[550b primer feeding problem]

I have had mine "grow" over time which has caused feeding issues. Set screw loosens over the compression cycle is my theory, so I tear it apart give it a good cleaning and put in my bench vice to compress it all together and tighten the set screw. I also use the time to clean out the primer tube magazine and replace the plastic tip on the primer magazine tube just as preventive. Then shoot Dillon a email requesting replacement parts that I just replaced.

[550 Case Feeder Operation?]

I loaded 223 on my 559, I had to make adjustments to the cam timing, but it worked quite well, even when I had to run slower than I do with pistol, it worked pretty good for a homemade conversion. It wasn't perfect, but worked well enough that I never manually feed brass in my other non casefeed 550. Just search around here, you'll find tons of good info on how to do it.

JW

[Prairie Dog 6-120 Perfect Powder Flow Control for Dillon Powder Bars]

I just bought one today, I'll give some feedback once I get it in.

[550b Yearly Maintenance]

Clean out the primer tubes with long pipe cleaner, oil the shaft with some 30w oil or any good motor oil you have around the house, grease the linkage arms with a needle grease gun, grease where the op rod goes into the primer shield housing, and grease the powder thrower on the outside where it rubs against itself and the fail safe rod system moves around. Just sparingly on the powder thrower. Primer system is run dry, only graphite. No oil.

That is all I do every year or so. Keeps your 550 happy.

[550 or 650]

I agree with Sarge, I have run two 550's for 20 years, finally got a 650. I could load 1K in two hours on a 550 with regularity, my average speed was 100 rounds in 6-7 minutes. But here is my advice though, 550 cal changes are $45.00 each and you can do it in 5-10 minutes. 650 cal changes are a 15 to 20 min depending on the cam adjustment and cost $78.00. If you time is more important than $ and you like to go fast, the 650 is the way to go, however, you want to load ammo for just two calibers and you want it simple, go with the 550. If you put two people running 550 and 650 side by side and were going to load 500 rounds of 9mm, change cal, load 500 rounds of 45 ACP in one afternoon. The difference in time with the cal switch would only be 15 minutes at most between the two different loaders. Be sure to look at the cost of the machines too. 550 is less than 1/2 the price, you can buy a lot of bullets and powder for the difference. I love them both equality, just each one has its strengths and weakness.

[Dillon 1050 Casefeeder Motor stopped - RESOLVED]

If it cooled off and still doesn't run, odds are its toast. You can use a multi meter and run continuity test to see if something is burned up. if you get no readings, the motor is done. This is the motor that Dillon uses to the best of knowledge on the newer casefeeders Dayton 3m098 They are 45-55 bucks from ebay to amazon to walmart.

Adios

[Question on the wiring of a 650 Casefeeder]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'll get with my resident electronics "expert" and once I can get the parts together I'll post my results. . .

[Primer problem on Dillon 550 - RESOLVED]

One other thing to check, the primer tube that sits in the primer shield assembly. I have had primer misfeeds because of primer tube is a bit dirty from primer dust. Take a long pipe cleaner (sold at hobby lobby or walmart in craft sections) and scrub out the primer tube. jmoris is right, about the knurled nut being important. I was told by a Dillon rep to that you tighten it with two fingers only your thumb and pinky, no torque at all. Between making sure the primer slide is at the right height of 1.215 to 1.220, clean tubes, knurled nut barely tight and a new primer tip, you should be good to go.

[Question on the wiring of a 650 Casefeeder]

I am in the process of converting my 550 casefeeder to a 650 casefeeder. My understanding the 550 case feeders fixed speed is high. I would like to slow down the feeder to work with 30-06 I have the correct switch for the high and low setting, but I need to find out the size resistor that is soldered in-line to drop the speed of the motor. Does anyone know the spec for the resistor? I really don't want to buy a 42.00 conversion when all I need is the resistor.

