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Reloading bench build...

You do some beautiful work there, my compliments. Before we moved onto a boat, I had a nice shop and made some furniture myself and metal fabrication. Really miss my shop and having access to my tools. Sadly, had to sell a lot of them when we moved to the PNW for work. I have about 4 more years before I can retire. Planning on selling the boat and moving back on land on the Oregon Coast for retirement. Shop is going to be a must, hopefully separate from the house this time so noise is not an issue. Shop will be for hobby and supplemental income too.
Seeing your shop, gets me excited about that phase in my life.
 
TerryH said:
View attachment 1027066 View attachment 1027067



I’ve built furniture for fun since 2000. Kinda gets in the blood.

This is my main bench in the shop. It weighs 800lbs empty.
Click to expand...
that's a great lookin shop, you sir do some fine work looks like you could eat off the floor, love the torsion top on your bench very strong, nice curves on the stretchers. That work bench is massive, looks like you love using hand planes also
 
powderbrake said:
Very classy table. It looks more like furniture than a loading bench. Lots of nice touches with the curves and the mortise and tenon joints and the pocket screws.
Click to expand...

You should see some of the workbench builds on woodworking forums. Some of those make this look almost plain (no offense, Terry). There are *working* benches, and there are 'heirloom' benches...
 
powderbrake said:
Great looking shop. You even swept the floor before the picture. :)

I love the rubber floor mats.
Click to expand...

Thanks. The mats have been a great addition. My back and knees are thankful. I never sweep. I just open all the doors, fire up the compressor and start blowing. :D
 
After visiting my son in KC the last 2 days, I stole a couple hours of shop time tonight. I'm going to use the Harbor Freight plastic storage boxes to store as much of the reloading odds and ends as possible. A cabinet is in order to store the boxes. I decided to make the cabinet fit under the bench. Little bit of plywood and some milling and poof, it's a cabinet.

3/4" plywood with grooves for 1/2" Baltic Birch runners.



And the 1/2" BB ply runners shaped and sanded.







And with the rear stops glued and pinned in place.



And the completed glue up. Just need to edge band the frame and wipe on a little poly.

 
Terry, another idea worth considering might be to make flat trays, possibly with low dividers to kind of keep things from moving around... but use bullet or brass boxes for parts containers. Not like you'll have a shortage of them ;)

I've tried the factory made parts tray/boxes and they do work pretty well, but they seem to break awful easily and inevitably when I need a replacement, they've stopped making that particular size/configuration... :/
 
TerryH said:
Was out in the shop early this morning. I cut the rails for the end panels and routed the grooves in those and the legs to accept the melamine insert.



Melamine is oversize to I cut shallow rabbits on the back side of the panel to fit.



Dry fit after cutting the curve on the lower rails.



Once proper fit was confirmed I drilled for the pocket screws and assembled the end panels. I cut the curves on the long lower rails and drilled for pocket screws in those as well and assembled the base.

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I added supports for the lower shelf and cut the melamine and installed. Once the base was assembled I moved it onto the floor and added the top. I kinda like it. Sill need more sanding and then I'll put a few coats of wipe on poly on it and call it good.


https://flic.kr/p/21N66eu

https://flic.kr/p/21N66eu

https://flic.kr/p/21N66eu


Click to expand...
Great job on the bench. Very nice work-- only trouble is its to small:)
 
alinwa said:
Some thoughts from living in my own shops for lo these many yrs.


I've changed my layout so many times that now everything in my shop is on casters, including 30ft of reloading benches. I'm careful to set hts the same on everything as my radial arm/chop/miter saws and cutoff equipment is also on rolling 8ft tables....... even the horizontal bandsaw is blocked up and mobile. Some of my rolling tables have 110VAC on all faces. I like them all to be stable enough that I can mount a barrel vise on even the short end and easily make 150ftlb torque with no movement/tipping. And good enough wheellocks for swaging bullets.

I hook to walls (and to each other) using tabs and screws

For those few setups without locking casters, like my welding bench with steel casters, I throw chain on the concrete floor and wrap it around the wheels
Click to expand...
ive got alot of stuff on casters to--you remind me though ive got a cabinet with two radial saws and a compound miter saw i think i will caster.
 
milanuk said:
Terry, another idea worth considering might be to make flat trays, possibly with low dividers to kind of keep things from moving around... but use bullet or brass boxes for parts containers. Not like you'll have a shortage of them ;)

I've tried the factory made parts tray/boxes and they do work pretty well, but they seem to break awful easily and inevitably when I need a replacement, they've stopped making that particular size/configuration... :/
Click to expand...

Thanks. I've used these boxes for many years already. Never had any issue with them even dragging all over the country to race tracks etc.. They been making them for many years in these configurations so I'm pretty confident in the boxes and that HF will continue to produce them. Hard to be for $7 each if you have a coupon.
 
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