TonyK Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 First of all I love my Dillon press. But after getting my extra small powder bar I am a bit disappointed with Dillon I have included a photo so you too can see the difference. Believe it or not the extra small bar has a greater range in drop sizes. While they both have the same max drop, the extra small bar has the ability to drop a smaller charge so overall it has a greater range. The standard small bar is on the left while the new extra small is on the right. While all exterior dimensions are the same including an identical spacer the only difference is the square corners milled into the cavity of the extra small bar while the small bar has the v shaped milling. Click on the pic for a larger version, still haven't figured out how to load pictures better.... I can't think of a reason why Dillon just doesn't eliminate the small bar and just go with the extra small bar for small loads like our pistol rounds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wayne Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Been there, done that. It's all about selling xtra small powder bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dillon Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 The triangular end allows for a more accurate powder drop with the bulky flake powders that are very seldom used for the cartridges the extra small powder bar is intended for. The XS bar is meant for use at the low powder charge range only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Out of curiosity, which bar would be best for Clays ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted September 24, 2013 Author Share Posted September 24, 2013 The triangular end allows for a more accurate powder drop with the bulky flake powders that are very seldom used for the cartridges the extra small powder bar is intended for. The XS bar is meant for use at the low powder charge range only. The owners manual makes no mention of flake powders, only that you don't recommend to use IMR stick powders in very small drops. Only guidelines in the owners manual is drop size. I have load data for Titewad that is below 3 grains and you are telling me not to use the extra small bar? Yet I am only supposed to use the small bar down to 3 grains even though it will drop less than that and quite consistently from what I have read from others... I also have Titewad data that is just above 3 grains so I have to switch powder bars? And what are these bulky flake powders that won't work properly in the extra small bar? Is there some reason you don't want to list what powders work better with which powder bar? That info would be very appropriate to the owners manual, especially for new guys like me... Not expecting you to recommend one powder over another but a chart that shows which powders work better with your product is not asking a lot... If your explanation of the triangular end were true why is the movable portion of the bar not a triangular shape as well... If it was cut to a point it would allow very small drops and still maintain the "more accurate drops for bulky flake powders" If the extra small bar is only intended for very small drops why is it capable of dropping almost 12 grains of PB?, more than double the loads I am currently using for my 45. Why is the threaded portion of the bolt that moves the plunger in the extra small bar longer than it is in the small bar? Why does the extra small bar not have a smaller limit to the max charge? If it is accurate at very small loads why wouldn't it be accurate with slightly larger loads with the same powder? That doesn't make sense. Don't get me wrong I love my 650, I think it is an awesome product. But the owners manual and some of your product descriptions on the website could use some improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted September 24, 2013 Author Share Posted September 24, 2013 Out of curiosity, which bar would be best for Clays ??? I would love to try some! Too bad you can't find it right now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 I don't own an extra small powder bar as the regular small bar has alwasy worked for me but the smallest charge I have ever thrown was 2.8g of Clays. A circle would be better than a slot at metering bulky powders as there would be less chance of bridging small charges. If you were to ever use tiny charges of Trailboss for example they X small would likely not work very well. Take a photo of them set at their lowest volume and it will become clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dillon Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 For most ball/ small flake powders the standard small bar is fine down to about 2.7-2.8 grains, a bit less with some ball powders. The extra-small bar was meant for 32ACP and 32 S&W Long wadcutter loads, which can be as small as 1.1 grains. Only the trailing edge of the bar, where powder is cut off from dropping in, gains an advantage from the taper. The front edge does not. Expecting us to block the travel of the powder bar is unreasonable. The sales of the XS bar don't justify making a new mold. We suggest using it for what it was intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyK Posted September 25, 2013 Author Share Posted September 25, 2013 For most ball/ small flake powders the standard small bar is fine down to about 2.7-2.8 grains, a bit less with some ball powders. The extra-small bar was meant for 32ACP and 32 S&W Long wadcutter loads, which can be as small as 1.1 grains. Only the trailing edge of the bar, where powder is cut off from dropping in, gains an advantage from the taper. The front edge does not. Expecting us to block the travel of the powder bar is unreasonable. The sales of the XS bar don't justify making a new mold. We suggest using it for what it was intended. I am not saying the bars don't work as you say. And now you say that 2.7-2.8 or sometimes less is OK with some powders in direct contradiction to the owners manual.... And what might those powders be? You already list some powders in the Trouble shooting section that may cause problems so why not list the ones known to work well? This would be really helpful.... Nowhere in the owners manual or on the website description does it limit the use of the extra small powder bar to use with 32acp and 32S&W. It only says small drops below 3 grains in the owners manual and the website description says next to nothing... and I happen to need some small drops of Titewad.... How is using a different bolt to limit the travel for the extra small bar unreasonable? It would not require a new mold and it already uses a different bolt than the small bar.... Like I said I love my press, really glad I bought it. What I am saying is that your tech info in the owners manual needs updating and the product description for the extra small bar on the website needs to actually have a description of it's intended use.... And just for the info, I just dropped and weighed 40 charges of IMR 7625 through my extra small powder bar, funny how they all weighed within .1 grains. And all I have is a really cheap digital scale that probably is not all that great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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