What did you do at your reloading bench today?

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  • JoeRinMD

    Rifleman
    Jul 18, 2008
    2,014
    AA County
    My dillon 550 had been out of action for a bit since it fell out of alignment, and a tool was needed from dillon to re-align the press. The tool arrived this past weekend and after fixing the press I used up a box of Xtreme 230gr 45acp plated to shore up my dwindling inventory with 500 new rounds.

    Trekker -- what was the alignment issue you experienced...and what was the tool to re-align it. Inquiring minds (with 550 presses) want to know! :D

    JoeR
     

    Trekker

    Active Member
    Oct 20, 2011
    687
    Harford County
    JoeRinMD,

    Referencing the part diagram available at the dillon website at (http://www.dillonprecision.com/rl550-series-machine-parts_8_44_25369.html), the issue lay with part #13781 "shellplate platform". After a disassembly to clean off the parts, #13781 was re-installed slightly counter-clockwise to the original position. The issues were that with #13781 out of alignment, the primer feed was not coming cleanly up through the designated hole, and cartridges in position #1 (de-prime/size) were catching on the edge of the associated die. The affect was that the primers were flipping over and being pressed in sideways as the primer feed caught then popped up though the hole in #13781, and the edge of the shell mouth that impacted the edge of the die was crumpling inwards. Curiously, even while issues were being experienced on position #1, positions #2 through #4 were functioning fine. I was puzzled in trying to re-align things, since I would insert a shell into position #1 and raise the platform to align the shell with the die, but after I lowered the platform and tightened the parts down, #13781 would be back out of alignment. I only noticed this weekend that on the downstroke lowering the platform the press was ever so slightly rotating #13781 counter clockwise, and then only on the last third of the downstroke. If I had noticed this earlier, I probably would not have needed the tool.

    The tool provided (free) from dillon looks just like a powder funnel, except that it is solid (not hollow) and is intended to line up with the hole in #13781 through which the primer is fed up into the shell. The tool has two different widths (like the body and neck of a rifle shell), so that it will work for aligning both a 550 and 650 press. The powder funnel/expander die is moved to position #1 on the toolhead with the tool replacing the powder funnel, then #13781 is loosened (so it can be wriggled for adjustment) and raised (sans shellplate) so that the tool slides into the primer feed hole in #13781. With this showing that #13781 has been correctly aligned, #13781 can then be tightened into place. In my case, I had to tighten #13781 after lowering it enough to get an allen key in, but not lowering it too far (causing it to rotate and mis-align).
     

    JoeRinMD

    Rifleman
    Jul 18, 2008
    2,014
    AA County
    Referencing the part diagram available at the dillon website at (http://www.dillonprecision.com/rl550-series-machine-parts_8_44_25369.html), the issue lay with part #13781 "shellplate platform". After a disassembly to clean off the parts, #13781 was re-installed slightly counter-clockwise to the original position.
    <deleted>
    With this showing that #13781 has been correctly aligned, #13781 can then be tightened into place. In my case, I had to tighten #13781 after lowering it enough to get an allen key in, but not lowering it too far (causing it to rotate and mis-align).

    Trekker,

    Thanks for the detailed response!! I'm currently experiencing that same issue on my 550, but have never disassembled to a state where #13781 would have been misaligned. It's incredibly frustrating when a primer gets flipped sideways and then crushed into the pocket. I wonder if mine just shifted over the years, and thousands of times the primer ram has pressed up through the Shellplate Platform hole. Your input gives me something to check, and potential call Dillon to get the same tool.

    JoeR
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    JoeRinMD,

    Referencing the part diagram available at the dillon website at (http://www.dillonprecision.com/rl550-series-machine-parts_8_44_25369.html), the issue lay with part #13781 "shellplate platform". After a disassembly to clean off the parts, #13781 was re-installed slightly counter-clockwise to the original position. The issues were that with #13781 out of alignment, the primer feed was not coming cleanly up through the designated hole, and cartridges in position #1 (de-prime/size) were catching on the edge of the associated die. The affect was that the primers were flipping over and being pressed in sideways as the primer feed caught then popped up though the hole in #13781, and the edge of the shell mouth that impacted the edge of the die was crumpling inwards. Curiously, even while issues were being experienced on position #1, positions #2 through #4 were functioning fine. I was puzzled in trying to re-align things, since I would insert a shell into position #1 and raise the platform to align the shell with the die, but after I lowered the platform and tightened the parts down, #13781 would be back out of alignment. I only noticed this weekend that on the downstroke lowering the platform the press was ever so slightly rotating #13781 counter clockwise, and then only on the last third of the downstroke. If I had noticed this earlier, I probably would not have needed the tool.

