Having a couple of problems with my RL550B

[njl]

I've been loading (mostly pistol) on my RL550B for about 3 years now, I think, somewhere between 5k and 10k rounds...so I'm not a total noob...but lately, I've been loading some small primer 45acp using mixed (Win, Federal, Speer) once or more fired brass. I can't remember if I used walnut or corn cob for tumbling this batch, but it was one of those two, with cut up used bounce sheets.

Anyway...the two problems are, the powder funnel is really sticking in some of the brass, to the point that the upstroke (until the funnel is released by the brass) is way harder than the downstroke, and I keep having problems with the primer slide not picking up primers because it's not getting full travel. A third issue I just remembered is that every so often, something is binding and not wanting me to quite lower the ram all the way.

I know the powder funnel can get stuck in new brass, or brass that's "too clean", but this stuff is neither. I know rubbing the funnel down with a scotchbrite pad can help...and have done that...but it didn't make much difference. I'm starting to wonder if either lubing the funnel or inside case necks is worth trying (or safe to try)? Is there anything else that can be done/tried to reduce the brass getting stuck on the funnel?

The primer slide, I'm starting to worry is a lost cause. I've had to take it apart for cleaning every hundred rounds or so lately. I think the problem is that so much crud is released during decapping and gets everywhere, that the bottom front area of the primer slide and the corresponding surface on the primer track bearing have visible pitting that lines up (I assume from decapping residue getting between them), and the pitting is deep enough that a bunch of rubbing by hand with a scotchbrite doesn't smooth them out. Even after these surfaces have been freshly cleaned (wipe down with a paper towel soaked with 90% isopropyl, scotchbrite, then the isopropyl paper towel again), the primer slide doesn't move smoothly. I've heard of people lubing this area with graphite powder (lock lube), and tried that, but I don't think it helped at all. Is there anything else that can be done in this area...or is it time to either use something more aggressive than a scotchbrite pad to really smooth out the surfaces, or bug Dillon support for some replacement parts?

The press binding up, I haven't quite figured out. A few times, I've found that it was a spent primer that missed the cup and landed somewhere it shouldn't have on the press (interfering with movement of the primer slide). A few times, it's seemed more like it was the little trap door thing that catches the primers (or doesn't...that problem's been worse recently too), and I wonder if its time to replace the paper clip section I put in there when the original pin bent. Last night, I noticed a couple of times, the trap door wasn't closing on the upstroke...so spent primers would just fall right through.

[Dirty Rod]

Wow. This sounds like you have been in my garage!! I started loading a couple of months ago and went through everything you described plus inconsistent COL but fortunately I've been able to work through all of it and the last 1500 rounds have been fantastic.

My biggest issue was the primer feed. If any amount of dust, powder, etc hit my slide I had to disassemble and break out the alcohol. I'm close to Dillon so I went in and described the issue and it turns out I had an old design on the primer bar. Bought my press used and I had the bar with the grooves on the bottom. The lady at Dillon gave me the current design which is completely hollow along with a new plate and I went home, installed it, and haven't touched it in the last 1000 rounds. Before that, if I got 80 rounds through it without it sticking I was lucky.

The sticking problem occasionally still happens but it's now much better. I decreased the bell so that it just gives me the minimum amount and about every 250 rounds I run just a tiny bit of lube on one case and it took 95% of the sticking away. If they start to stick again I just add another drop. Again, it's just a tiny bit of lube which is what Dillon later recommended when I was talking about another problem. I also noticed that if I add another capful of polish to the media it also helps.

The dropped primers still happen every so often and I just grab a broom when I'm done. You didn't mention OAL but I solved that by tightening down the shellplate and ensuring that my dies were all set with all stations loaded. I still get +/- .4 but it's within my range.

Edited December 15, 2011 by Dirty Rod

[njl]

I guess I should have mentioned, I reload indoors, in AC...so it's not like humidity/rust should be issues.

I think I have the newer style primer slides (press was bought new 3 years ago) that are hollow down the bottom/middle.

The bell I'm putting on these cases is pretty minimal. Right now, I'm loading Zero 230gr JHP. They have a relatively squared off bottom edge, not the sort of rounded edge you find on most FMJ, so they need a bit more flare than FMJ. I'm doing just enough to get the bullets inside the case neck, and have them stay put while I raise the ram.

Does the primer track bearing just need to be replaced (or resurfaced) every so often?

[Sarge]

I've been loading (mostly pistol) on my RL550B for about 3 years now, I think, somewhere between 5k and 10k rounds...so I'm not a total noob...but lately, I've been loading some small primer 45acp using mixed (Win, Federal, Speer) once or more fired brass. I can't remember if I used walnut or corn cob for tumbling this batch, but it was one of those two, with cut up used bounce sheets.

