mleeber

Called Dillon yesterday to discuss the possibility of them taking care of the main shaft under warranty (or just cause I have so much Dillon stuff). The gentleman said the 1050s never had the warranty, even the original Nickel plated RL like mine. He suggested I speak with a supervisor and while I said I was hesitant to escalate it I felt like he was recommending it. He transferred me and the call went to Eric's VM so I left a message. At this point I just want the parts ASAP so I can get the press up and running again. If it breaks again I am buying the press in the video above!

Mine is indeed very old, original nickel colored RL1050. Worth a try.... Thanks!

Well, at least I take some comfort in hearing that I am not the only one who has had this happen.... Since all of the force applied to the press is in a downward motion I am a bit surprised that the ears on the shaft are not beefier. Scott, a stress fracture over time makes sense, especially with the force needed to swage some of the crimps in 223 brass. Anticipating that my swaging rod may be too worn to effectively swage I ordered a new one of those too. I did have to adjust the swaging rod up a week ago as the swage was not deep enough and while it did create the need for more force on the handle it was only for an inch or so of travel per the manual. I am going to compare my swaging rod against what shows up from Dillion and if there is not a clear material difference in the shape of the swaging end it may be time for a little lathe work to optimize the end of the rod because efficient swaging without breaking a toolhead shaft is critical. Thanks!

Dillon - Nope, no Autodrive. It is the old RL1050 so nothing but pistol cartridges and 223. I only load for my own use too so there are certainly thousands of rounds loaded with it but not more than 100K. I process 223 brass without the powder die, powder check, or crimp die so I usually size, deprime and swage a 5 gallon bucket every 3 months or so and then tear down the press to clean and relubricate just because the Dillon case lube is everywhere so the press is well maintained. The break looks like a casting, around the exposed edges the metal density is good but on the inside it is not. I have done come casting as a kid but am certainly not a metallurgist so maybe it was an issue with the original bar stock. I am sure the swaging process is what caused the problem and just to make sure that my swaging rod is not so worn out that there is too much downward pressure being applied to swage the LC brass I have ordered a new one of those as well. Chills - I always forget about the GPS info...thanks for the reminder! I would not say "big" into trap or skeet but I am big into reloading what ever I shoot and the Bair press is actually pretty nice. Freakshow & Rob - I agree, there is nothing that compares to a 1050 for home use but calling the Dillon a commercial press is like calling an ultra-light an airplane, yeah they fly but not far and not fast. Having visited commercial reloader there are machines that are much more appropriate for the task but they take lots of space and lots of electricity. Loading for resale on a 1050 is a loosing proposition.

I was thinking about sending it to Dillon and letting them look at it, the casting defects are pretty obvious. I think I am a little more sensitive to this because of the RF100 issue having just bought the upgrade after using it as a paper weight for the last 3 years.....

Had the shooting chrony and the CED and have used the ProChrono Digital by Competiton Electronics (not to be confused with CED).... the best by far is the Oehler. Worth every penny and they are producing them again for a short period of time. 2nd is ProChrono and third would be shooting chrony. The CED I had was junk, after 2 weeks of testing at CED HQ it came back and still said my loads were 400FPS and the replacement they sent was no better. Granted that was the first version not the M2

I have the original Hornady small sonic cleaner. It does a good job on brass but like Graham said, it works great on small volumes of brass but would be a PITA for any large quantity. I use it on my 7mm Mag and 300 Mag brass using the Hornady brass solution and letting it sit overnight after 3-4 480 second cycles and primer pockets are new and shiny. I also used it on an AR bolt and carrier with the Hornady parts solution and was actually amazed that all the carbon was gone after the 480 second cycle. Downside is that these solutions are water based so be careful to thoroughly dry the gun parts. Cleaning the unit is also a bit of a PITA because of the shape and the lack of any right angles at the corners means it does not pour out without dribbling down the side of the unit. The new Stainless Hornady one os probably better with that. Wish I had known about the HF unit cause I am a cheap bastard at heart.

SO I am curious...now that I have your CasePro Will the 40 brass drop into a case gauge after you run it thru the Case Master Jr? The case pro removes the bulge and does a great job of "reconditioning" the rim but the rolled cases do not drop in a case gauge so they still need to be full length resized as part of the loading process. I think this is because the case pro only rolls the bottom half of the case.

