Hello Guys

Years ago I reloaded solely with Lee Loader tools on the table top. Then as I've gotten more money I've moved to a press in the garage etc.

Now I want to move back "inside" to the tabletop again - I'll be loading mainly for one rifle, a 250-3000 Mauser so I think neck sizing only will be okay

I know of the Lee Loader and Lyman 310 but both are as rare as hens teeth in 250-3000 and the banging associated with the Lee Loader is less than ideal.

So besides the Lee Hand Press what else is there that is table top friendly ?

Cheers

Well there is the Meacham press

http://www.meachamrifles.com/store.php?id=5

And the Huntington portable or hand press (down at the bottom of the page:

http://www.huntingtons.com/reloadingpresses.html

Perhaps modify a small press like the small lee or the RCBS Partner press with a clamp for table top use.

Jerry Liles

Once you leave the Lee Loader there is no turning back. You are going to need a loading room for all the "stuff".

I started out with a 310 in 250sav wouldn't go back unless forced too.

Still have it a brench press is so much better.

a friend uses a regular rock chucker bolted to a couple hunks of 2x6 that c clamps to a little folding table with its own seat to hold it in place he made to use at home or taking to the range.

Al

The first press I ever purchased was called a Lyman acculine.. It can be mounted on a bench or hand held. For quite a few years I had it mounted and loaded all my stuff with it.. I still have it and now I just use it as a hand held to seat bullets in the field when working up a load..

It works..

I still remember paying about $17.00 for it NIB.. But that was over 30 years ago..

There is a small press holder from Woodchuck Den that sits on the table. If you search it as an image there is a picture. Link may work.


http://images.search.yahoo.com...+top+reloading+stand

Link works.

Tentman,
Here is one I made several years ago. It is a copy of Newton's design from 1910 era. It is a complete loader with neck size only. I have tried to get some body to make this kit. I have all the details on my USB drive. I have all the heavy reloading stuff, but it only get used for case forming now. This tool is used as we travel around in our RV. You can load up to 375 H&H with this size tool. If you have a lathe you could make this kit.

Are you willing to publish or sell a set of plans?

Jerry Liles

PM sent to you

I'd be interested in looking at it too...

All the info on making several projects are on a USB SanDisk I have made up so you can make the reloader kit, stock duplicator, engraving sharpen tool, and checkering cradle. Send me a PM for details.

Les

Tentman, I've played around with almost ALL of the portable reloading tools.

I've got the hammer type Lee and their Hand Press. But I prefer the Lyman Acculine. It can be used as a hand press only ..... or can be mounted to a bench/table and can full size non-magnum cases.

But I don't find a need for the "portable" loading tools.

With a little imagination, you can design a baseplate for a Rock Chucker or similar reloading tool like Alleyooper said.

I load at home....... seldom times in the field.

quote:

So besides the Lee Hand Press what else is there that is table top friendly ?

There are a number of small presses that are set up for 7/8-14 dies. There are also small arbor presses used with the Wilson dies.

Check out Sinclair, Robert Hart, Bruno, Harrell's and some of the other benchrest oriented companies.

Something like this? This is not mine, I found it on google image and it appears to be on the cast boolit forum if you're a member.

A friend built something similar but much less complicated, basically a wooden box with 2 and a bit sides missing, for reloading on his kitchen table when the wife is out.

He keeps the rest of his bits in a £20 plastic tool box from our equivalent of homedepot.

I used a similar toolbox and a lee hand press when I started out. Funnily enough when that first batch of cases finally needed FL-sizing I bought a Rockchucker....

I had a small 2 leg table that attached to a low dresser. I would pull the top drawer out and place the back of the table bolted to the cross member that held the drawer. The two legs in the front folded down. I had a heavy old Herters "O" press attached to it, a scale, trickler, loading blocks, lub pad, etc..

It would be easy to make it into a box, with a standard press stored away inside. I used the Herters monster because I got it for free.

I kept that thing for 2+ years in the dorms at Offutt AFB. :-) The CQ was into shooting too. I'd give him my shotgun news when I finished .

I have a bad pic I'll post tonight.

Offutt 1980's

Have been through that same mental exercize several times as I moved aound the world.

If you are willing to just neck-size, then I doubt there is anything more compact or more usable in the long run than a Lyman 310 tool.
I've still got two small wooden boxes full of them, just in case.
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I still have my HDS "Compaq" tool too, but I don't like using it unless it is anchored to a bench with a C-clamp or two.

