Small footprint bench for press and lubrisizer?

[Hick]

My entire reloading setup is a cheap (assemble it yourself) 27 inch wide desk from Walmart, with a piece of thick plywood bolted on top. Powder measure on the left edge, lubesizer on the right edge and Press just left of the lubesizer. I screwed an "L" bracket to the wall and to the back center of the desk so that it doesn't wobble under load. It's all I've ever had-- over 90,000 rounds loaded to date. Small is nice-- you can sit in a swivel desk chair and reach everything. My "bench" is right next to a closet where I keep everything else on shelves.

[jsizemore]

B&D Workmate has a step on the front so you can add some weight to stabilize it.

[Green Frog]

For those suggesting a B&D Workmate™, here is a picture I found many years ago of a really slick design for this. I have a set of plans somewhere in my archives if anyone is interested. I also have a MEC 600 Jr mounted to a piece of plywood to just clamp to my Workmate™.

Froggie



PS Here's a link to plans;
https://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...orkmate-bench/

[georgerkahn]

Moving and downsizing, on loading hiatus. I'll be needing a small footprint bench that will hopefully handle both the press (RCBS Rebel) and Lubrisizer (RCBS). Any particular build plans you like?

Bion, I have a rather tiny space for my reloading, and "lucked" into a console table from a way-back-when computer printer. (Back then they were heavy, huge, and VERY noisy! -- Hence the metal unit with a glass-door to access printer compartment. I house my Ohaus/RCBS scales inside, with shelving for small accessories.
In the front I have one of my Lyman All-Americans mounted with a Lee interchangeable base -- where I can swap in any of the other two All-Americans, Lyman 450 lub-sizers, or a MEC Marksman press. To the right I have my Dillon 550b permanently mounted.
Atop, I have a home-built wood unit to house my assorted reloading dies.
Below (what was intended for roll-perf-paper storage) I keep much of my cast bullets -- the added weight making it pretty much vibration free -- a plus for weighing charges .
Just an idea for something to look for (??) -- I got mine from a local University for, if I recall, either ten or fifteen dollars! It is only 30 inches wide, too -- not taking too much of a foot-print and enabling my reloading 28 different calibres.

[huntinlever]

Wow, didn't expect this thread to get so much attention. Thanks for the tons of info, guys, gives me plenty to work with. Hope to get back up in a couple of weeks.

[Fishoot]

I like to do a quick reloading job on my home-built stand made from $" diameter pipe and scrap steel I had. The tubing at the top allows for some shelf supports to be attached on the side towards the wall. The extra brackets on the 4" pipe allow for other presses to be stored on the stand and they do not increase the footprint of the stand very much. I made 2 ( the bare one is the second), because I had too much fun making them and thought I might sell one. I have more pictures if anyone wants them.

[huntinlever]

Moved, just catching up (and recovering - old bones don't take kindly to busting it out anymore!). Thanks again for the help guys.

Not ideal, but doable. Just took a piece of 3/4" plywood 2 x 4 and cut it to 2 x 3, found a sturdy table base I couldn't pass up at $25, mounted the plywood, drilled the press holes, and good to go. I do have to lean over a bit but it will get me loading.

[Kenstone]

Moved, just catching up (and recovering - old bones don't take kindly to busting it out anymore!). Thanks again for the help guys.

Not ideal, but doable. Just took a piece of 3/4" plywood 2 x 4 and cut it to 2 x 3, found a sturdy table base I couldn't pass up at $25, mounted the plywood, drilled the press holes, and good to go. I do have to lean over a bit but it will get me loading.

Nice...up and running!!
A simple box built out of 2x6 or 2x8 works as a riser, so no more leaning over, and gets you out of a potential sore back:

Moving any riser inward/off the front edge of a bench will almost eliminate any forward/back rocking of the press.
Check the clearance of the press lever in the down position to determine how far back from the edge the riser can be positioned.

.

