78Staff

Well, I will disagree... while there are some gimmicky upgrades out there, there are also some pretty dang useful ones... From Level 10, the toolhead spring upgrade, primer catcher upgrade, and carrier cap upgrade are worth the coin imo. Better lighting is always a plus, I like Reloading Innovations's Starlight system (https://reloadinginnovations.com/products/dillon-1050-press-lighting-kit), but there are some less costly options as well like Inline Fabrication, Double Alpha, etc. Speaking of, Inline Fabrication has some great erognomic roller handles and mounting/storage solutions as well... This is all assuming you are manually indexing. Once you go automated, there are other upgrades that are pretty universally recommended also :). Here's a thread on the Starlight system... best 1050 lighting on the market imo.

nice - yeah it's been on my to order list for a while, this finally pushed me over the edge. ;).

Seems like a clever idea IF it prevents static issues? But geez, $45?

I use the EC version also, no complaints.

Got the lower end back together... new key definitely makes a difference. Only issue is re-installing the index pawl arm spring, every time I get it almost tightened down the damn spring pops off the top pin grrr... Just an awkward job being on the backside and also my PW being partly in the way. After the 5th or 6th try I took it as a sign to order the L10 index spring upgrade kit lol.

I lube pistol brass with One Shot, and as DA stated it doesn't help, but does work. I tend to not touch the rounds for a bit after striping to give the stripes plenty of time to dry, otherwise they can smear a bit. I also let lubed brass dry for 15 min at least before dumping into the feeder regardless. To be honest, if I had it to do all over again, I probably would not buy. It's a neat little unit, but just doesn't work well for my setup, ie my bench design. I also catch pretty much any brass I would be marking with a CMM brass catcher, so it's not as critical for me. I don't even pick up 9mm any more it can be bought so cheap - plus I have so much stockpiled. I do pick up 45, but I don't bother marking it, although I might on my next 45 run. As of now I"m really only marking 10mm, just b/c I hate hate hate leaving any 10mm brass behind :). Suggestions for version 2... As always, it's a cost vs features issue, so some of the decisions do make sense, but I would look at the following... * Make the unit a bit heavier. I get why they wanted it to be lightweight, but it's almost too light. Since you have to have a good amount of speed for the bullet flipper to have any effect, the unit bounces around a bit every time a round comes at it. * Clean up the appearance a bit - right now it looks like a garage project that got pushed into production without any aesthetic input - the exposed motor and wires, plus the drive train, and the all plastic construction, and the noise it makes - it almost has a toy-like appearance really. Also better wiring/connections - the wires are always coming loose. * Put some more research into the bullet flipping mechanism. That seems to be the most common complaint.

Yet, going with the new key, makes no sense not to lol...thanks. Got it loctited in, just need to start putting everything back together - got sidelined so probably be a few days before I get to re-assembly.

Well the keys came in (I ordered 3, just to have a few onhand - hate ordering just one of anything). In fact the Dillon rep was like why do you need 3 lol. Plus I added a few other small/spare parts. Anyway, made some progress, got the bottom end torn down, but looks the like key is still in good shape - still has a squared off cross-section and no real wear or rounded off corners like I was expecting to see :(. In fact, it's cross section is .248 x .250, while the replacement is .248 x .248 - so the original has one section a hair wider. I may just put it back in and make sure the wider side is engaged. I'm going to double check the other two new ones first though. Still, good to get it torn down and do a complete clean and re-lube I reckon. I also figured I would replace the index pawl while I was at it, and that pin came out fairly easy - two firm hits is all it took. I was expecting more work so of course the spring went flying as I wasn't ready for it... took me a few min to find it lol. Anyway, going to get the key set in loctite as you mentioned, get everything else cleaned up and then and then work on getting it all back together. I didn't detect any other slop in the lower end hopefully resetting the key will help some.

TMZ's is my favorite, but like most I just keep up with Primer trays when loading.

