Reloading room countertops

[Dubious]

Has anyone used 3/4 mdf as a base for their reloading bench? I’m thinking of double stacking it so it’s 1-1/2 deep plus a 1/4” puck board but I’m not sure if a press or my workshop vice will rip out when I apply pressure. With the cost of lumber these days butcher block or laminated 2x4 are off the table I also need about 30’ x 26” wide of counters for my room so it’s a lot of material. Anyone have any ideas?

[brewster29]

I am certain that mdf is going to fail. I used 3/4 spruce plywood and doubled up the outer foot of the countertop. I then covered it in arborite. It has been working just fine for nearly 30 years. I have no idea what plywood is going for anymore, but I am sure it's ridiculous.

[mryimmers]

Built mine a couple years ago, 2x6s on top, then 3/4" plywood screwed onto it. Would be more $$$$$ now, but its a good solid bench.

[mryimmers]

Originally Posted by brewster29

I am certain that mdf is going to fail. I used 3/4 spruce plywood and doubled up the outer foot of the countertop. I then covered it in arborite. It has been working just fine for nearly 30 years. I have no idea what plywood is going for anymore, but I am sure it's ridiculous.

I went to pick up 20 sheets 1/2" spruce plywood for my son last week.
Guy at lumber store says "You know its $70 a sheet eh?"
I said ya, I know. He goes back inside, comes out a minute later and says, actually we just got new stock in and its $89 a sheet.
He says but i'll let you have it for $80. Don't tell anybody else.

Thanks.

[pikergolf]

MDF is the devils work. It will fail over time from the movement of the press, especially if you are resizing larger cases. The one way around it is to put a small section of 3/4" ply wood above and below your press. Kind of sandwich the mdf with plywood. Or do it right and use fir plywood, covered with arborite.

[Dubious]

It’s 50$ per 3/4 sheet of plywood 65$ Per 1/2 sheet at home depo. 3/4 mdf is 30$ Just dont know how to finish it to look nice that’s where the puck board comes in but now I’m thinking about static. Because I’m building so much countertop and I need 26” wide I’m going to need 10 ish sheets about 500$ plus something to cover them to make them look nice. This reloading room/man cave is in my basement and it cant be scabbed together, I’ve put a lot of work into the floors ran an air line with air dryer all through the house to outside under my deck so I dont have to hear it when it kicks on insulated all the roof/walls with soundproofing and backing for my cabinets and rifle racks, put in a sink and about 15 20 amp plugins for various things. So I dont want to just slap something rough looking together or something that will fail easily. Before this my press was mounted on 2 pieces of 1/2 ply and on top of one of the rcbs mounting plates it worked well but there was a lot of flex and my bench vice really compressed that setup.

[calgarychef]

I’ve got 2 beautiful slabs of maple about 3” thick, 18”x6’ all laminated and movement free. I might part with them as the workbench I wanted in my garage doesn’t seem to be materializing.

I think a good idea is to screw a 4x8 timber under the bench top. Drill straight through the top and timber and use hold downs to secure your reloading items which are conveniently bolted to plywood bases. That way you can store the less frequently used items off the bench top.

[CaberTosser]

Avoid me fat all costs, there is no strength to it as it’s literally made of powder rather than long fibers. Find yourself some laminated butcher block type counter, like you see on the many long tool chests at Lowe’s and Home Depot. I don’t know if they still have it, but you used to be able to buy laminated hardwood for countertops & tables at IKEA, it was somewhere from 1” to 1 1/4” thick.

[6.5 shooter]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

Avoid me fat all costs, there is no strength to it as it’s literally made of powder rather than long fibers. Find yourself some laminated butcher block type counter, like you see on the many long tool chests at Lowe’s and Home Depot. I don’t know if they still have it, but you used to be able to buy laminated hardwood for countertops & tables at IKEA, it was somewhere from 1” to 1 1/4” thick.

I was at Winsor plywood here in the Hat and they have the Laminated maple counter tops 8' x 2' x 1 3/4" $165 bucks if memory serves me right. I am thinking of getting one (or two) for myself and replacing my plywood reloading bench. After 10 years it is starting to splinter up pretty bad on the edges.

[Dubious]

This is my layout just to put the dimensions out there for reference.

[rugerfan]

Mine is 2”x 6” with 1/2” plywood overtop, I initially had my press lag bolted down but had to switch to actual bolts because the lags were pulling loose over time.

[Pathfinder76]

Mine is 1” plywood. And solid.

