid. hc18flyer

I built a second portable stand and also used a disc blade for the base on that one. My riser is made out of a used and worn (discarded) PTO shaft outer safety shield. A steel plate 3/16” tops the riser. I can C-Clamp a reloading press to it that is attached to a base block. I originally built it for a Pacific 366 shot gun press and it has holes drilled fir it.

It also doubles as my seat for range testing loads at other times.

I am thinking of constructing another but fastening an old time steel tractor seat to it with the pivot so I can flip it over to keep it dry when not in use.

Three44s