and how much force do you have to put on any single stage or any other reloading press to begin with ?
The only time I had to work a press hard was when I had stuck cases in a die, other than that never. Converting cases, maybe but even then If you have a stout press, it would be fine. If you know you will be converting cases, then bottom nut with washers. I use T nuts on every thing and learned how to properly lube cases, not to have stuck ones.
You can get into situations. Where you have to lean on it sizing bullets and swaging. The sizing becomes an issue especially when you powder coat a slightly oversized cast. Get one that's swelled a bit either lean on it and keep sizing. Or go through the process of melting or beating it out backwards from the sizing die. Do a couple thousand tight bullet sizes, that's a bit of work on that wood.
Often you can put stress on it for a while, then one day on a light stroke the press and part of the bench just come off in your hand.
My first version of a loading stand. It was a Harbor freight portable work bench. Pressed sawdust board top. Three quarters inch thick. Figured I would put fender washers under the press. That would be good enough.
Used it for a 6 months that way. Then one day on the O press I size with. I was loading some .243. Darn press and half the bench top just came off on the first Deprime. Left me standing there like a deer in the headlights thinking what the heck????
I think there is a pick of that here somewhere..
Maybe Fiver has it archived??? He got a kick out of it.