Anyway...the two problems are, the powder funnel is really sticking in some of the brass, to the point that the upstroke (until the funnel is released by the brass) is way harder than the downstroke, I read all about the reasoning behind the sticking and found it to not be accurate as far as I could see. Clean brass, dirty brass you name it, it was sticking bad. I polished and scrubbed the funnel and got minimal improvements. Then switched to another bucket of brass that was all Federal headstamps and the sticking stopped. The Fed stuff has slightly thinner case walls so I am thinking the expander part of the funnel could stand to be turned down just a tad. I tried the 1050 funnel and it worked great since it does not have the expander on it. But that resulted in bullets being off center when loaded. Polishing alone will not work on the funnel it needs turned down.

and I keep having problems with the primer slide not picking up primers because it's not getting full travel. My press was plagued by the same problem after I bought it new. The Dillon rep said there were some powder bars that are warped or twisted and when things get a little dirty they start binding up and cocking left/right etc. They sent me a new one and it was much better. I sprinkle graphite on the mechanism every few thousand rounds or so and it has been problem free this year. When I was not getting full travel sometimes there was debris inside that was blocking the bar. OR the rod could use tweaked a little. OR try loosening up the assy and pulling the handle a few times and watch it move. Try to find the sweet spot to tighten things back up. Trial and error works well.

A third issue I just remembered is that every so often, something is binding and not wanting me to quite lower the ram all the way. That sounds like your spent primer chute. Flick it with your finger, if it sticks or binds even slightly it will stick open and then the press smashes into it when you run the handle making it even more bent and fouled up. I put a finish nail through mine and bent the end 90 degrees. Works very well.

I know the powder funnel can get stuck in new brass, or brass that's "too clean", but this stuff is neither. I know rubbing the funnel down with a scotchbrite pad can help...and have done that...but it didn't make much difference. It takes a lot of rubbing to do any good at all. I'm starting to wonder if either lubing the funnel or inside case necks is worth trying (or safe to try)? Is there anything else that can be done/tried to reduce the brass getting stuck on the funnel?

The primer slide, I'm starting to worry is a lost cause. I've had to take it apart for cleaning every hundred rounds or so lately. I think the problem is that so much crud is released during decapping and gets everywhere, that the bottom front area of the primer slide and the corresponding surface on the primer track bearing have visible pitting that lines up (I assume from decapping residue getting between them), and the pitting is deep enough that a bunch of rubbing by hand with a scotchbrite doesn't smooth them out. Even after these surfaces have been freshly cleaned (wipe down with a paper towel soaked with 90% isopropyl, scotchbrite, then the isopropyl paper towel again), the primer slide doesn't move smoothly. I've heard of people lubing this area with graphite powder (lock lube), and tried that, but I don't think it helped at all. Is there anything else that can be done in this area...or is it time to either use something more aggressive than a scotchbrite pad to really smooth out the surfaces, or bug Dillon support for some replacement parts?

The press binding up, I haven't quite figured out. A few times, I've found that it was a spent primer that missed the cup and landed somewhere it shouldn't have on the press (interfering with movement of the primer slide). A few times, it's seemed more like it was the little trap door thing that catches the primers (or doesn't...that problem's been worse recently too), and I wonder if its time to replace the paper clip section I put in there when the original pin bent. Last night, I noticed a couple of times, the trap door wasn't closing on the upstroke...so spent primers would just fall right through.

Keep some compressed air handy and blow the press clean regularly.

[A63111]

The primer track bearing is teflon coated, no on the resurfacing. Brian has a post on the 550 and his tricks, they work. Still I have some issues and have to keep the primer area clean. There is sweet spot as previously mentioned. Also if you change primer sizes it is quite easy to over tighten the bolts and cause a bulge in the housing. This can be removed carefully with a file and then some Scothbrite.

A great help on the sticking cases is to remove the expander and polish it ti a high shine. Use fine grades of cloth(320) and up, then a polishing compound.

Here is the link to Brian's post concerning primers and the 550. My link

[njl]

Well, I think I can blame the problems I had the other night for my first squib.

I was already having kind of a bad day today, and it happened during a match, so I'm a little cloudy on exactly what happened...but I was shooting a stage, and after a few bangs, I got a click. I paused for a second, racked the slide, expecting a dud round to fall out. Instead, what fell out was a very sooty piece of brass, and some flakes. I couldn't tell if it was burned powder or unburned. I think at this point, I let the slide go, and it failed to chamber a round. At that point, I dropped the mag, cleared the gun, did a quick field strip, and saw a bullet maybe just outside the chamber, lodged in the barrel.

An over-enthusiastic fellow shooter whipped out his squib rod and had the bullet removed before I knew he'd even made the attempt (I'd gone back to the firing position to retrieve the sooty piece of brass).

