650 aftermarket upgrades?

[TANFARM]

Never being able to leave well enough alone......any feedback on the upgrades for a XL650.....specifically the cam rod with the bearing/ roller on the bottom , roller bearing on top of the shell plate , and new detention ball and spring?????

My object is to minimize powder spill and smooth the insertion of the empty cartridge into the shell plate.......or live with it?.....I'm noticing the insertion of the empty cartridge in the shell plate seems to hang up a bit on the top stroke...causing a jump and some spilled powder........thoughts...experiences or are they usless ...thanks to all .

[goldeneagle76]

I'm in the same boat, have been researching alot. I am actually going with the kit sold buy snowshooze on Amazon or Ebay with roller cam follower, detent ball and spring and shell plate bearing. Gets great reviews and he gives a solid explanation of what he uses and why.

[cecil]

I found using a slightly weaker spring & a phenolic ball instead of steel ball under the shell plate on my 650... cured all snapping of the shell plate and no powder spillage..

both were bought off Ebay...

[jmorris]

I use this bearing between the bolt head and shell plate, never had a need to do anything else.

[bwikel]

If you want to save some money and prevent all your powder splash you don't need all the shell plate bearings and light weight detent ball replacement parts. Just take your locator pin in station 3 and chuck it up in a drill, use a small file to cut a V groove in it and then add an O ring over the top of it that will fit snug in the v groove without popping out. The O ring will drag on the shell plate slightly and stop it from popping in place on the detent ball it will also drag on the case as it comes into position for station 3. This simple change will eliminate all your powder splash and is more economical that buying all the extra parts. Station 3 was the best place for me to use this in since it is the locator pin that I remove the least amount on the press. I tried the weaker detent spring, light weight detent ball and the shell plate bearing. I didn't eliminate all my powder splash until I added the O ring. I feel like I wasted my money on the other parts now.

[Meyer23]

I have some powder spillage too, but I'm still new to reloading so I am just dealing with it for now. I bought those 3 parts jmorris just posted but haven't yet put them on. I never heard of what bwikel is talking about but that sounds very intriguing to me.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Meyer23

[gahunter12]

I have the light weight detent ball, light weight spring, and bearing Kit for the shell plate. It does make a difference. I also have the spent primer tune from Uniqtek, snd the skipped live primer upgrade from Dillon upgrades. I can't forget about the Sky Light, dual bullet bin, and Ultra mount from Inline Fab!

[Sarge]

You guys do realize there are pages and pages of 650 tips and tricks, etc in the Dillon reloading forum..... All of these ideas and many more mods are already here for the taking.

[hwevers]

What/where exactly is the "skipped live primer upgrade"?

Howard

[walter hornby]

bwikel do you have any pictures of this? sounds like a good upgrade.

[bwikel]

I will post a picture of it on my press when I get home this evening.

[Sarge]

What/where exactly is the "skipped live primer upgrade"?

Howard

It's just a little something to catch primers as they go down the ski slope.

[Bkreutz]

You guys do realize there are pages and pages of 650 tips and tricks, etc in the Dillon reloading forum..... All of these ideas and many more mods are already here for the taking.

It's just so much easier to ask..........than to go through all that work.

[bwikel]

Here is a pic of the locator pin I modified and added an O-ring to. It prevents the shell plate from snapping and eliminated my powder splash.

[ronn]

Why the tabs under the pins

[bwikel]

Ever fumbled a locator pin when taking it in or out? Those little tabs make them easy to grab and they don't get lost in my bullet tray when they need to go back in.

[Meyer23]

Here is a pic of the locator pin I modified and added an O-ring to. It prevents the shell plate from snapping and eliminated my powder splash.

That's brilliant. I may try that vs putting that bearing kit on.

[Meyer23]

Quick question, is there a way to stop the primer disc from spinning at any giving time? Or does it always have to spin and just drop any live primer in that tray?

^^Found the answer to that in the tips & tricks thread.

When I finish my loading session and run out of primers, I usually size and deprime a couple of extra pieces of brass and put them under my strong mount. I use these when I have a misfeed from the case feeder and the shellplate had advanced. There is a primer ready to use with no brass to put it in. I take one of the pre-sized and deprimed brass from under the press and place it in the primer station, correct my feed problem and keep reloading.

What I do when I have a primer waiting is to lift the primer advancing arm during the down stroke. That way, the primer does not advance.

Edited April 10, 2015 by Meyer23

[jmorris]

Quick question, is there a way to stop the primer disc from spinning at any giving time? Or does it always have to spin and just drop any live primer in that tray?

I have a ziptie looped around the bracket that locates the failsafe rod. When I want to stop primer feed I just pull back the indexing arm and loop the tie over it. Fast and almost free.

You can see the location of the tie in the bottom left of this photo.

Edited April 10, 2015 by jmorris

[RDA]

I have a ziptie looped around the bracket that locates the failsafe rod. When I want to stop primer feed I just pull back the indexing arm and loop the tie over it. Fast and almost free.

That is the simplest solution I have seen yet, thanks for the tip.

[Meyer23]

That's perfect, thanks jMorris.

[Jimk60]

First of all, Bwikel, that is a brilliant solution, I will be trying that in my 9mm setup, if not all 3.

As a home brewer that kegs, I have a boatload of O rings.

My $.02 below;

I have the plastic locator ball and am not sure how much it reduces the snapping.

I also added the roller bearing kit, and once I figured out how to use it correctly, was pleasantly surprised at how much it improved the 'snap'.

The secret is how much to tighten the bolt holding the shell plate. If you tighten it enough to where the shell plate does not wobble when pressure is applied on the top. And it does not create any drag from being too tight, it will work as promised.

Spent primer adapter;

I used the 1/2 inch compression fitting tube shown below in the link provided. The flange fits perfectly between the spent primer mount and the press. Attach a 1/2 in ID plastic tubing. Works great, and is relatively cheap.

Linky:http://www.homedepot.com/p/Watts-1-2-in-Brass-Compression-Nut-with-Insert-A-204/100638276

[bwikel]

I am not taking credit for the o-ring mod I saw it somewhere else and tried it. It is simple and cheap, I love those kind of fixes. I'm digging the zip tie on the primer indexing arm, that looks handy to keep primers from dropping when not needed, thanks for sharing that. In case anyone is looking for the locator pin tabs I am using you can pick them up at Office Depot. The are sold a jewelry tags and you get a bunch in a box for just a few dollars.

[RiggerJJ]

Instead of the zip tie I just remove the indexing arm spring...

jj

[Henny]

Properly time your machine with the case feed insert / camming pin and clip 1/2 to 1 coil off your detent ball if you feel it's necessary. You won't need the bearing kit, and the possible ejection problems / broken indexing ring that can arise with the bearing mod.

Some good grease on the underside of the shell plate bolt and cam pin goes a long way toward smooth operation. That and smooth, unforced manipulation of the machine by the operator.

I've been messing with the 650s since the early 90s, it took my dumb ass a while to figure these simple things out. Well, that and re reading the manual a few dozen times!