Echoing what MemphisMech sated - I ran into a similar issue with the M&P 2.0 9mm chambers, they are very short. So short in fact I wound up going to completely different bullet and load for them vs my 1911 9mm guns :(.

Did some testing today, had no issues with the 646. However it is a bit thicker overall so rubs on the frame a bit due to the two level design - the main thickness dimension is thicker to support the relief cut for the rim of the brass. Haven't decided whether to order more or just get some more Ruger moonclips, which seem to work pretty good.

Another boring picture of a spring and collar - I used a hornady locking die since I had a few on hand and don't use them for anything.. Works great, no more ghetto rubberband lol... thanks for the tip! DAA should incorporate something like this from the factory.

I've used a plastic tupperware type tube aprox 10x12 for some time, but tried the plastic bag method since I see so many folks using it. But it seemed like I was getting more lube inside the cases than I was with the other method, so switched back to the flat tray method.

I fiddled with the angle some more, moved it laterally to take out some of the slack, and also found putting some weight on the unit (gorilla tape roll, hefty to keep it from bouncing around a bit when the rounds go though - it's better than before but still get a few reversed stripes. I'm pretty much done with fiddling with it, it's not that critical to me, but for those who specifically want color stripes in the same orientation, or for those who want a stripe in the extractor groove, it will be an issue.

Did some research, re-watched the DAA vid which talks about having to have the round drop with a good amount of speed for the flipper/orientation deal to work, so I experimented with the angle of the spring tube working my way to almost a strait drop, but no matter the angle (and thus the speed of drop) the flipper mechanism is still inconsistent. It's not a huge deal but I wish it would work as advertised anyway. Does anyone has any tips on getting the flipper to work consistently?

Just to follow up, still working great, but manually feeding 2-3K rounds through it is for the birds. So I decided to figure out some way to get it inline like it's supposed to be. Somewhat limited by my bench, but did cobble something together :). The rounds still flip around inconsistently, so sometimes red stripe is on top, sometimes on bottom, but I'm not to worried about that really. I may change to single stripe or same color for two stripes and it becomes a non-issue - although it's supposed to align the rounds the same every time. Just doesn't do a good job of it, or maybe there's some adjustment I don't have right. Anyway, running it inline is sooo much nicer, even if it looks ghetto lol. I also have the add on funnel with the super long spring tube, so I could set the bins on the floor, but that's a pretty long drop and all I can think about when I set it up that way was the guy who had the loaded round go off on a long drop to his bucket on the floor :(.

Well I finally caught a steel case... in 9mm. It took me a minute to figure out what the deal was, I was thinking what the heck's wrong with my case feeder lol. Cheap (very cheap) insurance.

It's interesting, I run two - one LP one SP - all Winchester Primers, and once adjusted and set, I (knockonwood) never have any issues. Both are on my workbench, I run the LP on a mousepad, the SP runs better without a mousepad for some reason, both are on the lower end of the rheostat scale, not all the way down but in the lower 1/3 or so. Both just churn out primers w/o issue. I think I saw one upside down primer in a recent run of 3k 9mm. I just hit the button and forget about it, they cut off after 3 min or so and the tube is full. That being said, plenty of folks have issues with them. DAA has one coming out that uses a rotating drum deal vs vibratory that will be quite a bit cheaper - folks are waiting for that one to drop.

