[RELOADING THREAD] just about done with my 550b

[fuse]

I have an infuriating problem with my 550 I can't seem to solve. it really slows me down and makes reloading a real chore.

about me: been reloading for about 8 months or so. have loaded about 6k rounds since then, and I only load 9mm. the 550 is my first and only press.

the issue: on station 1, after being resized, the brass has often shifted out of position to be primed. see this handy graphic-



this is where I typically find my brass after it has been resized and deprimed.
(I am nearly certain) this is caused by what happens at station 2. (when there is no case in station 2, the newly resized case in station 1 is always in the correct place to be primed) the powder die often sticks to the case being belled out. the resulting violence of lowering the ram causes enough disturbance to shift the case in station 1 out of position to be primed. sometimes it only moves a little and I can do this little double or triple tap technique with the ram that shifts it back into position. However, mostly I have to push it back in with my thumb.

either way it really destroys my rhythm and even more so that it does not happen with every case. it does happen the majority of the time however.


I don't think I am belling the case out too much with the powder die, causing it to stick. in fact, in an attempt to fix this problem I have backed the powder die back about as much as I can, and occasionally cases are belled so little the bullet doesn't stay upright before its seated, and then I have to reset that. there is definitely minimum belling going on.

maybe the powder die itself is out of spec?

this makes me want to get rid of my 550 and get a XL650. (admittedly this is probably what I should have done first, but I don't feel bad following the Enos FAQ and getting the 550 for my first press to learn on)
from the videos I have seen, it appears the 650 primes the resized case in station 2, in which the case is held in place by some sort of spring loaded mechanism, thus making any 'case drift' impossible and securely holding the case in place to be primed. if I am seeing this correctly, it seems the 650 is definitely the superior press, at least as far as priming is concerned.

any other ideas on what is causing this?

[Ray Keith]

My retaining clip is in closer to the brass on my 550. It in essence keeps the brass from sliding out like that on mine at least if I see what is happening here correctly. Also I have no violence at the belling station at all, the only violence I have is at the sizing die. I bell the cases very little, just enough for the bullet to sit upright at station 3 for seating.

[fuse]

another forum steered me right. it was indeed the paper clip thing. mine was loose, and doing nothing. this is rather embarrassing but the whole time I have owned and used this press I had no idea what it was for.
hilarious

I am still concerned about the powder die, and may get dillon to send me another, as I have heard they take care of their customers like that and are awesome.

also is it possible the shellplate/toolhead may be out of spec as well and causing things to not line up optimally?

[SecondsCount]

Well it looks like you got the paperclip figured out. I think they covered that in the Dillon VHS video I bought with my 550 years ago.

The part about the powder die, when you say sticking, do you mean that it takes extra pressure to bring the ram down?

What kind of brass are you reloading? I actually take the time to sort my brass by headstamp when reloading 9mm. Over the years I have seen so much garbage 9mm brass that I find that spending a couple extra minutes to sort them not only improves reliability, but accuracy as well.

[Ray Keith]

another forum steered me right. it was indeed the paper clip thing. mine was loose, and doing nothing. this is rather embarrassing but the whole time I have owned and used this press I had no idea what it was for.
hilarious

I am still concerned about the powder die, and may get dillon to send me another, as I have heard they take care of their customers like that and are awesome.

also is it possible the shellplate/toolhead may be out of spec as well and causing things to not line up optimally?

I would check to see if the shellplate has a lot of "give" in it. Take your finger and press down on the outer edges. If it moves a great deal, it needs to be tightened. That flex allows the brass to move too much which can cause all kinds of problems.

My experience with Dillon is excellent. They stand behind their stuff.

[fuse]

Well it looks like you got the paperclip figured out. I think they covered that in the Dillon VHS video I bought with my 550 years ago.

The part about the powder die, when you say sticking, do you mean that it takes extra pressure to bring the ram down?

yes.

What kind of brass are you reloading? I actually take the time to sort my brass by headstamp when reloading 9mm. Over the years I have seen so much garbage 9mm brass that I find that spending a couple extra minutes to sort them not only improves reliability, but accuracy as well.

whatever I pick up, all kinds. I have considered sorting. perhaps I will someday.

[fuse]

I would check to see if the shellplate has a lot of "give" in it. Take your finger and press down on the outer edges. If it moves a great deal, it needs to be tightened. That flex allows the brass to move too much which can cause all kinds of problems.

My experience with Dillon is excellent. They stand behind their stuff.

I did this before I made the thread trying to fix this problem.

It certainly helped, although didn't fix it by itself of course.

thanks guys.

[JAD]

whatever I pick up, all kinds. I have considered sorting. perhaps I will someday.

That's pretty much why I don't reload 9 -- sorting really is preferable, and at that point it's not worth it to me.

If the brass squeaks coming off the expander die, I'd look at the way I was cleaning my brass. You may be leaving a little grit. This matters with some brass and not at all with others. I didn't have this issue once I switched to mineral oil + jewler's rouge + cob grit in a tumbler.

[Slavex]

The brass sticking to the expander is not uncommon. Try screwing the powder die more and also out more. You may be belling too much or not enough. Also try polishing the funnel where it touches the case mouth.

[CCT125US]

To the OP, I do suggest sorting by headstamp, especially on a progressive. I like consistency and one brand gives me one feel durring the process. I generally will gather up once fired range brass from friends and classes. I know it is once fired because well, I saw it. I wait until I can separate out say 1500 cases of one headstamp. I set my machine (Dillon 650) for that case and work up a load. Each manufacturer has slightly different brass. Some are thicker / less pliable around the case mouth (smaller internal dimensions / pressure spike with equivalent load) slightly longer or shorter case length (affects bullet seating and pressure again) Brass can have different rebound abilities between mfg. (this can affect case mouth tension / bullet setback) When I have the completed rounds I will insert them into an ammo box to do a visual inspection of the primer. When they are all nice and lined up I simply take a sharpie chisel point marker and run it across the headstamp. This puts a large highly visible marking across the entire base. It verifies I have visually checked the primer, I can see if any one round is out of spec. and after firing I can quickly pull out my cases from the pile of range brass I scoop up, and reload it over and over. I find at my indoor range I have about a 90% recovery rate and at my range about 80%, so my 1500 rds last about 10-13 reloadings. Yes this takes same time but I have multiple safety checks, a round that is equal to or better than the best factory stuff I can afford to shoot, and I can load for half the cost. With all this being said, my standard load works with the main brass types I have come across. I feel that it is safe and performs well for me. Which means I can shoot twice as much... er my wife and I can shoot twice as much.