Crow Busters Forum

Hello all:

I wanted to share with you one of my off-season shooting-related projects that has taken a long time (they all seem to). I have always wanted to reload and have been collecting the necessary equipment and other paraphernalia for several years, in order to install a loading press and begin doing mainly .45 ACP and other calibers. What started it all was when an old friend gave me a RCBS press and many of his accessories including dies, as he was no longer loading, so I didn’t have to buy a whole lot more.

I built a loading bench in 2012 using these free plans http://accurateshooter.net/Blog/benchnrma.pdf) from the National Reloading Manufacturers Association, but made it a foot wider. I didn’t want to drill holes in the surface of my bench and then have to unbolt the press whenever I wanted to use the entire bench surface for larger projects, so I wondered if I could duplicate a setup I saw somewhere on the Internet, that used a trailer hitch. So, this is by no means an original idea.

My wife bought me a 1 ¼” receiver tube as an anniversary gift (bless her heart) since she saw it was on my Amazon Wish List--I already had the proper ball mount and this size seemed adequate. The way the receiver opening was welded to its square tube and the location of the pin hole caused me to need to have other holes drilled; four to bolt the receiver to the bench and one to re-locate the pin. My hunting pal “Larry the Master Machinist” (a retired metal shop teacher) provided the expertise and had access to the equipment. He also helped to make the ball mount (minus ball) a rectangular plate made from shop scrap welded to it, and was drilled to match the holes on the RCBS press.

I had to select a location to remove a square chunk of 2X4 wood to pass the receiver through. As you can see from photo one, my calibrated eyes did not exactly work properly and I had to chisel a bit more away on left side. On the second photo, you can see the four 3/8” X 4 1/2” cap screws I used. Bolt #1 went through the 2X6 and the other three went through a chunk of 2X6 spacer right behind the bench’s 2X6. Photo #3 shows the press mounted and photo #4 shows it removed. I countersunk the bolt holes using a spade bit and touched them up with a fine chisel in order to get the upper socket in. I used nylock nuts beneath, each with a washer. This setup is quite sturdy and there is no wiggle when the press arm moves through its cycle. Any questions, PM me.

Remember to get the wife a Valentine Day gift! Especially if she buys a hitch receiver for you!