minimalized loading "bench"

[Model 52]

I still use a Lee hand press for some operations with things like black powder loaded .45-70 and .38-55.

In 36 years of reloading I've also never used an actual "bench" as I prefer something that is easier to move.

A friend and I built a pair of these about 10 years ago using a total of 3 sheets of 3/4" ply and a a sheet of wafer board to make both of them.

The deck is a double thickness of ply with the back, sides and bottom being 3/4" ply and the top and middle shelves made from 3/4" wafer board. The base is made 2x4s and are the shelf supports.

It's very stable empty and when you load the bottom self with bullets it becomes even more stable.
It has survived 3 permanent changes of station and is easily moved by two people and is mall enough to fit in the back of the average mid size SUV.




You can just see the Lee hand press poking out on the middle shelf...

[larryw]

That set up looks just fine to me!!! What do you think of that little hand press?

[Model 52]

I think the Lee Hand press is great. It's a lot more capable than it looks and is ideal for playing with loads or seating depth at the shooting bench.

If it has a flaw it is the lack of any means to clamp it to a bench, like you can with the Lyman hand press, but it's not a significant weakness.

[Fyodor]

If you found a comfortable seat, it'll rest on your left knee, and you can even limit the lever travel with your right leg. For priming you don't need the whole travel, for example, or loading short cases. You can see my .38spl position in the picture in the first post.

[mr surveyor]

I've only been reloading for about 3-1/2 years (yep, I got a late start in life) at the insistence of a very close friend, dove hunting buddy and mentor. It took him 2-3 years to convince me to just try the old style Lee Classic Loader ... so I bought two - the .38/.357 and the 9mm. My game plan was to thoroughly learn the intricacies of the cartridges and safe handling of the components, and decided to use nothing but the "Loaders" for the first year. Only loaded a couple hundred of the bottom feeder rounds, but well over a thousand .38/.357 rounds that first year and got a pretty good feel for what works, and what don't. The second step before graduating to a single stage bench mount, then turret, then possibly progressive was to be the Breach Lock Hand Press. Using the Hand Press didn't really add that much volume to the "tool box" over the old classic loaders, and was actually more portable as it didn't require a solid work surface, and I found I could just as easily load for any gun I currently own with the hand press as I could with a bench mount, just as easily and possibly faster on some parts. Now 2-1/2 years into that 1 year plan for the Hand Press and I'm thinking about buying a couple more (for security) and just skip the single stage bench press all together. Might as well wait until I can actually dedicate the space for a reloading bench and finish my last years with a four holer ..... but I bet I would still revert back to the hand press.

Maybe if components start growing abundantly on trees in my back yard "free for the pickin'" and it makes volume shooting fun and affordable again, I'll consider that four holer, but for now the Hand Press with quick lock bushings on all the dies is a perfect set up.

Did I mention I Love the Lee Breach Lock Hand Press

JD

[Fyodor]

On the long weekend (we had a bank holiday on Thurstday in Germany, and I took Friday off), I finally set up my LEE pro1000 that has been sitting in its box under my table for 2 months now.

I installed a new turret and a universal decapper, and deprimed about 750 cases within just over an hour, with the hand press that took at least two evenings. Afterwards I threw them in my also new STM rebel17 wet tumbler, and let it run for an hour. STM recommends 3-4 hours, and after just one hour the primer pokets weren't all shiny. But clean enough for me and way better than my previous method with non-deprimed cases in the washing machine.

The loading dies for my .38spl ammo are also set up, but I didn't actually load ammo. I just set up all the dies and the pro auto disk.

Was a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to my next day on the range, to make some room in my safe for new ammo

[Ranch Dog]

Very good way to spend the day!

[Fyodor]

Oh, I could have spent some more hours on that little machine... it was only German regulations that stopped me from doing that. The small locked compartment inside my gun safe already is full of ammo, but we need to store guns and correspondend ammo behind seperate doors. Storing powder, primers and powder beside the gun, and the cases in front of the same safe is perfectly OK, but after assembly they need to be locked up somewhere else. I got 300 bullets left, and want to see how fast I can turn them into ammo (safety first, off course)