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Oldgoat03

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Everything posted by Oldgoat03

  1. Sure a lot of negative experiences reported here with the FA Vibraprime!?! I had trouble with mine when it first arrived and eventually called FA. I told them I was pretty sure the problem was poor molding on the tray as primers were hanging up in the hole to the drop tube. They agreed and not only sent me a new tray as promised but a brand new complete kit! The new one works great - out of the box. I even managed to clean up the hole on the original and works too. For the money they are a great deal and save a lot of time over the pick up tubes. By the way I load small and large primers with good result.
  2. There shouldn't be enough difference in case length to be an issue. Just adjust the flare to the shortest case and you should be good to go. I do not use a roll crimp on plated bullets without a crimp groove. I just remove the flare and press against the bench to test / esnure proper neck tension to avoid setback.
  3. Sean I can comiserate. I load 38sp (and other relatively tall cases) on my 550 and SDB and agree it is not easy to visually inspect charges. I have in line fabrication lights on both presses and if you lean over and get close you can see the charge. Its not easy but I visually inspect them all prior to placing the bullet. You can do it but I share your wish for an easier way. OG03
  4. Are these new primers or spent? Need more info.
  5. I have both a Inline Fab and a Dillon strong mount for my two presses. They both are great products. I got the inline first because they had the bullet & brass bins and brakets for a discounted price with the strong mount. You really won't be disappointed if you get them. I reload on a bar stool or standing. Bob
  6. I use the Lee Pro Auto DIsc powder measure and the Lee Adjustable charge bar on my 4 hole classic turret and they work great. This combi throws very consistent chanrges using HP38/W231, WST, Bullseye and HS6. As mentioned the adujustable charge bar does not throw consistent small charges below 3.8 grains. IN my experience 4.0gr and up it works very well +/- .1 gr always. Lee Pro Auto disc powder meausre http://www.midwayusa.com/product/348753/lee-pro-auto-disk-powder-measure Lee Adjustable charge bar http://www.midwayusa.com/product/150005/lee-auto-disk-adjustable-powder-charge-bar?cm_vc=sugv1150005
  7. I have a Lee 4 hole turret, SDB and a 550. I use and enjoy them all but the one I continually go back to for loading pistol is the SDB. It is smooth plenty fast for my pistol loading needs (in many calibers) and the price is hard to beat. I load rifle and other low volume stuff on my Turret or 550. In terms of bench space I share that issue. My solution was to put threaded inserts into the bench for my machines. Then its just a matter of unbolting one and bolting down the other. (quick and easy) You really can't go wrong with Dillon. I hope this helps. OG03
  8. I agree it is very easy to change calibers on an SDB. With tool heads you can change calibers in 4-5 minutes (incl tool head, dies, powder funnel and shell plate and locator buttons). If changing primer sizes it adds another couple minutes. No big deal. As mentioned "even I can do it".
  9. Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.....all good and expected. I think Plan B will work best for me so expect I will be contacting Brian again soon. Thanks again Bob
  10. We recently built a weekend place accross the mountains about 2hrs from main our home. I shoot mostly at our new place since it is on a large piece of property. I love to reload and have 2 SDB's with tool heads set up for all pistol calibers I load. I also have a Lee breech lock single stage and a Lee Classic 4 hole Turret set up for all calibers too. I use the turret and SS to work up new loads and rifle. I am planning to put the SS at one and Turret at the new place so can load rile etc. Obviously will leave one SDB set up at main home. So here are the choices I considering: Plan A = set up second SDB at new place. But then I'd be hauling toolheads back and forth (not huge deal but not convenient either). (Guess I could get a 2nd toolhead/die conv for main calibers for the new place) Plan B = Thinking about selling one SDB set up for 44Mag/Spl conversion (which I rarely shoot) and buying a 550B and then just accumulate toolheads/powder dies for all the calibers. After selling the SDB the net cost for a 550 wouldn't be too much. Of course then I'd need a couple extra tool heads (with dies for the main 3 calibers) .40, 9mm, 45ACP. Another benefit is I could load rifle on the 550 as well. I have a few powder measures so no issue there. I guess I'm asking for a sanity check from you guys. What would you do? Thanks in advance for you thoughts. OG03
  11. First let me say how much I really like my SDB. It has loaded many rounds flawlessly for me. (until recently) Problem: (Primer cup binding against bottom of shell at end of rotation) When shellplate rotates the primer cup seems to come up a bit early catching the underside of the shell plate just ahead of the primer hole. This causes the primer cup to snap as it pops up through shellplate at the end of the rotation flipping primers about 40% of the time now. Attempted remedies: (so far) I have taken the shell plate and primer assy off and cleaned. I also loosened the primer punch retaining screw and reseated back down and retightened. This worked before but has not remedied this time. Thanks in advance for your help on my SBD. OG03
  12. I have had similar experience on my SDB with mixed brass. Some pistol brass is softer/thinner (FCC, Blazer, Speer & others) and will seat deeper with the same pressure than with thicker cases. If I presort by headstamp, test a few for length and run in batches of like brass the coal varience becomes a non issue. Be careful to test/push a seated/crimped round against your bench to see if you can push the bullet into the case. If you can then setback could be a concern. OG03
  13. The SDB is a great press for the money. I have 2 of them (& a 550), they work great and I have only good things to say about them. As mentioned they are a bit small for large hands but I manage just fine. The SDB is a machine and they all require occasional maintenance and cleaning (including the priming system). It almost sounds like you are getting the SDB to avoid tinkering with your 550 priming system. If that is the case I'd rethink it. The 550 priming sys isn't hard to work on either. The SDB is easy to use. Caliber and primer changes take just minutes with extra toolheads etc (like the 550) and the big difference is the SDB is progressive. If you want a progressive to crank out lots of 9mm for a reasonable price the SDB will do that very well. OG03
