I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has an
automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is getting low.
It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of the powder, and
when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a switch & the alarm
goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the hopper, but there's no off
switch.

I can easily make a small block (~ 3/4" cube) with a notch cut in it that
will hold the knob up high enough to miss the switch. However, I'd like
to make it highly visible as a reminder to remove it before use. I could
dangle a red tag off of it, but making it out of something like bright
red or yellow plastic would work OK. The catch is that I don't have any
eye catching colorful plastic in suitable blocks.

I checked McMaster Carr, and they have red Turcite in 1" rods ($$$, and
I'm not sure how red it is), red acrylic in sheets only, and the yellow
they have is Kevlar, which isn't a good screaming yellow, and could be
nasty to machine.

There are lots of options, from cutting up a small red aerosol can cap,
to paint or tape on any miscellaneous plastic. Paint or tape will
probably chip or peel over time. I have red & yellow caplugs that I
could make a solid core for, or I could find a piece of bright plastic to
use as a "flag" on a more boring colored plug. Nothing I've come up with
so far has set off my "tidy & effective solution" detector.

This is hardly a major project of any great import, but if anyone has any
ideas they'd like to suggest, I'd be happy to add them to the options
collection.

Thanks!

Doug White

On Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:35:26 GMT, Doug White
wrote:

I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has an
automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is getting low.
It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of the powder, and
when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a switch & the alarm
goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the hopper, but there's no off
switch.

I can easily make a small block (~ 3/4" cube) with a notch cut in it that
will hold the knob up high enough to miss the switch. However, I'd like
to make it highly visible as a reminder to remove it before use. I could
dangle a red tag off of it, but making it out of something like bright
red or yellow plastic would work OK. The catch is that I don't have any
eye catching colorful plastic in suitable blocks.

I checked McMaster Carr, and they have red Turcite in 1" rods ($$$, and
I'm not sure how red it is), red acrylic in sheets only, and the yellow
they have is Kevlar, which isn't a good screaming yellow, and could be
nasty to machine.

There are lots of options, from cutting up a small red aerosol can cap,
to paint or tape on any miscellaneous plastic. Paint or tape will
probably chip or peel over time. I have red & yellow caplugs that I
could make a solid core for, or I could find a piece of bright plastic to
use as a "flag" on a more boring colored plug. Nothing I've come up with
so far has set off my "tidy & effective solution" detector.

This is hardly a major project of any great import, but if anyone has any
ideas they'd like to suggest, I'd be happy to add them to the options
collection.

Thanks!

Doug White

Paint it. Spray cans of bright safety colors are available and should
last a while.

Pete Keillor

"Doug White" wrote in message
...
I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has an
automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is getting low.
It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of the powder, and
when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a switch & the alarm
goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the hopper, but there's no off
switch.
snip

I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable with the idea of anything that could
change the free-fall of the powder. My biggest fear is no powder or a
double load. I started drawing up a 7-hole press, I like a Lee Factory
Crimp Die in the last station and have room for a powder check after the
throw.

On Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:35:26 GMT, Doug White
wrote:

I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has an
automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is getting low.
It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of the powder, and
when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a switch & the alarm
goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the hopper, but there's no off
switch.

I can easily make a small block (~ 3/4" cube) with a notch cut in it that
will hold the knob up high enough to miss the switch. However, I'd like
to make it highly visible as a reminder to remove it before use. I could
dangle a red tag off of it, but making it out of something like bright
red or yellow plastic would work OK. The catch is that I don't have any
eye catching colorful plastic in suitable blocks.

I checked McMaster Carr, and they have red Turcite in 1" rods ($$$, and
I'm not sure how red it is), red acrylic in sheets only, and the yellow
they have is Kevlar, which isn't a good screaming yellow, and could be
nasty to machine.

There are lots of options, from cutting up a small red aerosol can cap,
to paint or tape on any miscellaneous plastic. Paint or tape will
probably chip or peel over time. I have red & yellow caplugs that I
could make a solid core for, or I could find a piece of bright plastic to
use as a "flag" on a more boring colored plug. Nothing I've come up with
so far has set off my "tidy & effective solution" detector.

This is hardly a major project of any great import, but if anyone has any
ideas they'd like to suggest, I'd be happy to add them to the options
collection.

Thanks!

