Show us a picture of your reloading bench

very very nice stuff here, I have my spot in the garage someday I hope to have a whole room like one of these, last year when the daughter moved out I thought it would happen BUT the boy convinced mom the extra room would be a great home office/homework/game room so I have my slice of the garage
will get some pictures posted as I have redone my bench
 
I see a lot of good looking bench setups here. A couple of things I have learned since I started reloading back in 1971 is that I like a place for my feet under the edge of the bench when sitting at one of my 4 presses. I lagged a 2x4 to the wall and screwed the top to is to make it really sturdy. A year ago I upgraded the lighting over my benches to bright white LED and really like it. Keep the pictures coming.
 
An update as promised from a while ago! I wanted to make my simple Rockchucker a bit easier to use and a bit more productive when I do use it. I was getting frustrated with primers falling over the floor, I would have to bend to do a full stroke of the press due to the height of the bench when standing and it would take time loading up 30 carbine and 357mag. Unfortunately, I don't have the space to store another press so I wanted to upgrade.

I bought some Inline Fabrication goodies which is exactly what was needed. A 4" riser so I don't have to bend over, an ergo roller handle for those lengthy sessions, an improved primer catcher with tube, and a case kicker with bins.

My bench is laminated kitchen table and I had originally used a simple sheet of metal when mounting the press to make sure the pressure was evenly distributed and did not cause any flex in the bench. I plate was too small to use, so I needed to replace it. I bought some sheets of galvanised steel, drilled some holes in them and sprayed them with a gloss black spray to match the inline fabrication mount. I think it looks really neat!

I also found a guy in the UK who makes inserts for the ram to prevent primers from popping out the front. They are magnetic and clip right in.

I now have an awesome system which keeps components in front of me and doesn't cause me to contort to weird shapes while standing or sitting.

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Regarding "I also found a guy in the UK who makes inserts", could you provide some contact info?I would like to see what can be done for my press's.

Thanks
Dan
 
it is a crime that photobucket is allowed or was allowed to take away what they promised or said was free... a lot of forum threads have been decimated by their actions. I pullwd all my photobucket pics and will have nothing to do with them ever again...

It sucks for sure. I'm sure not very many people paid the price they were asking.

I switched to imjur now and it is okay.

I need to take some more photos of our bench and update it. Ours is so much different now anyway its crazy.
 
Be sure to go to Photobucket and actually CANCEL your account, don't just delete your pictures.

They make money off of advertising, just like most sites like this. They get advertisers to pay based on the number of registered members. The more members, the better the advertising stream. Delete your account to make sure that they are seeing the impact of their policies.

Cancel your account, and tell everyone you know to do the same.

I know this seems vindictive, but we need to show Photobucket our level of displeasure.
 
Regarding "I also found a guy in the UK who makes inserts", could you provide some contact info?I would like to see what can be done for my press's.

Thanks
Dan
Hi Dan,

Probably not much use to you, but I am based in the UK so I cannot comment on whether this guy will ship to the US etc. If it's OK to cross-reference to another forum then see the below link:
https://full-bore.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=31671
The gentleman in question makes a two part system:
1. 3D printed primer catcher for the RCBS IV Rockchuck
2. Inserts to prevent primers from ejecting out from the front. It might be worth getting in contact with him by going onto his website in his signature:
www.targetmasteruk.com
 
79BE01B2-2760-4166-B7EF-7A928F782A93.jpeg 8BB03379-A2DC-47CB-A663-0F0432373E20.jpeg 8289F501-661F-4E13-B8E2-0549E6D5B3AB.jpeg D4752EE8-E8F4-44F2-9FCC-235E072FAF05.jpeg 939CD1C8-D52F-4F7D-AC04-F34C3BC3D1B8.jpeg B6A6E698-885D-41D4-97F9-B1AC0A4D70D7.jpeg 5CACEA70-EA1F-45D0-9BF1-D7F5BB9E2030.jpeg 23348D1B-E6CB-4D47-BB59-DD83B192D9B1.jpeg 281C6869-9D28-4A56-952A-1CF1173BEFCE.jpeg 37CE371F-9E16-4C24-A327-FE70B741EE1E.jpeg The “benches” are all converted upright pianos. Very sturdy. Even left the sound board in one as you can see. Total investment for benches = $0.00. All were acquired at various times off of Craigslist. Still need to add that third press and powder dispenser from pic #5. And I need more shelving for the powder from pic #8. But it will come in time. Also need more ammo cans. I have thousands of rounds in bags and boxes that I need to combine into cans. But at this point, I just don’t have the time. I will next year. It’s not going anywhere.

