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dcbridgwater

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Posts posted by dcbridgwater

    Dillon Blasphemy

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted · Edited by dcbridgwater

    I know this is probably blasphemy. Has anyone every used a Hornady case-activated powder measure on a Dillon 550? It should be compatible. Anyone try it?

    This what I ended up doing on my Dillon 550 for rifle reloading. Since my rifle brass is already sized and primed I put a Hornady Bench Rest Powder Measure with the Hornady Case Activated Powder Drop (some say the Case Activated Powder Drop won't work on the Bench Rest Measure but it seems to fit and function fine on mine) on station 1 and removed the priming system operating rod and skip the step of pushing the press handle all the way foward as to seat a primer.

    Then since it is hard to see inside the rifle case to verify the powder charge I put a Dillon Powder Check on station 2 I had to drill a hole in the tool head for the operating rod but it works well. The put the seating die in station 3 and crimp die in station 4.

    For handgun reloading I still use the Dillon powder measure with the UniqueTek Micrometer Powder Bar Kit installed.

    Powder measure options

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted

    New Dillon owner as of today and just loaded up 100 rounds of 223. Not hard to get set up and once I got a rhythm going, I blew through the batch.

    I wondered why it took me so long to buy one (550B) since Dillon HQ is less than 3 miles from my office. Been single staging on Rockchuckers for close to thirty years and never thought I needed anything more. Then I had to start loading 223 and 357. That gets old quick on a single stage.

    Back on topic. My question has to do with using non-Dillon powder measures. Can you use a Lyman 55 or Lee Perfect Powder measure in place of the Dillon and just manually dump the powder?

    I also have a Chargemaster 1500 and see one of those 'funnels' in my future for powders that don't meter so well.

    Get one of these Adapter

    or a AT 500 Powder Dieand a Funnel.

    I also some times use a Hornaday Lock-N-Load Bench Rest Powder Measure with the case activated linkage for some rifle reloading.

    dillon brass bin

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted

    I doubt it. I'm pretty sure the bin and bracket are inventoried with one SKU number. But you could always call Dillon to be sure.

    be

    Dillon Precision: 1 800 223-4570

    Hmmm, since Dillons service is legendary, what if you called them and told them that yours broke? Would they send you a new one, no charge? :unsure:

    If every one thought like that Dillon might have to reconsider the no BS policy. Most cases when I need a part I just order it from web site and pay for it for since most cases the broken part was my fault. I am saving my NO BS privileges for when I really need it.

    dillon brass bin

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted

    I doubt it. I'm pretty sure the bin and bracket are inventoried with one SKU number. But you could always call Dillon to be sure.

    be

    Dillon Precision: 1 800 223-4570

    thanks dc and thanks brian! i sent an email to them an hour ago. i`ll wait til tomorrow if they reply. btw, is this bracket for both bins or are there 2 seperate brackets, one for brass bin and one for loaded rounds?

    There are 2 brackets the one for the empty case bin is bolted on in front of the bracket for the loaded rounds that came with the Strong Mount, using the same mounting holes with longer screws.

    dillon brass bin

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted · Edited by dcbridgwater

    hi, was noticing lately in the dillon catalog that there is a bin positioned in front of the loaded cart. bin on the 550b. its for the empty brass. does anyone know if you can just buy the bracket for it? i have extra bins. thanks.

    You can purchase the empty case bin from Brian's website Empty case bin or from Dillon's website Empty case bin

    but the Strong Mount is required to mount the bracket.

    Oops reread your post and seen your just looking for the bracket.

    Went back through my paper work and the instructions for the Empty Case Bin shows a part number of 11147 bracket. But I do not know if you can buy just the bracket.

    Convert Dillon 650 .45 ACP to 6.8 SPC

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted · Edited by dcbridgwater

    My landlady bought her son last Christmas an AR-15 in 6.8 SPC. She got all excited when she saw my Dillon 650 and began commenting how she could make ammo for her son. (She is ~75 and he in his forties and is heading back to Iraq in a few weeks). She wants to make a bunch of rounds for him for Christmas.

    I was thinking it is not that easy, but I want to give it a try, but couldn't figure out all the changes needed to convert from .45 ACP to 6.8 SPC.

    I have the 650 with the case feeder and extras.

    I shoot Bullseye and reload exclusively .45, maybe 15,000 rounds a year or so, so I am not a beginner reloader but know very little about rifle.

    I have a two part question:

    1. What are all the additional parts to I need? (new shell plate? new dies? primer assembly parts?)

    2. Are there any of the components for the 6.8 SPC that could also be used with the Garand and the AR? (I have a Garand bought from Camp Perry in 30-'06, and an AR-15 in .223/5.56 and thought that I could buy the parts that were able to be also used by me)

    I have the Deluxe quick change kit as well.

    Thanks very much. I usually post on The High Road but this seemed the right place as well for this inquiry.

    Give this web site a try it should tell you what you need Calconversion.