I have very little knowledge in electronics, but I have a friend of mine who is a Electronics teacher at the local Community college who could identify it if he could see a good picture of it. Could someone take a good picture of guts of a casefeeder? Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Jeff

[550b Must-Have Accessories]

@chuckols: I've had the Gen 2 Primer Track Bearing Plate for several months, and it continues to function flawlessly. I followed the suggestion to use a bit of powdered graphite on the plate, and it has made the function even smoother. This item is terrific; it has made reloading on my 550B much easier and more pleasant. I will gladly give it a grade of A-Plus.

Best wishes.

I am always looking for feedback of my Primer Track Bearing Plate good or bad. However I prefer good. . . .

Let me know if I can do anything else and thank you for taking time to post on this forum!

JW

[550b Must-Have Accessories]

Before I installed the case feeder, my primer catcher thingy caught 99.9% of the spent primers. With the case feeder and it's primer chute (they looks the same actually, I don't see what's changed except the actual specimen that came with the feeder) I drop probably 10% of the primers on the ground and/or the primer-mess-catching-cardboard-box.

Here is my fix for primers missing the cup on a 550B with a case feeder. The spent primer chute wings are too small, far away from the top of the shellplate so I made some cardboard ones that fixed it. I had to cut and trim, cut and trim and cut and trim to get them just right. Just a dob of hot glue and your done.

I put a roll pin in the chute and also i glued a little chunk of wheel weight on the other side of the chute(side you can't see). The idea, when you raise the shellplate, I want the chute to pop positivity close and the extra weight helps!

This has made my primers nearly stop hitting my floor, I have also made extensions on the spent primer cup that makes it complete see pics. I am in the process of getting some made out of sheet metal, the paper ones last a little while . Just a pea size drop of hot glue on each side is all that is needed to hold them in place. Between the roll pin, magnet, extensions on the spent primer chute and the extra wings on the primer chute, I have 99.9% primers going into the cup now.

[550B Priming Problem]

I accidentally came up with the same solution as adjusting the cam. I should have read the manual!

But I figured out that the brass pusher over-pushes the brass and it either bounces or rocks out of the station. So the key (as in the manual) is to adjust the cam so that the pusher pushes the case to exactly where you need it an no further.

I fixed it the dumb way, I added painters/masking tape to the inside elbow of the cam to fine tune the pusher so it would place the case where I needed it and no more than that. I went from using my thumb to push the case in, just before moving my left hand to grab another bullet to ... not having to do that.

Another handy tip in the manual is to pull the handle before turning on the case feeder, otherwise the bottom case will almost always tip over.

I thought I was so clever, and then found the manual online and read the cam adjustment tip, which is the key to success on this case feeder.

Also, keep some needle nosed pliers or tweezers handy, so you can pluck fallen cases or double-fed cases out of station one since it's so cramped.

Amen on the needle nose pliers! I have used a wire cloth hanger cut to about 8 inches long with a 90 degree bend that is 1/2" long to make a little hook for wayward brass.

[550B Priming Problem]

Sorry for the delay, family duties, church etc

Yes, you will most likely need to adjust the cam and decrease the travel of the casefeed plunger. You might be able to loosen the nut closest to you, tap it away from the machine, tighten it up and test it.

Don't worry about the bearing "touching" or not touching the cam. Just make sure it aligned with the cam when you raise and lower the handle.

This is how I adjust my cam. To make things easy, get rid of the lower tube but keep the casefeed adapter in place. I will keep a few cases in the adapter and start making my adjustments.