[fordtruckin]

Mine top is 1/2” plywood. Under where my press is I had a 2x6 so the bolts for my press go through the plywood into the 2x6. Have never had any issues with it coming loose or pulling out.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by brewster29

I am certain that mdf is going to fail. I used 3/4 spruce plywood and doubled up the outer foot of the countertop. I then covered it in arborite. It has been working just fine for nearly 30 years. I have no idea what plywood is going for anymore, but I am sure it's ridiculous.

I used 1 " plywood doubled, mainly because I had a piece kicking around, covered with arborite, no sense fooling around when you lean on that press.

Grizz

[Dubious]

Sounds like ply is the clear winner. I’ll go to the bank and get a second mortgage lol.

[Dean2]

One more vote for Plywood and reinforced 2z4 stringers where the presses mount. The frame is made of bolted together 2x4s. My top is 3/4" plywood finished with Linseed oil. Bench has been moved over 20 times and reassembled, in 45 years of hard use, still going strong.

[CaberTosser]

Edit: links might not be real solid wood, still looking.

[magoonpointboy]

I laminated a layer of 3/4" MDF to 3/4" Plywood base and applied a fir edging to my countertop. Half a dozen coats of urethane. Works great so far.

[catnthehat]

I used 3/4" plywood then glued laminate on top of it
It has stood up very well for over 20 years .
Cat

[FishOutOfWater]

One sheet of 3/4" plywood cut in half, with a 2x4 backer to mount the press..
Worked for me for the last ~5 years. Shelf jiggles a bit, but nothing falls off.
The vertical half-sheet gets screwed into studs. And it's been taken apart & reassembled 3 times now.
And to be fair, I reload once every month or two... Not a weekly thing.

* sorry for the mess, we relocated and haven't got completely unpacked yet.

[Dubious]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I used 3/4" plywood then glued laminate on top of it
It has stood up very well for over 20 years .
Cat

Did you glue the top on your self? How does the front face look?

[aardvaark]

Here’s a pic of my mdf desk I got at a garage sale some 20 yrs ago, reinforced the press area with (I think it’s) .125” steel plate top and bottom. I tried it without the steel and it didn’t last as mentioned before.

[Pathfinder76]

For zero flex you should be lagged or bolted to the wall. I wanted mine as stiff as possible so used 2x6’s. My press does not have any flex to it. I have also routed in a quick change base plate that I was able to bolt directly through the 2x6. Again, there is zero movement in the press.

[silvertip]

You all have some very nice work/reloading benches.

I noticed there is no protection on the leading edges from pictures I seen.

My bench is 72" long I bought 2" X 72"angle iron and mounted on the top leading edge to save the edge from damage.

[Athabasca1]

Chuck

What are the measurements of you bench? L x W of top and height from floor?

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by Athabasca1

Chuck

What are the measurements of you bench? L x W of top and height from floor?

10’x2’ and 31” high

[Athabasca1]

Thanks Chuck

[Dick284]

My design isn’t unlike Chuck’s
2 pieces of 5/8 plywood, glued and screwed together(1/2” would work) then I used 1/8” hardboard on top of that with the shiny side up.
The sub structure is doubled up 2x4’s on edge for the top framing(glued and screwed) doubled 2x4 legs(could use 4x4’s) there’s a half shelf framed into the inside of the top framing(narrower than the top) about half way to the floor, covered with 3/8” plywood.

The whole bench is deck screwed to the wall studs with fender washers.(could use lag bolts)

Mine is L shaped.
30-1/2” high
2’ deep
Inside the L is 4’(6’ on the wall)on one side, and 3’(5’ on the wall) on the other side.(had to fit an existing room)

[Long Ranger]

My bench is somewhat similar to Dick284's using 3/4" MDF but with 1/4" hardboard on top and black melamine glued on top of that. The base of the bench is doubled 2X4 legs with 2X4 stringers. Steel 1X1 angle iron was used for the drawer runners. They are countersunk screwed into the 2X4 frame which makes the whole unit even more rigid. The bench don't move. I used 1X1 aluminum angle, from crappy tire, as edging. I used my radial arm saw to cut a 1" counter sink on the top for the edging so it sits flush. I tried to attach a pix but I can't figure out how to resize the jpeg file from 2M to 488K.

[CaberTosser]

Another thought came to mind for sourcing inexpensive laminated wood for use in a workbench counter when I was on either Kijiji or FB Marketplace, and that is buying a used, inexpensive kitchen table just for its top. One ad showed an entire table for $40 or $50, which is easily less than what buying just a slab alone would be. If it’s a bit ‘seasoned’ for a kitchen table, thats really not much of an issue for a workbench but it could be used a bargaining chip for haggling (just don’t mention the workbench part)

Additionally, if you have to cut it down to size you can also flip it, perhaps you’ll have enough excess to trim off the fastener holes