Kitchen cabinets and countertops for reloading??

[CharlieNC]

Around 15 years ago I purchased metal frames and stackable cabinets from Ikea, and used their 2" butcher block tops which is very sturdy and durable. It's a cost effective material.

 

[dryhumor]

Home supply stores sell laminated countertop from 3-12’ long, 36” deep. Better than an inch thick. I’ve made work tables out of with leg brackets from WW Grainger.

Another thought, I made a work surface in my shop with a piece of Corian. Spacer wood silicone to the wheeless tool chests then the top silicone to the wood. Pretty solid. I considered doing the same thing for a reloading bench using laminated countertop, but I just don’t quite have the room. Figured on setting tool storage on the far ends, with an opening in the middle of the span to sit at.

 

[Walt Krafft]

Picture of my loading bench.

 

[jelenko]

the back will just fill up with stuff.

Yeah.

 

[CSLR grandpa]

Adam0321/0306 as hoz53 mentioned get the height up, my bench and adjacent rolling bench are both 43-1/2” high, I can stand or sit.
When I load at my brothers his low bench is a real pain in the back
as also mentioned sandwich the mounting of the presses with hardwood and steel gorilla glue is your friend after the mess is cleaned up!

 

[JSH]

So we moved into a new home and I now have my own room for reloading. I am going round and round about how I want to build out my area. I mostly reload standing. I am torn between a full build from scratch, using something like a husky tool chest for storage and building a bench top across a couple of them. Or, using kitchen cabinets, drawers and laminate countertops. Has anyone done this, pros or cons? Thanks in advance and happy thanksgiving.

Didn’t read the whole thread

Build it custom to fit you. I find 90% of cabinets to darn short/low for me. Don’t make tops to deep, tends to attract clutter.

 

[Fast14riot]

Don't forget to upgrade the lighting and if its a bedroom/office maybe consider removing any carpet. Springs, primers, scope screws all love to hide in carpet! Also be aware of any central climate control vents, nothing worse than the AC kicking on while weighing powder and throwing everything off!

 

[hoz53]

Picture of my loading bench.View attachment 1609859

this is very similar to the way ive made all the ones ive had except the last 2.

 

[Kittitas George]

You might find some cabinets at Second Use, part of Habitat for Humanity. Kitchen cabinets may not be 'stout' enough and may need 'glides' on the drawers with heavy items with in. Take a look on YouTube and such, lot of good usable configurations and ideas out there. My loading and putzing needs are filled by an old "school teacher's desk", heavy enough to stay put and hold the required treasure.
Good luck and have fun with the project.

 

[Bill Norris]

Just finished up re-locating my reloading room to my shooting room. I used up 20 ft. on one wall combined with it. As you can see I used a combination of a tool box and stick built shelving to get it where I wanted it.

 

[CaptJim]

You will want it at least bar height. If you want to sit, use a stool. Here is the bench I built in my shed. I put pegboard on either side of the window. This bench doesn’t have the second layer on the top in this photo

 

[rwj]

I’ve moved several times since constructing a “built in” a 2X4 loading bench and decided to buy one that’s rugged, rigid, and easily transportable. I use angle clips to attach the rear legs to wall studs.

Husky 72 in. W x 24 in. D Adjustable Height Black Workbench for Ready to Assemble Steel Garage Storage System G7200S-US - The Home Depot

Enhance the functionality of your work station without any effort by choosing this extra ordinary Husky Adjustable Height Solid Wood Top Workbench.

www.homedepot.com

 

[450BM]

I absolutely hate having a weak/flexible reloading bench and I hate watching them used too, like some of the YouTubers. A laminate counter top would probably be ok if you put some 3/4” or more plywood under it.

I built mine out of hard maple 2 3/4” thick, 30”x84” and 37.5“ high so I can stand or use a stool. The base has 20 drawers with the same maple fronts. Yeah, it’s probably overkill but I had the wood and the shop to do it. The wood came from trees in my parents front yard where I grew up. I was 27 or 28 when they had them cut down and I got them sawed up. My reloading bench is pretty special…

My original “bench”, when I was 12 years old, was a simple sitting bench about 16” tall and 5’ long made from a single rough oak plank 10 inches wide! I used it for about 10 years before I had a place of my own. I guess that was back in the good old days and back in the day!

 

[The boogalorian]

Butcher block top with tee tracks on a 2x4 frame over a toolbox. Reloading sessions are super easy now.

 

[dryhumor]

I think the “bench” part is the easy part. Shelves and vertical storage is where it gets tricky. Cabinets, wire shelving, tool box bottoms. Take a minute and measure the space you have and try to lay out on paper.

Keep window space in mind also, they eat up space if they are accessible. Not too much of a problem if you are willing to block them- however, they make for good emergency exits if you need them.

ETA: I wouldn’t hesitate to have a bench in the middle of the room with presses on both sides, if I had the space. That frees up all of the wall space.

 

[Bill Norris]

I think the “bench” part is the easy part. Shelves and vertical storage is where it gets tricky. Cabinets, wire shelving, tool box bottoms. Take a minute and measure the space you have and try to lay out on paper.

Keep window space in mind also, they eat up space if they are accessible. Not too much of a problem if you are willing to block them- however, they make for good emergency exits if you need them.

Yea, I did quite a bit of measuring to get all my stuff working on that one wall. But it was time well spent no doubt. Wish I had moved out here a lot sooner.

 

[6MMsteve]

whatever u do have a countertop that is solid, bolted or however u do it, but make sure it's solid no movement, u don't want shaking and vibrating moving, tipping, just solid so you can feel your press and loading

 

[450BM]

Here is some of it…

 

[Bill Norris]

whatever u do have a countertop that is solid, bolted or however u do it, but make sure it's solid no movement, u don't want shaking and vibrating moving, tipping, just solid so you can feel your press and loading

Absolutely, bolted my loading bench frame to the wall. Used screws to fasten the butcher block top to everything. When I push on my press handle I don't want to feel any movement at all. I had some left over laminate flooring and used it on top of the butcher block. Turned out pretty cool.

 

[dryhumor]

Reloading spaces are like work shops. Whatever size you think you’ll need, go ahead and double it…..