My first press was a Lee Turret 25 years ago. It was part of the bench with other Lees and Dillons until a couple years ago. The turret press was great for what it was and for what it cost; having $5.00 tool heads so you could set the dies once was great. Admittedly there is more "slop" in the tool head fit than one would like for reloading rifles cartridges but there is also slop on the Dillon 550 and 650. I use a Lee Breechlock Challenger for all rifle calibers except 223. The breech locks secure tightly into the press and the new Lee die boxes will hold the dies with the breech lock attached so again, no need to touch the dies after they are initially set unless you need to change OAL or something. I highly recommend the Breech Lock press for rifle stuff. As for the pistol stuff, I am a fan of anything that auto indexes, I have seen too many mags blown out of the bottom of guns because of a double charge and in every case where I have spoken to the shooter they were loading on a press that did not auto index and they were not solely focused on loading. For a budget the Lee LoadMaster is good and for a bigger budget the Dillon 650 is good but I would skip over the 550. The Hornady Lock N Load is somewhere in the middle but I have never used that press. And as far as dies go, it is my opinion that Lee dies are every bit as good as any other and better than many. The Lee dies have a less rounded mouth on their sizing dies so they size further down the case. Their Collet dies are excellent in producing consistent rifle ammo, the factory crimp die is excellent and their warranty is great as well. The only time I would use Dillon over Lee is if I were loading lead bullets, the Dillon pistol dies have an insert on the bullet seating die that can be removed and cleaned without removing the die body from the tool head. Dillon also makes 223 dies with a carbide sizer that are good but I still have 3 sets of Lee 223 dies. I did pick up some Redding dies last year for 7x30 Waters thinking that I would try them based on Redding's reputation but they were terrible, the sizing die had an imperfection that scratched the heck out of the brass and the bullet seater stem was not smoothed before assembly so I had a circle cut around the bullets. A call to Redding was as disappointing as the dies.

You might consider a bench height that allows you to mount your press on a strong mount and then the strong mount can ride in the rails you inlay in the bench. All my loading room benches are the same height and are great for working on stuff but the 1050 was too low so I elongated the holes on a 650 strong mount and use it on the 1050 as well so all the presses are about the same height (one of each).

Look at the Giraud trimmer.... It is a stand alone unit that works very well and is not any more expensive than the Dillon (if you consider the addition cost in dies and such). The Giraud trims off the shoulder which is the critical length anyway. It also inside and outside chamfers all in the trim step.

Oh yeah...I am well aware of Dillon's warranty or lack thereof on the 1050 and all their electric parts. Have a RF100 that was an absolute piece of junk until I bought the upgraded rheostat which should have been treated like a recall rather than a $30 upgrade. I have no problem paying for parts that wear out but c'mon, this chunk of iron is not a consumable or part that should wear out. In looking at the metal where it broke you can see that it was a poor casting. I am actually very surprised that the part is cast when it could be easily machined out of bar making it stronger. I am hoping the replacement part is a bit more robust. The 1050 is rated as an industrial machine and as such it doesn't get the normal warranty. The reason being is buisness use it as a reloader and they put far more wear and tear on them than individual shooters do. Pat

Late to the party but.... I used an LM for many years (as well as a turret press and a pro1000) and will tell you that the LM is a good press. You need to know everything about how it works to get it tweaked and running smoothly but my 650 and 1050 are no different (in fact I just posted pics tonight of my broken 1050 RAM). I recommend an LM over a 550 all day because an LM auto indexes and it is very hard to double charge on an auto-indexing press. Red Lee .vs Blue Dillion is a religious issue so many opinions you get are heavily tainted and spewed by those who have never seen a Lee press. I had an LM on the bench with a 650 and 1050 for quite a while and only sold it because I was downsized to a smaller reloading room so several presses had to go. The only two problematic parts of the LM are the primer feeder and the priming station. I ordered a second sizing die from Lee, removed the decapping pin, and put it in the LM priming station. This lines up the case and holds it tight before the primer is inserted, makes a world of difference! There is lots of other good info on the web that will make that LM sing! If you get the quantity you need of 223 and 9mm brass for free then the swaging station on the 1050 is important and long term the 1050 may make sense. If you have to buy brass to supplement your free brass then it is easier to buy swaged brass for a few bucks more in which case you do not need a 1050 (or a 650 cause the LM will do what you want). Add to that the fact that rifle brass must be trimmed and now it makes even more sense to buy cleaned, sized, swaged and trimmed brass. Keep in mind that conversion kits for both the 1050 and 650 are as much as an entire LoadMaster because you need a "conversion kit", a "quick change" kit, and dies. All my tool heads have Lee dies in them except the one that came with the 1050 (I got a great deal on my 1050 used or I would never have bought it). Another significant issue is that while the no BS warranty may be good on the 550 and 650, the warranty on the 1050 stinks and you will end up spending money when a part breaks; they consider it a commercial press no matter who you are and how much you use it; the prices on the 1050 parts hurt. My 2 cents...if your wallet is fat the 1050 is great, I prep my 223 brass and load 9mm and 40 on mine while the 650 loads 223, 45, and 380. I do all my other rifle calibers on a Lee Breech lock Challenger. If you like to shoot then get the LM working well, buy brass that is already prepped and load it on the LM; at the end of the day you will have a lot more money to shoot. I would however NOT invest in a 550, that is a step backwards from the LM.

