Talk me Out of a mark 7 (or into one)

[slavex]

when I first got the MkVII I think the jam sense worked better. If a primer didn't decap properly and made it to the swage, it would detect the primer being squished. Now, it doesn't seem t do that very often. Thankfully the primer sense works and tells me if one doesn't get punched out.

[Want2BS8ed]

when I first got the MkVII I think the jam sense worked better. If a primer didn't decap properly and made it to the swage, it would detect the primer being squished. Now, it doesn't seem t do that very often. Thankfully the primer sense works and tells me if one doesn't get punched out.

slavex,

Did the sensitivity change after a software upgrade or has it degraded over time with use?

Thx,

M

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Beastly]

One of the tricks it to avoid situations where Jam Sense is required in the first place.

I run as low a clutch setting as possible for pistol, 0-2 is usually plenty. Size, swage, U-die re-size may take more - then again the U-die used to wear my arm out extra fast prior to having the Mark 7.

The clutch works, but I don't expect it to not damage a coated bullet or piece of brass.

I do have a Level 10 Innovation spring installed, overcoming it probably requires more pressure. I may replace it with their new guide rod instead.

[Weber]

I'm loading 9mm at a clutch setting of 3. However, I can crush brass at 0. I have not seen the "jam sense" really do anything. I will call and ask about that.

Otherwise I am really happy with it.

I'm ok with brass crushing a little bit, I'm not ok with parts breaking on the press, and it seems to stop the press before that. So I'm very happy with the clutch.

[echotango]

I agree, I tested it to crush the brass. So far it has been running flawlessly. The spent primer sensor works great as that is pretty much the main situation that jams up the press. I will try setting 2 and below this weekend. I started at 5 and am down to 3. It was not working at 0 but that was before lubing my brass.

I ordered the Level 10 guide rod as I do not like how the tool head/shaft rotates at the top. It can't be good on the linkage parts. It gets here today.

[Weber]

I agree, I tested it to crush the brass. So far it has been running flawlessly. The spent primer sensor works great as that is pretty much the main situation that jams up the press. I will try setting 2 and below this weekend. I started at 5 and am down to 3. It was not working at 0 but that was before lubing my brass.

I ordered the Level 10 guide rod as I do not like how the tool head/shaft rotates at the top. It can't be good on the linkage parts. It gets here today.

I didn't get the spent primer sensor, how does it work? Does it stop the press before advancing?

I notice some of the primers dropping while it advances. From the pictures I saw it also looked like it used a piece of tubing. Is that correct?

I really like the 1050 spent primer bucket, as my hornady tube always seemed to jam up with spent primers.

[Want2BS8ed]

I do have a Level 10 Innovation spring installed, overcoming it probably requires more pressure. I may replace it with their new guide rod instead.

I have the new guide rod installed, but have not processed any brass or loaded rounds with it yet.

I too had installed one of their heavier springs before the Mk7 arrived. It definitely puts more upward pressure on the tool head and I would have happily left it in there if the 1050 were only to be manually operated.

In an effort to smooth out my tool head wiggle, I dropped back to the standard Dillon spring. It helped some, but did not eliminate it. That's about the time I posted here and was told not to worry about the wiggle.

Guide arrived Monday. Quick shipping, great machining and assembly was easy.

It noticeably smoothed out the stroke even more. Did not entirely remove the wiggle as I had hoped, but oddly enough it moved it to the very top of the stroke, which is likely to help when processing longer rifle cases.

One benefit I didn't expect, it sure makes changing the the tool head a lot easier to not have the back pressure of the spring.

Hope to load some this weekend. Looks promising, but I'll reserve judgement until it's had a few hundreds rounds on it first.

M

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[echotango]

Yes, it will stop and a message will pop up that no primer was detected. You can also disable it it if needed. I drilled a hole in the plate to run the tube to a mounted gatorade bottle under the bench.

I have my first reboot today after about 700 rounds. It was sort of annoying. Hopefully they are not common occurrence.

[Weber]

Yes, it will stop and a message will pop up that no primer was detected. You can also disable it it if needed. I drilled a hole in the plate to run the tube to a mounted gatorade bottle under the bench.

I have my first reboot today after about 700 rounds. It was sort of annoying. Hopefully they are not common occurrence.

What was the sensor, $200?

[echotango]

Yes. I would order it again. It was the only sensor I ordered/wanted. The annoying beep from the dillon sensor for primers is good enough for me. Worse case you just type in 100 primers and it will stop.

[Foxbat]

The primer sensor is an extremely useful feature - just yesterday I forgot to install the rod, and I had to deal with 20 cases with no primers, and powder everywhere.

I presume you can add if to your machine for zero dollars, using the switch that is already in the Dillon sensor.

[echotango]

I guess once that happens, one will be on the way....

Edited April 29, 2016 by echotango

[Want2BS8ed]

1,000 rounds of goodness...

