Super Track / Klamp Track durability?

[Andy Tessler]

I'm putting together a reloading bench for the basement and am trying to avoid drilling through the top and mounting my presses the old fashioned way. My initial plan was to rout a 10x10x3/4" square for an insert and bolt it in with t-nuts and knobs. Then I ran into the klamp track at the toy store yesterday...

My press (Hornady LNL AP) mounts with two 5/16" bolts through a flange on the rear, would the souped-up klamp track or woodpecker's super track be too flimsy for what I'm thinking? The bench top is 3/4 borg hw ply sandwiching one sheet of 3/4 MDF with 4x4 douglas fir for the bench legs/stretchers. If the track would hold up I'd use kreg clamps/heavy toggle clamps/t-clamps to hold down the press after mounting it up on a small square of whatever ply or phenolic. I'm trying to keep the bench useful in the weeks and months between stretches of loading a bunch of ammo and be able to clamp down other bench tools when needed.

Any yeas/nays before I destroy a $45 section of rail?

[Joe Chritz]

I have loaded a few (ok thousands) of rounds on both a single stage and a Dillon 550B. I can't see anything that attaches to tracks being strong enough for a reloading press. Maybe for short, straight wall cartridges but anything with mass takes a pretty good lever to size.

What about mounting the press on a double thickness of ply, counter sinking the bolts then clamping or using T-nuts from underneath to mount the plate to the top of the bench?

I should add that I don't have any experience with either thing you mentioned except a reloading press.

Joe

[Steven J Corpstein]

I have the same press and have it bolted to a 1 1/2" thick maple butcher block bench. Depending on what caliber cartridges you're planning on loading, the press will place quite a strain on the top. I load 45 ACP and it's surprising the amount of movement that goes on even mounted to 1 1/2" maple.

[Andy Tessler]

Yeah, I'm probably being a bit optimistic trying to satisfy my t-track fetish. I load .45ACP in volume and was limited by my old setup, a borg sheetmetal workbench/pegboard job that I upgraded with an ikea laminated block top. The top was ok, but I couldn't tie anything down or to the wall in the old rental. Waaay to flexy for centerfire rifle.

Considering I'd sink nearly enough cash into the track and clamps to build another 8' bench I'll just hard mount it again. Then again I could go back to the old idea and mount the presses up on some standard (for me) size ply squares with countersunk 5/16" bolts, all bolted to the bench with a repeatable bolt pattern so I can swap tooling in and out.

Thanks for the reality check and I'll get some updated pics up after I get the oak edge glued up and some tools onboard ;)

[mike wacker]

Try googling "Reloading benchs". Look thru those and you'll find a couple of pretty good ideas for what you are trying to do. I am particularly interested in the dovetail idea you will see in there. Allows a swandwich of top to slide in and out, so different presses (sp) can fit in the same spot.

You can put a blank in the slot in between reloading sessions. PM me if you have trouble finding it.