ShtrRdy
Well-Known Member
Jeez, I must have gotten luck. Mine is made out of that 3/4" press board stuff on a 2x4 frame.
Homemade reloading benchtop material?
- Thread starter SavageHunter11
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Dr. Vette
Well-Known Member
We have several office furniture manufacturers in our town. One of them sells desktop material for $1 per linear foot, and the material is 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in thick. My reloading room is made with this including the backsplash for about $15 worth of material. It looks and works great.
SavageHunter11
Well-Known Member
I like it but I've got four presses (Lee Classic, Forster Co-ax, Dillon 550c, Hornady PnP AP) to fit on my bench and I think that will be too small
nmbarta
Well-Known Member
There are a million ways to make it tough enough, pretty much anything 3/4"+ with a little framing will work just fine, but.....do you want it to look like home job, or look really nice?
I'd go get some solid hardwood of your liking (for me it would be a mix of cherry and walnut)...two important questions...what tools do you have access to?, and how much time do you want to spend? Cost isn't really that bad for a little bit of hardwood, but it does take a few tools to get it right.
I'd go get some solid hardwood of your liking (for me it would be a mix of cherry and walnut)...two important questions...what tools do you have access to?, and how much time do you want to spend? Cost isn't really that bad for a little bit of hardwood, but it does take a few tools to get it right.
^^^^^
That on a 2/6 frame
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SavageHunter11
Well-Known Member
I've got a circular saw, a drill, a sander, and a level.... All my tools are automotive related for the most part but I have a few wood working tools. I'd like to make it look as good as limited ability and tool set will allow.
Got my resizing press on heavy duty bench and a seating press on not as heavy bench
But I have a lot of room
But I have a lot of room
birdiemc
Well-Known Member
I don't have progressive presses, but I have my press screwed to the top of a crappy old desk that my dad gave me. I screwed it down with deck screws. It works just fine. You dont have to go crazy, like many have said a sheet of plywood with some lumber below for a frame is sufficient. But you can certainly make it nicer if you want to.
With the tools you have on hand, you could easily get some 5/4 hardwood, buy S4S so its planed and straight sawn for you already, no need for a table saw. You can glue the boards together edge to edge to make your top. Then make the frame of the same. Legs can be 3 pieces glued together to create a big beefy leg, or could be 2 pieces glued in an L shape, pocket screws are your friend. Get a $12 keg pocket screw jig and screw and glue it all together where your screws will be hidden, but they'll also be stronger joint because you're not screwing into end grain. Once the whole thing is built, sand to your liking and stain or seal...have fun with it.
I built my dining table, coffee table, and breakfast table this way, except I bought rough sawn cuz i have a planer and table saw. Everything else as I described. Where I live I could buy the material to build a very nice looking bench for under $100 for oak, walnut, or cherry...depending on the size of course.
With the tools you have on hand, you could easily get some 5/4 hardwood, buy S4S so its planed and straight sawn for you already, no need for a table saw. You can glue the boards together edge to edge to make your top. Then make the frame of the same. Legs can be 3 pieces glued together to create a big beefy leg, or could be 2 pieces glued in an L shape, pocket screws are your friend. Get a $12 keg pocket screw jig and screw and glue it all together where your screws will be hidden, but they'll also be stronger joint because you're not screwing into end grain. Once the whole thing is built, sand to your liking and stain or seal...have fun with it.
I built my dining table, coffee table, and breakfast table this way, except I bought rough sawn cuz i have a planer and table saw. Everything else as I described. Where I live I could buy the material to build a very nice looking bench for under $100 for oak, walnut, or cherry...depending on the size of course.
nmbarta
Well-Known Member
Nice 3/4" hardwood plywood of your choosing for the top layer, glue it and screw it to a piece of cdx plywood with 1 1/4" wood screws, use titebond allweather wood glue.
Screw through the cdx into the hardwood ply. Then just buy a 1x4 of the same hardwood, and cut it directly in half and glue and pin (or finish screw) it to the edges for your banding.
It's very easy and gives the appearance of solid wood to the untrained eye.
Make sure it's flat when it dries as the glue joint will not want to move, and will hold any warp that's there once it sets up. It's cheap, pretty, and you can drive a truck over it when your done.
I like to coat it with bioshield No.9 hard oil, super easy to use and if you apply 3 coats it really toughens up the surface, used it on flooring quite a few times.
Screw through the cdx into the hardwood ply. Then just buy a 1x4 of the same hardwood, and cut it directly in half and glue and pin (or finish screw) it to the edges for your banding.
It's very easy and gives the appearance of solid wood to the untrained eye.
Make sure it's flat when it dries as the glue joint will not want to move, and will hold any warp that's there once it sets up. It's cheap, pretty, and you can drive a truck over it when your done.
I like to coat it with bioshield No.9 hard oil, super easy to use and if you apply 3 coats it really toughens up the surface, used it on flooring quite a few times.
SavageHunter11
Well-Known Member
I really like this suggestion. Straight forward and easy. My only question is how do you ensure it's flat when the glue dries? Is there a technique used to get this done?
1/2" finish grade plywood and 2x4s are plenty if you put it together right. Don't overthink it.
birdiemc
Well-Known Member
Clamp it to a flat table if you have one big enough. If not find a very flat spot to lay it down then you can add weights on top to hold it in place as it dries.
Indian7953
Well-Known Member
If you make a frame or use cabinets instead of a frame, mount a 2 x 12 horizontally along the front edge where you will be holding your presses down, halfway back mount 2 x 6 parallel with the 2 x 12 and at the back of the bench mount a 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 parallel against the wall. Then you can use any kind of top you want. Three-quarter inch plywood, formica countertop or anything that looks nice you bolt your press right down through all of that into that 2 x 12 and your press will not move.
