Press lighting

[BrutalAB]

Im talking about those strips of led lights that get mounted inside a press so you can see inside the cases better.

For those of you that have them, how effective are they? You like them alright? Are they battery powered or plug in?

I want to put one in my rcbs turret but kinda hate the idea of relying on batterys and would assume the spinning of the turret would make a plug in one less than functional.

The whole idea seems gimmicky to me, like the "improved primer catch" things but admittedly both are probably due to how flooded ebay is with both.

[375supermag]

Hi...
I installed a Hornady LED strip on my RockChucker several years ago. It plugs into an outlet and works great. I believe it is an excellent product.

[MrWolf]

You might want to check one of our vendor sponsors Inline Fabrication located on the top portion of the page between the red, white, and blue boolits. I use the one for the Dillon 550b and like it. Good luck.

[jmorris]

I have 8 overhead lights in my reloading room, so I have a lot of light in the small room to start with but I put some of the KMS^2 UFO lights on a couple presses and now it seems like I am reloading in the dark on the others.

Quite effective at putting the light where one is working.

They are low voltage DC but are powered from the included transformer from 120vac.

https://kmssquared.com/ufo_h.html

[BNE]

I have the Hornady one as well. I like it. Makes it much easier to see the powder charge.

[LenH]

I don't have any of the strips, but got 2 LED lights from Wally World. I think they were less than 10 bucks. I pulled the magnifying lens off and hot glued it to a bent rifle case
and wired it to an old cell phone charger. The light fits in the center hole of a Dillon 550B tool head and lights up the shell plate below and I can visually make sure of the powder drop.
These are 12 volt lights but the only old charger I could find was 9 volts. It still shines bright enough for these old eyes.

I found these in the Automotive section. Not sure if this helps

[XDROB]

I have InLine Manufacturering Led lighting. It is a plug in style led light. Has one on the inside of the press facing away from your face and into the middle of the press. And I think what they call their Skylight. Fits into the center hole at the the top of the press. My press is a Hornady LnL.

So far I'm extremely satisfied with the visibility in my press while reloading. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/2462a8d3b10a55a90c1204ee0a1d1473.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/0de69095dc415c7a15a61a73c5e582fb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/331e9630befe4a68a5b272a6adba2511.jpg

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[AnthonyB]

I’ll second the UFO lights. Very easy to install and makes checking everything much easier.
Tony

[Green Frog]

When last I visited Dale53 he had a set of some sort of stick-on LED lights planned for each of his Dillon presses... other pursuits got in the way and we never got that done on that visit so I don’t know what kind of results he got/is getting but I’ll rattle his cage and see whether I can get him to report in. :coffeecom

Froggie

[Rcmaveric]

I bought a spool LED lights from Harbor freight and extra power plugs from Amazon. Thata 20bucks to put lights on 3 presses and enough parts for 4 more. Still have like 4 feet ish feet of LED lights. Took some cussing and fiddling (the power plug pigtail doesnt exactly matche the contor of the light strip). Then spot tied them too all my presses. I like it and it really helps. I dont have the best lighting in the living room where I reload, but my work area is now well lit. Plus if I ever through a reloading party I can set my press lights to strobe and chase random colors. Lol

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[JonB_in_Glencoe]

a few years ago, I bought a short (3 LED) Strip on fleabay for $1.25 (it requires 12 volt DC)
It came with adhesive applied and pigtail wires to connect to a Plug-in (120vac) transformer/converter (12vdc) that is common with lots of small electronics gadgets that can be found at Goodwill for a buck or two.

254123

Oh, to answer the OP's question. Yes it made a big improvement. Without it, I can't see if there is powder in a pistol case. With it, I can.

[mdi]

I put an Inline Fabrication lighting kit on my Co-Ax and it's like night and day difference (;-)). I used to use an articulated desk lamp with a 100 watt bulb shining over my right shoulder, but the IF kit lights up the area needed and is bright with no shadows. I wired it so the switch is mounted to the bench front, out of the way to the right of the press, There are connectors to unplug the wires between the press and the switch so the press is easily removed without any trouble.

