freakshow10mm Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Another nightmare on my barely 4 month old, barely 4,000 rounds loaded Dillon 1050. First the primer detonation, then the toolhead spring and auto index lockup. Sent it to Dillon and got it back and set it up for .223 running Federal brass. Nothing but problems. Called Dillon and they said it was the brass issue. OK, I'll try some MKE stamp brass. Adjusted the swage rod to accommodate the staked primer instead of the annular crimp. Got about 10-15 rounds loaded and SNAP. The swage rod done broke in half. $2,000+ invested in this thing with setups for .223, 9mm, and .40 caliber and it's cost me at least 4 times that in lost business and canceled orders. What did I ever do in a previous life to deserve this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolex Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 WOW Never seen one like that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc1974 Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 I have been using Dillon reloading stuff sence 1986 never had more then a minor problem. When I did they took care of it quick fast and in a hurry. Maybe not so much muscle slow easy breath between strokes check your adjustment. when your swagging you can't have it set to deep at all, or you can put enough force to break the rod. Just a thought. You might need to buy off the reloading Gods. Some times they exact a heavy toll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakshow10mm Posted February 14, 2010 Author Share Posted February 14, 2010 (edited) Oh, I'm going slow enough. It took me almost 7 hours to load 1,000 rounds of .223. Been reloading for about 5 years, commercially for 3 of that. Most of my loading was done on a Dillon 550. That is just about flawless. The primer slide won't come forward all the time but a light push on the back of it while lowering the ram works enough for my needs. No biggie. Got a 1050 as I wanted to start getting into more volume loading after losing my full time job last year. I got the 1050 instead of the 650 so I could hit the pockets on .223 brass and buy cheaper unprocessed brass to just take care of it on the press. Figure a case an hour would be a good production rate for a one man deal. Wow what a mistake that was. Loaded a case of .40 on it and it was problems from the start. Got it fixed, then had a primer detonation which wrecked the priming system so I was down for the count on that for a while. Then finished up a case of 9mm only to have the press lock up again. Sent it back to Dillon. Ran fine for a few hundred rounds then nothing but problems; press locks up, etc. Now this. This thing was the worst investment I ever made in my life. So many people swear by this as being such a great press, but after my experience I'm not convinced. Dillon doesn't take returns on used stuff even if I bought it from them, so I'm stuck with this thing. It was a bit smoother running the 9mm and .40 so maybe just trash the .223 stuff and not load it any more. Just do pistol. I've got to figure something out. Over $8,000 invested in .223 components and I can't f-ing load it to fill orders because the press won't run. Sorry, just venting frustration. Edited February 14, 2010 by freakshow10mm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 You'll get it under control. My press is as old as me and has had minor issues as well. Dillon will take care of you and you'll get that equipment up and running again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKAL Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Dillon will take care it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 (edited) The magic words. Cheaper unprocessed brass, we have 30K+ 223 with crimped primer pockets. We have tumbled and sorted most and are throwing anything that even remotely looks like crap. We are keeping LC, CCI, FC, WCC and R_P some with crimped primers some not. ALL other is being binned. That broken swage rod is the crappy brass with over done crimping and or faulty set up. If the nut comes undone then the rod can turn and sometime lock the machine up by trying to push throught the bottom of the case. Some brass cases are really thick in the head and will tie up the backup die (the one that goes inside the case), but I don't think this is the issue here. We have deprimed and swaged 100K + 9mm recently through my 1050 and I have damaged the small swage punch a little. I only replaced it as a precaution. Edited February 15, 2010 by gm iprod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dillon Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Something else that can break the swage rod at the bottom is stress from the swage rod attempting to swage primer pockets with a primer still in the pocket.I have invoiced a replacement swage rod to go out toady via Two Day FedEx. Normally I would send via priority mail, but due to the holiday the post office is closed today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakshow10mm Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Cheaper unprocessed brass, we have 30K+ 223 with crimped primer pockets. We have tumbled and sorted most and are throwing anything that even remotely looks like crap. We are keeping LC, CCI, FC, WCC and R_P some with crimped primers some not. ALL other is being binned. When I get brass in I give inspection for obscene damaged cases, ie crushed necks, obvious dents, etc. I then tumble it. When it's cleaned of media I inspect it for cosmetics and visible flaws under a lighted magnifying glass. I have a "cartoon double take" policy. If you even think of looking at a case a second time, toss it. The "good" brass gets inspected once again during the lube process. After it's loaded and dumped into the bucket for collection it's inspected while moved to another bin. Finally it's inspected once again during packaging and labeling for sale. This is for both pistol and rifle. I keep LC, FC, and Winchester brass for the .223. Now with my experience using FC stamp, I'm done with it forever. I'm boxing it up and selling it on Gunbroker. Something else that can break the swage rod at the bottom is stress from the swage rod attempting to swage primer pockets with a primer still in the pocket.I have invoiced a replacement swage rod to go out toady via Two Day FedEx. Normally I would send via priority mail, but due to the holiday the post office is closed today. The primers had been decapped properly. Thanks again for taking care of me. Sorry to be using up my warranty. One of these times we'll get it worked out. Maybe Dillon can hire me as a destructive tester in the future? Will work for primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcic Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I just had the same thing happen to me. I was loading crimped 9mm and started to get mangled primers. I looked and the swage rod was broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhenry132 Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I keep two of each size as spares. I have had some issues with the 1050 that I thought should not have happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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