Doug White

Make your block out of whatever is convenient. Visit a tackle shop or
a website like www.basspro.com to find some crappie jig paint in
either dayglo chartreuse or flaming orange. Also check out the
stick-on holograms used on salmon and musky lures.

On 4/25/2010 5:35 PM, Doug White wrote:
I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has an
automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is getting low.
It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of the powder, and
when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a switch& the alarm
goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the hopper, but there's no off
switch.(...)

Have a look at RBF-3 if you would please.
http://aeroconsystems.com/cart/products/RBF3-45-10.html

3 bucks each. Laminated. 8" long.
I like it in 'eye watering' yellow.

Custom wording available for minimum of 20 flags + $20 artwork charge.

I have no experience with this vendor but the flags look Kewl.

--Winston


--

Harley was venal, arrogant, despicable and a psychologist.
He was the second most redundant man I ever talked to.

On Apr 25, 8:35*pm, Doug White wrote:
...
I can easily make a small block (~ 3/4" cube) with a notch cut in it that
will hold the knob up high enough to miss the switch. *However, I'd like
to make it highly visible as a reminder to remove it before use. *...
Doug White

Wander through the Dollar Store and look at the tools and the handles
of kitchen wares etc. I've found a lot of cheap brightly colored tools
in such places, to stock the tool kits in vehicles and in the shed out
back in the woods.

jsw

On Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:13:55 -0700, the infamous Winston
scrawled the following:

On 4/25/2010 5:35 PM, Doug White wrote:
I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has an
automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is getting low.
It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of the powder, and
when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a switch& the alarm
goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the hopper, but there's no off
switch.(...)

Have a look at RBF-3 if you would please.
http://aeroconsystems.com/cart/products/RBF3-45-10.html

3 bucks each. Laminated. 8" long.
I like it in 'eye watering' yellow.

Custom wording available for minimum of 20 flags + $20 artwork charge.

I have no experience with this vendor but the flags look Kewl.

Yeah. What do they mean by "casual outdoor use"? Why dinna they say
"occasional, brief, DRY outdoor use"? But at 0.4 pounds, they're
prolly too heavy for powder hopper use.

I think a 120v feed to a set of points would do the trick without some
silly old flag. When the fireworks start, it's time to put out the
fire and reload the hopper. It was running low.

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is necessary that he should
not only be capable of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

On Apr 26, 9:11*am, Larry Jaques wrote:
...
Yeah. *What do they mean by "casual outdoor use"? *Why dinna they say
"occasional, brief, DRY outdoor use"? *But at 0.4 pounds, they're
prolly too heavy for powder hopper use.

They are printed on laminated paper. The real ones are cloth webbing,
this one appears to be cotton.

jsw

"REMOVE BEFORE FRIGHT"

Doug White wrote:
I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has an
automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is getting low.
It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of the powder, and
when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a switch & the alarm
goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the hopper, but there's no off
switch.

I can easily make a small block (~ 3/4" cube) with a notch cut in it that
will hold the knob up high enough to miss the switch. However, I'd like
to make it highly visible as a reminder to remove it before use. I could
dangle a red tag off of it, but making it out of something like bright
red or yellow plastic would work OK. The catch is that I don't have any
eye catching colorful plastic in suitable blocks.

I checked McMaster Carr, and they have red Turcite in 1" rods ($$$, and
I'm not sure how red it is), red acrylic in sheets only, and the yellow
they have is Kevlar, which isn't a good screaming yellow, and could be
nasty to machine.

There are lots of options, from cutting up a small red aerosol can cap,
to paint or tape on any miscellaneous plastic. Paint or tape will
probably chip or peel over time. I have red & yellow caplugs that I
could make a solid core for, or I could find a piece of bright plastic to
use as a "flag" on a more boring colored plug. Nothing I've come up with
so far has set off my "tidy & effective solution" detector.

This is hardly a major project of any great import, but if anyone has any
ideas they'd like to suggest, I'd be happy to add them to the options
collection.

Thanks!

Doug White


Make a clip to hold the switch off and attach a chunk of string or wire
to it with another clip on the other end which you can clip to the
handle or shell holder.

--
Steve W.
(\___/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

Doug White wrote:
I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has an
automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is getting low.
It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of the powder, and
when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a switch & the alarm
goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the hopper, but there's no off
switch.

