Reloading Benches
Buy the best reloading benches selected and recommended by interior designers. By Chloe Hughes.
Every firearm and ammo expert knows that a sturdy, reliable reloading bench is one of the most critical pieces of equipment you can have in your arsenal. Not only can a good reloading table help you efficiently and safely store your gun paraphernalia, having somewhere you can reload empty shells and cartridges will save you a lot of money in the long run. Take a look at our selection of the best reloading benches available to outfit your garage, shed, or workshop.
Reloading Benches
Buying Guide
Chloe Hughes
Interior Design Expert
Chloe is a highly-regarded expert in all things vintage and antique. She’s excited to share her vast knowledge with readers and clients wishing to infuse their homes with a mixture of old-time warmth and modern comfort. In addition to her design work, Chloe regularly volunteers at her local community center, teaching DIY projects to adults and kids.
Gun enthusiasts often require a place to create custom ammunition. This is especially true for American Civil War reenactors and other black powder enthusiasts. The reason for having a reloading bench is to keep all the components required to create custom ammunition in one place and organized so that it is easy to find the correct chemical components, as well as being able to sort the brass casings needed to contain the various elements. A sturdy bench is required for mechanical reloaders that can take some of the drudgeries out of repeated or precise specifications for certain guns.
Reloading benches can be used for other purposes besides creating ammunition. Any craft operation that requires multiple containers of small items, from fishing flies to delicate earrings can benefit from the organization and convenience of a loading bench. The pigeonhole storage design plus the sturdy bench make reloading benches a convenient location for any type of craft (although not a fully equipped one that’s already set up for reloading ammo) that has multiple small parts. The sturdy bench can easily support vises and other heavy equipment, although most reloading benches don’t have the width for tabletop looms.
If the bench will be used for reloading, the shallow shelves where boxes of cartridge casings, powders and more should be set up in a way that box labels can be prominently displayed. Since some of the items can be heavy, especially in aggregate, the shelving needs to be sturdy to withstand the weight. Wooden surfaces should be sealed for easy, thorough clean up.
The bench itself should be rugged and capable not only of holding the mechanical loading equipment, but also to support it while it’s in use. It should be properly braced so that it doesn’t sag to one side or the other, especially during use.
While butcher block wood can be quite beautiful, and it is nice to have that glowing wood beauty, the main purpose of sealing the surface is to make it easy to clean thoroughly between uses.
While not an essential part of the reloading bench itself, there are some things that are nice to have as part of the workspace setup. A pegboard with plenty of room for adjustable pegs makes an easy way to keep track of small tools and hanging bags of items. If you plan to spend many hours at the workbench, work stools with padded seats and supportive backs are a nice addendum – have at least two, in case you share your workspace with a buddy.
If you are in a location that makes it feasible, a small firing range that’s properly set up is another handy addition to your reloading bench. (Check city and local ordinances before considering this addition.) Having the firing range makes checking performance of your loads an easy step from your reloading bench. This can be especially handy if working with restoring black powder weapons.