flutedchamber

I realize this is 9 months old, but can you please tell me what page of the May Blue Press it appears on? I've scoured mine and can't find it. Thank You.

I can think of 5 different times with 4 different people, and I'm only 63. I don't mind helping someone in trouble, but there are limits.

I don't understand how people that are too cheap to pay you for your time and material when you fix something for them, feel paid in full by telling you that "You'll get your reward in Heaven". I assume they must have a hotline to God, and it is OK with Him that they load their debt onto Him that He must pay in the future (when I die and go to Heaven) BUT they reap the benefits of my labor and material on earth NOW. Why didn't they pray to God to for Him to fix whatever it was that I fixed....seeing as they have a direct line to the creator???

I know this is an old topic, but I wonder if anyone ever took the time to notice if, after changing shell plates, that the primer actuator arm is moving parallel to the primer slide? The clamp on the primer shield tube can be turned about 10 degrees right or left of center, and both directions off of center cause primer feed problems. This, in my opinion, is a poor design on the part of Dillon. The clamp block on the primer shield tube should have a locating nub so that it will only go back correctly oriented. No mention of watching for this problem is mentioned in my RL or Super 1050 operators manual.

https://ballistictools.com/store/perfect-powder-baffle-for-dillon-powder-measure I use this on both my RL and super 1050. Orient the ears 90 degrees to one another and it makes the Dillon powder measure somewhere near useable. For any powder charge small enough to be within the range of the Lee auto disk measure, I use that because it consistently drops within 1/10 of a grain, something none of my Dillon measures can do, even with all the upgrades.

I always screw the primer tube cap down until it contacts the top of the primer tube and then back it off a quarter turn. As long as the primer feed tube tips are OK and your primer slide is clean, that should cure your feed problems.

I have been following these kits on Ebay for a while, since I first saw them when searching for Dillon 1050 parts. While the needle bearing seems like a good idea at first, you should take into account the fact that the needle bearing is much harder than the lock ring or parent material that the press is constructed from. Over time the needles will wear tiny depressions most likely in the press frame, since the lock ring appears to be tempered to be made tougher. I reload everything from 380 acp to 45-70 on my two 1050's with zero powder spillage problems. I don't use grease on the shell plate and lock ring area, I thoroughly clean the area with pure alcohol and treat all four surfaces ( bottom of lock ring, bottom or ram/press, top and bottom of shell plate) with Brownells Action Magic II. Use this as directed and snug your shell plate down as usual, with just a whisper of drag and the press is smooth as silk. The Action Magic does not hold or attract dust and dirt. I personally believe the bearing is a solution looking for a problem. PS. The delrin ball idea may help a bit, but I have not had trouble with the steel ball.

Thems fightin' words around here. My piece of Dillon crap works very well. Sarge, you are right. The Dillon scale is an overpriced poorly constructed piece of crap.

If you mount the swage vertically, with the handle on top you dramatically increase your production rate. It sounds odd, but I found this out when I tried it for the hell of it about ten years ago. A rubber band mounted to keep the handle semi-raised is handy.

I had similar problems with my Dillon digital scale and finally the display quit altogether. Chinese crap. I bought a GemPro that weighs to .01 grains (ten times more sensitive than the Dillon) has a greater capacity and is more accurate according to the supplied spec sheet...for less money. Check GemPro for their guarantee if you want a pleasant surprise.

I wore out a RCBS carbide 45acp die. It wore eccentric by almost a full .001 and overall by the same amount. It's not the brass that wears the carbide, it's the microscopic grit that wears it. NOTHING is impervious to wear. I have not used Dillon dies long enough to wear them out...so far. The RCBS die went over 200K before it went south.

After much shopping and comparing I bought a MyWeigh Gem Pro 500 for $108 delivered. Accurate to .05 grains, 1543 grain capacity. It comes with an AC adapter and plastic box plus check weight. Tare may be set up to full weight capacity of scale. Super sensitive and not bothered by lite air movement. I am very pleased with this scale. Oh, lifetime guarantee.

I polished my funnels on a lathe with emery paper and later rouge with a felt wheel. A smooth surface will not hold brass like a rough surface. See my post about using dry lube on the funnels to prevent this. (Dillon lube tips for the 1050)

I tried the scale with the AC adapter with the same results. Ditto for the cleaning (of the already pristine) battery contacts on the scale. Except for the shipping to me, this scale has never been in temperatures below 68 degrees or above 80 degrees. The scale has never been dropped. I am not satisfied with the quality of this scale, which is definitely not up to the usual Dillon quality standard. I will take my money and buy a Pact digital or a commercial digital grain scale for the same price with a lifetime warranty. By what I have read on the web this is not an unusual problem with this scale.

I have had a Dillon electronic scale for about 2 years, IIRC. It is always stored in it's little plastic Dillon "house" to keep it clean, with the batteries removed, of course. A few days ago I went to use my scale for the first time in 6 months. Inserted the batteries, pressed "on" and only part of the numbers show. I took the batteries out, wiped the ends off, reinserted them and tried again. Same deal as the first time, maybe I gained a piece of one number and lost a piece of another. The batteries were checked with a meter...1.6v each. Tried again with the 110 volt converter. Same deal. If you turn the scale off and on ten times, you'll get ten different results, but always some whole numbers, some only part of the number appears. Batteries were never left in the scale to corrode, and the scale was used all of 6 times. For the first time I am dissatisfied with a Dillon product, especially when I see that a Pact scale is made in Texas (that is in the USA) and has a lifetime warranty for less money.

