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New house, new reloading room! Bench, shelf design questions

Hey guys, moved into a new house, officially a homeowner. Built a new bench in the basement. Got a couple sheets of formica on the way to cover it.

I was thinking about planing a 2x6 down and routering the bottom edge and staining so I would have a nice corner on the front edge of the bench all the way around. Then maybe a routered 1x4 on the top, for a backsplash. What do you think?



I don't know if I want pegboard or not, but definitely shelves in the corners at a 45* angle. Any and all ideas appreciated. Going with "blue storm" formica.
 
Use the same type shelf brackets your duct has and put a 1x4 size shelf along the top of the other wall up close to the ceiling just far enough down to stack 2 die boxes high up there. Best shelf i ever had. You could put 50+ dies up there and never be in your way. You can use lumber or nice shelf boards and cover the bottom in your formica and that would be very nice
 
Shelves are as important as the bench top. Put them full length
of your bench top on all walls. Its much easier to stand up and
get an item off the shelf, than it is to crawl on the floor looking
in tha dark. The older you get the more you will realize this.
Also put plenty of outlets above the bench top. I see you have two, but ya cant have to many. LDS
 
Looking good. I like it. I would definitely edge band around the top after the formica is installed. It looks nice and protects the edge of the formica. As previously suggested some simple shelf brackets with shallow shelves would be a great addition.
 
I like cabinets to store my reloading gear because of the dusk in my basement but this may not be an issue for you. I topped my bench with 1/4" thick brown fiber board and coated with two coats of ployurthane and it's imprevious; also an economical option.
 
Hey guys, moved into a new house, officially a homeowner. Built a new bench in the basement. Got a couple sheets of formica on the way to cover it.

I was thinking about planing a 2x6 down and routering the bottom edge and staining so I would have a nice corner on the front edge of the bench all the way around. Then maybe a routered 1x4 on the top, for a backsplash. What do you think?



I don't know if I want pegboard or not, but definitely shelves in the corners at a 45* angle. Any and all ideas appreciated. Going with "blue storm" formica.
the U shape is a nice design -you can move around quickly. id put pegboard on one wall and shelves on another high enough so they wont take away from the bench width. formica might be slippier than you would like. an easy way to put in more recepts is along the bottom bench edges. ive had benches with corners like that and it always seemed like wasted space. i would put lazy susans in the corners up to the ceiling. that would provide a whole lot of storage. as far as trim make it how you like it.
 
Just make certain your press and other tools can be mounted into some studs and still have enough overhang off the front of the bench to miss the ram etc.

Looks good. And static can stink! Besides messing up scales it can make for a sudden mess
 
The backsplash helps keep parts from rolling back and "disappearing" so thats good. I attached a lot of things to the front face of my bench years ago as well as many things to the top, with screws and bolts. That way I could secure a device when I was using it by bolting it on and took it off when I didn't need it.

I'm not a peg board sort of guy I found out,. Any pegboard I have seems disorganized. Most of the items hung were tools. I sent to a dedicated roll a way tool box that makes me feel more organized and tools are out of sight. I was going to use this rollaway for a "center island" work bench but it crowded me and it found a permanent home in the adjoining room that had room. I on my remodel circled a good portion of the room with benchs and cabinets. This leaves room for calendars, plaques, pictures, and reference material on the walls.

If you have never had the benefit of a dedicated room, leave it in the rough a couple years until you come to grasp how you personally want to operate it. I operated in the rough for 40 years and finally fixed everything in a man cave I would die for, but I prefer to stay living and use it.
 
before you glue laminate down, do as snert suggested and check your press mounting holes to be sure there isn't an issue with bolt hole location and the 2x4 front edge. I have 4 presses and even though they could be bolted, I use c-clamps so I can move them around should I want to.
 
It appears you have commercial carpet as flooring and this might not be a good idea. I don't think you should use a vacuum to suck up any spilled powder and trust me, you will eventually spill powder. A better alternative would be LVT which is tough, water proof and reasonable priced and easy to clean with a common broom or a Swifter.
 
