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My 2nd Super 1050 head alignment pins saga


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I did a quick search, but didn't see anything (although I scanned posts very quickly).

I bought a Super 1050 in Sept. Love it. No problems.

Then I bought a 2nd toolhead last month, and installed it for the first time yesterday (no dies involved yet). Well that was interesting. After a ton of looking around I discovered the alignment pin near station 1 was a bit off. I talked to Dillon and apparently this happens from time to time. A couple of guys suggested using a brass drift and a hammer (light taps) to align it. Having been a mechanic in a prior life I have brass hammers. That worked, but it took some practice.

Although I wasn't loading ammo I tested the movement of the assembly. At a normal reloading speed it felt and sounded pretty good, but if I slowed down to a crawl there was a "thunk" during the upstroke. Over the day and a half I tore it down and assembled it several times. At least now I know the machine pretty well.

To make a long story short I checked everything I could think of. Finally during a test with the shell plate out, the primer slide installed but not with the arm that makes it go back and forth I placed the slide were it would be when the short alignment pin goes through it. I found it! On a very slow upstroke the short alignment pin was dragging in the primer slide hole pulling the slide up a few thousandths and as the pin came up it would suddenly release the primer slide resulting in a "thunk" sound. A few carefully placed taps on the short alignment pin and the problem was fixed.

Well.... anyway.... If you ever have a "thunk" you can't find on a slow upstroke perhaps my experience here might help you.

Phew...... I'm worn out!

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I have this happen occasionally, I take down the primer system, clean it, and the problem goes away.

First time I've see a plausible description. Now I need to go figure out what this means: "On a very slow upstroke the short alignment pin was dragging in the primer slide hole pulling the slide up a few thousandths..."

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....Now I need to go figure out what this means: "On a very slow upstroke the short alignment pin was dragging in the primer slide hole pulling the slide up a few thousandths..."

What was happening was the short alignment pin was slightly off center. Not enough for me to feel drag on the downstroke but enough to lift the primer slide a little on the upstroke.

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Can you post pictures?

There is nothing to see now that it is fixed. Even when it was happening it would have required a video camera to see what was happening. Sorry if my description isn't helpful.

One thing I should add that might help:

Picture standing or sitting in front of the unit. The toolhead is mounted without the spring and without the ratchet. The primer slide is in place and lined up the the primer plunger and small alignment pin through it with the operating handle all the way down. Also... the little white plastic piece that keeps a brass case in the priming location is in place. The linkage that slides the primer slide is discconnected from the primer slide. The alignment pin is lubricated. The shell plate is removed.

Now as the handle is SLOWLY raised you see the primer slide being raised a few thousandths until it touches that white plastic part. Just a hair more raising the handle and the friction of the off center pin against on side of the alignment pin whole in the slide gives way. The upward pressure on the hole in the slide stops. The slide drops down as the toolhead and alignment pin jump up a few thousandths. When that happens there is a thump/thunk sound.

In my case the pin was rubbing too much on the right side of the primer slide hole. A few EXTREMELY light taps to bend the alignment pin a few thousandths to the left and now the pin does not rub inside the primer slide hole. Hope that helps.

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The alignment pin in the toolhead will always bring the primer slide into final alignment. It is designed and intended to do so. Some primer slide movement as this pin enters/exits the primer slide is normal.

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I also have 2 1050's, as well as a 650 and a 550. One of my 1050's clunks and the toolhead moves on the downstroke, as the front pin gets halfway through the shellplate. Dillon told me to whack the front alignment pin to get it to line up. I tried 20 different times/ways, still does it. Could never get it to align correctly. Very annoying and makes using this one press more difficult than my other 1050.

G

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The alignment pin in the toolhead will always bring the primer slide into final alignment. It is designed and intended to do so. Some primer slide movement as this pin enters/exits the primer slide is normal.

I'm not sure I understand your point. Of course the alignment pin will touch the primer slide, but in my case the alignment pin was so far off center that it was trying to drag up the primer slide (not enough to feel the drag on the down stroke, but enough to pull the slide up on the upstroke). Some taps of the alignment pin fixed the problem, and it now works well.

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Although I didn't measure them the short pin diameter and the hole in the primer slide are pretty close. If it wasn't close it wouldn't work properly.

Part of the difficulty I had finding the problem drag in the short pin was the slight drag in the long pin near station 1. There were no dies involved and I had removed everything and started putting things back one at a time (sometimes in different orders or leaving out something). The one thing I couldn't completely eliminate was a little drag in the long pin. I thought of driving out the bushing the long pin goes down into, but before I got to that point I saw the primer slide being lifted on the upstroke and then suddenly releasing with the accompanying "thunk".

Careful inspection (wasn't easy to see) of what part side of the pin was rubbing in the slide hole (I was getting ready to start using Prussian Blue to see if I could figure out were it was rubbing), a few light wacks on the short pin, and all was well. Now it runs great and there is no lifting of the slide and no thunk noise.

Edited by reloader901
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  • 3 years later...

resurrecting this thread from the dead. Anyone ever replaced the front alignment pin? Somehow mine got bent, I'm assuming the toolhead fell over off it's stand or something and no one told me. I've use a brass hammer to get it back to working, but honestly wouldn't mind replacing it. It was really bent and I just don't trust my hammering. 

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19 hours ago, slavex said:

resurrecting this thread from the dead. Anyone ever replaced the front alignment pin? Somehow mine got bent, I'm assuming the toolhead fell over off it's stand or something and no one told me. I've use a brass hammer to get it back to working, but honestly wouldn't mind replacing it. It was really bent and I just don't trust my hammering. 

Yes I got a used 1050 from a friend and I tore it completely down to service it,after I got it all back together I didn’t like the the front pin was dragging so tapped on and on and never was happy with it. Called Dillon and got another pin took the head off and took it to a machine and they pressed the old one out and pressed the new one end problem solved. The issue with bent pins is you need to have the head all the down when removing or tighten the bolt that holds the head on.

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1 hour ago, Dwbsig said:

Yes I got a used 1050 from a friend and I tore it completely down to service it,after I got it all back together I didn’t like the the front pin was dragging so tapped on and on and never was happy with it. Called Dillon and got another pin took the head off and took it to a machine and they pressed the old one out and pressed the new one end problem solved. The issue with bent pins is you need to have the head all the down when removing or tighten the bolt that holds the head on.

It also helps when you do have a bent pin. throw some dykem on the pin to see where to pin in bent. Knowing where the pin is bent makes it a ton easier to knock it back into place. 

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