The info you are looking for is available in the back of any Cartridges of the World book. It isn't as complete, but everything you will need is there.

No, the manual isn't outdated. It does cover tracers for different applications within the same caliber and most likely from different manufacturers. What caliber pistol are you looking for??

It looks like that manual is available for download from ar15dotcom. I did not see where it recommended stick powder. I looked in my manual and here is what is listed for a few calibers. cal 30 tracer M1 IMR 4895 cal 50 tracer M1 IMR 5010 cal 5.56 tracer M196 IMR 8208M There are other loadings for these cartridges using ball powder. The ball powder is used with later, easier to ignite tracers or incendiaries. The person asked about tracers/incendiaries both bought and "fill your own type." The stick powder is a MUST with the load your own type and is a foolproof powder to get optimal lite or incendiary ignition no matter what the age of the projectile or ambient temperature. In the case of the 5.56 the stick powder yields less fouling and more reliable weapon functioning. Why take a chance..use stick powder. It's not like they are being used to shoot at Camp Perry.

I have used this on my 1050 and Super 1050, but I am sure it would apply at least in part to any Dillon press. A few years ago I bought a product from Brownells called Action Magic (AM from no on in). It worked great in pistols and rifles so I decided to try it on my Dillon presses. To use the AM, the part must first be cleaned of all petroleum lubricants, then (I) clean it again in denatured alcohol to remove any oils. Then you take a qtip and put a few drops of liquid from the first bottle on it. Spread this liquid wherever you want something to be slippery. Don't be cheap in this step. Let it dry, then take a second qtip and put some powder from the second bottle on it. Rub the part with this powder wherever you treated the part with the liquid. Now take a third qtip and rub the powder until it shines, burnishing it into the metal. Unless you wash the treated part in solvent the treatment is very long lasting and does not attract dirt or powder residue. When the treatment begins to wear off, just repeat the powder application/burnishing step. This is where I found the AM to be of great use on my 1050's. Shell plate. Both where the case is held and the contact points that are usually greased. Also remember to treat where the detent ball rides under the shellplate. The AM does not attract or hold powder so cleanup from a mishap is done with a soft brush or blast of air. Primer slide. Treat both the slide surface and press surface, as well as the primer "hole". Case slider. Sorry, I don't recall the correct name. Again, treat the slider contact surfaces as well as the cutout where the case fits. Powder measure. If it moves or slides and isn't made of plastic, treat it. Treat all surfaces of inside of powder measure where the powder bar slides as well as the piece that moves when you adjust the powder weight. Powder funnels. Treat the outside and inside. Powder slips through very well and cases bell very easily. Shell plate ball bearing and spring. Treat both, easier indexing. Primer pocket swage end. Treat just the swage end itself. Almost zero brass buildup and easier swaging. There are probably a lot more places to use AM on the press, but this is all that I have used it on. The press operates more smoothly and possibly with less effort. All the roller bearings have been cleaned in solvent and repacked with synthetic grease ( I use Amsoil racing grease). The center shaft gets a few drops of Amsoil 0W30 synthetic motor oil spread with a small gun patch to coat all the surfaces. I hope this helps someone. The bottles of AM that I bought 4 years ago are just over half gone. A little goes a long way.

If you want some specific info I can look in my manual. Just let me know. I have used the loads in the manual with complete success.

You have an excellent setup there. Other than the above comments about anchoring the bench to the wall, may I suggest two things? First, take a piece of 1X4 as long as the back of your bench. Stain and seal it to make it purty, then screw it to the back edge of your benchtop leaving about two inches showing. This will prevent items from getting "lost" in the junction of the wall and benchtop as well as keeping the wall scuff free for the most part. If you wanted you could use a piece of 3/4 plywood as long as the bench and as high as just below the windowsill. That would give you a place to screw brackets for shelves that you will find come in handy for storage. My second idea is to grab an old bed sheet to cover your bench while it is not in use. It appears as tho your bench is in the garage. The bed sheet will keep dust and grit off of your benchtop and loader, as well as keeping prying eyes out. Best of luck. Enjoy your new (not so money-saving) fun hobby.

I believe it it Hi-tech that sells a military techinical manual for about $19. It give you specs of all military ammo from the 22 rimfire all the way to I believe 30mm. The technical manual number is TM 43-0001-27 Mine is dated 4/1994. It is a wealth of information on all US military ammo and components. According to this tech manual the best results are attained with tracers if a STICK type powder is used. Ball powder does not burn hot enough to reliably light the tracer compound. Since there is a huge selection of stick powder (the entire IMR line, plus military surplus to name a few) assembling a load that matches military spec and performance is no problem. I may be wrong about Hi-tech selling this manual. Any place that handles military manuals will have it or can get it in short order.

I had that happen to my 1050 case feeder which was only single speed. I took the motor out and removed the end plates. Everything was wiped off and given a few drops of gun oil on each bearing. That was 5 years ago and the motor still purrs like a kitten. It seems that the oil used at the factory gums up with age and slows the motor down.