Very happy everything is coming together!

M

[Ken_Bird]

So, OP are you in or out. Personally, if you can swing the bucks, get in the water. Well worth it. Makes every one else look like a kids toy.

[slavex]

when I first got the MkVII I think the jam sense worked better. If a primer didn't decap properly and made it to the swage, it would detect the primer being squished. Now, it doesn't seem t do that very often. Thankfully the primer sense works and tells me if one doesn't get punched out.

slavex,

Did the sensitivity change after a software upgrade or has it degraded over time with use?

Thx,

M

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It seemed to change with the upgrade, not slowly over time

[Weber]

Well, I talked to dillon today about the shell plate issues and only got worse service.

They would sell me a plate or I can send mine in and they would evaluate it. They stated the Mark 7 has voided the warranty is the cause of the failure and they are not willing to do anything for me, and will not honor the 30 return it for any reason guarantee.

They stated they see about 5 failures a day from auto drives because of the swager hitting the shell plate, and if they see hits on the bottom of the plate they know an auto drive was used. I had called them prior to ordering and was told they recommended the Mark 7 if you were going to use an autodrive as it prevents equipment failure. Today I received a different response at first but then later the guy agreed that the Mark 7 is the best one to use.

So I was calling in to get a shell plate replacement but also add another $500-$800 in an order since I want another caliber conversion and tool head setup along with a third trimmer motor. After over 1/2 arguing and asking for help to resolve the problem I was told to send more pictures in, but they know it was the drive that caused it. I unhappily placed my order anyway, but did not add the my 3rd trimmer motor.

I'm pretty sure the drive did not cause the issue, because looking at the plate where it is chipped does not line up with the swager.

[Weber]

Here is a perfect picture that I sent to them. They state the bottom of the shell plate is being damaged by the drive, driving the swagger up into the plate.

In the picture you can see the chipped areas where the cases can be wiggled out of the shell plate, it appears to me that it is from the top down or where the brass is sliding into the shell plate, not on the bottom where the swage comes up.

Anyone agree?

Edited May 2, 2016 by Weber

[Want2BS8ed]

W,

If the swagger were hitting the plate, wouldn't the chipping be on the bottom and not the top? So yeah I see where you are coming from...

What does the bottom of the plate look like? Anyway we can get a picture of that?

Either way, what you are showing doesn't look right.

If you have to drop the coin on a new plate the FFB is enough of an upgrade to warrant the premium (at least in my opinion), but I'd make sure there isn't a timing issue before installing.

M

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Edited May 2, 2016 by Want2BS8ed

[Weber]

W,

If the swagger were hitting the plate, wouldn't the chipping be on the bottom and not the top? So yeah I see where you are coming from...

What does the bottom of the plate look like? Anyway we can get a picture of that?

Either way, what you are showing doesn't look right.

If you have to drop the coin on a new plate the FFB is enough of an upgrade to warrant the premium (at least in my opinion), but I'd make sure there isn't a timing issue before installing.

M

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I haven't removed the plate as everything was setup from Dillon. I attempted to tighten it down as that's what Dillon told me to do, after they accused me of not having the pins in place...

I'll pull it off tonight and get a picture of the bottom.

[Want2BS8ed]

I do have a Level 10 Innovation spring installed, overcoming it probably requires more pressure. I may replace it with their new guide rod instead.

I have the new guide rod installed, but have not processed any brass or loaded rounds with it yet.

I too had installed one of their heavier springs before the Mk7 arrived. It definitely puts more upward pressure on the tool head and I would have happily left it in there if the 1050 were only to be manually operated.

In an effort to smooth out my tool head wiggle, I dropped back to the standard Dillon spring. It helped some, but did not eliminate it. That's about the time I posted here and was told not to worry about the wiggle.

Guide arrived Monday. Quick shipping, great machining and assembly was easy.

It noticeably smoothed out the stroke even more. Did not entirely remove the wiggle as I had hoped, but oddly enough it moved it to the very top of the stroke, which is likely to help when processing longer rifle cases.

One benefit I didn't expect, it sure makes changing the the tool head a lot easier to not have the back pressure of the spring.

Hope to load some this weekend. Looks promising, but I'll reserve judgement until it's had a few hundreds rounds on it first.

M

Loaded 1,900 rounds with the solid guide rod this weekend before running out of bullets.

PROS:

- well machined parts,

- the press is perceptibly smoother with the guide rod than the stock Dillon spring,

- tool head is easier to remove and replace (this may be THE winning feature),

- moved the head wiggle slightly higher in the stroke which may assist with longer cases, and

- it was easy to install.

CONS:

- didn't totally eliminate the head wiggle, which was the whole point in purchasing it in the first place.