I'll start off with a case in the shell holder. loosen the cam nuts and then raise the handle enough where the casefeed plunger is in the complete forward stroke, the center of the cam track. I'll loosen the cam and put the cam up against the bearing, tighten the nuts just enough so it won't move. I don't like the cam super sloppy when I am adjusting it, I like to tighten nuts a tiny bit with nut driver so when I want to adjust them, I have to tap on the cam to make it move. Now I mark the cam plate legs that sit on the 550B frame with a sharp pencil so you can see how much you are moving the cam. I like to start by moving the cam (imagine you are standing up looking at the machine straight down) towards the 4:30 or 5:00 o'clock direction just a bit, toward the cam ball bearing, your shortening the casefeed plunger stroke, then tighten the nuts up. I want it to short stroke the cases going in the shell holder at the beginning. I like to start with it a little out of wack, so I can start to move it in. Kind of see "where I am to where I am going" thought process. Go ahead and cycle the handle, case should stop short and NOT go into the shell plate completely. I usually will make sure the Casefeeder plunger face and station one locator track is clean and grease free.

Now make only SMALL adjustments. I move the cam no more than 1/16 to 3/32 movement per adjustment. Tight up, check it again. GO SLOW, because small adjustments make a big difference. I find you can adjust the cam forwards and backwards, but sometimes you twist the whole casefeeder cam clockwise or counterclockwise just a tiny bit. I had to clean up the holes (slightly increase the diameter) on my cam plate to make it work with .380. When I am really close, I have the back nut snug, but loosen the front nut to do the twisting motion to really tweak it in or tighten the front and twist the back. A pivot motion. Watch you pencil marks to know where you are, to where you moved it.

If you hold you tongue just right, you can have it done in 5 minutes. Don't be surprised that you will still make some tiny adjustments in the first 100-200 to get it dialed in 100%. By the way, one trick I have pick up somewhere, put a little dob of grease on the bottom of the station one locator. It keeps it from moving around and acts like a cushion when cases drop on it. I check to make sure it is a bit higher than the shell plate platform.

Now check your shell plate for proper tension. Fill the shell plate with 4 9mm shells (make sure they have good rims) and tighten up the shell holder screw, enough where they rotate freely, but you have taken out as much slop as you can. You can remove the auto eject wire (pull straight up) and then you can spin the shell plate around and around. Easy test when your done adjusting the allen bolt, remove your shells, then touch the shell plate at station 3 (seating). Does it flex up and down? If it does, you probably need to tighten it a bit more. A delicate dance between too tight/binding vs sloppy.

If you lube your brass (I do) just make sure to let them dry and they are not super sticky, that will cause them to stick to the plunger.

OK, clear as mud? I hope I made sense, its late here. If I left you confused, just ask.

Adios and off to bed

[Anyone start with a 550 and wish they got a 650?]

I hate to jump into the Chevy vs Ford, but here is my two cents for what I did for flexibly and loading speed. For the money and if you have the space, get two 550's. One press with a Casefeeder and one without. I have timed myself against a buddy who has 650 with case feeder and me with a 550 with a casefeeder loading 100 round lots. It was a draw, sometimes I was faster, sometimes he was faster but we were so close. It is pretty easy to set up a 550B to load quality .223. When I was playing the 3gun game, it would load 1/2MOA ammo easy, as long as I set it up right and hesitated for a sec or two while the powder was dropping (I use extruded powder). The cost of the caliber conversions and the simplicity of the 550B is its greatest strength.

However, if you just want to load one or two calibers, have the cash, have a bit of mechanical aptitude, I would be hard pressed to discourage you in buying a 650. But just know a 550B with a casefeeder will load just as fast for less money.

[550B Priming Problem]

If you have the 550 casefeeder manual, your problem is covered on page 11. 'Fine Adjustment of the Cam'

http://www.hitfactorshooting.com/support/RL550-Casefeed-Manual-May-2007.pdf (Can't find it on Dillon's website???)

I had the same issue when I started messing around with my case feeder. PMT is right, its in the cam adjustment, however I had to sightly open up the holes on the the bolts that cam uses to bolt to the bench, but my cam has been modified so I can load .223/.300AAC on my 550B with a casefeeder. The back hole was my troublesome one. Not much, maybe 1/32" was all it needed and it has been great. Just set the cam where the case feeder plunger just pushes in the case and when it retracts no bounce, sometimes less is more. You make you self crazy adjusting the cam until you figure it out. You don't want the case doesn't bounce back, and also make sure the case feeder plunger tip it is clean, when mine gets a bit of case lube build up, it acts like a glue and cases "stick" to it.

