For those who asked...
Pretty simple but very effective and sturdy reloading bench. I'll do the best I can to explain, apologies in advance for my lack of "tech savvy" but April isn't home so I'm unsupervised.
So, here's the bench we will be talking about building...
First off, materials list.
Incentive -
1 pkg 12 count of "Rewards". Bottles or cans, your preference.
Lumber -
3 8ft 4X4s
1 4X8 sheet of 3/4in plywood
4 8ft 2X4s
Hardware -
20 90 degree attachment "thingies" (technical term). They look like this...
2 9X12 shelf brackets (L brackets...?). These thingies. Catch the technical jargon there? Good job! Reward yourself.
1 under-cupboard light under 40 inches. The one in the picture above is 34in.
Enough screws to satisfy the Bunny Ranch. I used 9 X 2 1/2 wood screws. Maybe overkill, but I like overkill. You like overkill too? Reward yourself.
Tools -
Drill
Chop saw, table saw, circular saw, sawzall and a steady hand.... whatever you can use to cut 4X4s and plywood straight and true.
Tape measure
Pencil
Chalk line if you have one. Have one? Reward yourself.
Carpenters square if you have one. Have one? Reward yourself.
Measurements and dimensions...
The back legs are 5ft 6in tall (1 4X4 each).
The front legs are 2ft 11in tall (your remaining 4X4).
The 2X4s running width-wise inside the legs are 41 inches. You'll need 5 of them (2 for the lower shelf, 2 for the desktop, and 1 for below the upper shelf), and that will take 2 1/2 of your 2X4s. These....
The 2X4s running depth-wise (front to back) (already knew that? Reward yourself) are 16 3/4 inches. You'll need 4 of them. These....
The bottom shelf of the bench is 2ft X 4ft, so just cut 2ft off your plywood, measure and cut for the notches for the legs on all 4 corners, and you're good. These notches...
The workbench desktop is the same, 2ft X 4ft, but doubled up one on top of the other for strength and stability. Also, you only need to cut 2 corners for the back legs, not all 4, since it sits over the front 2. Already knew that? Good job, smart guy, you deserve a reward.
*NOTE* When building your desktop, there's two things to note.
- One, there is an extra length of 2X4 running underneath the desktop to add strength and stability when using the press. It's 45 inches long (that's where the remainder of your last 2X4 comes in). I put the front edge of that 2X4 2 1/4 inches back from the 4X4 leg (picture to follow).
- Two, screw down the bottom piece of ply first. Be generous, get that sonovagun attached to the 2X4s good and solid. Then, when you screw the top piece of ply down, you only need to attach it to the bottom ply. No need for ugly and bumpy screwheads in the middle of your desktop, just screw it down along the edges.
The top shelf above the pegboard is 4ft wide by 13 inches deep. Easy enough, right? I thought so.
I deserve a reward.... Go ahead and reward yourself. I insist.
Now, go ahead and screw all this stuff together as you see here. If you can't figure out how it goes together at this point, stop working and reward yourself until it's bed time and resume bench building tomorrow..... afternoon. If you are still going, and this bench is coming together like a well planned.....plan... reward yourself. Then, move on...
Mounting the press. I can't speak to other presses, but the rockchucker presents a slight challenge. Like slight challenges? Good! Reward yourself. Now then... The mounting bolt spaces in the rockchucker are a little too close (IMHO) to the body. As a result, you will have to sand or dremel out the backside of the 2X4 to get the nuts on the bolts. Also, I wedged the washers between the top of the 2X4 and the workbench desktop so I wouldn't have to remove more of the 2X4 to fit them. See?
That's pretty much it. Grab a palm sander and smooth off your corners and edges. Sand down your workbench a little. Get rid of the burrs and such from cutting and where the wood blistered up from the screws. Stain, paint, poly, or apply whatever finish you want.
Then, reward yourself appropriately.
