Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Reloading Stand

[JEBar]

so long as our health holds out, we hope to travel in our camper for about 6 months each year .... we enjoy visiting various firing ranges while traveling and have been mulling over the concept of taking along a compact reloading stand .... in doing some research I came across the Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Reloading Stand ===> http://www.cabelas.com/product/FRANKFOR ... 794270.uts <=== I've been impressed by its 5 Star rating on Cabela's (based on 5 reviews) and a 4.5 rating on Amazon (based on 72 reviews) .... comments from anyone familiar with this reloading stand would be appreciated .... as would info on similar stands

YouTube video ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWZc86ixo6g

[Sir Henry]

I'm not familiar with it but it sure looks like it would do the job.

[JEBar]

as noted, my main concern is stability .... Cabela's sells them but I just called and our local store doesn't have them stock

[JEBar]

well, as promised, our portable reloading stand arrived today .... pictures below show the box as it arrived through the assembly process .... as can be seen, when it arrived the wooden section of the top had a chip in it .... per the instruction sheet, I plan to call the company (not Amazon) in the morning to notify them about the problem ..... the assembly was straight forward and went smoothly .... first impression, it is most certainly a heavy duty stand .... I like the way it folds up .... I do believe it will provide a stable stand for taking our single stage reloading press and other necessary reloading equipment with us when we are on the road .... I also feel pretty certain that it will come in handy for other uses .... example : my wife's sewing machine should fit on it .... I believe that it can also come in handy for use outside the camper, under the awning .... I'm looking forward to speaking with their customer service in the morning ... they have a good reputation, will add a note as to how it goes

[JEBar]

as can be seen, when it arrived the wooden section of the top had a chip in it .... per the instruction sheet, I plan to call the company (not Amazon) in the morning to notify them about the problem .....

I'm looking forward to speaking with their customer service in the morning ... they have a good reputation, will add a note as to how it goes

as anticipated, the call to Battenfeld Technologies customer service went well .... the fellow I spoke with listened and took action .... early in or conversation I told him I could email the pictures showing the chipped top and he said he'd be happy to get them .... he received them while while we were talking and immediately began the process of sending a replacement .... I asked he'd run into problems like ours and he said this was his first .... yep, just my luck .. .. the board is 1" thick and I'm thinking about ways to add the replacement to the original .... my theory is a 2" thick table should be able to handle the stress innate to reloading tough bottleneck ammo .... I found it most interesting (but didn't say anything about it) that Amazon had the stand delivered to our home two days after it was ordered .... the replacement top should take 10 - 14 days ..

[JEBar]

would you believe that I woke up at 3AM with the stability of the stand on my mind .. .. I got up and spent most of the next 3 hours taking it apart and looking at it from every angle I could think of .... I spent a good bit of time looking at the center post .... I tried to figure out every possible way to reinforce all of the various parts ..... for the most part, the whole thing seems to be solid .... right now I'm starting to believe that I'm over analyzing it .... Amazon shows a 4.5 (out of a possible 5) rating after 73 reviews .... 75% 5 star, 15% 4 star, 7% 3 star .... a collective 90% combined 4 and 5 star reviews .... on a smaller scale but a very impressive one; none the less, a 5 star shown on Cabela's after 7 reviews .... I do plan to mount the replacement wooden top on top of the original which will make the top 2" thick .... I don't think that can do anything but help .... I'm in no hurry to mount our 60's vintage RCBS Rock Crusher press and I have no doubt that I'll reposition it many times prior to drilling the first hole

[clovishound]

If that were mine, I would be tempted to laminate two pieces of plywood together and just replace the top with that. I'm not wild about MDF/particle board. Of course, that piece is reinforced with the metal frame under it, so it will probably be just fine.

Of course, I dabble in woodworking, so it would be a quick, fun project for me, and I probably have the wood for it laying around the shop somewhere.

[JEBar]

If that were mine, I would be tempted to laminate two pieces of plywood together and just replace the top with that. I'm not wild about MDF/particle board. Of course, that piece is reinforced with the metal frame under it, so it will probably be just fine.

Of course, I dabble in woodworking, so it would be a quick, fun project for me, and I probably have the wood for it laying around the shop somewhere.

before learning that I'd end up with 2 tops, I was seriously considering trying to cut a couple of pieces of 3/4" plyboard and either covering the OEM top or making a new one .... I wonder if the factory pressed board top can be sealed so that the table can be used outside

[clovishound]

I wouldn't. If you get a break in the finish, and you will, particle board or MDF ends up as mushy sawdust pretty quickly. I would laminate two sheets of either 5/8" or 3/4" plywood. Get some nice flat plywood, and glue and clamp it. You will likely have a top that is not level with the wings. Not sure that would be an issue. You could possibly find the right sized ply and get it pretty close, or just run it through a lunchbox planer.

[JEBar]

having the wooden center section of the table thicker than the metal side plates would not be a problem ..... the OEM center section is 1" thick, since I will soon have a second one on hand, using it will raise the surface of the center section to being 1" higher than the wings

[Joezilla]

having the wooden center section of the table thicker than the metal side plates would not be a problem ..... the OEM center section is 1" thick, since I will soon have a second one on hand, using it will raise the surface of the center section to being 1" higher than the wings

I am watching this with interest. Keep us informed of your progress. Great report thus far.

Joe

[Joezilla]

well, as promised, our portable reloading stand arrived today .... pictures below show the box as it arrived through the assembly process .... as can be seen, when it arrived the wooden section of the top had a chip in it .... per the instruction sheet, I plan to call the company (not Amazon) in the morning to notify them about the problem ..... the assembly was straight forward and went smoothly .... first impression, it is most certainly a heavy duty stand .... I like the way it folds up .... I do believe it will provide a stable stand for taking our single stage reloading press and other necessary reloading equipment with us when we are on the road .... I also feel pretty certain that it will come in handy for other uses .... example : my wife's sewing machine should fit on it .... I believe that it can also come in handy for use outside the camper, under the awning .... I'm looking forward to speaking with their customer service in the morning ... they have a good reputation, will add a note as to how it goes

Jim,

In the last picture, it looks like the table is in it's lowest position. How tall it is at that spot?

Joe

[JEBar]

Jim,

In the last picture, it looks like the table is in it's lowest position. How tall it is at that spot?

Joe

it is at its lowest position .... table top to floor 28.5"

[JEBar]

I am watching this with interest. Keep us informed of your progress. Great report thus far.

Joe

I'm not a fan of pressboard but I don't see taking a perfectly good top off .... that said, I'm pretty sure that down the line I will replace the pressboard with an inch to an inch and a half of plyboard

[JEBar]

we have found that our Frankford table also makes an excellent cleaning station .... its portability and stability are major assets

[Joezilla]

Looks great. I am seriously going to consider getting one of these.

Joe

[JEBar]

Looks great. I am seriously going to consider getting one of these.

Joe

so far, I'm happy with it .... the one thing I will change is to replace the OEM pressboard section of the top .... to replace it I'll probably glue 2 or 3 pieces of 3/4" plyboard ... that said, I won't do so until the pressboard one shows it needs to be replaced .... I really believe it will work better than anything else that I've seen for us while we are traveling