What did you do in the reloading room today?

[TheBelly]

Does it have an internal change to grains, or do you do math to go from carats to grains?

[BuffCyclist]

Nope, it can do grams, ounces, pennyweights, troy ounces, carats and grains.

Max capacity is 100 grams or 1543 grains.

Its a bit pricey at $145, but I found better reviews on it than I could on the brianenos digital scale (that he sells with the excellent no questions asked warranty too).

I bought mine on amazon for $140 something shipped. Its a great scale, hasn't moved off zero in the couple of months that I've had it. Before I go to reload again and use it, I throw the 20g calibration weight on it, and it shows exactly 20g every time.

eta: I only use mine with the AC adapter and keep it turned on 24/7. There is apparently some adjustability in the accuracy of it if you use it within 24hrs of turning it on, though its usually like 0.04gr off or something. Which isn't something to scoff at.

[BuffCyclist]

I started working on my reloading bench today, though I didn't think I'd be able to work in the 98deg heat. But after cutting all of the wood in the shade, I decided it wasn't too bad, and continued with assembling it. Got it to where it sits now in only 2.5 hours, but I still have to put two center cross braces (perpendicular to the length of the table) to be able to attach the laminate to. Then I have to cut 1ft off the end of the laminate so it can fit in the nook where my current bench is.

The new bench is 37" tall, which is the perfect height for me while standing (cleaning rifles) or sitting (reloading). That was intentional. Also, I made the gap between the bottom shelf and the top shelf the perfect height so that while sitting, I can put my feet up on the bottom shelf and my knee clears the top shelf. Furthermore, the bottom shelf is 5" off the ground, with is the perfect height for toes/feet to fit underneath the shelf so you can get closer to the bench. And yes, I measured how big my feet were in boots to find this measurement and then added a little extra.

In total, I think the bench cost ~$120, and half of that was the laminate top. All in all, I'm very impressed and extremely happy with how it turned out. I will eventually be putting plywood on the bottom 2x4s to create a shelf.

Now, onto the pictures. Click them for larger sizes. The last picture is my old workbench. My press was mounted between the left two bubble tubes on the red level.









And lastly, the obligatory shot of the bench with a rifle sitting on it. It is also completely setup with press in its place on a removable board.

[HoneyBadger]

Seems like lots of folks are building reloading benches right now! Mine is primarily for working on my guns, but has plenty of space for reloading equipment when I can afford to make that investment.


Top surface is 8ft long, 2ft deep, and 34 inches off the floor. It is 2 pieces of 3/4 inch plywood glued and screwed together, and also glued and screwed to the frame of the bench. It has 3 2x4s running the length of it for added (and probably unnecessary) strength and rigidity. In the first picture it looks a little out of square, but it's just the perspective.. It's definitely square.



Gluing the two sheets of plywood together for the top surface:

After applying the glue, I set the bench upside down on top of the top surface and ran 1 1/4" screws in from the bottom. There are no screws on the work surface, which is a nice touch I think.

It has a 4inch overhang on the front for mounting tools, vices, and reloading equipment.


I had an extra sheet of plywood left over, so I glued and screwed it to the bottom for added strength and a little extra height. The piece of plywood on the floor behind the bench needs a little trimming tomorrow so it can be glued and screwed to the top of the bottom horizontal 2x4s for a shelf. Eventually this bench will be up against a wall and that wall will have shelves and pegboard on it for organizing and hanging tools, guns, or whatever.



As it stands now, it probably weighs close to 200 lbs. I plan on loading up the bottom shelf with ammo and other heavy stuff so that the bench doesn't move when applying torque to the mounted tools, vices, and presses. I might add cross bracing later if it needs it, but this thing is really solid as is. After I add that last piece of plywood as a shelf, I'm going to take a belt sander to all the edges and round them off just a hair so that I don't get splinters or have hard edges.

Total cost was $110 with 80% of that being the 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood.

[waxthis]

Nice job!!

[waxthis]

Time 4 bed.. 4am comes to damn earley!

[BuffCyclist]

Nice job HoneyBadger! Looks like a very nice bench! You obviously have the space to put that large of a bench, I wish mine could be longer, but then again, my new bench is larger than my current one and I don't use all of that.

[rondog]

Seems like lots of folks are building reloading benches right now! Mine is primarily for working on my guns, but has plenty of space for reloading equipment when I can afford to make that investment.


Top surface is 8ft long, 2ft deep, and 34 inches off the floor. It is 2 pieces of 3/4 inch plywood glued and screwed together, and also glued and screwed to the frame of the bench. It has 3 2x4s running the length of it for added (and probably unnecessary) strength and rigidity. In the first picture it looks a little out of square, but it's just the perspective.. It's definitely square.



Gluing the two sheets of plywood together for the top surface:

After applying the glue, I set the bench upside down on top of the top surface and ran 1 1/4" screws in from the bottom. There are no screws on the work surface, which is a nice touch I think.

It has a 4inch overhang on the front for mounting tools, vices, and reloading equipment.


I had an extra sheet of plywood left over, so I glued and screwed it to the bottom for added strength and a little extra height. The piece of plywood on the floor behind the bench needs a little trimming tomorrow so it can be glued and screwed to the top of the bottom horizontal 2x4s for a shelf. Eventually this bench will be up against a wall and that wall will have shelves and pegboard on it for organizing and hanging tools, guns, or whatever.



As it stands now, it probably weighs close to 200 lbs. I plan on loading up the bottom shelf with ammo and other heavy stuff so that the bench doesn't move when applying torque to the mounted tools, vices, and presses. I might add cross bracing later if it needs it, but this thing is really solid as is. After I add that last piece of plywood as a shelf, I'm going to take a belt sander to all the edges and round them off just a hair so that I don't get splinters or have hard edges.

Nice! But add some 2x4's in that bottom frame before you put the plywood shelf on, or it'll sag.

[BuffCyclist]

Nice! But add some 2x4's in that bottom frame before you put the plywood shelf on, or it'll sag.

Agreed, especially if you plan to glue the plywood down, it'll be harder to replace when it sags.

[HoneyBadger]

Nice! But add some 2x4's in that bottom frame before you put the plywood shelf on, or it'll sag.

Yeah, I realized that as I was typing the post. I'll have to go find some 2x4 scraps out in the garage. Thanks!

Nice job HoneyBadger! Looks like a very nice bench! You obviously have the space to put that large of a bench, I wish mine could be longer, but then again, my new bench is larger than my current one and I don't use all of that.

Thanks! I have an unfinished basement that is about 900sq ft, and Mrs HoneyBadger basically gave me the basement to do as I want with as long as she gets the rest of the house and I keep the garage tidy. The blue tape on the floor in the pics are potential future walls for my gun room.