First, any advice or recommendations are welcome in this project
I am just getting back into reloading and rescued a 36” tall kitchen table from the curb. My better half approved as she also wants a mat cutting table for her artwork (she’s a graphic designer and fine arts artist).
The plan is to make a larger, removable top that incorporates a larger cutting mat she has squirreled away for just this occasion. Then, when she’s not using, it I can take the new top off and use the old top as a reloading bench.
The 38”x38” table top is 3/4” thick and seems to be made of softer wood, but I’m not sure if it’s pine or something else. Will this stand up to a reloading press, or should I reinforce it? Keep in mind the surface has to be flush because the cutting top has to sit flush on the old top.
I was thinking about reinforcing it either way... but how much is the question. My initial thought was an aluminum plate on top of the table to give the press a larger footprint and keep the press from digging into the wood... the plate coming off when I remove the press. And underneath, adding some steel strips/plate to distribute the leveraging forces created across the wider space on the bottom.
Or, keeping the use of the aluminum plate on top but changing the bottom reinforcement, I could find some hardwood glue it to the underside of the table and use trapped nuts in it to make the bolts easier to install remove
Is this all overkill?