Because of its two-handed operation it is much less handy than the Lyman 310. Try to hold the press upright, insert a case full of powder into the tool, put a bullet on top, and squeeze the handles with both hands. You'll see what I mean. Makes you wonder why you bothered to measure the powder charges.... Even with two people doing it, you get in each other's way enough to make it somewhat irritating, unless you are doing only a very small number of rounds at a time.
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I suggest you do a little carpentry work as part of the process, and build yourself a small portable table-top loading press mounting base, with space inside for two or three 25 lb. bags of lead shot for ballast. Then mount a small Lee-style aluminum press on it with bolts and butterfly nuts, through aluminum bedding pillars. Twirl off the nuts and you can remove the press in a heart beat.

The press base can even be made in a folding design, so you can take out the bags of shot, throw them in the bottom of a storage box, fold up the base, and stuff everything easily out of the way.
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I had a friend in Edmonton, Alberta, who used a closet in his apartment as a loading room. He took a still different approach. He made a closet-wide shelf which folded up against the closet wall on hinges. On the bottom of it were two folding legs, also hinged into place. When he opened the shelf (folded it out and down from the wall) the legs automatically fell down into place to support the front of the shelf, converting it into a bench. Using aluminum pillars epoxied into the shelf, he could then quickly mount a Lee aluminum bench press with bolts and butterfly nuts, and he was off and running.
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Lastly, you could just use a benchrest style arbor press, and any flat horizontal space that is relatively strong. (I've done that too, and still have my Neil Jones press.) But the downside to that approach is that it requires special dies, such as those from L.E. Wilson's, Jones, or other benchhrest specialists, and they are generally not cheap! Also, it is not a convenient system for full-length sizing, though it CAN be done, assuming a special die base is bought with the dies, to allow forcing the sized case out of the sizing die.
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Of course, others have other opinions, but that is the way I have experienced it.

Now that we have just moved again, I took great care to buy a home with a 3-car garage, sold our third car, and used the money to convert one bay of the garage into a loading shop, with a 20 foot-long loading bench. It's worth the trouble!

I am surprised that there hasn't been mention of the Sinclair Arbor Press and Wislon dies. This combination has seen a lot of BR sucess and is definately a tabletop loading set-up that will produce some of the best ammo going, with the best practice brass prep of course.
http://www.sinclairintl.com/.a...Sinclair-Arbor-Press

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.a...ducts/Reloading-Dies

And the 250 Savage is available in the Wilson dies with the interchangable neck bushes available in 1 thou increments.

I have been using the this set-up for my precission loading for some time now. Highly recomend this.

Tentman, PM or Gmail me if you would like a Sinclair's catalogue to see what they have available. Also have a contact for a friend who dose regular imports from Sinclairs.

Von Gruff.

http://www.midwayusa.com/produ...able-reloading-stand


Midway sells this.

Works well. I reloaded on one for a few years.

Here is my setup - totally portable and works well for my needs:

quote:

Originally posted by duck911:
Here is my setup - totally portable and works well for my needs:

That's almost exactly what my friend uses on his kitchen table.

His is a scaled down to a lee challenger press but otherwise identical.

Good, useful setup IMO Duck.

Back when I lived in civilisation I just screwed a rockchucker to a board and used a couple of C clamps to clamp it to the desk in my study. IIRC it was a 1X10 or so board but I don't remember how I attached it to the press, so it may have been a 2X10 piece and had the bolts countersunk a bit or just a bunch of drywall screws. I had no trouble resizing with it. If all you are doing is handgun ammo a 2 foot long section of 2X6 would be plenty to clamp to a table.

I've used this same setup for the last 20 years or so.



Just screwed the powder dispenser to the bench. Bolted the press to the bench. I reload in my bedroom. Set it up next to the card table. Put my scale, trickler, loading block, bullets, poweder and primers on the table, usually along with my computer. Never can tell when someone may be wrong on the internet!!

GWB

A few years back I was looking for a stand for my press, my bench was in storage and didn't have a lot of space at the time. I considered the stand that midway sells, but was kind of small and cramped looking, ok I guess for just a press. I was looking through Craigslist under the free section and ran across a cabinet that looked like a roll away tool box, only wood, so I called the guy and told him I'd be bye first thing in the morning to pick it up. When I got their and he rolled it out I was surprised it looked nice and was on wheels and the drawers were all had a plastic liners in them it was out of a dentist office, it's heavy 70-80 lbs. I put a piece of 3/4" plywood on the top and mounted my press and still have room for scale, trickler ect on the top. Surprisingly it will roll around on carpet, but will stay in place when reloading, and can be pushed into the closet if need be when not in use. If anyone's interested I can get some pictures of it.