Mounting press without drilling bench?

[gregjph]

Hi All,

Recently invested in a shiny new Lee classic turret press. Unfortunately, I don't currently have the room for a dedicated bench to mount it to directly.
I do have a fairly sturdy solid wood table but am not able to drill through it for fear of the wrath of the other half.

I am considering mounting the press to a piece of 2x6 and then clamping this to the table. Is this likely to be okay or will I get too much flex clamping it rather than bolting? If so, has anyone else had success with mounting a press without drilling the bench/table?

Thanks

 

[Tim.243]

A black & decker workmate will fold up out of the wife's eye sight. Seen loads at boot sales....Gum tree?


Tim.243

 

[LeftHandGuy]

You'll be fine - this is what I did when in similar circumstances and it worked perfectly. Good luck!

 

[BRYAN]

Hi Greg.
The 6x2 clamped to the table will be fine. The question is how solid is the table?
Mine is on a strong purpose made bench, but because I wasn't sure of final position I bolted it to two 6mm plates welded to form an angle. The angle is twice the width or the press allowing a g cramp each side.

 

[gregjph]

Mounting the 2x6 to the b&d or would the thing be stiff enough on it's own just to mount the press directly to? Had thought about it but wasn't sure if the wm would be sturdy enough.

A black & decker workmate will fold up out of the wife's eye sight. Seen loads at boot sales....Gum tree?


Tim.243

 

[Flash9919]

Should be fine with a good set of bad arse clamps.....there's quite a lot of play in the Lee turret press to start off with so don't think bolting to 2x6 or 2x8 and then clamping will adversely affect performance.....brave man starting out on a progressive press though. Let me know when your dies arrive.

 

[gregjph]

Table is about 2" thick, solid wood and fairly well framed out, hopefully should be enough.
Might see if I can find some plate in the long run then.

Hi Greg.
The 6x2 clamped to the table will be fine. The question is how solid is the table?
Mine is on a strong purpose made bench, but because I wasn't sure of final position I bolted it to two 6mm plates welded to form an angle. The angle is twice the width or the press allowing a g cramp each side.

 

[gregjph]

Ideal, thanks.

You'll be fine - this is what I did when in similar circumstances and it worked perfectly. Good luck!
View attachment 92214

 

[markyw]

My press is supported by a Lee reloading stand, which doesn't take up too much room and is pretty sturdy. I even use it to resize and neck down cases from one calibre tom another without problem. Yes it costs a little bit, but is portable if you want it to be and saves drilling a table.

Regards

Mark

 

[gregjph]

It's the classic turret, so the linkage is the same as the classic cast and the base is cast with steel everywhere else. Hopefully not too much play, I'd heard the other Lee turret could be a little loose.
I'm going to take out the indexing rod and run it as a single stage while I get to grips with it. Just wanted a easy way of quickly changing out the dies without having to readjust everything and I'd heard the primer dumping on the breech lock presses could be problematic so turret seemed like the best option.
I'll let you know when they arrive, thanks again

Should be fine with a good set of bad arse clamps.....there's quite a lot of play in the Lee turret press to start off with so don't think bolting to 2x6 or 2x8 and then clamping will adversely affect performance.....brave man starting out on a progressive press though. Let me know when your dies arrive.

 

[Yorric]

If you bolt your press to a 6 x 2 or similar piece of wood, make it long enough to reach the far side of the table & clamp it there. this spreads the load better
The biggest & most dangerous force that a press exerts to the mount is a torque - this can easily smash the front edge of a bench or table.

Ian

 

[paul o']

Get someone to make you a drill press stand with a 18" 1/2 thick flat base x high in 4" tube , half fill it will post mix so you can sit down at it then weld a 12" 1/4 plate on top over hung and welded with webs for strength offset to allow it mount your press , or as Tim says b&d bench and two G" clamps for an easy life lol

 

[JTO]

If you bolt your press to a 6 x 2 or similar piece of wood, make it long enough to reach the far side of the table & clamp it there. this spreads the load better
The biggest & most dangerous force that a press exerts to the mount is a torque - this can easily smash the front edge of a bench or table.

Ian

Best answer yet!

 

[gregjph]

Thanks for the advice.
If I clamp it front and back, is it worth me clamping another piece of wood to the underside of the table, sandwiching the table between the press piece and the underside piece?

If you bolt your press to a 6 x 2 or similar piece of wood, make it long enough to reach the far side of the table & clamp it there. this spreads the load better
The biggest & most dangerous force that a press exerts to the mount is a torque - this can easily smash the front edge of a bench or table.

Ian

 

[Yorric]

If you take the 6X2 to the back edge of the table top you can even just make a hook bracket close fitting round the back edge. That will stop the wood lifting there. - All the force there is upwards.
At the front a single G clamp is only needed to stop the press skidding around. A pad under the front edge where you clamp it is a good idea to avoid damage to the table.

Ian

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

MDF box frame with a sloped front opening
mobile and versatile

 

[User00033]

Tim.243 has the right idea... here’s my mobile setup that I use at the cabin. I’ve just used this to develop two sub-0.5MOA loads so don’t tell me it won’t work because of this or that! I use my front shooting bag to counterweight the central plank when doing neck resizing.

 

[Druid]

If you bolt your press to a 6 x 2 or similar piece of wood, make it long enough to reach the far side of the table & clamp it there. this spreads the load better
The biggest & most dangerous force that a press exerts to the mount is a torque - this can easily smash the front edge of a bench or table.

Ian

I have two presses which are removeable from the table. One which is bolted to a smallish piece of board and clamps to the table at the front only, its good enough for reloading if neck sizing, seating bullets etc but is not really firm enough for full length sizing as it moves too much under the increased load of full length sizing.
My other press has a longer piece of ply which extends just beyond the rear side of the table and I have screwed a couple of bits of timber to the underside of the far end, the lower one larger than the other so making a lip which goes under the underside of the table. This stops the board moving upwards.

 

[gregjph]

Clamping looks like the way to go for now then and I'll look into getting a portable bench long term for ease of storage.
Thanks all

 

[gregjph]

With a 6x2 running from back of table to front, I've marked it out and the outer two bolt holes end up fairly close to the edges of the board. Enough that the edge of the bolt heads would likely touch the outer edges of the board.
Is it worth rotating the board 90 degrees and using it width ways if it gives more clearance either side of the outer two bolts or am I better having the support at the back edge of the table and less clearance from the outer bolts to the edge of the board?

Thanks

If you take the 6X2 to the back edge of the table top you can even just make a hook bracket close fitting round the back edge. That will stop the wood lifting there. - All the force there is upwards.
At the front a single G clamp is only needed to stop the press skidding around. A pad under the front edge where you clamp it is a good idea to avoid damage to the table.

Ian