dauntedfuture Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Its something going on with your seating die and bullet. .002 (2 thousandths) id believe and call "normal", .02 (20 thousandths), no way. I don't think its the press and or shell plate. I have a whidden tool head on my 550 that has the uniquetech screws and it improves OAL consistency ever so slightly, like .001-.002, not .015-.02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 So how do I go about verifying proper operation of the seating die? It looks quite simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 (edited) Just got off the phone with Dillon. They says I'm short stroking the machine and that's all there is to it. I wish hornady made decent stuff. Edited May 31, 2016 by ShortBus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 If you make the final tightening of all the die's lock rings with a fully loaded Shellplate and the handle all they way down, and you fully stroke the handle every time, that should eliminate any OAL variance from the tolerance in the Toolhead / frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 That's what I've done. Gonna spend some more time with it tonight and see if I can see what's going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDA Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Once fired mixed brass. Bluebullets 125gr Not sure what coming over is either lol As long as you are using mixed brass, you will never be happy with OAL variation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 How is the rest of the world doing it then? I understand there is going to be a little variation but I feel like what I'm experiencing is excessive. I'm going to just start over tonight and fully reset the press paying close attention to everything and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDA Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 How is the rest of the world doing it then? I understand there is going to be a little variation but I feel like what I'm experiencing is excessive. I'm going to just start over tonight and fully reset the press paying close attention to everything and see what happens. Sort your brass so you only have one headstamp for everything in this test and then get back to us on your results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 I do plan on testing stuff with same brass and new brass but I sure will be sad if that's what's doing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDA Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I just checked some .40 mixed head stamp that I loaded on my SDB and there is only .002" variation. My presses are mounted to a steel table that weighs well over 1000 lbs and there is no flexing or movement of the presses whatsoever. There is no substitute for a solid base for the press. If your press is moving around at all consistency goes out the window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 My bench is fairly solid but there is some wiggle :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Most of us don't have the means to eliminate ALL wiggle, but getting as much out as you can is certainly advised. As others have mentioned, I am inclined to think that there is still something going on that perhaps you have not yet identified. "Clamped" toolheads are NOT required to make the 650 work more consistently than what you are experiencing. 1/2 ton bench is dang nice, but not required to get better(less) than .005" variance. I think that the experiment with same-lot brass and jacketed bullets might be helpful. Tell us about your crimp die. Are you seating and crimping in one position or using a separate crimp die? Is it a "crimp-only" die in the final station of something different? As has been suggested, I'm inclined to think to has something to do with some aspect of toolhead set-up. This is not a shot at your ability in any way; I've learned about things that I would have never even realized might make a difference in my process. Often, it has turned out to be something super simple that completely eluded me for a period of time. Have you tried starting completely over with your toolhead set-up/die adjusting? Junk in the linkage that prevents full cycle of handle, spent primers on 550 have been really bad. Accidently placing stuff on the table under the press(it's on a strong mount) and not realizing that the linkage was bottoming out on the item. Arms bent on the 550 "star" interfering with cycling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Seat only and crimp only dies. I do plan on resetting the tool head. I am definitely open to it being my fault, I just want to fix it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortBus Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 (edited) Worked late and was rushed for time, but I loosened the seat and crimp dies, ran the shell plate up with brass/bullets in every station and snugged the locking rings up. This took a few tries to get the right OAL and crimp I wanted but once I got it I loaded 12 rounds and the OAL deviation was .009 or less. I'll run some more rounds threw it tomorrow but hoping this will fix it for good! If this fixes it it appears to be user error. I set the dies by locking them down, running a few rounds, checking, adjusting dies and locking them down and then repeat. I wasn't putting a loaded shell plate into the tool head and THEN snugging down the dies. Edited June 1, 2016 by ShortBus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Once fired mixed brass. Bluebullets 125gr Not sure what coming over is either lol As long as you are using mixed brass, you will never be happy with OAL variation. This is true. I used to think it just couldn't matter and the guys on here were crazy. But I gave up trying to figure it out and now sort my brass. Also lubing cases is critical. Nice smooth operation leads to great results. I routinely keep nice tight tolerances in oal and if you throw a dry case in the mix it will vary from the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtchevy841 Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 I switched all my 650 tool heads to the uniquetek Whidden clamped toolhead and they work awesome. More consistent OAL and the press runs so much smoother. They are worth it. Way better than Dillon factory head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamabound Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Its something going on with your seating die and bullet. .002 (2 thousandths) id believe and call "normal", .02 (20 thousandths), no way. I don't think its the press and or shell plate. I have a whidden tool head on my 550 that has the uniquetech screws and it improves OAL consistency ever so slightly, like .001-.002, not .015-.02. Are you sorting by headstamp or all mixed brass? I've gotten a good bit of variance too 0.010-0.015 on mixed but most were under 0.005 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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