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Quick Change Press Mounts

mobius38

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 28, 2011
645
27
46
San Diego CA
So I am looking around to try to find some sort of system so that I can quick change a few presses. I don't have an enormous amount of space. I run a Lee Challenger Press as my dedicated depriming station, Forester Co-Ax for all my other reloading needs and a MEC 600 Jr. for shot shell work. Looking at something along the lines of the Lee Bench Plate ( Bench Plate - Lee Precision ) but would like something a little more sturdier. Don't like the idea of the press attached to wood. Trying to make it as sturdy as possible and remove any possible flex from the bench. Anyone have any other advice? Not much of a metal / wood worker just want something that I can buy and bolt down on the bench once and be done with it.

Any advice?
 
I found these- Pat Marlin's Press Mount System , and it looks like finding a 'pre-made' option is not simple. Milling slots into your bench,and putting a aluminum channel in the slot and using t-nuts and bolts to anchor your equipment down is something I've also seen.
 
Get a peice of aluminum from Tomakoura85 on here, drill and tap necessary holes. Pm me your email address and I will email you a pic of one setup I did with 3/8" alum. Redding Bib Boss II, Redding T-7, Rockchucker. I have two 1" thick, 4"x9" pices h sold me I haven't done anything with yet, relatively cheap.
 
I'd suggest getting over your aversion to mounting to wood, personally. I have several presses mounted to pieces of 1x8 oak purchased at the local big box store i.e. Home Depot or Lowes. The tricky part is finding the right kind of threaded insert... there are other kinds out there, and some *can* be a royal PITA to install and/or can be forced to break / pull thru. Highly suggest you get these... probably available at the same big box store, or at a local Ace hardware store.

49041-02-500.jpg

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=31127


The simple three-prong tee-nut pictured below is pretty much stone simple to install: lay out the hole locations, then drill the holes with a bit big enough for the shank of the tee-nut to slide in. If you want to have them sit below flush (easier on the bench top when you clamp things down), take a cheap spade bit just a little wider than the flange and bore a recess ~1/8" deep, centered on the shank hole. Then place the tee-nut inserts in the holes and pound them home with a hammer. Flip it over and mount the press to the board, using flat washers to protect the press and lock/star washers to keep things from coming loose. Tighten the snot out of them to make sure you draw the inserts fully into position. The above work can be done with a cordless drill and a hand saw, so nothing exotic that the average home-owner shouldn't already have kicking around anyways.

If you cut the board to size a couple inches wider than the press foot-print, you should have plenty of room for a couple of big C-clamps to snug it down where ever you want on the bench. Later if you decide you want it 3/4" further to the right... no problem, just loosen it up and slide it over. If you have a project where you need every square inch of flat space on your bench, pull the press of and set it on the floor. No irritating clamp plates, brackets, tee-tracks, recesses, etc. to get in the way or otherwise obstruct the use of your bench. If you want to take the press to the range... no problem, just take it and the c-clamps with ya. Already set up and ready to go.

I've got a Forster Co-Ax press mounted to my bench top (2-1/2" thick) with two 5" c-clamps... F/L resizing .338LM is not a problem, nor is anything else I want to do. I've got several other presses - mostly lightweight RCBS Partners or Lee Reloaders set up for dedicated tasks (bullet pulling, decapping, F/L sizing die for my .30 BR which gets loaded both at home and the range, etc.) this way. Works slick.