Dillon 550B Press Issue

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Revived

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Looks like most possible solutions have been covered… just a “heads-up” for the future – a great source for Dillon specific questions can be found at the brianenos.com forum under general reloading then Dillon reloading equipment… almost anything imaginable about issues and/or fixes can be found there…
 

aviator41

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The Lee Fan in me is loving the fact the their Auto Disk Powder measure proved to be the solution.

I knew there was a reason I stayed with their stuff! Sorry Big Blue, you'll have to keep waiting to reach into this hip pocket.
 

RetiredTater

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The Lee Fan in me is loving the fact the their Auto Disk Powder measure proved to be the solution.

The Auto Disk was a work around and a solution to a bigger problem.....I don't like having to recalibrate powder all the danged time. The Dillon PM is now working just fine and well within tolerances, including those I have found on the Lee measure.

I am not discounting Lee, they make a fine product and I own one (SOMEWHERE) and use their dies on my Dillon, and a powder measure as well, but the Dillon PM is not the issue, it was as I suspected.....Operator Headspace and Timing.
 

RetiredTater

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I stood at my bench and made about 150 rounds tonight.

Yes, you are right. (I will admit that only because I think you are a man and men can stick together). Your answer was more fun.

Kind of like me and a Glock. Why pay that much money on something that goes boom when you pull the trigger....I have a Ruger SR-40 that goes boom everytime I pull the trigger too. Less cost too!
 

okietom

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So Dillon said that IMR 700X, expect more variance than some others, up to .4 grains (top to bottom). I can handle that.

He also had me tighten down the hex bolt on the side of the actuator for the slide assembly. REALLY SNUG IT UP! Now I am getting variance, but it is only .2 up and .2 down...Well within in acceptables. Not like when I was pushing do not exceed limits on a few.

I thank you to everyone who gave me ideas, suggestions, and patience.

I am thinking I am going to get it figured out here before too long, and be cranking out ammo like there's no tomorrow. Tonight....I am off to try the 1911 out.

You have reminded me of another issue that I have had with my Dillon powder measure. When I upgraded my press to the 550B it was simply removing the springs from the charge bar on the measure and adding the rod that pulls the charge bar back. The plate that goes under the shell plate to operate the rod raised the shell plate. Other than having to readjust all of my dies that were in tool heads already it started causing that same screw to come unscrewed. The fix for me was to really tighten it up.
 

RetiredTater

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You have reminded me of another issue that I have had with my Dillon powder measure. When I upgraded my press to the 550B it was simply removing the springs from the charge bar on the measure and adding the rod that pulls the charge bar back. The plate that goes under the shell plate to operate the rod raised the shell plate. Other than having to readjust all of my dies that were in tool heads already it started causing that same screw to come unscrewed. The fix for me was to really tighten it up.

Yeah, Tom at Dillon told me to crank it down! I thought maybe I was going to be a bit too tight, but it seemed to smooth out the whole operation.
 

penman53

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You need to use the large powder bar I believe for 223 and the small powder bar for the pistol ammo. That could be part of your problem. Call Dillon, they know exactly what to do. Just make sure when you call that you can tell them exactly what is happening and beat around the bush. They are very busy all the time and the more accurate you are with your question and problem the more likely they will be to bend over backwards to help you. Good luck.
 

Blitzfike

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Just out of curiosity, what are you measuring the charges with. I have found that several different electronic powder measures vary by that much with a fixed calibration weight. If I am having difficulty I always check with a beam scale. I have a Lyman DPS1200 electronic dispenser that I love, but I still verify with a beam scale. Good luck.. Blitzfike
 

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