I can easily make a small block (~ 3/4" cube) with a notch cut in it that
will hold the knob up high enough to miss the switch. However, I'd like
to make it highly visible as a reminder to remove it before use. I could
dangle a red tag off of it, but making it out of something like bright
red or yellow plastic would work OK. The catch is that I don't have any
eye catching colorful plastic in suitable blocks.

I checked McMaster Carr, and they have red Turcite in 1" rods ($$$, and
I'm not sure how red it is), red acrylic in sheets only, and the yellow
they have is Kevlar, which isn't a good screaming yellow, and could be
nasty to machine.

There are lots of options, from cutting up a small red aerosol can cap,
to paint or tape on any miscellaneous plastic. Paint or tape will
probably chip or peel over time. I have red & yellow caplugs that I
could make a solid core for, or I could find a piece of bright plastic to
use as a "flag" on a more boring colored plug. Nothing I've come up with
so far has set off my "tidy & effective solution" detector.

This is hardly a major project of any great import, but if anyone has any
ideas they'd like to suggest, I'd be happy to add them to the options
collection.

How about a more physical lockout? Is this gizmo lever actuated? Could
your block have a string on it, and could that string hold the lever
such that you can't run the machine with the string in place?

--
Tim Wescott
Control system and signal processing consulting
www.wescottdesign.com

Tim Wescott wrote in
:

Doug White wrote:
I have a new progressive reloading press (a Dillon XL650), which has
an automatic alarm device to tell you when the powder hopper is
getting low. It's basically a weighted piston that rides on top of
the powder, and when it gets down far enough, a knob on top hits a
switch & the alarm goes off. I'd like to store the thing in the
hopper, but there's no off switch.

I can easily make a small block (~ 3/4" cube) with a notch cut in it
that will hold the knob up high enough to miss the switch. However,
I'd like to make it highly visible as a reminder to remove it before
use. I could dangle a red tag off of it, but making it out of
something like bright red or yellow plastic would work OK. The catch
is that I don't have any eye catching colorful plastic in suitable
blocks.

I checked McMaster Carr, and they have red Turcite in 1" rods ($$$,
and I'm not sure how red it is), red acrylic in sheets only, and the
yellow they have is Kevlar, which isn't a good screaming yellow, and
could be nasty to machine.

There are lots of options, from cutting up a small red aerosol can
cap, to paint or tape on any miscellaneous plastic. Paint or tape
will probably chip or peel over time. I have red & yellow caplugs
that I could make a solid core for, or I could find a piece of bright
plastic to use as a "flag" on a more boring colored plug. Nothing
I've come up with so far has set off my "tidy & effective solution"
detector.

This is hardly a major project of any great import, but if anyone has
any ideas they'd like to suggest, I'd be happy to add them to the
options collection.

How about a more physical lockout? Is this gizmo lever actuated?
Could your block have a string on it, and could that string hold the
lever such that you can't run the machine with the string in place?

Here's a pictu

http://www.dillonprecision.com/conte...520/?viewImg=1

The switch is a small black push button on top that the aluminum knob
hits on its way down. A physical lockout is tricky, because before I
fire up the press at all, I have to remove the whole alarm assembly to
fill the powder hopper. I just want a block to disable the alarm for
storage, but visible enough to remind me to remove it. It will also help
me find it when I'm done so I can put it back.

If I want to get fancy, I could make it so it only stays put when the
hopper is empty. As soon as the knob is lifted by a hopper full of
powder, it could fall off (on a short cord).

It's getting better all the time...

Thanks again!

Doug White

Jim Wilkins wrote in
:

On Apr 25, 8:35*pm, Doug White wrote:
...
I can easily make a small block (~ 3/4" cube) with a notch cut in it
that will hold the knob up high enough to miss the switch. *However,
I'd lik
e
to make it highly visible as a reminder to remove it before use. *...
Doug White

Wander through the Dollar Store and look at the tools and the handles
of kitchen wares etc. I've found a lot of cheap brightly colored tools
in such places, to stock the tool kits in vehicles and in the shed out
back in the woods.

Thanks to all for the many suggestions! I think this one is the winner.
I probably have (and can certainly find cheap) a battered screw driver
with a bright yellow/orange/red handle. I can cut a length out & machine
it to fit around the middle bit on the alarm. I may even have some
plastic handle stock in yellow already, except it's a wimpy clear yellow
like Stanley screwdrivers.

Doug White