[550b Must-Have Accessories]

I want to add my thanks to JW (aka Walnut) for his "Dillon 550 Primer Track Bearing Plate with Ball Bearing, 2nd Generation." I installed it on my 550b, and it works beautifully. It completely eliminated the "shudder" of the primer bar that was being caused by tilting and canting (torquing) of the slide as it moved back and forth. The priming operation is now smooth and reliable.

I am so favorably impressed that I ordered a second one for my son who also has a Dillon 550b. If you are having problems with your original primer slide and bearing track, give this a try; I'm confident you'll be glad you did.

Thank you for your kind words! I am glad I was able to help another shooter.

[550b Must-Have Accessories]

Thank you, I glad it worked out so well for you, I try really hard to get them sent out the same day I get the order because I know when I order stuff, I want it ASAP!! So I try to extend the same courtesy to my customers. I appreciate you posting that you bought one and you had postive feedback. I have gotten several email from customers with ideas/feedback and take them to heart. I am constantly amazed about how great shooters are to deal with vs the general public. When I get my next set of slides cut out, I have a few tweaks I am going to do to make them better.

I bought your Gen2 primer slide plate, and have been very pleased with it so far. Do you recommend polishing the primer slide as well? If so, what Dremel attachments would be good for that?

I have polished my sides in the past and I haven't seen any advantage to do so, besides having a pretty shinny slide and potentially causing more binding issues. The major issues I have seen is getting a bunch of oil/primer dust/polishing corn media in the track which causes the binding or you drop the primer slide and put a burr on the slide itself. I just take a single cut file to the primer slide, holding it flat against the surface of the primer slide and just looking for shiny spots while applying light pressure, your just knocking off the burrs, not filing the entire primer slide. I did my testing with the slides unpolished, just deburred, with factory primer slides unpolished and I loaded over 2500 rounds without messing with the priming system, just a bit of powder graphite once every 1000 or so. If it looked dirty, just took some canned air, blow out the crap and keep loading. I would be very wary about going after the primer slide with a Dremel, you don't want to round the edges or change the dimensions, that is why I use a single cut file, you can hold it parallel with surface and you'll keep the edges square, the surfaces smooth and flat and not gouge the surface.

Ultimately, if it works, don't mess with it. If anyone else has questions, feel free to ask.

[550b Must-Have Accessories]

Little background on the Dillon Primer Track Bearing Plate, I am the manufacture of the Dillon Primer Track Bearing Plate,

I bought the plate/brg kit last week. Ordered it on the 1st and had it in my hands on the 3rd. Fit & finish are awesome. I 've loaded 1000rds since the install & it is smooth as silk. I don't have an E-Bay account & couldn't find a way to leave positive feedback, so consider this post as Positive. A+

Thank you, I glad it worked out so well for you, I try really hard to get them sent out the same day I get the order because I know when I order stuff, I want it ASAP!! So I try to extend the same courtesy to my customers. I appreciate you posting that you bought one and you had postive feedback. I have gotten several email from customers with ideas/feedback and take them to heart. I am contantly amazed about how great shooters are to deal with vs the general public. When I get my next set of slides cut out, I have a few tweaks I am going to do to make them better.

JW

[550b Must-Have Accessories]

Put a small magnet on the primer drop chute, keep it open and less primers on the floor.

Hmm, not heard this one before and not sure how it works. Magnet just to keep the chute open?

All it does it give a bit of extra weight so the chute pops open as soon as you raise shellplate.

I also forgot to add, get rid of the cotter pin in the primer chute and replace it with a proper pin. I use a 1" x 1/16" roll pin and trimed it down. The cotter pin will bend and cause the primer chute to be stuck.

