Who here owns a Harbor Freight workbench?

Harbor Freight reloading bench

I just built my Harbor Freight workbench. Several thoughts:
First, the quality control at Harbor Freight must have gone down-hill. None of the four drawer pulls were flat on the bottom. All were convex. Also, one of the drawer fronts was so poorly finished and sanded that the grain was flaking up and providing plenty of splinters. WhHen I called the number on the assembly instructions, I was told that they don't carry that part and I needed to call the store I bought it from to get a replacement. Bear in mind that I bought the 2-year service plan on the table.
When I call the store I was told to bring in the workbench and they would replace it. The whole thing!!! Problem: I not only used the bolts provided, I glued it together as well. The thought was to have a long-lasting, solid work surface. Besides, I was NOT going to spend the 3 hours to dis-assemble the bench, then another 3 hrs to build another one. I'm not young and not in very good shape.
About the press mounting piece. I have an OLD RCBS Jr2 press. It doesn't have the base flange as big as ClemBert's Hornady. I'm thinking I will build one similar to the slotted one for ease of removal, and add a vertical flange to the front of the mountiing plate for strength.
 
While it is an old thread, I used the same bench with a few modifications.
I added a layer of 3/4" plywood to the top and made 3 9"x9" 3 sided dovetail inserts to mount presses on. Underneath the bench are "t" nuts, so the inserts screw in through the both layers of the top.

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Brother dedicated one to his Dillon 1050 . Its on a riser,he has a case feeder,bullet feeder,in process trimmer,vacuum for the trimmer,rack for spare toolheads...

He loves the setup and it works well for him.

As a person builds a kit like that,some up-engineering is possible. Angle brackets,tee-nuts,a braced steelshelf bracket to re-enforce a leg,etc.

He has another,taller bench for other presses and tools.

In a basement,vertical 2x12's from the basement floor to the overhead floor joists make a structure that is the nominal 2x12 in depth. Shelves,storage.lighting can be incorporated into those.

24 in long 2x6 lumber can be bolted to those to provide support for an overhanging 24 in deep benchtop you can get your knees under. About bar top height works with a tall stool.
 
I was looking at that one, when I go the other bench from Harbor Freight. I got the metal one, with the peg board, and the shelf/fluorecent light in it.

I gotta say for a first bench, I like it.

I would however recommend that more fasteners be put in the center of the bench area, so as the top does not flex. Mine the particle board actually cracked around the press. I have since added 1/4" finished plywood glued, and screwed to the top.
 
Bought one and removed the clamp since I won't use it. The table is only an inch thick, so I glued/screwed a piece of 1.5" oak board. Plugged the holes with a wooden dowel/Gorilla Glue. Attached my Lee Turret and have loaded 280, 7mm RM, and 6.5 Grendel, all FL sized. The position of the legs make it very stable. A great upgrade from my 1970 table fashioned from an oak door. Oh, and all drawers work fine.
 
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Build your own

I build my own benches, and believe me I am no carpenter. They are rough but they are strong enough that I can sit thousands of lbs on them and they will hold. They do not move either. The general design is simple.

4x4's for the legs
2x6's for the perimeter support between the legs cross ways and front to back (turned perpendicular to the ground, "I beam " style)

1x4's or 2x4's for the bottom shelf slats
2x6's or 2x'10's for the table top slats w/ a piece of plexi-glass over the top but cutouts in the plexi glass for presses.

Then, reinforced with a 1/4" steel plate under each press running all the way to the back of the bench distributing any turning force to the entire table top.


You can put it together eith 1/4" lag screws. Only tools you need are a saw, square, tape measure, and drill/bits. ...A level would help too.

But beware, they are HEAVY which helps when reloading, but moving it will require some assistance.

Also, putting an overhead shelf or back board is simple too.
 
Mississippi I also built my own. I found it much better to build it to fit my needs rather than making something work. I too use 4x4 legs, lags screw etc. It's holding enough stuff to make over 20k rounds and will be just as sturdy 10 years down the road.
 
I use a CAD program to draw out everything I build. I love working with metal because I know metal is stable but my benches in my new shop had to be wood. I used 4x4 for the legs, 6 of them for my 8 foot bench. The legs were cut with dados so the 2x4s would mount flush and add strength. The top frame has 2x4s dado'd around the top and the top is laminated OSB 1.5" thick. The working surface is a replaceable 1/4" hardboard. It has a lower shelf that is 1" thick for storage of heavy parts. The legs are fitted with height adjusters for leveling. Drawers are provided for tool storage for larger tools that aren't kept in my two roll cabinets. Construction is close tolerance glue joints with screws adding strength at the joints. All the 2x4s were trimmed to 1-1/4"x3" to be dimensionally accurate.
 

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I have an old butchers table I have been using for years. I also use it to mount my barrel vise on. I have really laid into that receiver wrench with a small hand sledge a few times. I don't think the Harbor freight bench is for me, but hey, if it works for you.....
 
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