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Practically Shooting

Reloading bench setup


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I've been searching for information regarding reloading bench setup; specifically, where to mount the press. Perhaps it's just "whatever works for you" but I do want to make the best possible use of my bench real estate. I received a free 24 x 96 inch +/- built-in work bench with my $151K house I bought eight years ago.

It seems the most logical place would be near the right-hand edge of the bench or maybe about 18-24 inches from the far right-hand edge... it's a head-scratcher.

Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you in advance.

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That was a great deal on the workbench! grin

What type of press - progressive or single station?

I both a progressive and a single station for metallic and a single station for shotgun.

I simply screw the shotgun into the benchtop, so I can move it out of the way when not in use. The single station metallic press is bolted to a 3' long 2x4 that is then screwed into the benchtop, again movable which I really like. The I found that the progressive had to be very still, or the primer mechanism would tend to turn and smash primers. I mounted it to a 3'x8"x1/2" plate of steel. The plate steel is then screwed to the benchtop, which again makes it movable. The progressive mounted to the plate steel is heavy, so I don't move it often.

I like having movable presses, but don't want many sets of holes drilled into my work bench. Mount your presses to metal or a wood plank and get the best of both worlds!

Wayne

Lee Breech Lock

Lee Load master

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I purchased a progressive (Hornady LNL AP). That's a fantastic idea, mounting the presses such that they can be (re)moved but yet are sturdy enough when temporarily anchored- thanks for the idea!

I also want to minimize the number of holes in my bench- doing as you suggest would be the ideal thing to do.

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Mount your equipment to a standard size base, metal or wood, that all the equipment will fit on, one base per piece of equipment.

Locate the equipment on each base. Now find the hole pattern that fits around all the equipment. a least 3 holes 2 at the rear and one in the front.

Using one base as a template, drill through the base and your bench top.

Most big box lumber stores, Lowe's, Home Depot, have T flange nuts. Determine your desired bolt size, Minimum 5/16", and get the nuts for that size. Measure the neck of the nut and expand the holes in the base and bench top to that size or a shade smaller.

Get the right length bolts and some fender washers, 2-3 per hole plus a few just in case, not regular washers.

Position the base over the bench top holes and drop a bolt through each hole. start a nut on each bold. IMPORTANT!! tighten the bolt into the nut, not the nut onto the bolt. This will pull the nuts up into the bottom of the bench and they will be semi-permanent. Epoxy makes them more permanent but still removable. Remove the bolts to change out your equipment.

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This is how I have mine set up. The Pro 1000 is permanent. note the primer drop tube under it. At first I forgot about those pesky buggers until the press frame filled up. Just a sink drain tube stuck into a 1 1/2" through hole. Once in a while I stick the vacuum hose into it to suck out the ones that don't/can't find their way into the trash can. I found that the pivot rod is a great place to store the powder measure.

This is the "Quick" change part. 8020 brand extrusions recessed and screwed/glued into the bench top. the aluminum equipment base is also 8020. You can get small ammounts of the extrusions and fittings from their eBay store. This is the single slot type. Note the little magnet for uncovering those plated steel cases.

This is the whole mess. this was after a weekend .223 marathon. Yes that is an anniversary press. It's been replaced with the modified classic cast. The boxes with the blue tops hold primed ready to load brass. Yes, I use a Lee scale.

And this is how it looks today. Not too different.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, here's mine so far (DEFINITELY beta)-

And I have yet to load round one! (bullets for the .357 Magnum are nearly impossible to find but I do have a few hundred thus far)...

Still a work in progress. The old, dead refrigerator should make a great storage facility for powder, cases, and other stuff, but the primers go elsewhere.

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  • 1 month later...

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