Aircooled6racer Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hello: I have been having problems reloading Remington STS and Gun Club 20 gauge hulls on my Dillon SL900. On the wad/shot station the wad is spliting the hull. It seems that the wad guide is not strong enough to push the hull pedals out far enough to allow the wad to be inserted straight in the hull. The Remington hulls seem to be made out of tougher plastic than the Winchester AA's. I have no problems at all reloading 20 gauge Winchester AA hulls. The Remington STS hulls are giving 10% failure rate with spilled shot all over the place. Anyone else have this problem? The Gun Club 12 gauge are perfect to relaod as well as the STS's. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillM Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Are you using the correct wad for the sts hulls? I've loaded thousands of sts and gun club 28 ga. (On a mec) and tens of thousands of 12ga AA and sts hulls on my sl900 and have not experienced this. It almost sounds like the wad guide fingers are broken. I've only had to replace the wad guide once since 1999 but when the fingers were broken it crushed or split the hull and spilled shot. Take the wad guide off and check that none of the red plastic fingers are broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hello: The 20 gauge conversion is almost new with only 200 rounds loaded on it. I am using the Claybuster 3/4oz green wad. The Dillon wad guide is yellow in color and all of the fingers look great. The wad guide arm has some play in it so maybe that is the problem? The 28 gauge Winchester shells load great. I will try some more 20ga STS shells today. If it does not work then I will give Dillon a call. Maybe a Spolar will solve the problem. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hello: I think I have found the problem. The wad holder arm is very loose on the pivot pin. If I push it back/away from me the wad inserts into the hull with no problems. I will load up a 100 or so to see if this solve the problem. If so I'll give Dillon a call to see what they suggest. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZ Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hi Eric. Two thoughts, first make sure the wad guide arm is centered correctly...there is a small centering screw that you can adjust to accomplish this. I adjust mine until the guide is centered in the tool head. Second, you might want to "flare" the hull more back at station 2 when it drops powder. I was recently reloading some 6 pointer 12ga hulls and had to do this so the wads wouldn't catch the hull at station 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Hunter Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Throw the wads in a plastic bag and shake them with a little graphite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) Hello: Well I loaded up 200 or so Winchester hulls with no problem at all. I played with some Remington hulls after that. I pushed the wad guide away from me and that worked a little. Still had some problems. I then used a pin gauge to tighten up the arm to frame fit. Still no go with that. I have added a pic of the problem I am having with Remington hulls. Steve, I did lower the mandral some on station 2 about a half turn. Still doing the same thing. I will try lowering it some more to flare the lip of the hull out more. Thanks, Eric Edited January 14, 2014 by Aircooled6racer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillM Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 That's exactly what my 12 ga. hulls looked like when the wad guide fingers (red in 12) were broken. Steve knows this machine inside and out so hopefully he can help. Hi Steve! The only other suggestion is that the wad is just not right for this hull and you'll have to try another brand or different type of wad. It was years ago and I can't remember details right now but I was using the correct wad for the hulls I had according to the charts but the machine just wouldn't run. A friend brought me a Baggie of different wads to try and problem solved. Spolar is a great machine no doubt, but if you're able to load both 28 (a feat on its own, I'm told) and most 20 on the Dillon, you're already ahead of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZ Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Hi ya Will! Eric, it looks like your trying to shove a 12ga wad in a 20ga hull :-/ as an experiment, flare the mouth of the hull so it's almost round at station 2 ( you'll probably have to increase your precrimp depth to counter the excessive flare) and see what happens. It's odd that Winchester hulls are OK but Rem GCs aren't. Like Will suggested, maybe those wads just don't work with Rem GC/STS. I just checked my fore/aft movement of my wad guide arm and there is very LITTLE movement. If yours is loose, that might be the problem. You may want to give Dillon a call and get a new one. Edited January 15, 2014 by SteveZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Steve: The pivot pin Dillon uses is 0.0055" smaller than the hole in the lever arm. It moves about 1/8" forward and back. I will try lowering the powder drop funnel some more and see if I can get the lips to spread a little more. I am not giving up on the Dillon just yet. I really like the case feeder and primer system. I love shooting 3/4oz 20 gauge loads for skeet so I have to fix this problem. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZ Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 1/8" of movement is not right. If mine moved more than 1/32" I'd be surprised. Just to make sure we are talking about the same movement...if I took the arm and tried to push it toward the BACK of the press or pull it toward the FRONT of the press, it might move 1/32". If you want to see what I'm talking about , I could skype you or FaceTime if you've got an iPhone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Steve: Yes, it moves front to back at least a 1/8". I'll call Dillon tomorrow to get it sorted out. I appreciate all the help. