Reloading bench help needed.

I have a laminate top by accident rather than any planning and I really like it. Really easy to keep clean a spray with the carby cleaner and a wipe and it is clean as. Its flat and smooth so any spilled powder can be easily retrieved. You know how often powder can get out lose. :grin: . Reason I like it flat and smooth and carby cleaner resistant is I also use one shot in one corner of the bench and that can get a bit sticky and dirty so a quick wipe down is great. Depth of the bench is good so you can store things at the back of the bench or on the wall behind it and not have an overhead shelf in your face.

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@sungazer Thanks for that.

Width should be fine as most of it will be 900mm wide with one section 700mm as I will have a little storage/shelf setup. Do you have any problems with things rolling off? I was thinking of putting a small angle iron lip on the front edge.

I have had the odd thing roll odd. Butt I also have a small amount of powder near the edge so if I want to put just one more grain in I can sweep it off the bench into the pan. Sometimes the trickler will do more than one grain if they get stuck together.

If you’re worried about things rolling off, could you have the shelves leaning slightly back? The unit can be vertical, but tilt the individual shelves a couple of degrees, and as long as you’ve got a backboard they won’t drop on your head

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More so things rolling off the bench if it has a smooth surface like laminated or similar.

Agree with @sungazer, smooth bench-top. Makes cleaning easier and makes handling items like case blocks easier if you can just slide them around. As I said, mine is a solid core door so it has a masonite outer that has a tough painted finish. I always use reloading blocks when handling cases for loading. Plastic tubs for doing bulk work like trimming etc. I use a thin rubber mat on top if I’m working on a gun, both for protection and grip on parts so that they don’t roll off and go missing. Built in shelving for dies, tools, etc. I built the locking cupboard part for primers and ammo that I’m working on so that is in easy reach but still satisfies the NSW storage requirements.


New storage cupboard made from left over kitchen reno with added shelving.

Added shelving over safes, trying to reduce the amount of shit stacked up.

As can be seen, really need to enlarge the room again!

Note how far I have to walk out the door to my shooting bench and 200m range.:grin:

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Another idea for you…

Stuff that I don’t use often enough is mounted on plywood or stands or whatever. And then bolted to the bench when needed.

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I have a very similar idea inmind.
My first thought was to put a threaded insert into the bench top so you could just screw the bolts in, but I went a different path with t tracks instead.

I know exactly what you are talking about with threaded inserts (AKA furniture bolts/nuts). Maybe… Tracks I think is elegant looking, but - (a) they only give you mounting points on one horizontal plane so to speak and impact working space.

I have heaps of baby gate bolts from when little monsters didn’t know how to open the gates…

2019-02-17_02-11-42

I swapped the nut (actually a spacer for the gate, but irrelevant) they came with for large washer and a wingnut. Turned out to be pretty good, IMHO.

We have some of them lying around here somewhere, the wife usedthem to keep the dog away from the cats food.

Damn I was looking for something like that last week. Ideally it would have had a captive nut bit for what was needed they would have worked just great. I ended up getting something that fits a wipper snipper and after picking them up yesterday the bolt is attached to the knurled nut. and I now have to glue a nut into the woodwork.

I just put some stuff like the trimmer in the vice

Sounds uncomfortable.

Yeah I have my case trimmer and shotgun press mounted on blocks of wood that I just stick in the vice when I want to use them.

I clamp shotgun press in the vice, too, mostly due to the clearance for the handle. Everything else is bolted to plates and that to the bench.

So… With some new equipment (3D printer) and a lot more structural stress (another press), I needed a new bench. My current one was built before we moved in. I strengthened it a bit, but all in all it was held by snot and masking tape.

I asked a colleague who is into wood work about as much as I am into guns. I present to you, well over 150kg of my hardon hard wood.

BEFORE:

Cleanup begins:

Space:

Ta da (working form home to accept the new arrival):

In she goes:

AFTER:

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That’s one sexy looking bench. Well done.
Did you seal it with a clear coat or is it natural?

What’s the over hang on the left hand side for?

Natural. I don’t get levels of humidity in Melbourne or in the cave in general for it to be a concern.

Overhangs, 405mm on either side. Just how it was built. It’s just shy of 45mm thick top, so it’s not really an issue.

I am actually thinking of bolting wood vide (https://www.bunnings.com.au/craftright-175mm-wood-working-vice_p6010361 - something like this to it). Usually I use my normal wise, but dedicated wood vice (read: rifle cleaning holder) is probably the go now :slight_smile:

Unless you want to start adding “patina” from the get-go, I’d be sealing the benchtop at least. Oils, cleaning fluids etc. all wind up getting spilt and you’ll end up having various stains and crap sticking to them all over. Also, some gun solvents and oils actually soften timber so can be detrimental to your “hard wood”.:wink:
Being able to wipe down keeps your benchtop clean and free of gritty debris. Also handy when you spill a bunch of powder, you can just sweep it up and whack it back in the can. ( Ask me how I would know that.:roll_eyes:)
I used a tung oil finish that had hardening resins in it on hardwood kitchen benchtops when I reno’d our kitchen. The finish is like wet timber but has proven to be waterproof, very resilliant to marking and easy cleaning. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it on a workbench.

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