    The tool provided (free) from dillon looks just like a powder funnel, except that it is solid (not hollow) and is intended to line up with the hole in #13781 through which the primer is fed up into the shell. The tool has two different widths (like the body and neck of a rifle shell), so that it will work for aligning both a 550 and 650 press. The powder funnel/expander die is moved to position #1 on the toolhead with the tool replacing the powder funnel, then #13781 is loosened (so it can be wriggled for adjustment) and raised (sans shellplate) so that the tool slides into the primer feed hole in #13781. With this showing that #13781 has been correctly aligned, #13781 can then be tightened into place. In my case, I had to tighten #13781 after lowering it enough to get an allen key in, but not lowering it too far (causing it to rotate and mis-align).

    Trekker,

    Thanks for the detailed response!! I'm currently experiencing that same issue on my 550, but have never disassembled to a state where #13781 would have been misaligned. It's incredibly frustrating when a primer gets flipped sideways and then crushed into the pocket. I wonder if mine just shifted over the years, and thousands of times the primer ram has pressed up through the Shellplate Platform hole. Your input gives me something to check, and potential call Dillon to get the same tool.

    JoeR

    When you change from large primers to small primers or small primers to large primers, are you changing the primer magazine tube? That might also be something that flips primers too, I know I made that mistake.
     

    JoeRinMD

    Rifleman
    Jul 18, 2008
    2,014
    AA County
    When you change from large primers to small primers or small primers to large primers, are you changing the primer magazine tube? That might also be something that flips primers too, I know I made that mistake.

    Been there...done that. That should only be a problem with small primers. I don't believe that large primers will fit in a small tube. But, in this case, that's not the problem. I was working with large primers.

    JoeR
     

    Raineman

    On the 3rd box
    Dec 27, 2008
    3,543
    Eldersburg
    I recently got back in to reloading shotgun shells. Picked up a MEC600Jr used (actually 3 of them) and some supplies the guy had left over and cranked out 3 boxes of shells Saturday afternoon (til I ran out of the leftover supplies).

    Gonna test them out tonight and see how different hulls work with the load I'm using, then buy some shot and wads and get at it. I had forgotten how relaxing it was, playing some old vinyl with a beer handy while crankin' out shells.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    I learned that with a progressive press a simple mistake can add up to a lot of bad ammo real quick.

    The bullet puller got a lot of use tonight.
     

    iH8DemLibz

    When All Else Fails.
    Apr 1, 2013
    25,396
    Libtardistan
    7x57 Mauser. 130 grain bullet. 11 grains of Unique.

    1916 Mauser Reloads 002.JPG

    1916 Mauser Reloads 008.JPG
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Well I think I got the timing down on the LNL progressive. I made 98 300 bo on about 25min. Only forgot to seat primers in 2 loads.
     

    HogCommander

    Active Member
    Aug 10, 2013
    411
    Texas Hill Country
    Added a Mr. Bullet Feeder to the Dillon RL1050 (45 ACP, Zero 185 JHP bullets, all Federal Gold Medal Match brass). May take some more adjustments as I still get occasional double bullet feeds and some cases get no bullet at all. That said, still a VERY substantial increase in speed.
     

    TrappedinMD

    Active Member
    Dec 15, 2011
    856
    Western MD
    Just finished resizing/depriving 180 pieces of hornady 6.5 brass. Game plan is to trim to 1.915 tomorrow then throw them in the tumblr. Then start loading up a range of charges of IMR-4451 Friday night. All that followed by chrono/group load development Saturday morning :)
     

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