Well here it is, I finally got it finished. I've been meaning to build a reloading bench for a while, been using an old normal desk for too many years.

I altered my design slightly to take advantage of various wood sizes at homedepot. I decided on Melamine boards for the snazzy durable finish. Overall, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. The internal frame is 2x6 and reinforced where the press wil lbe which makes it rock solid with no wiggling so it should bear the presses quite well. Price was quite reasonable for it as well. Now I can better organize things downstairs.

I wanted to use it as a work bench as well when not reloading so the shelf underneath only runs halfway so I can tuck my legs under when gunsmithing or whatever. I plan to put some fluorescent lighting under the "bullet" shelf. I also left a 1" gap in the back pegboard base for power tool cords.







-DallanC

very snazzy...now when are you going to build enough for us all to have one???lol

Are you going to have enough room to have your presses mounted and room to do your gunsmithing? It's hard to tell how big that bench is. As near as I can figure it's about 5' 8" long and 24" or 25" deep.....??

Looks nice Dallan! and clean! That's about the size of mine (mine might be a little smaller and no backboard). Melamine can be slippery, you might wanna find some thin rubbery stuff to lay down on the table top for gun working, it'll help to keep those primers and odd screws in place. I use those paper rags (rags in a box) when I'm reloading to keep track of stray powder granules and metal shavings when trimming brass, works great and you can fold em up outa the way when you're done wiping your nose on them. (Ya gotta get rid of the metal shavings before you wipe your nose)

Hey Paulie how much time did you devote to measuring and calculating the space between the holes and all that to come up with the dimensions? Must be those pain meds?

PaulS wrote:

Are you going to have enough room to have your presses mounted and room to do your gunsmithing? It's hard to tell how big that bench is. As near as I can figure it's about 5' 8" long and 24" or 25" deep.....??

Wow you are pretty good at estimating... or did you count pegboard holes? Its 5'6" long, 24" deep. Originally I was going to be 28" as it has to fit through a 29" doorway but HomeDepot had the 24" wide sheets for a big discount over a 4x8 sheet which would have had alot of waste.

It has plenty of area for moderate projects... anything larger I'll work on out in the garage.

Suzanne wrote:

Looks nice Dallan! and clean! That's about the size of mine (mine might be a little smaller and no backboard). Melamine can be slippery, you might wanna find some thin rubbery stuff to lay down on the table top for gun working, it'll help to keep those primers and odd screws in place. I use those paper rags (rags in a box) when I'm reloading to keep track of stray powder granules and metal shavings when trimming brass, works great and you can fold em up outa the way when you're done wiping your nose on them. (Ya gotta get rid of the metal shavings before you wipe your nose)

Good tip. I plan on getting a neoprene work mat to keep things from slipping or scratching. Some cool ones on eBay with exploded diagrams of the most popular firearms.

One tip I saw a guy do is he cut a 3" circular hole in one rear corner of his bench though the surface. Below he had attached a 4" bottle lid with a matching 3" hole through it, and bottle screwed into that. Then if he had a little mess he'd just sweep it over into the corner and through the hole where it falls into the bottle. Later you can quickly unscrew and clean it. I have a old peanut butter jar with a lid... just cant bring my self to drill a big hole through that nice flat surface yet


-DallanC

Old conveyor belts from the mines are the bees knees for lining a work benches.
They are very though and if you get the right type they are anti static as well.

just cant bring my self to drill a big hole through that nice flat surface yet

Ya mean the peanut butter jar lid? Ya I know what you mean, I loves my peanut butter. Just kidding. Where I work (dental lab) we have hole in the desk tops and the hole is lined with a short section of white plastic sewer pipe (it's real thin) which directs the trash into a regular trash bin. Now if ya have a janitor that doesn't line up the trash bin after emptying it you have a wonderful mess on the floor to clean up, but otherwise it works nicely. Oh and you don't haveta butcher a good peanut butter jar lid...

Nice setup, when can I pick up mine? hahaha. I need a new setup but just don't have the funds right now. I do really like your setup though.

That looks real nice Dallan, I'm particularly impressed with the backboard....although for the way I accumulate crap and corruption mine would need to be twice that size.

The hole in the top is a good idea. I have a couple of holes in my bench...both relate to collecting spent primers from different presses as I decapped cases. The holes are 19mm in diameter, which is the same size as a piece of poly irrigation tubing, allowing the primers to drop into a tin under the bench. Have a look around the camping, or rubber, stores for the "mesh" sheeting they use to stop plates etc sliding around in caravans. It's very non slip, comes in different colours and is light and easy to roll up and store.

Easy Liner

A mate over here made a "moat", like you find on pet dishes, for his shot press. When he has a kerfuffle and spills powder or shot he just sweeps it into the moat with a paint brush...easy to recover.

Now...when do you start taking orders mate?

Nice .. That should do just fine Dallan....

Dallan, glad to see you have put your time off to good use. Looks good.

I reload at my work bench standing up. I found when my press was mounted to the table top, I had to bend down to finish the stroke. I've since built a platform that raises it up 4 to 5 inches. It helped a lot.

Looks pretty good! Now here's hoping you find time to use it!

Very nice clean looking table!I made mine similar but from 4x4s for the frame to eliminate wobble,then plywood to eliminate more wobble and keep componants out of the way underneath,then at 8ft in length I needed more space for another press,then with the new press I needed more table,..............................................................................and so it continues.................................................

If you are looking for some rubber material to cover the reloading bench top with-that rubber roofing material for flat top roofs works quite well ,and if you get the light fiber reinforced type-it is easy enough to take out and wash off if needed!

Looks good Dallan.