  14. Good experience with SDB's: I load pistol (380, 38/357, 9, 40, 44, 45, 45ACP) on my SDB and it does a fine job for me. Simple to run, change calibers and maintain. The only negative for me is I find it difficult to see in the taller cases (38/357, 44, 45C) for visual inspection due to small size. Since I don't shoot large numbers of these I have gone back to loading those on my Lee turret. I originally bought a 2nd SBD to run one large and one small primer setups. I found caliber and primer changes to so easy and quick I ended up just buying a 2nd complete primer assy (lg & Small) and just swap them out in about 2 min's. Now my 2nd SDB just collects dust until I sell it. Recommendation: In spite of my good experience with an SDB if I already had a 550B I would just get a quick change toolhead and swap them. I have used my buddies 550 and caliber/primer swaps take minutes. It'll save you a lot of money that can be spent on components or new guns. Just my two cents ... hope it helps. OG03
  15. I tool have an older SDB that gave me a few priming problems. From that experience I recommend taking the priming assy apart and carelfully cleaing it as well as the area the primer system attaches/slides. In addition to adjusting the primer feed adjusting and set screws (13961a and 13961b) mentioned above I would also recommend inspecting the primer punch 13757 small or 13967 lg to ensure it is completely seated in the slide, straight and the set screw tight. Also check verticle dimension from bottom of slide to topof the primer cup to ensure it is within spec 1.410" +/- .003". Any mis-alignment can cause primer feed issues. I discovered on mine that the primer punch stem was slightly loose and slanted. Once corrected it has worked great since. PN's and primer spec's from Dillon SDB manual see link below. http://www.dillonhelp.com/manuals/english/Dillon-Square-Deal-B-Manual-May-2007.pdf Good luck and hope this helps. OG03
  16. Good idea! I've always resorted to fingernails or tweezers but that looks like an easy solution. Thanks for sharing! OG03
  17. I have been checking EGW for these undersize dies and they never seem to have 9mm or 380ACP which I need. When asked they replied they had no idea when they would have them in stock again. As noted Midway shows them backorderable but the date has slid out multi times so far. I found them just now at Lee Precision and ordered them directly for the same price as EGW. http://leeprecision.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1
  18. I have the Lee Pro Auto Disc powder measure and the "micrometer adjustable powder bar on my Lee 4 hole Classic Turret and it works flawlessly. Repeatability is not an issue for my handgun loads except for my wife's .380ACP. Loads for the .380 are W231/HP38 and below 4.0 gr. In my experience neither the adjustable powder bar or discs that come with the Pro Auto measure will only throw consistently below 4.0 gr. To achieve smaller consistent charges in the 3 gr range I ended up getting the LEE "Micro disc". It has pre-sized holes (like the larger stock discs) that throw consistently in the mid to low 3gr range that I need. I noticed Midway shows them discontinued but did find them at the link below http://www.hyattgunstore.com/lee-micro-disk-kit-for-small-caliber-cases.html Hope this helps! OG03
  19. scythefwd I have bought 2 used SDB's (one very old and one newer) and not been disappointed. Other than cleaning/lubing once set up they are virtually trouble free. Like you I have contacted Dillon to ask about ordering replacement parts (even when I lost them) and always had them sent for free. I have spent a fair amount with them for new caliber conversions as well. You can find the SDB manual on the Dillon precision website. Just click the SBD link to down load the pdf version. http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/manuals.html The specific part you were looking for is 13908 Crimp Adjustment Screw Hope this helps OG03
  20. Youngeyes Thanks for the reply. I am familiar with how to adjust crimp on traditional dies such as Lee, RCBS, even Dillon (other than SDB). My question is how to adjust crimp (flare reduction) on a Square Deal B. I have tried screwing what appears to be the station 4 adjuster in and out with very little change to the crimp. The amount of turns is isn't changing the finished crimp nearly as much as it would with my other standard dies. I hope this is more clear. Thanks again. OG03
  21. I have been loading 9mm luger and have experiecned some bullet setback when I push a completed round against the bench. After examination and measurement I determined that the rounds may not have enough neck tension due to over-crimping. The Sami spec for 9mm luger crimp is .380" and mine were about .375". I have losened what I think is the crimp adjustment on station 4 quite a bit and still only seem to be able to get .3785". That has helped significantly with increasing neck tension. My question is can the crimp be agjusted and is that the correct way to adjust the crimp on my 9mm crimp die on my SDB? I am using Win sorted range brass and Berry's .356" plated bullets. Thanks OG03
  22. I ordered a conversion kit, dies and priming system March 17 and they just arrived May18.
  23. Delivery time after order from Dillon seems dependent upon on what you order. In my experience small replacement parts usually arrive within days. On the other hand I ordered a .380 ACP conversion, toolhead and small primer assy for my SDB March 19 and just rec'd notice it has shipped and should arrive tomorrow May 18.
  24. Yaleman I understand your dilemma with calling Dillon. I would recommend posting your issue on the Dillon Precision user forum. My 2 SDB's are fantastic so hopefully they will reply and get you an answer. Good luck! OG03
  25. It is possible that the return spring is stretched and needs to be replaced. I have an older SDB and Dillon sent me some springs sized for the new generation SDB's (longer). I had to cut it to the correct length before it would work properly. I've also had the priming stem get loose and it would hang on the bottom of the shellplate. I tightened the set screw and it took care of it. A little more specific info about symptoms may help us diagnose. I hope this helps. OG03
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