Reloading bench question

[jcj]

Just finished getting my reloading bench together and I thought I would poll TGO before I actually bolted my press down... Where along the front of the bench should it go?

I've been going back and forth on the exact placement. It is a Lyman single stage press. Should it go all the way to the left, right, toward one side but leave some space between the press and the edge, or in the middle.

I've pretty much ruled out the middle as an option. Just seems it would be in the way. I was thinking somewhere about 10-12" from the left side.

Pretty hard to determine where I want it considering I haven't used it.

Thoughts?

[enfield]

Being right-handed, I've always placed my presses on the right end of the bench. I operate the press with my right hand and feed it with my left. With the press on the right, I have lots of room for loading trays, scales, etc on the left.

[Guest friesepferd]

if your right handed, then the right hand side as said above.

if you have it in / near the middle, then to get at stuff you will have to keep going around the press, trying to peer around it to find stuff, etc. no reason for that.

if its on the left side... well then you have to use ur left hand.

[kb4ns]

I'm with enfield on this one. I have mine about halfway between center and the right edge. Say this is my bench, and the X is my press-

l-----------------------X----------l

I'm right handed. Works great for me.

[roverboy]

I'm right handed and I've got mine on the right. Tell you what, clamp the press down with a c clamp in different spots and try it to see where you want it. You'll find a sweet spot.

[ftncityfatboy]

I'm with enfield on this one. I have mine about halfway between center and the right edge. Say this is my bench, and the X is my press-

l-----------------------X----------l

I'm right handed. Works great for me.

mine's like this with the powder feeder to the far right side. only drawback is when I drop powder, feed the cartridge, pull the lever - i have to make sure I don't hit myself in the nads. but its a the price you sometimes pay for a good boolit....

[buck1032]

I am right handed as well, but I bolted mine on the left. Basically I mounted mine 1/4 of the total length on the left. My bench is longer so I use the whole right side to clean and work on the firearms. It works for me.

[gregintenn]

Being right-handed, I've always placed my presses on the right end of the bench. I operate the press with my right hand and feed it with my left. With the press on the right, I have lots of room for loading trays, scales, etc on the left.

I'm left handed, but I operate mine in this same manner.

[titan14]

I hope this makes sense....

I am right handed....i bolted mine about 10 inches off the LEFT side.

Why?

Because it takes NO coordination to pull the handle....

It DOES take coordination to place projectiles, grab the scale, measure powder, move the trays, etc, etc, etc......

I cant do anything with my left hand....but i can pull the handle....that leaves my right hand to do everything else.....

[Johnny_Utah]

I have mine mounted on a platform that I can position anywhere on the bench. There just isn't enough space to reload and clean guns all in the same area. I use two clamps too!

[gregintenn]

[Johnny_Utah]

gregintenn........"one upper":p

[gregintenn]

gregintenn........"one upper":p

Not at all. I was trying to show the OP where I placed my press in relation to everything else. It works well for me. I'm always looking for ideas, I thought by his post that he was as well.

[Johnny_Utah]

Not at all. I was trying to show the OP where I placed my press in relation to everything else. It works well for me. I'm always looking for ideas, I thought by his post that he was as well.

Oh..I agree also, that's why I posted.

From the picture originally posted, I felt compelled to offer an alternative to a permanent fixture. So, in all due respect, I'm just jealous of the amount of bench space that you have. I thought a little ribbing was necessary. No harm no foul.

[Guest Gopher6]

I'm a lefty and mounted my press about 18" from the left end of my bench. I use a foil covered cookie sheet to lube my brass on and it is to the left for the press, I can feed cases to the press with my left hand and operate the ram with my right hand. I have a vise mounted on the right end of the bench and an eye level scale shelf in the middle. I have my powder measure mounted on a piece of plywood that I C-clamp to the bench when I'm throwing charges (2 - 60 round loading blocks).

I notice that your bench has a smooth front face. My Rock Chucker required about 1-1/2 inch relief area to allow the handle to go all the way down. Please make sure your's doesn't before you mount it.

Johnny U's suggestion about the C-Clamps is a good idea.