[gumbo333]

I put LED lights on my black Lyman orange crusher. 120v plug in. Like them a lot. Got them on eBay from a guy that makes lighting kits for presses. They just stick on. You can shorten the lights to what you want/ need with scissors. I'm sure you could make your own light string easily if you can buy the parts easily, locally. I couldn't.

[BrutalAB]

Is the only way to solve the turret spinning to mount the lights to the press itself behind the ram?

[Carrier]

I have Inline light kit on my LNL and is good. A friend put the KMS UFO light kit on his LNL and Dillion 650 and is the way to go. Dan makes a good product but the KMS one is better.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I got a set of press-on LEDs from Amazon for my Dillon 550. They are EXTREMELY effective in lighting-up the press and letting me clearly and easily see inside all the cases setting in their spots. Cannot recommend them more as they stopped me from making squib loads, one of which blew-up the barrel to one of my 1911s (a $460 repair).

[gwpercle]

The little led strips weren't enough light for my needs so I clamped a portable adjustable flood light with a HDX-150 watt flood lamp on the shelf above my bench , angled it for some good lighting and it lights up both press and lube sizer . The adjustability is nice and I can move it around .
8 1/2 inch aluminum reflector , $16.00 from Home Depot , Woods 18/2 SPT-2 , nice unit .
You need light , that's for sure .
Gary

[mdi]

Is the only way to solve the turret spinning to mount the lights to the press itself behind the ram?

Sounds logical to me...


I don't have that press handy but from the pics I see I think I would mount a strip of LEDs on the frame up on the "hump". The "hump" on the frame is angled down towards the ram and the straight parts of the frame will shine directly out.

[uscra112]

I now wear one of those LED "headlamps" strapped to my forehead. Also use it working around the machine tools. The light is always pointed where you are looking.

[Kenstone]

I have posted about these lights before, in other threads, on other forums.

I use these lights for loading and all over my garage as task lighting.
Works out better than bright/harsh lights flooding the whole garage.
281917
281918
I bought them on amazon, there are others:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PVFRBXT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here some others, including strip lighting:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sewing+Machine+Light+LED+Lighting&ref=nb_sb_noss

[Valley-Shooter]

I use these lights for loading and all over my garage as task lighting.
Works out better than bright/harsh lights flooding the whole garage.
281917
281918
I bought them on amazon, there are others:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PVFRBXT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here some others, including strip lighting:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sewing+Machine+Light+LED+Lighting&ref=nb_sb_nossI have 2 of those. They magnet mount to my Inline Fab mounting stands. Lots of light right where I need it.

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[Budzilla 19]

Bought the KMS setup for the Dillon 550B, great product. I'm looking to put another set on the SDB in the future.

[onelight]

I have posted about these lights before, in other threads, on other forums.

I use these lights for loading and all over my garage as task lighting.
Works out better than bright/harsh lights flooding the whole garage.
281917
281918
I bought them on amazon, there are others:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PVFRBXT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here some others, including strip lighting:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Sewing+Machine+Light+LED+Lighting&ref=nb_sb_noss
This looks like a great idea particularly for a press like the RCBS turret.

[uscra112]

I'd hate having the cord for one of those in my way.

[Gee_Wizz01]

I have the KMS² setups on both of my Loadmasters and I love them. They provide plenty of bright light to check powder level in the cases and make it very easy to spot other issues on the press.
Gary

[HP9MM]

I use a floor stand lighted magnifier. It uses a flourecent round bulb and the magnifier is great when I need to closely examine an item. Being a floor stand, I can move it around if need light in a different place on my bench.

[John Guedry]

I have the Hornady light strip on my Lyman Crusher. Works great.

[j4570]

I have KMS lights just recently to my Dillon. Very nice. For the turret, I see the problem of spinning, it's not quite like a progressive. The sewing lights Kenstone mentioned are very useful. I use one on my drill press. It's nice because it's easily repositioned.