I knew the other night that at one point while trying to remedy the issues I was having, I'd removed the powder failsafe rod and forgotten to put it back in, resulting in what I thought was 2 undercharged rounds, one in station 2, one in station 3. I pulled the bullet from the station 3 one, and dumped the powder from the station 2 one on the scale and found it to be 3gr. I eventually reused these two primed cases, putting one back in on station 2, the other went back to station 1 for resizing with the decapper removed.

Is 3gr Clays under a 230gr JHP undercharged enough to cause this? Based on what fell out when I racked the slide after the click, I really don't think it was a powderless cartridge.

It sucks...other than the squib, this load shot really well...and after the squib, I was a little spooked. Anytime the report from a shot sounded at all different, I started to wonder did I just have another squib? Fortunately, I was shooting pins, so some quick logic convinced me that a falling pin = not a squib.

[Bimmer]

The primer slide... I've heard of people lubing this area with graphite powder (lock lube), and tried that, but I don't think it helped at all.

Per Dillon's recommendations (I think), I generally lubricate my press with motor oil (30w, I think).

I put one drop on the track of the primer slide, and then let the slide run over it, and then wipe off any excess. Then I don't think about it for another several 1,000 rounds...

Of course you don't want to get oil on your primers, but your primers are up above in the cup, not down below the slide.

[njl]

The instructions for the press don't say anything about lubricating the primer slide. They only say to periodically wipe it with rubbing alcohol to remove decapping residue.

Last night, after my squib, I decided to load some more ammo. Since I have some lost brass (GSSF) matches coming up, I figured I may as well switch back to LP .45 brass, since that's what most easily replaced with free range pickup brass. So that meant converting the press back from SP to LP. In the process, I cleaned the primer track bearing, and then decided to hit it with a quick burst of Hornady Oneshot case lube. I did that with it sitting on a paper towel. Then, after putting the primer system together, I used that paper towel that had some HOS overspray and gave the expander portion of the powder funnel a good rub down with it. On my 20th cartridge, the primer slide failed to pick up a primer, but I wasn't paying close enough attention to know if it was due to incomplete travel or if one just failed to drop. The first 19 and next 180 rounds loaded without any problems. The funnel sticking in the brass issue was completely gone.

Now, I have no idea if the HOS on the expander helped or if it was just due to my using different brass. This LP brass was mixed stamp (bought here from the same guy I got the .45 SP brass from). I'd tumbled it pretty much the same way as the SP brass, but this stuff then sat in an open box in the garage for a couple months. Normally, I store clean brass in sealed plastic containers (washed out juice jugs), but I'd run out of suitable jugs and just dumped this stuff, after tumbling, into a clean cardboard box. It's "clean", but much dirtier than the SP stuff. Just grabbing several handfuls of it to bring inside, my fingers picked up lots of grey residue. I wonder if this dust left over from tumbling (and not the HOS) is why the powder funnel wasn't sticking at all for this batch?

I guess next time I load some SP brass, I'll see if HOS on the primer track bearing helps with that setup...or it'll be time to call Dillon and see about getting some replacement parts.

[98sr20ve]

I did not read the entire thread.

1) Make sure you have enough tension on the wire activating the slider. I had to rebend mine. It's not easily done. Get it in a vice and add some more bend.

2) Dry and clean is the way the slider needs to be. If it's still giving you trouble after polishing it clean, etc. Call Dillon and get a new one. They do need replaced every once in a while.

3) Sticking brass can simply be because of the way the factory loaded the ammo. It could have some sealant on it that causes that specific brass to stick. You can't see it. It's just a pita till you shoot it a couple times. Again, this assumes you polished everything as already suggested.

Good luck.

[njl]

2) Dry and clean is the way the slider needs to be. If it's still giving you trouble after polishing it clean, etc. Call Dillon and get a new one. They do need replaced every once in a while.

By slider, do you mean the primer slide, or the primer track bearing that sits under the primer slide?

[A63111]

Primer slide and track bearing run best dry. At least the track bearing is coated. Adding oil and other wet lubes helps to create a gummy mess by mixing residue and oil which also may become abrasive.

I agree with bending the arm. Brian has a post with his suggestions, among which is to move the arm from it's normal captured position, stand it up from the pivot point and with the lower portion (below the Z bend) parallel to the primer housing make sure that the rod above the bend is also parallel or bent slightly outward. Also make sure the pivot bracket is set to just above the press.

There is another thread in this section with much the same info Click Here

[98sr20ve]

2) Dry and clean is the way the slider needs to be. If it's still giving you trouble after polishing it clean, etc. Call Dillon and get a new one. They do need replaced every once in a while.

By slider, do you mean the primer slide, or the primer track bearing that sits under the primer slide?

I meant primer slider. But that entire area needs to be clean and dry. I wipe my exposed slider area with a rag before every session. Clean it every 2K rounds or so OR the first time it fails to pick up a primer or catch's.