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Dillon 650 station 2 alignment issue


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I have had this used 650 for about 9 months. So far I have only used the press for .38/357. From the beginning I have had continuous issues with the brass lining up with the power funnel using various brass manufacturers.. I have called Dillon without much help (they tried hard, just could not help me). I also posted on other reloading forums wiht no help. I called Dillon again today and they are sending me some alignment tools to check out the press, but I am not sure if that will do any good. I have adjusted locator arm on station 2 every possible way. The manual says to have it a business card's thickness from the brass, I have tried this plus tighter and looser.

Here is the strange thing... The other week I got really frustrated and started wiggling the powder funnel up and down by hand. After this is started working. I loaded almost 200 rounds of .38 and took off to the range.

I have spent the past 1.5 hours trying to load up some .38's and unless I manually sit there and watch every single case at station 2 using my finger to align it this happens 90% of the time:

Dillon2.jpg

The case is going all the way into the shell plate, all other stations align properly. Any suggestions??? It seems like the brass is almost leaning a little.

Thanks!

Jon

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I was getting a little out of alignment - I noticed the little bent wire that routes finished rounds down the chute was dragging on the shell plate, causing it to come to rest prematurely. Just tweaked that little bent wire a little bit and problem solved. Sounds easy, but it took about an hour of screwing around with it before I realized the problem.

Good luck!

~Mitch

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Here's the fix... Mine was exactly the same way. Take the shellplate off, and under it there are 2 hex head scews. Loosen them, you don't need to take them out.

Loosen them and twist the aluminum block on the ram slight in the directly you need to go. You may have to do this a couple of times. Obviously re-tightening them once you are done.

If the primer pushrod is in alignment and the powder funnel isn't, I don't think the items that Dillon is sending will tell you anything, those tools seem to be for aligning the primer assemble to the aluminum block on the ram. Your problem is the entire block needs to pivot slightly.

Doing the above fixed mine entirely.

Alan

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Got a different tool head to try?

Wow, I do have a spare tool head, but I have never thought to try it :) I will try that tomorrow.

Alan,

I will try that as well. I should have some free time tomorrow to experiment a little.

It almost looks to me, and this makes no sense.. that it is stopping at the correct spot under the funnel, but the mouth of the brass it tlted out (away from the center of the shell plate) just a small amount. I usually have to push the mouth of the brass toward the center of the shell plate with my finger to get it to line up.

Thanks

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Got a different tool head to try?

Wow, I do have a spare tool head, but I have never thought to try it :) I will try that tomorrow.

Alan,

I will try that as well. I should have some free time tomorrow to experiment a little.

It almost looks to me, and this makes no sense.. that it is stopping at the correct spot under the funnel, but the mouth of the brass it tlted out (away from the center of the shell plate) just a small amount. I usually have to push the mouth of the brass toward the center of the shell plate with my finger to get it to line up.

Thanks

Here's another thot... perhaps the groves in the shell plate are cut at an angle on your shellplate? I had a .223 shell plate that was cut *way* too narrow and it would take force to seat a cartridge in it... ordered a second one and poof, problem fixed... it would be unlikely, but it could happen I suppose. While you have your shellplate out, etc to see if you can adjust the aluminum block that holds it all... see if your ram/aluminum block is level too.

Just a few random thots.

Alan

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My wife managed to keep my tied up all weekend so I did not have a chance to mess with it as I had hoped. I will post back as soon as I get the chance to try these suggestions. Thanks again folks, you have all given me some good ideas to work with.

Happy loading!

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Jon,

If the brass is not sitting perpendicular to the shellplate what can be the problem? Is the brass in the other stations leaning too? If so, that might point to an issue with the central screw that holds the shellplate in place. It may be bent or possibly the hole that was drilled in the ram is not straight down in the shaft. Unlikely, but something to check.

You mentioned that after "wiggling" the powder funnel up and down, the press ran well for a couple of hundred rounds. You might want to check to make sure that the powder funnel doesn't have anything under the lip of the funnel causing it not to return to the same spot every time. You may have to disss... disasym.....you know.. take it apart ( I have trouble speling sumtime :blush: ) Anyway, it must be repeatable and free to move.

Probably not your fixes, but just another couple of things to check.

dj

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