And yes. I have a rifle for every diagram.
 
I’m so going to lose “Guy points” for this. But the idea came from.....
.....Pinterest

Seriously??? Take his man card away!!! :rofl: Haha... that is so cool! Please tell us that your wife found the idea and told you about it though. We'll all feel much better about the whole thing, even if you are lying to us!!! o_O
 
No wife. My best friend’s wife is super big into repurposing old furniture. But they live in a small(ish) duplex so they don’t have a lot of room. She showed me a picture of a repurposed upright piano one night thinking of a cool aquarium or book shelves. And the proverbial light popped on in my head.

But you wouldn’t believe how many bolts and large flathead screws there are in those things. I did the first one by hand. I’m a pretty strong guy. Pretty decent endurance. After two hours, my hands wouldn’t work anymore. I literally couldn’t hold onto the screwdriver. Now me and Mr. Dewalt are great friends. I can completely strip a piano in about 3 hours. Add another 3 for assembly and paint. And your done. Leave the natural wood and make it 2 hours. Plus, the benches are portable. They still have the casters on them. So if I ever want to move them to add on or rearrange, not a problem. The piano wire is great for hanging things like stocks when you’re refinishing them. You can repurpose so much out of them. And it’s all almost completely free. Except for your time and brain power trying to be creative.
 
Recently there was a thread about loading in small spaces (apartments). That motivated me to do a little upgrade to my B&D WorkMate setup. I'm not sure I'm done - I need to use it for a while to see if I need to make any mods. But I thought I'd post it here in case it is of help to others and/or gives ideas.

My previous setup was simple but had issues. I created a T out of 2x6. I mounted the press on one end of the short part of the T and the case trimmer on the other. I'd squeeze the long part of the T between the jaws/boards of the WorkMate. When I needed to trim I'd turn the T around - so the trimmer was in front and the press was in back.

The two main issues with this setup were:
* The work surface was not smooth. The 2x6 was slightly higher than the WorkMate wood surfaces.
* It was really small - 24" W by 15" D

There are a number of ideas out there for putting a reloading bench surface on a WorkMate. One of the popular ones involves removing the WorkMate wood tops and afixing a thick piece of plywood directly on the frame. I was reluctant to do this - in case I wanted to use my WorkMate for a non-reloading project temporarily. Also, I wanted a smooth surface. The other methods I've seen involve bolting the top to the frame from the top - leaving holes/bolts exposed on the work surface.

I bought a piece of 2'x4' 3/4" birch plywood.
  • The top is 24" W x 23" D - so I get an extra 8" of depth.
  • Very fortunately, the distance from the frame rails to the top of the WorkMate wood surface is 1 1/2"! :) So that means two pieces of the 3/4" plywood fill the gap between WorkMate surface and frame. This is why you see a thick front in the pic. I put two pieces of the birch plywood (only about 3" deep for each) underneath the front edge - and they contact the frame quite readily.
  • I put a piece of the 3/4" plywood in the middle of the top (underneath; screwed in from underneath) for the WorkMate jaws to grab onto.
  • I put two pieces of the 3/4" plywood underneath the back of the top - again - touching the frame. Right now those are not attached. I wanted to have some support in the back for when I use strong up-force on the press handle. I'm not sure these back pieces are doing any good. I may just take them out.
  • I removed the pins holding in the WorkMate front handles because they can't be turned with an overhanging piece of wood. I just use a thick nail to turn the vise screws if I need to.
  • I put two coats of polyurethane on the top. (Stuff I had to be used up had some stain in it.)
I'll use a C-clamp for my powder measure - I've been doing that since day one. I'll also probably mount my case trimmer on a small board and use the C-Clamp to hold that as well when I need to trim.

OR
 

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man, most of you guys are so much more organized than i am. i try and try but just cant seem to keep mine clean and neat. not a skill i grew up with. props for all the clean benches.
Use, replace. Use, replace. But I can tell you honestly that if my reloading setup didn’t have its own dedicated room, it wouldn’t look as good as it does. And by some accounts, it’s still messy. Having enough storage so everything has a place is crucial. But a clean reloading setup, is a vital step in having a safe reloading setup.
 
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