Light for Dillon 550b

[eisenhow]

I've been looking for a light for my Dillon 550b. UniqueTek used to sell one, but they are no longer available. I've tried several different flashlights that I own. They were either too long and interfered with the powder bar or they were too wide and did not fit between the dies.

This past weekend at the IDPA NER (New England Regionals) they gave out small flashlights that used a single CR123 cell: RICHUANG P36.

(NOTE: I rotated the pics on photobucket but they are still sideways when I link them here)

It was very close to fitting but it was just a little too long. The diameter was small enough to fit between the dies.

The light had a crenellated bezel. I sanded the spikes off the bezel and it was was very close to fitting. I removed the clip and sanded some off the side of the bezel (it touches the powder drop)

I pulled the green rubber switch cover:

It now clears the powder bar:

Before:

After:

I put a rechargeable CR123 battery in and it ran for 3+ hours.

 

[M1911]

Mike, thanks for the pics! I'll give that a try on my 550.

 

[drgrant]

That's pretty slick..... a lot more slick than the desk lamp I put next to the side of my press basically.

-Mike

 

[eisenhow]

That's pretty slick..... a lot more slick than the desk lamp I put next to the side of my press basically.

Whatever works! The best part was that this was free! I've used a AAA maglite that was tilted at an angle to clear the powder bar in the past.

.38 special cases are still too tall to see down into. I've been looking at some cheap car backup camera's with composite outputs from eBay. Combine that with a cheap used 15" LCD monitor from craigslist and I may have a powder check solution.

 

[swampy]

I use a clip on book light that I got at the dollar store. It is a flexible neck led that includes the batteries. I clipped it onto my loadmaster and pointed it right into the charged shell case to see the powder. The batteries last quite a while. Its cheaper to replace the light than the 3 watch batteries.

 

[RobertLx]

Good idea Mike! It fits on my 650 with no modifications. I was thinking about trying to figure something out ever since I got my first squib. I wasnt really interested int he powder check die.

 

[DukeInFlorida]

The lenses on some of those lights get too HOT!

I made mine with an LED, a LED holder, some spare wire, and a surplus power supply. I hot glued it to that left side. Leave it on all day, and it never gets hot at all.

I have some spare LED's and holders (with the appropriate resistors), if anyone wants a set. PM me mailing info, and I'll send a set to the first 20 people who request it.

Picture forthcoming.

 

[eisenhow]

Good idea Mike! It fits on my 650 with no modifications. I was thinking about trying to figure something out ever since I got my first squib. I wasnt really interested int he powder check die.

There is probably more room on the 650. On the 550 it sits on the nuts that hold the dies in place.

The lenses on some of those lights get too HOT!

I've got several 150-200 lumen higher voltage flashlights that get pretty hot pretty quickly. This is running a single rechargeable RCR123 and barely gets slightly warm after being on for several hours. The best part is it was "free", I already have a bunch of rechargeable batteries for it, and because my wife also helped out at the match, I have a backup!