I faced this decision a few years ago, was considering 2 650's or one 1050 ( coming from a 550). I still have the 550, and use it for revolver rounds where i don't go through as much ammo, and went with the 1050. I also have a bit of a degenerative shoulder/elbow issue, so ease of use was a concern for me as well - in face here's my thread on it from a few years ago, which has some good responses and is probably worth a read - I went with a single 1050, and mainly load 9mm, 10mm, and 45acp on it - plus i have been putting together setups for 223 and 300BO. I also have a coax for precison ammo loading in 223, 308, and 6.5. As mentioned before, I keep the 550 for revolver rounds - 38/357, 45AutoRim, and 44Mag. I've been happy with my decision, but be prepared to spend on conversions. Obviously you'll need dies and the conversion kit, which will run $160-$200 for each caliber depending on the dies you use. I mainly stuck with Dillon dies, although am considering some of the latest flavor of months like the MA decap dies, maybe a Redding Comp Seater, which I tried once before but maybe didn't give it a fair change... Anyway, quick change kits/toolheads make changing calibers so much faster/easier, but add $275 for each caliber. So, bear this in mind as you can spend as much on a few caliber conversions as another press! Then if you add bullet feeding, ie the MBF, you'll need setups for each caliber there as well (although this would apply to either press really). All in all, consider 4 full change kits, you'll be in 2K for the press and another 2K in caliber changes. You can do it cheaper, but if you're buying into the 1050 mindset, you might as well go all the way. Then add the MBF and an RF-100 or two as well while you are at it.

Agree on these, the L10 Spring kit and the RI lighting solutions are top notch. Pretty much all the L10 upgrades are solid, I have a few of them - the cap retainer, the index roller upgrade, the low profile screws running with a shellplate bearing kit, although I'm not convinced the shellplate bearing is actually needed and may remove it on my next teardown and clean. I have a RI light for each of my toolheads, and recently bought ones for my 550 as well. The clear primer cover I also agree with, it seems like a great idea, but in reality not very useful. Other general things - I would upgrade the primer slide if you have the older design for sure. Also some sort of ugpraded primer drop brackets, there are several out there they all pretty much do the same thing - but might as well grab the L10 one while you are ordering the spring setup.. I would also consider a primer holddown setup from Everglades - https://www.evergladesammo.com/reloading/reloading-equipment/ega-hold-down-die.html - works great for consistent primer seating with pistol brass - I have one on my 45acp toolhead. L10 has an improved version but it's 4x the cost - although I may try one eventually :). Replacement shellplates I haven't bothered with, if you are only loading 45 manually the oem plate does fine. Also wouldn't bother with an shell feed plate change, that's typically for longer cases or automated use to get the shell loaded into the plate quicker. A common change is to remove the dillon case slide spring and replace with a 1911 recoil spring cut in half, but I haven't really seen any issues with the oem spring in 20k rounds or so. Some also suggest removing the ratchet setup once you are comfortable with the loading process on the 1050 - will save you some headaches down the road.

What brand container are these with the curved latches? I'm using the sterilites I posted pics page 1 but the latches wear out over time so have been thinking of changing up the system. I see you also have a lone purple latch sterilite on the bottom shelf, would you say the blue curved handle containers are sturdier? EDIT I think I found them on Amazon, they are also the Sterilite brand? Still interested in how the compare to the purple latch version if you can advise...thanks. https://www.amazon.com/Sterilite-Through-Storage-Stadium-Latching/dp/B01NAOI1A9/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=storage+container+curved+handle&qid=1573269060&sr=8-5

Super old post I know, but wanted to add... Denny at RIMZ is sending me a 646 (.40) moonclip to test - the 610 for the S&W version will not work with the Ruger GP100 Match Champion. Once I get it I'll post up results. RIMZ are the polymer moonclips and are so easy to load/unload, etc - I use them with my S&W 625 with great success for range use. For any carry use I would likely stick to tradition metal clips though. Anyway I'll report back how the Rimz 646's work in a few days. I pretty much only use starline brass but I do have some Sig 10mm I can test as well. https://www.ezmoonclip.com/RIMZ 646 moon clips.htm

Sounds simple enough, thanks I will order some keys and get to it...thanks :).

So yeah it appears the crank stops but the arm keeps on moving the last 1/2" or so, on upstroke and downstroke. So I guess I need to look into this keyway? We are talking about the circled section on this schematic? Never taken one down this far before though ;). Will have to look for a youtube vid or some instructions online...