SmallCaliberCentral

I am in my new house. Well at least most of the stuff is here. I can't find anything and I don't have a reloading bench yet. I really loved the cabinets I had at my old house. They were premade cabinets from Lowes like the ones in your kitchen. I'm tempted to install cabinets again but I wanted to keep an open mind. Here is a picture of my old set up.



I liked the cabinets because I could keep everything out of sight. The only problem was that I had to mount the press on the right end so it wouldn't block the drawers. It worked out pretty well. What would you do with the back end of a one car garage with a window square in the middle? I'll post a picture whenever I find my camera. I'll be unloading boxes for months. It's good to at least be back on line.

Are you planning to use the garage for a vehicle?

If not, same setup you have there, but at the center point, build a bench coming straight out (makes a T shape with your front bench now).

Seperate sides - dirty brass/sizing/trimming on one side, powder handling, etc/etc/etc on the other. Presses, trimmers on the left of the T.

Nice looking setup Sipper, I don't think i would change any thing. I wish i had the room to have all them cabinets to keep my things in. But the only thing i would have to change. Say if it was for me, I would have to open up the middle. To be able to set at it like a desk. As I have a bad back from running heavy equipment most my life so i have to keep my back pretty straight or i can't set very long. But besides that you got a nice looking setup the way it is.

Skip: When you build your new bench, consider being able to put your legs/feet under it while sitting there. I note that you'd be sitting right up against that setup, meaning you're leaning forward all the time to work on the bench top. That can't make your back too comfortable.

Just a suggestion, as when sitting at the bench for prolonged periods, such as prepping brass, comfort is a primary issue. Just my .02

Rick,
I wish I had had your wisdom before building my setup. I have to sit with the cabinet doors open so I can stick my long legs in there while reloading.

Leaning forward has never bothered me even though I would have more room if I could push the chairs under the bench when I'm not using them. Maybe I should look at a lower unit that is more like a desk and then set up the top cabinets just like the ones in the picture above. That way I would have the best of both.

I have lots of kids around the house and I really like the cabinets to store things in. I keep the powder, primers and other dangerous things in the upper cabinets. Kids will grab anything that they can reach.

My Dad uses an old metal desk. It has 3 drawers on either side & the long drawer in the middle. I don't know exactly how it's stocked but I know he has it to where he can nearly clean it off if he needs a big space for something. He also built cubby holes for along the back for things like his scale, THE can of powder currently being used, manuels,etc,,. HTH

Skip: I built my bench as a stand up working bench, with stools added for when I want to sit. That way, I can have a convenient standing work height, and it's not affected by height, as the stools are tall enough to have the same working relationship. My legs go under the bench, so as not to be cramed up against a cabinet where my knees/feet are.

I'm with you on the cabinets for storage though, and when I add them to my setup, it will be on the sides and over the working surface, not in the front where I sit/stand.

No fair making fun of my mess, either!

skipper
I am in the process of building two new benches for my reloading room (I have a 40' long x 18' wide area over my 3 car garage). I am adapting plans I got out of the Jan/Feb, 2007, issue of Petersen's RifleShooter magazine. If you can't find a copy of the mag, I can scan, convert to pdf and send it to you via email.
Briefly, it's 4 sheets of 3/4" plywood glued together to make the bench surface. It is supported in front by 4, 1.5" galv pipes. The back is supported by an 8' 2x4 screwed to wall studs. The pipes are screwed into pipe flanges top & bottom which allow you to level the bench.
Having the front of the bench open allows for sliding your chair underneath the bench top. You can build shelves or install drawers underneath the bench top for storage. The bench top also has sliding inserts which allow you to switch out different presses or surface mounted tools you may have.
I'm really looking forward to getting this project done; 16' of new reloading bench surface will be just what I need. I really couldn't do the description justice; you have to see the pictures. Let me know if you would like a copy of the article.

Rgds, Gerry

Don't worry about pictures of your new bench. We just want to see some little holes to see if the $4000.00 rifle is justified. We may all need one.

Skipper, I agree with Rick on the bench height. Mine is 39” to the top. I prefer to stand for most of my case prep and all of my press work. I have a separate table at 30 inches that I use to clean barrels and do some miscellaneous sitting chores at. A solid top as Gerry mentions is essential. I laminated a double thickness of 1 ¼” sub floor plywood together and topped with a solid piece of masonite sealed with four coats of marine spar varnish. A ¼” x 2 1/2" oak strip finishes the front edge. The masonite is inexpensive and easy to replace if hole patterns are changed on the bench. I just pin mine with my small nail gun useing ½’ inch brads

Do a setup like your old one. Just remove the two bottom center cabinets so you have some leg room

I saw this bench a while ago. I had a hard time finding it again, but here it is.

http://www.6mmbr.citymaker.com/ReloadingFroggy.html

I really like the set up. I could use a little more elbow room but I really like this bench. What do you guys think???

When I remodeled my home I added two six foot closets in my office/reloading room. One of them holds my bench and all my reloading stuff. The other, my safe and all my fly fishing equipment. I like to work indoors on both of my obsessions. The temperature swings are just too severe to work in the garage. A well organized small space is better than a large mess. I have seen the link you posted and his set up is about the size of my total area. I also have the six foot table at regular desk height that is an overflow area.

Skipper
Look at the Lista,Lyon,and Equipto sites.They'll have what your looking for . We just moved our shop and I looked everywhere for new benches.The Equipto's are nice and less cash than the others.They also give you a choice of tops...If you got the cash, go with Lista!
http://www.lyonworkspace.com/catalog/mo ... ywal.shtml