I'm new to this forum & reloading and don't have a lot to offer as far as knowledge in reloading. So I thought I would take a shot at what my set up is and how the project went together. I've been reloading .223, 22-250 & .204 for about a year now and have had very good success for about 3,000 rounds so far. Hopefully this post might encourage someone to build their own. The design has been published and been around for many years.
I hope to start reloading for shotgun in 2011 but we'll have to see how the finances go and my addiction for a couple of new rifles on my short list.
I've been meaning to get this project done for years. I finally said, what the hey, I'm doing it!
I've been drooling over this particular set of plans posted here.
This particular design has been around since Moby Dick was a minnow. I'm sure many of you have run across it on the web at one time or another.
I stopped at the local mega box store to pick up the materials. Wow, words cannot describe shopping at some of these stores... what a debacle... Two hours later I had most of what I needed and dragged it home.
It was getting ready to rain so I unloaded everything and started to measure and optimize the plywood. I ran out of steam and called it a night to hammer on this project in the morning.
I got up early and cut and sanded all the pieces to make this bench. It seemed like it took forever, measuring & re-measuring before I cut each piece.
I then started farming the top and lower shelf. The bench top has a nice overhang for bolting your press' or vices.
Carriage bolt the legs on.
I bolted the frames together and installed the bench top and the lower shelf on.
This is a fairly easy project and I would recommend this to anyone so far. The bench is really heavy and should do fine for presses.
I call this loading bench The M1 Abrams. This thing is heavy duty!
The plans call for slider drawers for the 1/4" plywood and I had trouble locating tracks but eventually found some out of a hardware store in WA. Gotta love the internet for finding obscure stuff.
More to follow...
-- Edited by Virginian on Sunday 21st of November 2010 04:51:42 PM
I finished most of the cabinet that gets mounted to the bench. The center fold out is for the power scale. I cut the tip off one of my less than stellar bucks I took in the past for knob. Here's a right & left view of the cabinet installed. I put on one coat of polyurethane, the plywood soaked it up like a sponge.It doesn't even look I put any poly on yet. I guess a few more coats are in order.
Nice job may I suggest if you decide to put a shot shell reloader on there if you go with a Mec, put one of there quick attach brackets so you can remove it and not take up bench space.
__________________
If you are gonna be dumb you gotta be tough
You can't fix stupid!
O yeah I kant spel eether
Excellent reloading bench work... I built a similar one myself back in the late 80's and was just in the garage casting some bullets earlier this evening.
The Winchester Press published a book back in the early 1970's with plans for a variety of benches along with other shooting related woodworking projects - cleaning rod holders, loading die racks, gun racks, and gun cleaning cradles.
One useful tip from this book is to tack down, but not glue, a piece of hardboard (pegboard without the holes) or Masonite to your working surface. Over the years when the top gets beat up, you just pull up this cover and replace it.
I am betting you will be assembling a lot of ammo on your new toy and will get many years of service from it.
Nice Bench indeed virginian! I am in the process of building one myself but a little smaller. When your bench project gets done you will be chomping at the bit to get all the little shotty toys mounted up to it. I have just started to reloading some 12ga. on my new Mec 600Jr. and I love it, I have been trying out some selective loads on the crows and so far I'm making progress.....Nothing like smokin a crow with your own load
Be shure to show us some more pics when the bench is in full operation.
Hey now that is a thought! I'm next in line then... Virginian I would even have a nice warm venison dinner waiting here in ohio if you would build me one too. then we could go out to my farmland and wack some crows!
JD- I appreciate the heads up on Mec with the quick detach. I will make sure I get that when i start reloading shotgun. I need to get better at hunting crows before I invest that kind of moolah. lol
Keep your eyes peeled at gun shops or flea markets and ask around at your local gun club for a single stage press Mec. Mec jr is newer but there also was a versa Mec too it's a little older if you get to talking with some one who reloads locally you can pick em up for like 40 bucks or less and once you get pumping out on the single press you can do bout 100 rounds an hour. Also ask the local club guys where they get there lead shot cause that is the big dollar in reloading right now. But remember that you can prolly load a shell that performs like the top of the line trap load from rem or fed or Winn for the same or a hair cheaper than Wally world specials. The more you can buy in bulk the more you can save. Keep a eye out for the deal check craigs list I think polish hammer got his off there and he just loaded some up and watch em fall used em not to long ago I think they liked em better than Niro 27s.
Crohopper watch out for some of them guys on that shotgun site some of them talk better out of there rears pretty well. Some use some pretty unsafe reloading practices just to save a penny. Your hands and face or worse are worth more than doing something stupid just to be cheap.
__________________
If you are gonna be dumb you gotta be tough
You can't fix stupid!
O yeah I kant spel eether
JD, Yeh you got that right, I'm reloading strickly by the recipes with no substitutes, my life and gun and others are no where worth a stupid substitute or mistake. Besides I have a local friend and avid web foot hunter been helping me out getting started here on using his equipment and working up a couple starter loads for bustin crows and clays, his no.#1 goal is safety first safety first and so is mine, I think these loads are working alot better than the wally world remy sporters that I have been shooting.Just got my Mec Jr. today some I'm pretty excited to get started on my own now. I do appreciate the heads up buddy!
PS. edit to add.. Virginian I would take you up on that deal but I like fresh crow seriously though nice looking job on the benchwork, I like it.
^^Crohopper^^
-- Edited by crohopper on Wednesday 24th of November 2010 02:31:17 AM
then we could go out to my farmland and wack some crows!
