Sarge Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Loaded my first timed hundred today(not that it is that important). Took right around 7 minutes. I'm finding out that this machine is made to make mass quantities of ammo. It really seems to run best if you just load it up with primers and powder and let it do it's thing. The initial set up is a little more tedious than it was with the 550. It's not hard by any means but it takes more tweaking to get the powder, oal, etc dialed in. The powder drop has one flaw that is much more pronounced than it was with the 550. That is the powder drop dropping high charges after sitting idle. Just letting it sit a minute or two will cause it to drop a charge .2 higher than is set. Letting it sit all day or over night results in a first drop of .5. That is more than enough to be dangerous if you forget about it. I had to move the case feeder head up about 1/4" because the switch was getting stuck on the end of the drop tube. I guess the bearing kit is still settling because the shell plate keeps working slightly loose and causes a lot of powder to spill. I moved the seating die to station 3 to get the bullet on faster to help reduce the spillage. I left the crimp die at 5. This helped a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98sr20ve Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 The powder drop has one flaw that is much more pronounced than it was with the 550. That is the powder drenough to be dangerous if you forget about it. I had to move the case feeder head up about 1/4" because the switch was getting stuck on the end of the drop tube. I guess the bearing kit is still settling because the shell plate keeps working slightly loose and causes a lot of powder to spill. I moved the seating die to station 3 to get the bullet on faster to help reduce the spillage. I left the crimp die at 5. This helped a lot. It's the same powder measure so it will function the same. If your worried about settling leave the handle in the down position when you walk away form the press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 The powder drop has one flaw that is much more pronounced than it was with the 550. That is the powder drenough to be dangerous if you forget about it. I had to move the case feeder head up about 1/4" because the switch was getting stuck on the end of the drop tube. I guess the bearing kit is still settling because the shell plate keeps working slightly loose and causes a lot of powder to spill. I moved the seating die to station 3 to get the bullet on faster to help reduce the spillage. I left the crimp die at 5. This helped a lot. It's the same powder measure so it will function the same. If your worried about settling leave the handle in the down position when you walk away form the press. Yeah, I realize it is the same system. It's just more pronounced with the new one than my other one ever was. I'll do some testing with leaving the handle down. I had not heard that one before. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Diss Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 What's different about the 650 powder measure than the 550? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 The powder drop has one flaw that is much more pronounced than it was with the 550. That is the powder drop dropping high charges after sitting idle. Just letting it sit a minute or two will cause it to drop a charge .2 higher than is set. Letting it sit all day or over night results in a first drop of .5. That is more than enough to be dangerous if you forget about it. You do have the baffle in the bottom of the powder measure, right? This takes the weight of all the powder in the tube off the bottom of the unit where it starts to drop into the funnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcracco Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Sarge, a cheap UPS system should stop that. A plus side to the UPS is that if you lose power, you'll have a few minutes to settle everything before the lights go totally out. I bought one a month or so back...I think it was around $50 and gives me 20 minutes of time after the power goes out....Totally stops all surges.... If your florescent light blinks when the case feeder starts it means either the line voltage is dipping (not surging)or the case feeder is inducing an inductive kick into the line. A cheap UPS won't help in either case. $50 UPS: Will maintain AC power by switching to battery when line voltage goes below a certain threshold...usually 90-100VAC. Until that point what comes in is what goes out. $500 UPS: Will continuously monitor and condition the output power was well as supply battery backup. If there are spikes or noise on the line the UPS will filter them out. If the $50 UPS fixes your problem then the UPS is going on battery every time the casefeeder starts (not good) or there is a cheap spike suppressor in the UPS and a $10 surge strip would do the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes777 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 hey top, how consistent is your powder drop while you are running the press? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 hey top, how consistent is your powder drop while you are running the press? As good as can be expected. I have the usual .1 either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 What's different about the 650 powder measure than the 550? Nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Thanks, you've convinced me NEVER to buy a 650:) Too complicated for a guy who can't get a screw Back in after I take it out of anything:(( I'll take my Square Deal anyday. