Author Topic: My loading bench (Read 2767 times)

LaOtto222 · « **on:** July 16, 2007, 08:32:53 AM »

My loading bench. It needs cleaned up

and I am going to have to expand.

I am just running out of room. Any suggestions on how?

jhalcott · « **Reply #1 on:** July 16, 2007, 09:11:19 AM »

you COULD send all that junk to me and start over!! Or maybe move into the wife's sewing room!

LaOtto222 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 16, 2007, 09:41:51 AM »

jhalcott - Thanks for the idea hardy-har-har

I have accumulated a bunch of stuff over the years

I like a clean bench and have to find a way to store this stuff. Not all of it is in the photo. It is all valuable and indispensable.

Dusty Miller · « **Reply #3 on:** July 16, 2007, 09:56:08 AM »

Here's what I'd do. Go down to the lumber yard, buy a bunch of wood, screws, etc., and the GET BUSY!!!

PlacitasSlim · « **Reply #4 on:** July 16, 2007, 10:40:06 AM »

I bought a couple Stanley cabinets at Home Depot.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #5 on:** July 16, 2007, 10:45:57 AM »

Yup, get busy!! 1x6s and shelf brackets are not expensive and easy to install, I made room for a bunch of stuff with simple shelves around the room.

Tim

Graybeard · « **Reply #6 on:** July 16, 2007, 11:43:09 AM »

My oldest bench was 24"x48" or so and built back about 1970 or so. I still have that one but not the older stuff used prior to that. It long ago proved inadequate to my needs so I built a new 8' wide bench and those are what handle my centerfire reloading chores. But even that wasn't adequate to meet my needs so I added another 5' bench just for shotshell reloading. Those benches store the majority of my supplies other than powder and primers which are kept both there for small user quantities but larger supplies are kept in proper storage cabinets in an evironmentally controlled area separate from the loading area. Nearby 8' tall by 4' deep by 12' wide shelves hold the over flow of shotshell supplies such as hulls and wads and cases for centerfire not in use at the time. The rest is in the barn.

LaOtto222 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 16, 2007, 12:14:31 PM »

Thank you guys

My bench is 6'. It is a kitchen counter top and I have made it just the right height to set at with a folding chair. It still is OK to stand to if I have a gun in a cradle for repair or cleaning or removing/installing a barrel for a bolt gun. I have holes drilled in the front 2X4 to mount things on, like a case trimmer and a barrel vise. BTW the two big black things on my bench are full of cleaning supplies. I have thought of adding more bench space along with the storage. You guys have given me some good ideas. I am now thinking about those bins that hang on a rack too. I think I am going to add shelves to the wall and possibly add a cabinet. I sure would like to add some counter top space. If there are any more, please bring them on. When I get it done, I will post a picture or two.

mattinPA · « **Reply #8 on:** July 16, 2007, 12:32:21 PM »

wow
you guys have alot of space

for room My wife only gave me a closet that is 4ftx4ft

I make do

matt

LaOtto222 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 16, 2007, 03:04:26 PM »

Now that is an efficient use of space

I like where you have the press and trimmer mounted. How many different cartridges do you load for? Do you have any long guns? It does not look like there is enough space for cleaning 'em. Need to put some thought into you setup. I am sure I can get some good ideas from it.

LaOtto222 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 16, 2007, 03:06:42 PM »

I forgot who I was talking to here

I know you have long guns. Where do you clean them at, it does not look like there is enough room in there. $:-\$

HEAD0001 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 16, 2007, 05:27:50 PM »

It get's worse, Tom.

EVOC ONE · « **Reply #12 on:** July 17, 2007, 01:46:30 AM »

Quote from: mattinPA on July 16, 2007, 12:32:21 PM

wow
you guys have alot of space for room My wife only gave me a closet that is 4ftx4ft

I make do

matt

That is exactly like my first reloading area after my wife and I were married. Its amazing how many things you can store in a small place.

Over the years, as the homes have grown, so has the opportunity for more space.

Reloading area:

Cleaning area:

cwlongshot · « **Reply #13 on:** July 17, 2007, 10:24:20 AM »

WOW, you guys all have some nice setups!!!

The one thing I do and like is to make my powder scale front and center at eye level. I look at it as one of the most important steps so I want no chance for error.

I refinished my basement right after I bought the house and made my self two rooms. one small for the safes the other is my loading room.
Here is what you see on the wall directly behind the bench, centered....

I have two loading stations set up all the time. one Single stage the other my Dillon 550 progressive. then a priming area to the right of that.

Station 1:

Station 2:

Priming area. I like the RCBS priming station but also use a dead length primer seat-er in my one LEE product...

Here are my dies to the right side behind the bench:

Here is the bullets to the left side:

Brass is stored in a standup cabinet across the room from the bench.

Powder is in a old cabinet for flammable items of the other wall.

CW

wncchester · « **Reply #14 on:** July 17, 2007, 12:52:15 PM »

Storage! For years I've recommended new guys build three times as much storage as they think they might need, and to understand that eventually even that won't be enough!

My best storage areas are "book shelves", made no more than 8" deep but as wide and tall as I have space for. Wider shelves allow me to loose small stuff too easily! (And I like to paint my shelves white, to help me find small items that might otherwise get lost.) It is important to anchor such shelf units to a wall to prevent tipping. Those shelves I want to protect from dust get simple 1/2" plywood doors hinged from the up-rights.