[enfield]

I hope this makes sense....

I am right handed....i bolted mine about 10 inches off the LEFT side.

Why?

Because it takes NO coordination to pull the handle....

It DOES take coordination to place projectiles, grab the scale, measure powder, move the trays, etc, etc, etc......

I cant do anything with my left hand....but i can pull the handle....that leaves my right hand to do everything else.....

Well, there's the difference -- I'm amphibious.

[Sidewinder]

I am right handed as well, but I bolted mine on the left. Basically I mounted mine 1/4 of the total length on the left. My bench is longer so I use the whole right side to clean and work on the firearms. It works for me.

Sorry, this is off thread, but is that AD® or AD(J) Buck1032?

[buck1032]

Sorry, this is off thread, but is that AD® or AD(J) Buck1032?

Just AD, the J and R designations were long gone before I joined in 85.

But to keep this on topic, here's my bench

And I would like to take a minute to talk about lighting. I have three of the desk top type lights. I was at a friends house down in Texas a while back and he had some of those CFL bulbs that produced a very clear, stark, bright light. I bought Ott High Definition Natural Lighting bulbs. Well I put them in the lamps on my bench that the light produced is nothing short of awesome. I bought mine at Lowes for a few bucks a piece.

[Mark A]

Hey, my 550 needs a pretty blue coat like yours. I didn't know they made covers...

[buck1032]

I bought the cover not long after I bought the 550B around 89 time frame. I got it mainly due to the fact that I was on active duty and was deploying often. I figured the cover would be better than throwing an old sheet over it while I was gone. LOL

[Guest Vincent]

My Bonanza CoAx is mounted on the far right side:

[tnhawk]

I've got a RCBS near the left end of a 12' bench and a Dillon 550 a few feet from the right end of the bench. Lighting, overhead garage doors and experience using the presses have made several changes necessary as I found the placement I needed for the equipment.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

My Dillon SDB is near the left. Prep and such all done to the right. The bullet tray is mounted on the left of the press and the shell tray sits to the right of the press under the finished-bullet tray, so no bench space is needed on the left except for a small space to keep pliers and adjustment tools.

Powder is stored on the other side of the shop in a pressed-board cabinet (near the air conditioner so it stays maximally cool). Primers are stored, and primer tubes filled, at an old metal desk on a sidewall about 15 feet equidistant away from both the press and powder storage. So if a primer pops, it will have to be one heck of a pop to fly into anything real flammable. No more than 100 primers at a time leave the desk drawers, and all powder stays closed away in the cabinet except what is in the press powder measure.

I have a 4" flourescent shop light over the bench, and five other 4' flourescents around the 25 X 25 shop building. If ya turn em all on at once it gives real smooth fill light.

Used to have a boom light and a boom magnifier-light on the bench, but the old eyes ain't great and have become addicted to 1 watt or 3 watt LED headlights. Working on something small, a good headlight is vastly better than a boom light. Similarly, magnifier glasses are better than a boom magnifier. For me.

I visually check powder level on each round before setting the bullet. With the headlight can see clearly down in the shadow of the press into the shell. With a boom light, it was a challenge getting the light at exactly the correct angle to see down into the case. edit: If you have old eyes, its worth it to seek out the 1 watt or 3 watt headlights. And some of them will focus a pretty small spot, which is better for me for shop work than a wide light. Some of the better ones still suck. Recently got a Brinkman 3 watter with a kewl lens that makes about a 6" wide by 3" high bright square spot at arms length. That is near perfect and is the current favorite.

A substitute for someone vastly obsessive compulsive, might be one or more of the flexible mini-lights used on electronic equipment panels. But those are spensive, and the tiny bulbs get very hot. It might be unfortunate to accidentally knock one of those down into something flammable. <g>

Edited May 27, 2010 by Lester Weevils

[jcj]

Thanks for the input all (and sorry for the delay in responding). I ended up going with a few inches from the right side of the bench. After the first hundred rounds I'd say it was as good a place as any. Working great so far. Now I just need to get to the range and try out some of my .45acp reloads.