I've got conventional shelves mounted on the wall above my bench. In the space between the shelf and bench top I have a bunch of these parts bins mounted on the wall. They have a lip on the back which engages a mounting strip secured to the wall so I can easily remove them an put them on the bench when I need something. For example, I have one small bin with jags and brushes for cleaning. So when I have a rifle on the bench, I can grab that bin and go to work. Another bin holds several small plastic boxes containing my neck sizing bushings, one for each caliber I reload. When it comes time for neck sizing, I grab that bin and find the bushing I'm looking for. One holds knives, another Q tips, another patches, another micrometers, etc. I have several sizes of these bins too and I store my Hornady case prep machine in a large one, rags in another, and so-on. You get the idea. upload_2017-12-9_3-29-28.png
 
As for electric pick up a couple power strips and mount them on the wall, this will let you plug in almost anywhere along the bench top.
As for shelves I used a combination shelves and cabinets but still find the top cluttered I need more storage and have been looking for options.
My presses are mounted with in reach of everything and all my cleaning stuff is on the other side of the U shaped bench.
Everything was recycled counter tops and old kitchen cabinets.
 
Overall I prefer open shelves. The pic below is in my temp reloading room as I build a new shop and I used 1x6 for these shelves. I used 1x8 for my other shelving and that makes a much better shelf size.

If that was my area I would install upper kitchen cabinets on one wall and open shelves on another. The third wall would either be pegboard or more open shelves. That is how my last reloading area was setup and what I plan on doing in the new shop. The 1x4 under the shelf makes a nice area to hang items and keep them off the bench even though the bench is a complete mess right now.

9CFD53FB-D477-4985-B399-26F28DFBB518.jpeg
 
I've got conventional shelves mounted on the wall above my bench. In the space between the shelf and bench top I have a bunch of these parts bins mounted on the wall. They have a lip on the back which engages a mounting strip secured to the wall so I can easily remove them an put them on the bench when I need something. For example, I have one small bin with jags and brushes for cleaning. So when I have a rifle on the bench, I can grab that bin and go to work. Another bin holds several small plastic boxes containing my neck sizing bushings, one for each caliber I reload. When it comes time for neck sizing, I grab that bin and find the bushing I'm looking for. One holds knives, another Q tips, another patches, another micrometers, etc. I have several sizes of these bins too and I store my Hornady case prep machine in a large one, rags in another, and so-on. You get the idea. View attachment 1028355

Wall bins like this are the bee's knees. Add a toolbox for your hand tools, and you're 90% there.
 
I prefer cabinets, and chose the unfinished ones from Lowes/Home Depot. I bought oak, slapped on some poly so my grubby fingers didn't muck up the doors. I am a bit OCD and open shelves are ok, but too many and I go a bit nervy. (And if it is all out in the open my wife can see it all....) :eek:

I had a carpeted reloading room, old berber. It was ok, but when I dumped 25 pounds of #9 on the floor it turned into a real pain in the vacuum. Now I have tile, so when I drop stuff I get to buy a new one!

Do pay attention to static. It can play heck with powder throwers. I had to ground my powder measure.
 
ive had benches with corners like that and it always seemed like wasted space. i would put lazy susans in the corners up to the ceiling. that would provide a whole lot of storage. as far as trim make it how you like it.

I like the Lazy Susan shelving idea for the corners, kudos.
 
As mentioned some over hang might be a consideration but long carriage bolts with nuts & washers are available. Pushing down on a press lever exerts heavy twisting forces so ensure the edge where the press is mounted is very strong and rigid. I also like shelves mounted some 1 1/2 foot under the bench top; the shelves also brace the bench from lateral forces. The top is 3/4 exterior plywood that is secured to a 2X frame by 1 1/2 inch deck screws (makes the frame rigid). Under the press is a 2X6 wide side up; the frame is held together with lots of 2 1/2 deck screws.

The very top surface is a 1/4 inch sheet of A/C plywood secured by short sheet rock screws. When that top surface gets dinged up and messy it is removed and replaced. In addition to loading bullets I use the bench for working on an occasional project involving heavy rough items (steel targets) that would mess up smooth & slippery formica. Spruce/pine 1X4's (good deal here) are used for fascia.


I like to work standing, and I have made the bench 41 inches high making it a good ergonomic fit for my old body. Spruce/pine 1X8 Shelves are hung on the wall and also rest on the bench. The removable shelves also fit inside a Stack-On sheet steel gun cabinet when required.

As I write this I keep on looking at my project bench.
 
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