I find that long plywood shelf boards are prone to sag so I only use 3/4" solid boards, usually (so called) 1x8 pine (actually 3/4" x 7 1/2"), and no more than two feet wide per unit to prevent sagging under heavy loads of bullets, etc. I attach cheep 1/8" white hardboard or paneling to the rear for lateral stability.

Shorter book shelves can be attached to a wall, say three feet above the floor, to leave the floor clear for boxes of other stuff.

These simple shelves are strong, easy to make and pretty cheap too.

Attaching a case trimmer to a closet wall is ingenious! Good going ---

mattinPA · « **Reply #15 on:** July 19, 2007, 01:53:23 PM »

Quote from: LaOtto222 on July 16, 2007, 03:04:26 PM

Now that is an efficient use of space I like where you have the press and trimmer mounted. How many different cartridges do you load for? Do you have any long guns? It does not look like there is enough space for cleaning 'em. Need to put some thought into you setup. I am sure I can get some good ideas from it.

hello la0tto

I clean all my guns at the range.

I load for 3006,308,243,8mm,44mag,38 for now

What do you load?

cwlongshot that RCBS priming station you have can you only use CCI primers with it ?

thanks matt

LaOtto222 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 19, 2007, 04:23:12 PM »

I load for 22 Hornet, 221 Fire Ball, 222 Rem, 223 Rem, 30-30, 357 Mag and 44 Mag. As you can see, I am partial to the 224 calibers and the small ones to boot (I can double/triple/quad duty on some reloading tools, bullets, powders, etc). I can even chuck the 222 family into a 3/8" drill and do some power work. Really there is more to it than that, but it does not hurt. I am thinking of adding a couple of more cartridges in the near future. That is another reason I need to expand the bench area. Some of these guys obviously load for a lot more calibers than we do.

cwlongshot · « **Reply #17 on:** July 20, 2007, 12:36:07 AM »

I have used Remington, Federal and Winchester primers in it with no problems at all. It came with the handi tool to "load" the primer strips quickly!! I like it allot, you get allot of control and very consistent seating.

I load MANY calibers, From 22H up to 375H&H as well as shotgun shells.
Even some ol'timers with lead only bullets like 40-65.
Never tried any 17's..that's a mighty small bullet.
The Hornet, Bee 25 & 32-20, 38 & 44-40's are small fragile cases that can cause some aggravation. The big stuff gets down right easy.

CW

warrior1 · « **Reply #18 on:** July 20, 2007, 02:39:10 PM »

holy smacks, some good ideas from fellow members loading areas. to all who posted thanks for sharing. dan

ctrout · « **Reply #19 on:** July 22, 2007, 06:43:34 PM »

Quote from: cwlongshot on July 17, 2007, 10:24:20 AM

WOW, you guys all have some nice setups!!!

The one thing I do and like is to make my powder scale front and center at eye level. I look at it as one of the most important steps so I want no chance for error.

I refinished my basement right after I bought the house and made my self two rooms. one small for the safes the other is my loading room.
Here is what you see on the wall directly behind the bench, centered....

I have two loading stations set up all the time. one Single stage the other my Dillon 550 progressive. then a priming area to the right of that.

I noticed the 30mm brass on the top shelf in your first picture. You don't reload for THAT do you? People who see my set-up wonder about me when they see my 100 or so rounds of 20mm brass at the bench!

LaOtto222 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 23, 2007, 06:05:35 AM »

I would like to thank all of you that contributed ideas and pictures.

It gave me inspiration. The bench is now cleaned off, except the scale. I do not use it any more due to my ChargeMaster 1500

. I had it out to take pictures of an idea I had that will be in another post. I have plenty of room to grow, and I am more organized.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2007, 06:21:05 AM »

Nice work, looks great!!

Tim

LaOtto222 · « **Reply #22 on:** July 23, 2007, 06:39:38 AM »

Thank you very much Tim

I really do not like a cluttered bench and I like to know where everything is. I have plenty of room now and should serve my need for a long time. I am thinking about getting a Redding T7 to replace my old Rock Chucker.

goodwrench6710 · « **Reply #23 on:** August 11, 2007, 01:16:52 PM »

Here is a few pictures of mine. I built it from recycled lubber mostly & some leftover stuff laying around. The legs are treated 4X6s & the perimeter of the top is 4X4s. It's overkill I guess & darn near impossible to move. The plywood was 3/4" & then fiberglass resin & sanded the top. I filled in the seams to give it a smooth look. Maybe I'm crazy. The doors lock to keep the kids out.

davem270win · « **Reply #24 on:** August 13, 2007, 01:11:47 PM »

Here's my bench. After moving 4 times in nine years, I made mine modular. All of the cabinets stack using dowel pins, and the contents can be moved right in the cabinet. The bench also unbolts into movable pieces. Powder, primers, loaded ammo are behind locked doors. The tumbling media containers slide out for loading and unloading. I even cleaned up for the picture.

cwlongshot · « **Reply #25 on:** August 13, 2007, 02:44:01 PM »

Looking at all these nice clean benches........I REALLY NEED to get down there and clean my bench off!!!!!

I REALLY like the pull out media drawers!!

CW

EVOC ONE · « **Reply #26 on:** August 13, 2007, 10:27:45 PM »

davem270win: Now that's a nice bench. Excellent craftsmanship. Nice job on the die rack. I like the media drawers, also. Very nice.

LaOtto222 · « **Reply #27 on:** August 15, 2007, 12:34:58 PM »

I have seen some very nice benches in this post. They range from small to large, and they are are all nice. I like mine very well, and it is obvious that others like their's too; as well they should. Everyone should be proud of their work. I was most impressed with the ingenuity shown by so many.