TimV

Well it was free so nothing lost if it doesn't work but so far, once I figured how to calibrate the scale, it seems to be dead on. I took it to work yesterday where we have sets of calibrated weights in grains and grams. All the weights they had from <1 grain to 50 grams and the scale read perfectly. We'll see how it holds up over time.

A friend of mine gave me a what I presume is an older D-terminator. No instructions of course and no calibration weight. I emailedDillon and true to form, the emailed me almost immediately instructions for several different scales and mailed me out a 50 gram weight which I received in just two days. I started by trying to calibrate the scale but nothing was working per all the instructions they gave me. Basically this is what they sent me... 1 Turn scale on2 Press zero button3 Press and hold the CAL button. It should display 50 grams or 700 grains. Momentarily press CAL to toggle the calibration weight being used.4 Press the OFF key once. The display should change to CAL 05 Set appropriate weight on platform6 If the scale is OK, it will read CAL F in a few seconds. If it is bad, then it will not read at all or will display CAL E.When I go through this procedure and do step 4, I did not see a "CAL 0", nor did I see a "CAL F" or a "CAL E". Quite accidentally, I tapped the ZERO button and all of sudden, just like that, it was working. I have no clue but the scale works great...but only if I tap ZERO instead of OFF... I have attached a picture of the scale for your enjoyment...is this a "one off" scale that Dillon sold at one time? I can find no pictures of anywhere on line.

Interesting...I've been handloading for almost 25 years and I have never needed to lube pistol brass when using carbide dies. I load .380, 38sp/357, 45acp & 9x18 Mak using RCBS or Lee dies and have never needed lube...is this a Dillon thing or a 9mm thing? I have plenty of Dillon lube so will try that. It just seems strange that this is the first time I've heard of using lube on pistol brass using carbide dies.

Yes, thanks for the quick answer. I didn't see this the first time I searched on the issue here Glad it's normal. I was a bit surprised at first though at the force it took to resize the brass. It's been a while since I have reloaded 45acp on the Dillon but I don't remember that needing as much force as the 9mm did. I know that 45acp is a straight walled case where the 9mm has a slight taper to it so that might have something to do with it.

Just bought my first Dillon dies. I usually buy RCBS or Lee but neither were in stock at the time and I'd heard good things about Dillon dies so I sprung for the more expensive (almost 2x the price) Dillon dies. I ran 15 rounds through my 550B and I noticed that the case has an almost "wasp waist" shape when it gets to the output bin, almost like an hourglass shape. I ran it past a friend of mine who teaches reloading and he said that he had to get rid of his 9mm Dillon resize die and replace it with an RCBS die as it was causing issues on his 650 because it was way undersizing the brass. I read somewhere that Dillon makes their 9mm dies diameters at the lower end of minimum SAAMI specs so they will fit in all chambers. I'm not sure if this is true or not. I am loading these with .356 Berry's flat nose hollow base thick plated bullets: https://www.berrysmfg.com/item/bp-9mm-356-124gr-hbfp-tp Any ideas what could be up with this die? I am headed to Phoenix in a couple of weeks and am planning on dropping by Dillon to visit them and get a tour through the place. Maybe I'll bring the die along with me and see if they can shed some light on things.

DA-YUM, this would certainly work. On my wish list, and I might snap and order it anyway. OAL is a safety thing.My rotational-calipers thing is still a good idea. You could make it a lot cheaper than a micrometer die. It's $82.95... Maybe cheaper other places... Expensive, but useful for a long time...

A better way to adjust powder die...at the very least, a knob. I bought some after market ones but they should come installed. Also, a press that can be indexed either manually like the 550 or auto like the 650...

Good news...you'll be able to reload many times more ammo than you used to on the single stage Bad news...you'll be shooting more so you're going to be buying a lot more bullet parts Ask me how I know

I've loaded about 5 thousand 223 rounds on my 550b since I bought it in August. I use Lee dies. I have had no issues at all.

A few weeks back, I went to Lowes looking for something else but had been thinking about buying those press on knobs for a while since I bought my 550b this past summer. I noticed in the specialty hardware drawers they had sets of four wooden wheels for wooden toys. They were about 1.75" in diameter. I bought a package of 4 brought them home and using my drill press, drilled a hole about 2/3's of the way through the center (there is already a small hole in there for a wire axle or whatever. I used that hole as a pilot. I wished I remembered what the drill size was but it was slightly smaller than the max width of the corner to corner width of the bolt... After I drilled the holes, I polyeurathaned the wheels, now knobs, and after the poly dried, pressed them on. Voila...they work great! linky: http://www.lowes.com/pd_423453-37672-884827___?productId=4586283&pl=1&Ntt=wooden+wheels

Go by a Dillon Dealer if you have one local. I do and there is always a box of them on the counter. I have quite a bit of Dillon stuff but never have ordered from them direct. Always get it at the local gun store that carries their stuff. You can download the Blue Press at Dillon's website as a .pdf too.

I have been reloading for 25 years on a single stage RCBS Jr. press. I visited a friend of mine in Phoenix, AZ this past spring and he had three Dillon presses all set up in his garage. After reloading some 5.56 with him I knew it was time to finally upgrade. I saved my pennies and bought a 550B this past August. I actually enjoy reloading again...no more four pulls (at least) per piece of ammo... I still use the RCBS on very short runs or on ammo I am loading that I don't have the caliber conversion kit or the tool head yet for though. I reload 7 different calibers and I have 4 Dillon caliber setups. Three more to go.

Monday mornings are usually the busiest time for a phone in help desk, especially if the desk is closed on weekends. When I can, I will usually try to call on a Tuesday...usually not as long a wait.