Progressive Press LED and Mirror Setup

Clever, thanks for the pics of the parts as I need to do something just like this.

Have fun keeping that flexible shaft in alignment with all the vibration going through the machine while you're actually operating it. I went that rout, and then switched to an RCBS powder check die. It's an ingenious device, and not very expensive, considering what it does for you and how reliable it is. On my press, it only works when I can seat/crimp in one operation, meaning roll-crimp only, which for me means just .357 and .44 mag.

For stubby pistol cases that I must taper crimp, I need to seat and crimp separately (unless I'm willing to live with the bullet damage of doing them together, which I'm usually not, since I load mostly cast lead bullets and this shaves off a ring), leaving no position for the powder check. At least I can see the powder in those short cases. One of these days I'll get a press with at least 5 useable positions.

I too was going to ask why you don't have a powder check die on a 5 station press?

My first progressive was a Dillon 550. I liked the press up until I bought a used 1050 with powder check die. When I saw that die in action I sold the 550, upgraded to a 650 with powder check and never looked back.

I've had some people tell me the powder check die is a mechanical device and prone to errors just like looking in the case. I just laugh, that die is more reliable at checking then you'll ever be.

If you're already using the lockout die then you need nothing else. As long as it will lock up the press with an out of spec charge you need nothing else.

The first cartridge I ever loaded was the .38 Spl and there isn't much of a way to see in the case other then what you're doing. You just need to have faith in that die and stop worrying.

joed said:

If you're already using the lockout die then you need nothing else. As long as it will lock up the press with an out of spec charge you need nothing else.

The first cartridge I ever loaded was the .38 Spl and there isn't much of a way to see in the case other then what you're doing. You just need to have faith in that die and stop worrying.

Click to expand...

... if you are suggesting that he trust the die and NOT bother visually inspecting then I disagree. That's a little like telling someone not to buckle their seat belt (a simple task) and simply trust their airbags (a mechanical device capable of malfunction).

Trust the die, sure, but NOT visually inspecting a powder level is silly. I think the OP's approach is perfectly reasonable. Thank you dihnen for posting a picture of your setup. I'm considering a Pro 2000 and was concerned about the ability to visually inspect powder levels on any cartridge.

-StaTiK-

StaTik, I bet the die catches a bad charge before he sees one. I've been using the dies for 10 years and trust them more then I trust my eyesight, believe me they work.

I usually go back and eyeball all my cartridges when done for anything out of the ordinary but my faith is in the powder check die when it comes to checking charges.

Nice idea, but even with lights and mirrors finding 2.7gr of BE in a 38spl case is going to be a chore. It is easier for me to make sure I charge the case ONCE, takes out the "worry" part too.

I also have a flex-light set up on my PRO2000 for the shorter 45acp, doesn`t slow me down and its always good to be able to see the powder, no powder check for me, loaded too long without one to change my ways now

There's a certain comfort looking into each case, I have the powder cop as well, but still look into my cases.

There's nothing wrong with looking into the case if you have a powder check die, I will still occasionally look in the case. I have the Dillon check die, it has a rod that you can watch go up and down and I do find myself watching it sometimes.

But reality is it's like wearing a belt and suspenders. But, you can be sure your pants won't fall down.

I'm very much enjoying reloading as a hobby and don't want it to become a task, so I don't worry about speed. I use a single stage press to load no more than 50 rounds at a time and have a six step method for dropping and verifying charges:

1) set up primed and flared (if needed) brass mouth down in a loading block
2) place a case on the scale pad, zero the scale, charge the case, weigh the charged case, repeat as necessary until the weight is just right
3) place the charged case in the block, mouth up of course
4) repeat steps 2 and 3 for the next xx cases until the charge is exactly right as dropped
5) charge 5 or so cases without weighing
6) for every 5th or so case and verify dropped charge is still correct via step 2.

I keep doing this until all the cases are charged. I suppose it sounds tedious, but it actually goes very quickly. When I'm done all the cases have to be right since they started mouth down and are only turned after being charged. Still, before I place any bullets I stand over the block and visually verify that every case looks right. That's two separate checks to ensure every round is properly charged. If any case ever looked wrong, I'd dump it recharge it per step 2. But none ever has using this method.

If I'm just doing a few rounds, or I'm using a powder that doesn't meter well, or if I just don't want to change the powder that's already in the hopper (usually Bullseye), I just dip the charge into the scale pan and funnel it into each case, still using the mouth down method. The final visual check for bottleneck cases is accomplished with a flashlight.

My track record so far is zero squibs, zero doubles.

There's no better way to get correct charges than to weigh them and see them. If I ever decide to get a progressive press, a powder cop die or a lock-out die will be in one station, but that takes away separate weighing and seeing...

So I probably won't.