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550B - decapping die misalignment


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My 550B has performed flawlessly reloading .45, and I'm finding out the hard way that reloading .223 is a different challenge.

I have 2 toolheads setup. In the brass prep toolhead, I have a Lee Universal decapping die in station #1 and the RT1200 in station #3. The Lee decapping die has a square shoulder where the pin transitions to the shaft, and apparently, the die is not concentric to the case, and causes the shoulder to hit the edge of the case occasionally. At this point, I have to poke the case to get past this blockage.

On the 2nd toolhead, I have a set of Dillon dies, and must say that the decapping pin is much better designed, in that there is no square shoulder but rather a nice taper in the transition area. So, even with die/case misalignment, the case is gently guided to the opening of the die, tilted and "funneled" in. Now,even though the press is not getting stopped from the case hitting the pin, I'm still concerned about this misalignment (see attached photo).

The shellplate has been correctly tightened, the cartridge spring is not touching the case, the toolhead is snug. What am I missing?

post-42390-0-77941000-1344929569_thumb.j

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What am I missing?

Loosen the die. Insert brass and lower the handle. Tighten the die with the case in the die.

+1. Also, it may be the angle, but why is your locator button not lined up with the cutout on the shellplate?

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  • 1 month later...

It's possible that your platform has lost alignment. Call Dillon and they will send you a special tool to align the platform to the tool head. I had to do that on a 550 and a 650. Same tool does both.

Good Luck

The original issue is pretty much resolved now. I will occasionally still get contact between the Lee decap pin holder and the case mouth, but much less frequently now.

Pjones - are you referring to the primer adjustment tool, or is this something else?

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