Review: Inline Fabrication Reloading Riser and LED Lighting
Major Pandemic 03.31.15
It is not often that folks get excited over reloading accessories. Reloading accessories are typically not as sexy as a brand new AR-15 or that new first-focal-plane optic you just picked up, but I must admit the three acessories I picked up for my Dillon 550 made reloading faster, more comfortable, and and far more convenient. These Inline Fabrication accessories are must-have items for the reloader, and they are offered for all major reloading machines.
When it comes to reloading, there are three major problems you notice from the start. Mounting a heavy behemoth reloader securely and safely to a bench at the right working height can be a little problematic due to the clearance issues of the underhanging ram. It can be hard to see what is going on inside the cases unless you have photobooth lighting, and after a few 100 rounds, that ball on the end of the lever handle starts to chafe a bit. Inline heard your quiet cries for help and has a few very affordable and simple solutions that put more joy back in reloading.
Inline Fabrication offers a number of reloading accessories, including the UltraMount steel mounting riser, Skylight LED lighting kits, and a ERGO style roller lever. All are far sexier than they sound after you realize what these innovative accessories do for your Dillon, Hornady, RCBS, Lee Lyman, Forster, and Redding presses.
Inline Fabrication UltraMount
The extremely beefy, super solid 3/16” thick powdercoated steel UltraMount offers reloaders a mount that allows your press to be mounted anywhere on a table or bench. You no larger are required to mount the press hanging off the edge of a bench.
More importantly, the UltraMount delivers a flat mount base that is not constrained from a mounting perspective by an under-hanging ram. There are other benefits, including raising the shell plate closer to your eyes for more comfortable reloading and a flexible modular design, which allows reloaders to swap the top Ultramount mounting plate to different ones for different presses.
The Ultramount Base is even compatible with InLine Fabrication’s Quick Change Base Plate, which allows you to use the same Ultramount and swap within seconds to any other press or tool with a Quick Change base plate. In the case of my purchase, I just picked up the UltraMount with the Dillon 550 base plate because at this point I don’t intend of pulling my Dillon 550 offline much.
The standard $75 Dillon Ultramount is 12” wide, 11.5” deep, and 9 5/8” tall, but Inline does offer shorter 6” Junior and 4” Micro mounts.
Regardless of which Ultramount you choose, the installation just bolts on without any modifications to your factory reloader mount holes.
What I honestly liked most about this setup was that it raised the overall height and moved that under-hanging ram out of “knee ramming” position. You know what I am talking about, after the eighth time you whack your knee on that freaking ram, you start throwing things. That is not the mood you need to be in when doing precision reloading.
Ultimately, the Inline Fabrication Ultramount is a top notch accessory that has been well thought out to assure cross compatibility with nearly any other reloader on the market.
Inline Fabrication Skylight Led Lighting Kit
Most of us get all of our reloading stuff shoved into a dark corner of the basement or garage, which means it is damn near impossible to see everything you should see on the shell plate. That makes this little ingenious LED light for reloaders worth its weight in gold. For $35 it is a must have accessory for any reloader.
The Inline Fabrication “Skylight” LED lighting Kit is available in various configurations for almost any brand of reloader from Inline. My version was designed for the Dillon 550. Dillon reloaders have a “extra hole in the top of the die plate, which is perfect for this accessory.
The Skylight is in essence a high grade led plug that drops into that hole on the top of the Dillon and is easily just pulled out if you need to do a caliber change. Inline offers their Skylight LED in either 110V or AA battery versions. I choose the 110V version, which comes complete with a quality on/off switch. Either system has a lifetime warranty from inline.
The Dillon press has a crinkle finish, which the wire routing tabs did not want to stick to, but a few alcohol wipes later and everything stuck down well.
Inline Fabrication Ergo Style Roller Lever
Banging out a couple hundred rounds, the queue ball on the end of the Dillon actuating lever works, but if you’re more the power reloading session type person, then you need an Inline Fabrication Ergo lever.
This lever gives you more leverage and decreases the length of the downstroke. The ERGO lever also provides a better upstroke feel for bullet seating. Ergonomically it makes what can be a shoulder cramping power reloading afternoon into something much more comfortable. It seems like a really little thing until you use this new handle, and then you wonder why you didn’t buy one sooner.
Final Thoughts
If you don’t reload, then you won’t get these accessories, but if you do you will immediately see who handy these well designed parts are. These three accessories will drastically change the ergonomics, comfort, and usability of your Dillon 550 reloader.
If you have another brand, Inline Fabrication makes a huge variety of similar accessories for those reloaders. If you are really space constrained, you may want to consider Inline’s Quick Change Ultramount to swap between equipment as needed. These may not seem as sexy as firearm accessories, but after four hours behind a reloader, you will think they are one of the sexiest accessories you have bought in a long time.
Specs
- UltraMount: $75
- Erog Roller Lever: $55
- “Skylight” LED lighting Kit for the Dillon 550: $34