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windscreen Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Sarge, a cheap UPS system should stop that. A plus side to the UPS is that if you lose power, you'll have a few minutes to settle everything before the lights go totally out. I bought one a month or so back...I think it was around $50 and gives me 20 minutes of time after the power goes out....Totally stops all surges.... If your florescent light blinks when the case feeder starts it means either the line voltage is dipping (not surging)or the case feeder is inducing an inductive kick into the line. A cheap UPS won't help in either case. $50 UPS: Will maintain AC power by switching to battery when line voltage goes below a certain threshold...usually 90-100VAC. Until that point what comes in is what goes out. $500 UPS: Will continuously monitor and condition the output power was well as supply battery backup. If there are spikes or noise on the line the UPS will filter them out. If the $50 UPS fixes your problem then the UPS is going on battery every time the casefeeder starts (not good) or there is a cheap spike suppressor in the UPS and a $10 surge strip would do the same thing. The overhead flourscent light for my reloading bench shares a gang box with my case feeder. My lights also tend to flicker for each case that passes over the microswitch. I've assumed it was due to the motor's inductive load. Happens on both high and low speed. It annoyed the hell out of me at first, but I've learned to ignore it after a year. -Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) A few minor mods so far. Edited December 31, 2011 by Sarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunfixer Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) A few minor mods so far. Sarge.. Do you have a larger version of pic # 2 here? I keep trying to figure out what you've used under there.. Did you use a plastic funnel in place of your spent primer tray, or WHAT the HECK IS that; all I can make out is what looks like maybe a brass "Pex" coupler w/ a hose clamp stickin' out of something black n plastic... Thanks, Edited December 31, 2011 by gunfixer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=584&view=findpost&p=1598447 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalaur Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Loaded my first timed hundred today(not that it is that important). Took right around 7 minutes. I'm finding out that this machine is made to make mass quantities of ammo. It really seems to run best if you just load it up with primers and powder and let it do it's thing. The initial set up is a little more tedious than it was with the 550. It's not hard by any means but it takes more tweaking to get the powder, oal, etc dialed in. The powder drop has one flaw that is much more pronounced than it was with the 550. That is the powder drop dropping high charges after sitting idle. Just letting it sit a minute or two will cause it to drop a charge .2 higher than is set. Letting it sit all day or over night results in a first drop of .5. That is more than enough to be dangerous if you forget about it. What powder are you using? I generally leave powder in my drops all the time, and even after a week or two of sitting they are generally within .1 gr of where I left them set. I also do not use the powder baffle at this point, but if you're seeing this much variance with your powder you should really consider one. I generally use WST or TiteGroup (yeah yeah I know) powders. As for Dillon presses just wanting to crank out ammo, just wait 'till you buy a 1050 :-) It is again a little more tedious to setup than a 650, but when you load up 10 primer tubes and start cranking the handle, next thing you know you're filling the powder drop a few times, looking for more boxes of bullets, etc. Then it becomes an issue of where to put all this loaded ammo! For the snapping shellplate, the bearing and spring mods work well, but once you get the 'feel' for the press, you'll be grabbing a bullet as you pull the handle, and you 'catch' the case coming into the seating station with your fingers as you set the bullet on top. When you start to get in the groove and get the hang of this, your spilled powder will be reduced considerably. Sounds like you're really starting to like the 650. Each Dillon press has its quirks, but keep at it and you'll get the hang of it in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 31, 2011 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 What powder are you using? It does it with every powder I have ever used. WAC, TG, S1K, N320, 3N37, Sil, etc... It's a pretty well recognized issue. There are multiple threads on it. Sounds like you are lucky . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunfixer Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Lol..! I just made something a bit like that today and installed it.. Thanks Sarge, I CAN see it now..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonS Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 The overhead flourscent light for my reloading bench shares a gang box with my case feeder. My lights also tend to flicker for each case that passes over the microswitch. I've assumed it was due to the motor's inductive load. Happens on both high and low speed. It annoyed the hell out of me at first, but I've learned to ignore it after a year. Wow, My 650 case feeder doesn't do this at all, and if it did, I think it would freak me out. If you have some sort of power inrush or grounding issue on the case feeder motor, that is large enough to fluctuate your AC source power on that circuit, you should probably look into that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 I lowered the case feeder tonight. Cut off 1.75 inches from the support tube and feed tube. It made quite a bit of difference! FYI I cut both with a good sharp tubing cutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunfixer Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) Sorry.. I guess I missed something; Why'd yah cut them down 1 3/4".? It made quite a difference in what exactly, Top? Happy New Year BTW..!!! Edited January 1, 2012 by gunfixer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Sorry.. I guess I missed something; Why'd yah cut them down 1 3/4".? It made quite a difference in what exactly, Top? Happy New Year BTW..!!! The Case feeder was too close to the ceiling. Dropping it just that little bit made it much easier to dump brass in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 I got my "ski jump" fix figured out. I don't own a camera so for now I can't post any pictures. But what I did was drill a 3/8" hole in the bottom flat part of the jump. Then I found a small vial that my daughter used for collecting bugs in HS. They can't be too long or it will hit the handle when pulled. I drilled the same size hole in the cap. Then I roughed up the bottom of the jump as well as the top of the cap and applied a tiny bit of Gorilla glue. I used a rubber band to hold the cap to the ramp for 24 hours. Screwed the bottle on and viola! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 One thing has me perplexed. I am getting about 2-3 out of 100 cases upside down coming out of the feeder. It sure puts a cramp in the reloading process. Any fixes in mind? I'm loading 9mm if it matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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