Help Me Design My Reloading Setup

[clocktime]

Hi All

I've been loading in a corner of the basement for 9 yrs. I just built a beautiful 10' x 12' shed finished to look like my house, right down to siding, roof, and gutters. I have to hang the flood lights today and that'll be it for the electrical. I hope to finish the insulation today as well. In addition, it is climate controlled.

Details: 12' bench, about 34" high, at least 30" deep, a long shelf above the bench top with lights hung off the bottom of the shelf. There are also track lights planned for the ceiling above the bench.

In the future, maybe some cabinets above the bench top. But I am not sure about that. I have 7 loaders --- MEC Shotshell, an old Dillon RL-1000, Rock Chucker, and a XL-650, and a 550, plus a couple Square Deals. I don't want to mount them all, so I figured I could come up with a universal mount & keep them on the shelf above the bench when not in use. I also have a bunch of toolheads to keep on the bench or on the shelf using home-made tool holders.

And I am planning on a home-made central vac. The vacuum producer (a shop vac) will be under the shed in the crawl space. Turns on/off with remote-control thing from Home Depot.

So, below the bench on either side, I want to build two cabinets (like bathroom vanities) & line them with drywall or wonder board & store powder on one side and primers on the other, all for safety's sake.

The open questions are:

1. How to make a low-profile universal mount system for all my presses? I have a TIG welder and small machine shop. Was also thinking about Unistrut tracks, but it's clunky and is a dirt trap on a bench top. I could just drill holes in the bench top and make baseplates for each of the presses, I guess. What did you do?
2. How to configure a case cleaning operation? Was thinking about a special set-up with built-in sink-like thing that empties to a media collector when I dump media from tumblers that also incorporates a down-draft fan to pull the dust thru a filter.
3. What should I use for a bench surface?

Any input is WELCOME.

Thanks, Mike

[floydster]

Mounting blocks:

Pic's of my mounting blocks in the thread--"I am in love w/Lee Classic Turret".

Floydster

[Jim243]

You could use something like this, or design your own.

http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/113651/lee-bench-plate


As to surface top, you could use natural wood and verithane it with three coats or just get some venire for counter tops and glue and heat treat it on. Or just buy a kitchen counter top. Me I did plain wood with lots of Verithane.

Jim

[GP100man]

Pat Marlin`s Rock Dock , the strudyest I`ve ever seen !!!!

I don`t have 1 but have had hands on with it & it works !!!

My dilemma is I`d have to have a casting station also !!!

As far as bench top goes use something replaceable as it`ll get dinged,scratched & spilled on eventually.

I used 3/4" ply wood & added braces & runners as needed to bolt all my stuff down .

You can never have too much shelving ,powder as long as it`s temp is somewhat stable it keep for a ong time .

Primers need to have stable temps & dry so I keep mine in an ammo can with desecant . powder is in an old fridge locked so you must obtan key & remove ONE can at the time .

[grubbylabs]

I have seen several different style of blocks that folks have come up with for mounting their presses. I would look for something like those or just make some that suit you.

I have a 3/4 ply top at my counter and I feel it is too flimsy. the biggest rounds I am doing are 45-70 and 300 win. but it still flexes a lot with just 308. I would use some 2X something, either 6,8, or 12 and then put your counter top on that. I think I like the idea of laminating your own top since you can find the material at most home stores and it is fairly in expensive material.

I would set every thing up and use it for a month or two before you make a nice counter. That way you can change things and experiment with it. After you find out what you like for sure you can laminate your top and make every thing look nice.

[Lost Sheep]

I see that you decided to start your own thread rather than revive an old one.

Congratulations on your new reloading hut.

How about mounting a receiver UNDER the bench top? Much like the 2" square receiver hitch they put on cars for travel trailers. Then permanently mount each press on its individual gooseneck that slips into the receiver.

The press would stick out from the front edge of the bench, but since you are building it, you could allow for that in the design. Maybe recesss/inlet the front edge of the bench or just provide more working room around it.

If you have a receiver on your car or truck, you could even take a press to the range for impromptu load customization/adjustment there.

I got the idea from another thread. A shooter would load cartridges with primer and powder charges, working up in charge weight. Then, at the range, seat bullets in small lots and shoot them, starting from the low end, checking for group size and signs of pressure. When pressure signs said it was time to stop, he would. Thus, no overcharged cartridges to pull. You can also experiment with seating depth, crimp strength and such, right there at the range.

Good Luck,

Lost Sheep