Best workbench for indoor setup

M

McCarthy

Moderator
Well my original plan was to set up my 2 presses in the garage on a wooden home depot workbench. But I'm living in Florida and figured that those hot and salt water humid 9 summer month won't do any good on equipment, powder, primer or me. It gets easily over 100 F in the garage.

So I decided to make one room in the house available for reloading but I'm having a hard time putting a garage style workbench in the house.

Yesterday I found this "Laminate Top Workstation Production Bench". It weights 130 lbs and has a capacity of 1600 lbs.

http://www.bizchair.com/re3072-bpi.html

Do you guys think this "heavy table" will work for both a Redding T-6 turret and a Dillon 1050 without too much flex or movement?

Any other suggestions?
 
I think 30 inches deep is way too big for most rooms in the house. I'd be looking for something 24 inches deep. If you lag screw it to a couple of wall studs, it'll take anything you can throw at it.
 
The best thing to do is what I was doing today.
Watch TV on your computer while you reload at the same desk.
Fashion police got a new host, I primed 500 Tokarev cases.
 

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Nothing you can buy will work as well as anything you build . (And cost less)
Half the fun is making your own makes little difference reloading or building the bunch you like .
 
We use two of these with some modifications. http://www.lowes.com/pd_613203-5573...nch&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=workbench&facetInfo=

Extra layer of 3/4 inch and a top of 1/8th inch tempered hardboard for a sacrificial surface..... And the "top" is bolted through the back edge to keep it from flexing. The presses are attached to wood base plates to keep the press handles from interfering with the drawer opening. Mine are setup for quick changes 22" 2x2 side rails with 22" 2X8 top two through holes spaced 4" apart at the back of the top of the base plates to holes in the top with T nuts .
 
Im at work,.otherwise id post pics. I built my own when we moved into our new home. I took over a spare bedroom and.transformed it into my reloading/gun room. I went to lowes and bought two large kitchen floor cabinets with draws. The ones under your countertop. I also bought two pieces of 4'x8' 3/4" partical board. Cut thos e down to 30"x8' and screwed them down to the cabinets. Then topped it off with some plexiglass just to keep the wood surface clean and assist in easy wipe downs and cleanup. I store all my brass and bullets in the cabinets. I then, went online to target and purchase 4 $30 cabinets with shelves. And mounted them on the wall above the bench. All in all, this very large area for reloading cost me around $350 and was done in a day once all the materials were acquired. ill post some pics when i get home, i.never did take any after it was done.

But as another stated, nothing you can buy will be as good as something you build. And building it allows for total customization.
 
I use old exterior entry doors for work benches. Due to my line of work I come across a lot of them. I just look for ones that are solid wood, thick, straight, and in good shape. Then I just build a 2x4 frame to secure it to.
 
There is only one member on this forum that has a clue what I am talking about, I use stands similar to pedestal grinder stands, any stand with a base that has the large stamped bottom. One stand came from North Dakota, it is the base from a cream separator.

F. Guffey
 
I use old exterior entry doors for work benches.
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I had the opportunity to remove interior doors from a hospital, they were fire type doors and solid core. Seems they were going to do me a favor? I decided I did not need the doors that bad. They decided I could have the doors if I could figure how to get them out of the building without wrecking the place.

I use the doors for portable work benches by adding saw horses. Now that I am getting older the weight of the door is becoming a problem.

F. Guffey

Hanno, once a month residences are allowed to throw big items away by placing the items on the curb. I could not resist, someone threw one of the older work benches away, the one with the bent/curved legs that can be bolted to the floor, it still had equipment bolted to the top without the electric motors. My wife suggested I take her home first, I suggested the bench would be gone before I could return:rolleyes:

She waited until I finished taking it apart, she would not get out and help me load it.

F. Guffey
 
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In the process of building a new reloading bench. The new bench will be set up as a island with presses all around the top.

Here's the good part, got the top at the local ReStore where people recycle materials and things.
Found a solid core door 42x96x1 3/4 inches, it is oak with a partical board core, very solid, must weigh about 150 to 200 pounds. The door is NEW never used, no holes in it.

The door will be set up on 4x4 legs, with storage on the bottom.
 
My favorite reloading bench top is 2 layers of 3/4" ply with formica. Very solid and dimentionally stable. I install threaded inserts for press and lightweigt vise mounting and the ply holds these without a problem.
 
I am with Keybear, I wound up building one to fit the room I had.

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Be very careful if you build your own bench. I've had a couple of friends that did that and are practically out of shooting and into woodworking. And woodworking tools can cost you almost as much as guns and reloading equipment. So beware the lure of other pastimes that may try to divert you from the one, true path!
 
jmorris-I'm taking the second photo in your post (#16) and am going to spring it on a couple of friends of mine that are really into Public Radio. Bet it gives 'em a case of the vapors!

P.S. I like Public Radio but they, how can I say this, really like Public Radio, if you know what I mean.
 
Be very careful if you build your own bench. I've had a couple of friends that did that and are practically out of shooting and into woodworking. And woodworking tools can cost you almost as much as guns and reloading equipment. So beware the lure of other pastimes that may try to divert you from the one, true path!
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Almost as much? No contest. Between fishing, boating, woodworking, home remodeling projects, shooting, reloading AND still working full time (2 years to retirement and counting!) it's a wonder any hobby gets the time it deserves.

Actually, I was a woodworker before getting into guns, so (as you might surmise from my screen name) sawdust and spent primers both litter my shop floor.
 
Lag it to a wall

I'm in Florida too, with a saltwater marsh in the back yard. I gotta say humidity and temperatures have never been a problem for me, my powders, or primers.

Although running a fan anywhere in the garage seems to somehow find my balance beam scale.

surface rust on equipment is however a constant battle. Seems like I spend more time coating my stuff, then cleaning it off for use, and then recoating again for use again tomorrow is a PITA.

But then I couldn't imagine reloading in the house either. That old woman I live with (that being my spouse; "Mean Sue") would suck what little life I still have left completely out of me. Just saying.........

back to the topic, as Sawdust said lag it to a wall. Just about any cheapo work bench will work as long as it is securely lagged/bolted to a wall. If it's free standing it will have to both very sturdy and very HEAVY. Otherwise is will shift and move on you.
 
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