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZ Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Let me know how the new arm works when you get it. It should fix the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Hello: Well just talked to Tim at Dillon and they are sending me a new arm and wad guide. Hopefully that will sovle the problem. Dillon is just such a great company and customer service means alot to me that is why I bought the SL900 and have 2 RL1050's. I bleed blue as they say. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Hello: Just got back into town and the Dillon replacement parts are waiting for me. I checked the arm hole and it is much smaller than the original one. I installed the new arm with the old spring and old guide. It works perfectly now with the STS and Gun Club hulls. I want to really thank Tim at Dillon for getting the parts out to me so quickly. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZ Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Bingo! And that just one of the reasons I got the SL900. Glad to hear it's working right for you now Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hello: Update I loaded up some more Gun Clubs today and had one that split. Not the Dillon reloaders fault since it is very cold in my shop right now and the plastic hulls are hard. I took some inside the house to let them warmup and things are great when the hulls are 70 degrees instead of 30. Just something to think about. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 Hello: The machine is still working great on the Gun Clubs. Going to load some STS's next. Current load is 13.5 grains of Green Dot, Winchester primers, Claybuster CB1075-20ga(lime green wad) and 3/4oz #8 1/2 shot. These are busting clays when I do my part. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Hello: Trying to load up some Remington 20 gauge Gun Clubs again. It is not going well. The wad is not going into the hull and ripping the hull. I adjusted the powder drop/hull expander and it helped some. I am thinking the Dillon just does not like the Gun Clubs in 20 gauge. I will try some Remington STS and some Winchester AA's today and see how that goes. I also think that the plastic used on the 20ga Gun Clubs is very stiff so that does not help. The 12 gauge Gun Clubs load fantastically and is what I mostly use. Any other suggestions? Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Build4u Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 make sure there are not any bbs smashed in to the grooves in shell plate were the case head sits. It will really smash one back in there and make for an inconsistent issue holding a case out a little. I have a small pick I can pull through that will pop out a squished bb. Check especially if it started after a spill from forgetting to have a shell in the station under the wad arm lol. not that I have ever done that before! I have two sl900s and one is set up in 20. 20 ga. is a little more tedious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Hello: No bb's in the shell plate but the shell plate holds the shells very loosely. I did notice that the shell guide pins did not come up very high to hold the shell. I filed the stop lug down some and that seems to be helping. I may have to change out the wad guide as well. I am using the CB-1075-20 wad and wonder if the dimple on it is causing some problem with the guide rod causing it to cock over some? I wonder if the 28 gauge rod may work better? Yes, you are correct the 20 gauge does relax slower but it should not be slower than the 28 gauge. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Build4u Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I was loading on my 12 ga 900 tonight and was looking the press over. I remembered having a problem once with the resizer, all the little resizer fingers were staying stuck up inside the die body and damaging the hull enough to mess up the hull edge and fold a piece in that would mess up the hull. I found part of a disposable ear plug jammed up there that was keeping it gummed up. When they are stuck up the hull is feeding into a smaller opening and not properly resizing the brass. Also make sure the wad guide body is moving up and down freely in the wad guide arm, returning fully back to the top. I have had that stick down and keep the wad arm from going all the way in until it hits the stop which will crush a wad in smashing the hull side. I hope that description makes sense. The wad guide body was not getting centered on the hull. There is a pin that holds that piece captive under spring pressure I drifted out and polished up the surfaces and coated with Mag Slick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hello: I will check the wad guide assemble today. For now everything is working a lot better. I loaded 50 Gun Clubs without a problem. I did lower the resizer to get the factory spec on the steel Gun Club base. That makes the reloads go into my one tight Kolar tube. I loaded some STS's up also and they look like factory reloads. The AA's will be next but they have not been a problem. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiggerJJ Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Ya might wanna try one of these, I use one for 12ga and it helps a lot with auto loading shotguns... discovered the 900 is similar to most pistol sizing dies as they don't fully size all the way to the rim. jj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hello: I think the problem has been solved with the shell plate pins being higher and lowering the shell powder drop flare punch. With the hull being flared out more the wad does not catch on the lip. I have also noticed that the hulls are not all the same length. I loaded up 150 more Gun Club rounds and they all went together perfectly. The crimps look like factory and they are 3/4oz #8 1/2 loads for skeet and sporting. I will see how they do tomorrow if it is not snowing. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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