[farmbif]

I once made a press stand out of an aluminum I beam and a 1/2" thick plate less than a square foot welded to each end. four holes in the bottom to screw it to the floor and holes in the top to mount press
ive still got it somewhere if I stop getting error messages ill post a picture

[uscra112]

My entire setup from when I was an apartment dweller in the '90s. Still using it.


A smaller kit that I take to the range. Built in an oldtime pistol shooters carrying case. Frequently I have just set this on the dining table when I was in a hurry,

[Kenstone]

My entire setup from when I was an apartment dweller in the '90s. Still using it.


A smaller kit that I take to the range. Built in an oldtime pistol shooters carrying case. Frequently I have just set this on the dining table when I was in a hurry,

Nice
What is the outside caliper in the range kit used for??

.

[samari46]

I used a couple old 3 drawer file cabinets with two pieces of 3/4" plywood cut to fit the tops and had room to stick my legs when sitting to do all my reloading. Would unbolt any tools as I had a nosy landlord. Frank

[uscra112]

"Caliper" is an old Lyman/Ideal tong tool, which does decapping and, in the field, recapping. At home I use a Lee Autoprime which was on a nearby shelf for this photo.

[PP-67]

Well, I have an apartment in a multi-family block

https://pin.it/4y1YT2s

[Kenstone]

"Caliper" is an old Lyman/Ideal tong tool, which does decapping and, in the field, recapping. At home I use a Lee Autoprime which was on a nearby shelf for this photo.

Thanks for posting that...
OH OK, so what looks like caliper tongs to me are actually the handles squeezed to work the tool.
.

[uscra112]

Thanks for posting that...
OH OK, so what looks like caliper tongs to me are actually the handles squeezed to work the tool.
.

Right. The original version was designed by John H.Barlow about 1885. It had a fixed die formed on one handle, and a mould formed forward of the pivot, so it really did look like a pair of tongs. A shooter thus had everything needed to reload his blackpowder cartridges in one tool. The basic design gained separable dies and lost the mould in the early 20th century, and even into the 1950s most home handloaders used the tong, (or nutcracker) tool sets. I still do for some of the pistol and obsolete rifle cartridges I play with. With a small canister of powder and some primers and bullets, the entire setup will fit into a cigar box. Now THAT is compact.

There's a good thread on the history here:
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...r-hand-loaders

And there's an endless thread here devoted to collecting them.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...10-Swap-thread

[W.R.Buchanan]

You don't need a bench for this one, but you can clamp it to a table if you want to. It will do anything a Bolt Down Press will do.

Randy

[reloader X]

I used a Black & Decker Shopmate in my living room when single. Then SWAMBO came long and made me be civilized. I mounted the press on a wood pedestal that I could clamp in the shopmate. Then when not in use fold up and put in closet. Built a TC Hawkins kit gun on it too.... In the living room.

a Jawhorse is even better for multitasking.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have a Jaw Horse and am about to make a table top for it to use as a "Portable Bench Rest" so I can sight in All my Big Rifles and suss out loads for them at all ranges between 200 and 600 yards. We have a Silhouette Shoot once a month and we shoot at 4 different ranges and we generally start at 600 M and move forward to 385M then to 300M then finish at 200 M..I can move forward after that to 200 yards which is our Standard Firing Line for final tweaking for my usual 200 yard zero. on .223 and 30 cal. Rifles

The portable aspect of the Jaw Horse Bench makes it easy to pick it up and move and re setup at the new firing line. Couple that with my Hand Press and I have a pretty workable setup for load development, and accuracy testing. I just pop the table off it and fold it up and throw all it in the back of the Jeep. Takes 1 minute to be ready to move.

Here's a hot tip: If your gun ain't sighted in properly you can't expect to hit anything,,, Which is kind of the idea for showing up in the first place.

Now all I need is a Lab Radar Chrono.

Randy

[fatnhappy]

I've been portable for 35 years.