Portable loading stand

[richhodg66]

All my stuff is out in a morton building, been wanting something I could sit in the living room and get stuff done while the wife watches TV. Harbor Freight has these little grinder stands for about 30 bucks which are amazingly stable and if need be, I can weight the shelf with lead ingots. Mounted up a Lyman All American Turret press because it's designed to be mounted away from the edge of the work surface and therfore, the up and down movement will be in line with the center of the stand. It's high enough that with this press, I can work it standing up without stooping or can do it sitting. I used elevator bolts on a square of 2x12 so the heads would sit flush, then mounted the press to another piece, also with elevator bolts so the two planks mate up flat. I'll get some less obtrusive C clamps. If this works out well, I'll mount either my Hollywood Senior or a C&H H style press I have, both of which also sit away from the edge. I figure I can make a plank and mount one of the Lee quick change plates on it for various powder measures, prming tools, etc. I think I'm gonna like this.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Someone make such a stand. I Wanna say LEE... mu buddy has I was shocked how stable!!

 

[richhodg66]

Midway has that Lee stand on sale for $164. This from Harbor Freight cost about 30 bucks after taxes.

I liked this little stand so much after I put it together and it was so cheap, I went back to HF and bought another one. They're on clearance so may not be around long, though our store still had several in stock a week or so back. It looks like a useful enough thing I'm bound to use it sooner or later for something.

I was going to try drilling holes through the planks and using bolts to secure the tool down, but I kind of like the C Clamps now, just need some that aren't so huge. I also need to mess around with making a riser in case I want to use a more conventional press.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I like it!

You should be able to come up with a more elegant mounting plate that doesn’t require C-clamps, but the basic concept is good.
Those two stacked 1 ½” boards add weight high up (where you don’t need that extra weight). If you don’t need that extra 3” of height, maybe thinner plywood?

Or you could cut 3 keyhole slots in the top of the stand and use carriage bolts, washers and wing nuts to attach a single board? That would eliminate the C-clamps and keeps all the hardware attached to the board for fewer loose parts in transit.

Or maybe a sliding section with thinner material?

 

[richhodg66]

I'm actually kind of liking the simplicity of the C Clamps. It also allows for the use of different sizes of planks to secure down on top of it, I considered drilling holes through both planks at each corner and using some long bolts, but I think when I get some reasonable sized clamps on it, this will work great.

Really need to get it set up and load some ammo on it just for proof of concept.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

The concept is great. The C-clamps seem a little "clunky" to me but that's probably because they are oversized.
Perhaps with smaller clamps that might be different.
I agree that you have a good proof of concept there.
I'm a big fan avoiding loose equipment. I like captive or teethered fastners/clips/keys, etc. It just makes my life easier when all of the parts stay together.

 

[richhodg66]

I have a stout little desk in a spare room, I'd rather not drill holes in it and I could clamp one of these down to it if I needed a little work space.

On this thing, I should probably figure out how to hang some small bins for brass, bullets, etc. We have some old wood TV trays things that fold up and would be about the same height if I need some work space too.

These little stands from Harbor Freight really are a good value, strong, stable and cheap. Looks like they'd be useful for all sorts of things.

 

[richhodg66]

Those are some C Clamps I bought for a quarter apiece at a yard sale/estate sale last Summer, two brothers letting go of their late father's stuff. The old man must have been quite a tradesman based on the stuff in the garage. Two really nice guys, just sitting around the old homestead enjoying the company of people who dropped by, kind of sad in some ways. I'm sure there was a lot of reminiscing going on. Big, strong American made tools are cool no matter what they're for. These just happenned to be the first ones I found and grabbed to use.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Some of the BEST tools I own came from similar sources.

 

[Gary]

I am just now getting back into shotshell reloading and this would be perfect for my needs; thanks for the post.

 

[Gary]

Just checked Harbor Freight and that little stand (Central Machinery) is now $44.99 plus tax. Still looks like what I need; although they have a larger stand that is $37.99. I'll look a both of them.

 

[richhodg66]

Now that I have the All American set up on a quick change plank (decided to take the advice and driĺ holes for bolts and lose the C clamps) next plan is to make one up for a Pacific shotshell loader, need to make up some Trsp shells. I plan to make a plank up with one of the Lee quick change bench plates to use it for other tools. Kina figure I want a Lyman turret, some kind of good single stage that can be mounted center axis (Hollywood senior is the plan) and a shotshell loader.