Reloading bench

[Tinknocker]

I'm new to reloading and I need some advice from those of you who know more than I do. I don't have a garage or room to build or buy a large bench, is it safe to use an outdoor plastic table? I'm concerned about static electricity or am I over thinking. Thanks for your opinions.

[ar15barrels]

The most important thing of a reloading bench is for it to be solid/stable.
You don't want a bench that shakes as you run the press handle up and down.

I would not suggest a plastic table for things beyond foodservice and beer pong.

[Fjold]

The most important thing of a reloading bench is for it to be solid/stable.
You don't want a bench that shakes as you run the press handle up and down.

I would not suggest a plastic table for things beyond foodservice and beer pong.

Absolutely. Resizing some cases will bend or break the edges off of a plastic table and unless it's bolted to the wall or floor, the leverage can flip the entire table. My reloading tables have an extra hardwood board under the overhang of the tabletop to reinforce them. One of my old reloading tables had a 3" wide by 1/4" thick metal reinforcing edge under the overhang. I drilled and tapped the holes in it to mount the presses with bolts instead of screwing them to the wooden top.

[Tinknocker]

Thanks AR and Fjold I guess I will have to look for a better solution.

[4DSJW]

Do you have enough room for a dedicated 4' by 4' table? How about a 2' by 2' table (or something in between)? It doesn't have to be big, it has to be solid. You can overcome the issue of stabilizing the table by piling ammo cans of bullets or loaded ammo, or any other heavy object(s), on a bottom shelf. So figure out how much space you have for the table, then build/buy a solid or collapsing table that size. There are lots of ideas out there on the web. Stay away from the plastic tables, and stay away from tables with wheels, even locking wheels. GL!

[Cowboy T]

You might consider this reloading table, if you are not equipped to build your own. It's compact and sturdy. You'd use a cinder block from Home Depot or Lowes or similar as a weight/ballast.

https://leeprecision.com/lee-reloading-stand

You can get it for less than the listed MSRP from places like Titan Reloading.

https://www.titanreloading.com/product/lee-reloading-stand/

[Revoman]

Find a stout wooded or steel desk. They are normally very sturdy and have drawers to keep reloading gear out of sight. Maybe Craig's List or similar. There are MANY used office furniture places around too.

mike

[Imageview]

Depending on how sturdy the table, maybe you could clamp a board to the table to provide some additional structure.

clamping a piece of wood with a press mounted on it to a sturdy surface is pretty viable solution, but there are other options. Lee makes a hand press, or there are several other varieties. Not the best for rifle reloading, but plenty for straight wall pistol rounds. Or hand reloading tools, or a Lee reloading tool, there’s a million ways to skin this cat.

[Sailormilan2]

Waaay back when, well before I got married, I had a very simple reloading setup. I took my kitchen table, and pulled it apart about 6”. Then I “C” clamped a 1x6” board to the table and set my press to that. I loaded many rounds using that system.

[4DSJW]

Waaay back when, well before I got married, I had a very simple reloading setup. I took my kitchen table, and pulled it apart about 6”. Then I “C” clamped a 1x6” board to the table and set my press to that. I loaded many rounds using that system.

This is what my dad and I used to do. The dining room table was both robust and not very fancy. The presses were mounted to a 2x6 or a 2x8 and then c-clamped to the dining table. We used towels between the table and the mounting boards, and wood blocks between the table and the c-clamps. We had a very stable/sturdy platform and the whole thing could be set up for some reloading, then taken down for the next meal. It really worked well.

[Fjold]

I built a 18" x 3' reloading shelf in a closet once. It had the sliding doors so I just converted one side into a reloading bench. I lag bolted a 2x4 to the studs in the back wall and the one side wall. made the rest of the top frame with 2x4s and ran one 2x6 leg on the unsupported side. I made it the height for me to reload on a stool and had two 12" shelves underneath for supplies.

That half closet shelf had two presses mounted in it with two powder throwers and a shelf for my scale and powder trickler.

[Tinknocker]

Thanks for the input guys I found a wood desk on offer up for free it should work out. I wanted something smaller due to the space I have but I hope to build a garage in the future with a heavy-duty bench.

[ar15barrels]

Thanks AR and Fjold I guess I will have to look for a better solution.

Go to estate sales.
Look for an old HEAVY desk with a solid wood top that's 1.5-2" thick.
If it's well made, it will last your lifetime.
Wait until the end of the sale on Sunday and make a lowball offer.
You will get it cheap if nobody wants it because they were going to have to pay to have it hauled away on Monday.

[67Cuda]

If you need to buy something to use for reloading, Harbor Freight has a wooden bench for under $200 that people seem to like. Check out YouTube.

[Tinknocker]

Thanks, guys, for the advice, as I said before I got a wood desk and added another 1-1/2" of wood and used bolts and nuts to make it more solid. I had to put the drums away for now so I can have the room for the desk. I also made a riser base out some scrap I had access to and the machinery to cut and bend it. I recently loaded some rounds of .38 special and was pleased with myself, they shot to point of aim with no signs of over load. I just need to learn how not to drop primers and not spill powder.