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What Reloading Countertop Surface Material do you use?

Mine is 4×4 legs, 2×6 framing on 12" center, 3/4 cabinet grade plywood with 3/16 stainless steel 12" wide top where anything is mounted, all glued, screwed and bolted. Build it as strong as you can. 👍
Legs are bolted down also.
 
If I could afford it I would use stainless steel. If you weld you could have a bench top that would look great an most chemicals couldn't affect.

Stripe all welds, bend up a backsplash and even meet USDA standards.
 
There are SO many diverse methods and materials, books can be written about just shop and gunsmithing workbenches.

If you are DIY person there are no holds barred, the world and the design of your personal space for working is nearly limitless. 2x4's and plywood can be made to reflect whatever ideas you have for convenience and efficiency. If you have ideas of a better looking environment, I suggest getting a couple of books or looking online at least for less rustic looking designs. Simply adding pre-made counter tops covered in laminate are a much better surface to work on and easier to install and maintain especially with a backsplash.

On the other hand, you can buy several bench designs from Costco and Seville Classics with the only drawback being that 'some assembly required' can be a little daunting. Most come in stainless steel or powder coated with nice butcher block tops. I have several of the Seville benches either 6' long but a few that 4' long to fit certain spaces or uses. You can find these with or without wheels depending on your needs.

I have transitioned to the use of stainless steel benches and tops for a couple of work areas. I buy silicone mats from Amazon to cover them as well as a couple of the butcher block tops. No dents in the work surface, softer and they are easy to cleanup.

I'm not a cabinet maker and I don't want the 2x4 look anymore so I do some searching and looking to find what can work just as well or better.

I use the wire shelving for storage which are available at different heights, widths and depths., easy to assemble. There are covers available also in case you choose to hide some of the potential mess.

This what most of us strive to attain:
1715264574343.jpeg


But with a little more money and effort:
1715264649648.jpeg


Or...

1715264825622.jpeg


Enjoy the process!

😊
 
Just went through this myself. Went with 12 foot butcher block, fabricated steel frame with adjustable casters w/stops. Powder coated to a nice satin finish. Turned out awesome and very rigid!

In our case it needs to be mobile - one could just install adjustable feet and call er' a day.
 
After reading your thoughts, I have decided to go with 2" butcher block tops. I also have some 14 gauge stainless steel plating that I will make an area topped off with it and bend it for the splashing in the back. This is where I will clean my rifles. The framer that I have doing it is also a wood mill guy. He has a bunch of wood flooring from a rail car that he said he can use and plane out. Also, wife decided to add on to it so now I have a 6'3" x 6'3" Gun/Safe room that I will do out of CMU blocks and concrete filled cells with a 30" Vault door on the front. AC guy is going to run a vent to it and exhaust to keep the humidity and fresh air controlled. I'll put some LED strip lighting in the corners of the ceiling. Pouring a 5" concrete slab on top of the CMU to enclose.

I had thought of pouring all of the tops in concrete but I didn't like the idea of having to drill holes into the top and if I decided to move presses, etc creating holes all over. The exterior walls will be 2x6's filled with closed cell foam insulation. The AC guy is installing the unit is also installing a permanent dehumidifier for it also. I will be adding a 2 - 6' Steel tool cabinet underneath a portion of the countertops. One for tools and the other for reloading dies, rings, expanders, etc. I believe I will also adding some cabinets from the floor to the ceiling for powder storage. Anything I miss?
5W Precision Shooting Shack Revised.jpg
 
Longtine88 said:
After reading your thoughts, I have decided to go with 2" butcher block tops. I also have some 14 gauge stainless steel plating that I will make an area topped off with it and bend it for the splashing in the back. This is where I will clean my rifles. The framer that I have doing it is also a wood mill guy. He has a bunch of wood flooring from a rail car that he said he can use and plane out. Also, wife decided to add on to it so now I have a 6'3" x 6'3" Gun/Safe room that I will do out of CMU blocks and concrete filled cells with a 30" Vault door on the front. AC guy is going to run a vent to it and exhaust to keep the humidity and fresh air controlled. I'll put some LED strip lighting in the corners of the ceiling. Pouring a 5" concrete slab on top of the CMU to enclose.

I had thought of pouring all of the tops in concrete but I didn't like the idea of having to drill holes into the top and if I decided to move presses, etc creating holes all over. The exterior walls will be 2x6's filled with closed cell foam insulation. The AC guy is installing the unit is also installing a permanent dehumidifier for it also. I will be adding a 2 - 6' Steel tool cabinet underneath a portion of the countertops. One for tools and the other for reloading dies, rings, expanders, etc. I believe I will also adding some cabinets from the floor to the ceiling for powder storage. Anything I miss?View attachment 570563
Click to expand...
Sounds good, for the concrete put pipe sleeves were you can bring your wires or whatever. You can get fire caulking to put in after your done. It's removable if needed. 👍
 
I guess mine is like butcher block wood. Basically a Whalen bench that my wife bought for me from Costco when I started reloading in 2008. It is very functional and robust and it's on big casters so I can move it around when I need to. The RCBS mounting plates were a big help and it has served me well.
IMG_8944.jpeg
 

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