Results were certainly favorable, I'm just not sure it has the same bang-for-the-buck as Lvl-10's bearing plate kit or say FFB's shell plate with the tighter tolerances, so 4 out of 5 stars?

Interested in feedback from other users. In the meantime, mine's staying on the press.

M

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited May 2, 2016 by Want2BS8ed

[Foxbat]

Here is a perfect picture that I sent to them. They state the bottom of the shell plate is being damaged by the drive, driving the swagger up into the plate.

In the picture you can see the chipped areas where the cases can be wiggled out of the shell plate, it appears to me that it is from the top down or where the brass is sliding into the shell plate, not on the bottom where the swage comes up.

Anyone agree?

I could make the case that when the swagger hits the CASE, not the plate, from the bottom, while not aligned with the primer pocket, its force is then transmitted to that area of the plate - transmitted by the case.

Now, the force is definitely transmitted, but the case is relatively soft compared to the hardened plate. The case softness would reduce the impact.

Would there still be enough force to cause the chipping? I can't tell.

Looking at the pictures it DOES appear that the chipping was caused by the force from below.

In this case you should be able to see the impact imprint on some of the cases - slightly eccentric with the primer. Do you see any?

Also, the location of the chips indicates the plate overshooting its ideal position, not coming short of it. Which could be the result of running the press too fast.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Foxbat

[echotango]

I do have a Level 10 Innovation spring installed, overcoming it probably requires more pressure. I may replace it with their new guide rod instead.

I have the new guide rod installed, but have not processed any brass or loaded rounds with it yet.

I too had installed one of their heavier springs before the Mk7 arrived. It definitely puts more upward pressure on the tool head and I would have happily left it in there if the 1050 were only to be manually operated.

In an effort to smooth out my tool head wiggle, I dropped back to the standard Dillon spring. It helped some, but did not eliminate it. That's about the time I posted here and was told not to worry about the wiggle.

Guide arrived Monday. Quick shipping, great machining and assembly was easy.

It noticeably smoothed out the stroke even more. Did not entirely remove the wiggle as I had hoped, but oddly enough it moved it to the very top of the stroke, which is likely to help when processing longer rifle cases.

One benefit I didn't expect, it sure makes changing the the tool head a lot easier to not have the back pressure of the spring.

Hope to load some this weekend. Looks promising, but I'll reserve judgement until it's had a few hundreds rounds on it first.

M

Loaded 1,900 rounds with the solid guide rod this weekend before running out of bullets.

PROS:

- well machines parts,

- the press is perceptibly smoother with the guide rod than the stock Dillon spring,

- tool head is easier to remove and replace (this may be THE winning feature),

- moved the head wiggle slightly higher in the stroke which may assist with longer cases, and

- it was easy to install.

CONS:

- didn't totally eliminate the head wiggle, which was the whole point in purchasing it in the first place.

Results were certainly favorable, I'm just not sure it has the same bang-for-the-buck as Lvl-10's bearing plate kit or say FFB's shell plate with the tighter tolerances, so 4 out of 5 stars?

Interested on feedback from other users. In the meantime, mines staying on the press.

M

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree with your view. I was a little bummed it didn't remove all the wiggle. However, it is really easy to remove the toolhead and also lower/raise the toolheaf by hand. Edited May 2, 2016 by echotango

[Weber]

Here is a perfect picture that I sent to them. They state the bottom of the shell plate is being damaged by the drive, driving the swagger up into the plate.

In the picture you can see the chipped areas where the cases can be wiggled out of the shell plate, it appears to me that it is from the top down or where the brass is sliding into the shell plate, not on the bottom where the swage comes up.

Anyone agree?

I could make the case that when the swagger hits the CASE, not the plate, from the bottom, while not aligned with the primer pocket, its force is then transmitted to that area of the plate - transmitted by the case.

Now, the force is definitely transmitted, but the case is relatively soft compared to the hardened plate. The case softness would reduce the impact.

Would there still be enough force to cause the chipping? I can't tell.

Looking at the pictures it DOES appear that the chipping was caused by the force from below.

In this case you should be able to see the impact imprint on some of the cases - slightly eccentric with the primer. Do you see any?

Also, the location of the chips indicates the plate overshooting its ideal position, not coming short of it. Which could be the result of running the press too fast.

The chipping is on both sides, if it was an indexing problem I would assume that it would only be on one side as the pressure would lift one side of the brass.

The press really has never been ran over the lowest setting with brass on the plate, as that seems to really be fast enough for me. When running with no brass on the plate the indexing appears to be correct.

There also has not been one damaged piece of brass from the bottom, only the top.

[Foxbat]

"There also has not been one damaged piece of brass from the bottom, only the top."

Could you explain what you mean by that?

[Weber]

"There also has not been one damaged piece of brass from the bottom, only the top."

Could you explain what you mean by that?

None of the damaged brass has damaged primer pockets indicating that the swage rod is off center.