    Hornady LNL AP Powder Measure on a 650

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted · Edited by dcbridgwater

    I do not have a 650 but have set up a Hornady Powder Measure on a 550.

    This what I ended up doing on my Dillon 550. Since my rifle brass is ready sized and primed on my Redding Big Boss II press. I put a Hornady Bench Rest Powder Measure with the Hornady Case Activated Powder Drop (some say the Case Activated Powder Drop wont work on the Bench Rest Measure but it seems to fit and function fine on mine) on station 1, remove the primer system operating rod and skip the step of pushing the press handle all the way foward as to seat a primer.

    Then since it is hard to see inside the rifle case to verify the powder charge I put a Dillon Powder Check on station 2 I had to drill a hole in the tool head for the operating rod but it works well. The put the seating die in station 3 and crimp die in station 4.

    Here is the results of a quick test I made after setting the press up this way.

    I only have it set up this way for rifle, for pistol I switch back to the Dillon setup.

    I did a little testing on my new Hornaday Bench Rest Powder Measure with the Hornady Case Activated Powder Drop installed on my Dillon RL550B.The results are with IMR 4895 powder into a 223 case and my target was 23.3 grains, with a Dillon D-Terminator scale. There was no spilled powder or any sign of a powder bridge.

    Drop # Grains

    1 - 23.3

    2 - 23.3

    3 - 23.3

    1 - 23.3

    5 - 23.2

    6 - 23.3

    7 - 23.4

    8 - 23.2

    9 - 23.3

    10- 23.3

    11- 23.3

    12- 23.4

    13- 23.2

    14- 23.3

    15- 23.3

    16- 23.2

    17- 23.3

    18- 23.3

    19- 23.3

    20- 23.3

    Then a 10 drop total of 232.6 grains for an average of 23.26

    These were my results, actual results may very, but I am happy with my results.

    I only use this set up for rifle and switch back to the Dillon setup for pistol.

    Press Monitor

    in General Reloading

    Posted

    Interesting, but I do wish that the website showed it attached to the press. Especially how it fits and works on various presses with different equipment (case feeders, bullet feeders or even the PW)

    Take a look here Press Monitor switchs.Although I did it a little different on my Dillon RL550, I mounted the switchs for ram up and down to be accuated by the powder fail safe bracket and the rotation switch as shown in the picture.

    Dale

    Press Monitor

    in General Reloading

    Posted · Edited by dcbridgwater

    I have a Press Monitor, I purchased it as an assemble it your self kit. I think it is a very well designed product that can be helpfull in many ways, first as a press monitor, it is like having a little friend watching over you, true if your pefect and reload in the perfect place with no distractions you might not need it but I like having it so when the wife comes in talking about something and I become distracted I know if I missed a step. The statistics are also a nice feture, it can help you keep an even pace for consistancy by letting you know is you start execeeding a set rolls per hour count. The powder monitor feature is also nice, basicly you weight the powder before putting it in the hopper and then weigh what is left after the session and the Press Monitor knows if your close to having used the proper amount of powder. This is just a couple of benifits.

    The Press Monitor is a very well designed product, it does what the web site description sayes it does. Some will say it is just another unnessary

    gadget but I like mine and I am glad I bought it, you can never be to safe.

    Alan was a good guy to do business with he was prompt to ship and answer Emails and he even reflashed my chip for free when a newer version of software was ready.

    Dale

    Powder Measure Knobs

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted

    I have a few MrDial's from e-bay but don't use it much once I find the load I want to use. If I were to use different charges with the same powder charger, I'd use a UniqueTek.

    +1 on UniqueTek, I have one on both large and small powder bars and if you take the time to complete the free Excel spread sheet they include setting the desired charge weight is super quick. Sure beats having several powder measures all over the bench.

    Dillon blue paint?

    in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment

    Posted · Edited by dcbridgwater

    If you could come up with something in Dillon Blue that is small and thin enough the scanner thingy at a paint store might be able to read it.

    I stuck a piece of the plastic from the low primer sensor in to the scanner at Home Depot and it came up with Behr 540b-7 d (Royal Peacock (deep)) as the match I had it mixed but I have not yet tried it to see how close it really is. As far as spray paint the best match I have found is Rustoleum Professional Safety Blue, it matches Dillon plastic pretty good.

    Dale

    Problem with Dillon 550B primer seating and platform height

    in Miscellaneous BEginners

    Posted

    BTW.

    I was under the impression that if you have separate toolheads and switch them you wouldn't have to reconfigure the die height.

    David

    Thats the way it should work. The only things I can think off is something was a miss when it was first set up, something may have been something wrong with the way the shell plate was in so the rim on the Shellplate Bolt was hitting the bottom of the tool head before the ram was fully up and now that the shell plate was reset when changing calibers the ram is now going all the way up. My other thought is the stop on the crank (the tab on the crank that meets with Left Link Arm) may have cracked. I am no expert just a thought, good luck with it.

    Dale

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