ElMatavenados

I asked the person I bought it from (he seems to be pretty knowledgeable about Dillon equipment), and he says the only difference he's seen is that the 1200b has a quick disconnect on the electrical cord. He says: "I've had to replace the quick disconnects on at least 3 B models because they were damaged." So there you have it!

I've Googled this question; I see that it has been asked several times, and yet no answers have been given. What is the difference between the 1200 and 1200b? I read elsewhere that a fellow called Dillon, and the person he spoke to didn't know. Anybody have a guess? I just purchased a 1200 (not realizing that it wasn't the b model until I received it), and would like to know if there are any points I need to be aware of. I don't see a user manual on Dillon's website.

This was one of the first things I did. The assembly that was pre-installed on the press was the silver-cupped assembly. The one I installed was brass-colored, and visibly smaller. My brother and I have both examined both assemblies, so I'm pretty confident that I have the small primer assembly installed.

When I got home this evening, I took another look at it. I reseated the primer seating punch to confirm that the height was set properly, and re-adjusted the primer bar allignment yet again. But then, while at dinner with my brother and discussing the problems again, we decided to run another test. When we got home, I removed the shellplate, depressed the primer seating cup, and attempted to set a case onto the punch. As you all have noted, it should have been able to fit into the primer pocket, but it didn't. Rather, it sat in the chamfer that I created in case prep, and went no further without being forced. I removed the punch from the assembly, chucked into a drill, and polished it down until it fit quite snugly into the pocket without damaging it. I also took off a little of the sharp edge, then reassembled the priming mechanism. I could instantly tell the difference. There was much less friction and resistance when pushing back on the handle, compressing the primer cup spring. I inserted a primer into a case, and what a difference! Seating primers takes much less effort now, but based on your input about the amount of effort that should be required, and some observations I made while inserting primers into a couple dozen cases, I believe I still need to invest in the swager. This should improve things further still, and will be more efficient and effective than my current methods. So I think most of the bumps are now worked out. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!

Thanks for your replies, guys. Youngeyes, I agree, the punch should extend into the pocket. It does damage the case by scraping/shaving the inside of the primer pocket, as if the punch needs to be machined or polished down a little. You are also correct that I should not have so many missed primers, and I have corrected the original problem which was causing this (I had loosened the lock screw for the punch/cup assembly, but hadn't reseated them properly). After figuring that out, I checked it to see if it would still damage a case, and it does. Yes, I am new to this platform. I do have a fair amount of experience with reloading with single-stage presses. All of my priming has been done with the Lee Auto Prime, so I'm comparing the priming experience of the press to the Auto Prime experience. My brother keeps saying "why don't you just do all the priming on the Auto Prime?" That's always an option, but I didn't buy a progressive press just to have to do everything singly. Shellplate is indeed tight, and I am using the correct primer assembly/parts. Moto, Yes, I am using some brass that has crimped pockets, and some without. Multiple headstamps: LC, WCC, Winchester, RP. I've only loaded .223 so far, as I'm waiting on a set of 9mm dies to arrive this week. So all small primers (CCI #41s). Case prep consists of tumbling, One-Shot lube, full-length resize/decap, trim to 1.75, chamfer/deburr case mouth, then use the deburring tool to remove crimps/swages (using a light cut). So yes, crimped pockets could definitely be a contributing factor, but I figure if the Auto Prime can handle it, the 550 should be able to handle it as well. In my mind, and my brother's mind (also an experience single-stage reloader, and a pretty sharp guy), something isn't right about the punch damaging the cases, and crimped pockets don't really seem like they are the reason for this occurrence. It could account for some things, but not all. I, too, get the primer started into the pocket carefully before I apply full force. Usually, I have to hold the back of the press while pushing on the handle, and even then primers aren't always fully seated. The benchtop I'm using consists of a sheet of plywood sandwiched between a sheet of 1/2" or 5/8" melamine-coated particle board and a 2x6.

Hey all, New to the site, new to Dillon presses, and running into priming issues. I did a search of the site, and haven't found the answers. I did figure out one of the problems on my own, but discovered another in the process. When the handle on the press is pushed backward (away from operator), and no primer was fed, the primer seating punch extends up into the primer pocket, and gouges/scrapes the pocket, so that the case is damaged or ruined. Is this common, or is the punch slightly too large? I notice that brass scrapings collect atop the punch, even when a primer is seated. These are either being scraped off of the primer seating cup, or from the heads of the cartridges themselves. Is this normal, or is the punch the wrong size, too sharp of an edge, or what? The primers also do not seem to seat deeply enough, but there are a couple suggestions I've found on the site that I need to try before I admit defeat. I would deeply appreciate any help you experienced operators have to offer!