[Do primers go bad with age]

Speaking from personal experience, I had bought a old stock case of Rem 5 1/2 primes before the "insanity," severel years ago, The went bang everytime, but I was getting mystry carbon build up around the the primer pocket edge, I shoot a couple of hundred of them and they worked great. HOWEVER, I went home to clean my guns, my AR 9mm, 1911 9mm and my M&P 9mm had significate eroision damage on the breech face from leaking gas.

I contacted Remington and supplied them the Lot# and pics of the damage guns. They tested my loads, and they were within spec, so overload was not an issue. They informed me that they had a lot of primers from the late 80's to mid 90's that had primer cups that would age harden and crack when shot. It affected only 1 1/2 and 5 1/2 primers sizes Light loads or heavy loads, the primer cup shoulder would crack and leak gas. In the end Remington did not repair my guns due to the age of the primers (1992 Lot if my memory serves me correctly). However they did send me two free cases of primers for my trouble. They were really nice about it, 20 year old primers are a bit out of the warrenty period. But to this day I won't shoot old stock Remington until I call to check the lot and check the primer anvil. If it has 4 wings, it is the bad lot that has age harden, the newer 3 wing style are safe to use. However, I would buy them and call Remington, they said they will always do an exchange.

Sad part, I had 500ish rounds loaded up with the bad primers. In the end, I gave them to a friend who is a cop, who then gave them to bomb guys to disposed of. . . . . .I didn't want them around to accidently find there way back into my gun or anyone elses.

[E-Bay Swage tool ?]

I bought the 550 swaging tool from GS, I have only used it on 9mm NATO and S&B brass and it works great. However, I have only ran 100 rounds or so. . .I will run some 223 in the future, but from my narrow experince, I am a convert!

[550b powder drop spilling onto shell-plate]

One trick to find out if it is the power drop vs other place, when you upstroke to power drop, wait 3-5 seconds before you lower the handle and see if you get any power still leaking.

I have had to clean out the powder funnel assembly (long skinny silver tube that is part of the powder hopper assembly) I have even spray the the entire powder drop (not the plastic hopper tube) with brake cleaner and then run some powder throught it again, with the powder thrower set at max, with a ball power (high graphite content) to coat the inside and then try to throw some charges again to see it fixes it.

But I have always had a little bit of powder dribbing on the shell plate.

I hope that helps, btw happy national beer day!

[550b powder drop spilling onto shell-plate]

I have had the same problem in the past with powder appearing on the shell plate. Over the years, I've have had powder come out from from several places, but always appears on the shell plate. The powder bar itself was "leaking", so I had to shim it, then inside the powder funnel was rough causing the powder to hang for a second or two before it dropped, so I polished it with a SS pistol cleaning brush wrapped in 0000 steel wool with a bit of oil, chucked in a drill and polished out the inside and lastly the the powder would spill out as it rotated on the shell plate because the detent ball would stop it abruptly when it snapped into place. I change the steel ball detent with a plastic ball detent that I bought on ebay with the shell plate bearing kit. That made a big difference on one 550, not so much on the other one. Don't ask me why. . . . .

[Dillon decapping pin modifications]

This is what I have been doing for nearly 20 years of loading on Dillon 550B with Dillon pistol dies. The Dillon Sales manager showed me how to shape/form the pin at Philmont Scout Camp in 1998 and I have never looked back. He explained to me that the very tip gets stuck into the center of the primer anvil and that is why it can stay on and get pulled back into the primer pocket. By shaping/polishing it, there is nothing to get stuck in the center of the primer anvil. It runs 99% like this, but once in a blue moon I have a primer that gets stuck on the tip and gets pulled back into a case.

Just put the pin in the chuck of a drill and file/grind/polish down with the handy dremel while the drill is spinning the decapping pin and shape it like a spitzer bullet.

[550 Shell Platform]

I agree with Youngeyes, if you have a long 6" or longer 3/32" Allen wrench it can be done. The other choice is to pull the shell platform but that is a diffrent whole job.