Sizing, depriming, and swaging some 223 on the 1050 tonight...two loud pops later.... Pic 1 Pic 2 According to Dillon this massive chunk of iron is a consumable part and I get to pay for a new one...bummer!

I use it with 180s and am sure I have tried other weights, I will check my data tonight.

Almost forgot!!!! It is not too late to order your Techware 9/11 shirts for those still interested. Thanks! Mark

Another River Bend GA State match in the books and this one was the smoothest yet! Thanks to all who came to shoot with us! I especially want to thank those who have made up the GA State Team over the last 3 years: Jeffrey Abraham, Scott Rogers, Kevin Allen, Chris Patty, Peter Oliver, Jimmy Nortz, Jason Koon, Alan Adamson, and Larry Hansbrough. Without a solid team we could not have pulled off any one of the state matches much less three of them! The ROs were awesome, 4 or 5 were with me all week prepping and repairing props; if it were not for the ROs we would not be able to have a match of this size or caliber. Mark Ramsey has got to be one of the best RMs in the business, he is the only guy I know who can insult you and five years of your lineage and you feel good about it! Our stats crew, Bill Noyes and Dan McGeorge, did a great job with scores having them online within 3 hours of the last shot. As those who were at the match know, this was the last year for GA State at River Bend. It is the plan today to finish the year with a few Tactical shotgun matches on the new bays and then spin the USPSA pistol matches up again early in 2011. More about that in other threads though!!! I would like to reiterate what I said at the match: our Sponsors are a very important part of major matches and they will be listed on the GA State Web site until next year's match. Please, when you decide to spend those hard earned shooting dollars do so with those who have invested in our sport!!! Thank you for all of your support and 3 great GA State Matches! Mark Leeber

Wow, what a smooth day! Great job by the ROs and shooters!!! I think the stages surprised some folks...they are tougher than they look on paper! We will have lunch available for those who would like a burger or dog as well as drinks and chips. Should be a bit cooler tomorrow than today but a hat would be a good idea. Thanks! Mark

Still working on the food service...10 days ago we had 60 shooters and now we have 120. 60 was too few to convince a vendor to come out and now that we have 120 they are booked. I still have a few tricks in the bag though.... Maybe a side match with a grill shaped like a USPSA target...an "A" zone, "B" and so on!

Short of a couple apps that showed up at Jeffreys house today the matrix should be current. Jeffrey has the master list and that drives what I enter in the match file so if you emailed me today you will be added in the next couple days. Several of you have called or emailed me about changing squads so if you are not where you want to be please let me know via email. Thanks! Mark

I have a new batch of entries to enter tonight....standby.

Just got off the phone with the match hotel (770) 345-1994, and they have rooms available.... Apparently some Golf organization reserved a bunch of rooms and never called in to pay for them. Anyway, tell them you want the River Bend Gun Club rate which is $65 per night. If you have any problems please email me. Thanks! Mark

By the way folks, I am waiving any late fees so come join us!!!! I would however appreciate it if you would send us an app rather than doing the walk up thing so that we are better prepared to check everyone in. Thanks! Mark

We hosted our local monthly match Saturday so I have not updated the online matrix in several days. For those who asked for changes I have not forgotten you (at least I dpn't think I have). Hope to get an update by late tomorrow or Wed AM. Thanks! Mark

Less than 2 weeks away!!!! Still have room in all time slots. For those who shot the monthly match yesterday and wanted to buy some primers but did not get to we will have some more available at the match, visit Chris' web site (CPWSA) and you can go thru the checkout and pick them up at the match. For those who want to shoot and have not sent in an app, please do so. Also still looking for some Friday ROs so please get us those apps. Thanks! Mark