collards Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 With the way I have my 550B set up, if the screws are not tight, the metal rod that goes between the pulleys kind of wants to make it jerk to the side. It feels wonky. If I over-tighten the screws, the primer bar can't glide smoothly. If I undertighten them, they eventually become too loose during a reloading session and the system starts to jack itself up. Is this how its supposed to work? Why doesn't the bar come straight back without being jerked around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wayne Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 The primer bar is "being jerked around" is likely due to that long rod that has all the bends in it has been bent/ smashed and gotten out of original shape. I also had to have the two screws just right and blue loctited them. Those screws had been allowed to get loose by the original owner and wollowed out some. He had loaded over 100,000 rounds on it. I eventually replaced the primer tube and two screws mentioned. The long wire rod can be replaced but I kept working with mine until it moved the primer bar in and out smoothly. I also used some 600 grit sandpaper on that primer bar and the slide under it and knocked down any high spots. Clean that area occasionally and use powdered graphite on it. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collards Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 The primer bar is "being jerked around" is likely due to that long rod that has all the bends in it has been bent/ smashed and gotten out of original shape. I also had to have the two screws just right and blue loctited them. Those screws had been allowed to get loose by the original owner and wollowed out some. He had loaded over 100,000 rounds on it. I eventually replaced the primer tube and two screws mentioned. The long wire rod can be replaced but I kept working with mine until it moved the primer bar in and out smoothly. I also used some 600 grit sandpaper on that primer bar and the slide under it and knocked down any high spots. Clean that area occasionally and use powdered graphite on it. Hope this helps. That helps a whole lot! The fact that its supposed to be moving straight is proof enough that I have work to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Why1504 Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 It is not advised, but in a pinch I have used a very light oil on the bar with good success. It is required to pull the bar out and clean it off from time to time. Another lubricant I might choose in a pinch would be a cable lube. Polishing the bar should be mandatory from time to time. Hope this helps. I have owned several reloaders and the priming system is where I always stumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undrpsi Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I have two 550's and the primer system is tight. I make sure my screws are 'hand tight' but I still take everything down around 1000 rounds and do a general cleaning. You can get all kinds of crap on the primer runway or slide area. I've even had spent primers jam behind the primer shuttle blocking the magazine. The CLI (clean, lube, inspect) at every 1000 rounds eliminates most problems. Keeping a careful eye on the slide area catches the rest. As far as 'lubing the bearing'...I'm assuming everyone's talking about the flat slider plate under the priming magazine? If so...I use a very small amount of SLIDE GLIDE (available on here). I leave a very tiny 'snot trail' of it on the bearing. Since SLIDE GLIDE is made to stay in place and lubricate it works well on this flat bearing... ...but...what about contaminates? Dirt? Spent powder? Yes, it could attract them but I can't tell any difference with a small bit of lube and none. The benefits are great though...oh man....nice and smooth slide. Dumb question though....you are lubing your cases right? Even with carbide and a small caliber (9mm) you can get a good dwell then a jerk as the cartridge hangs in the resizer. I hit everything I load with spray case lube. Makes everything run slick and I can immediately tell when I hit one not lubed. I tumble my completed rounds for a few minutes to get the lube off later. Cheers Jay It is not advised, but in a pinch I have used a very light oil on the bar with good success. It is required to pull the bar out and clean it off from time to time. Another lubricant I might choose in a pinch would be a cable lube. Polishing the bar should be mandatory from time to time.Hope this helps.I have owned several reloaders and the priming system is where I always stumble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcqueen Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Does the rod move well by hand with the rod disconnected? Do you have the right primer size tubes in it? Large or small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteh Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 When I had trouble with the primer bar on my old trusty 450 press, I took the primer bar out and polished it with a good metal polish (Flitz or Mass) then made sure everything was free of any grease/lube. I sprinkled some dry graphite on the top and sides of the bar and the plate underneath it. Finally I checked the 2 bolts holding the whole unit to the press, making sure both were snug but not tight enough to hinder the bar's movement. Also make sure the 2 small white plastic wheels are perfectly lined up with each other and with the primer system's operating rod. Now everything should work smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFOdin Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 The issue I am having on my 550 is that the primer bar is not always going "full" back to pick up a primer. I have cleaned and polished the bar and tried to bend the rod out just a bit, but still am having issues with it not always going full back. Do i need to bend the rod a little more or perhaps try a new rod? I have had this set-up for several years now and have had this issue off and on, but now it is almost constant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcqueen Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Check the plastic tip on the bottom end inner drop tube. It could allow primers to be too low and restrict the pick up. Try a new one from your spare parts pack. A bent or not bottomed out primer seater will do this too. It is held in bt a small allen screw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tires2burn Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 The 2 screws on the bottom of the primer bar can be tightened to much and will deform the sides of the bar and it will hang up. I used a file to true the sides of the bar up & it works fine. The first pass of the file showed how much the alum had distorted from tightening the screw to tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 The 2 screws on the bottom of the primer bar can be tightened to much and will deform the sides of the bar and it will hang up. I used a file to true the sides of the bar up & it works fine. The first pass of the file showed how much the alum had distorted from tightening the screw to tight. Yes, I recently had the same problem. The primer cup kept rubbing against the opposite side of the primer assembly - drove me crazy for a good while. I'm not impressed with the drilling into soft aluminum, putting in thread inserts, and then subjecting to compression - the thin aluminum easily deforms and interferes with the primer bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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