Dlister70 Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 I've reloaded a little over 1500 rounds now with my Square Deal, and I adjusted the powder drop for the first time today after initially getting it where I wanted it during the first day I had it. I finally chronographed my rounds and found them to be at 127 power factor. I wanted to get it up a little closer to 130 to leave a little more room for error to make sure I don't have to leave a match due to wimpy ammo. I turned the powder bolt a slight amount, and started getting about 2.68 grains of Titegroup instead of 2.625 that I was getting before. I figure that's good enough, and start to crank out some ammo to shoot tomorrow. I noticed after a couple rounds, that I'm not getting any powder to fall anymore. A couple rounds did have it, and a couple didn't. Now none of the cases are getting powder. I'm not sure what I did to make this happen, but the powder bar doesn't come out enough to drop the powder. If I pull it by hand, while the case is up in station 2, then it will drop, but otherwise I get nothing. I imagine I bumped something other than the adjustment bolt, but I'm not sure what to look for. The bar that runs behind the machine and down to the blue wingnut is still in place. Any ideas on what to look for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 is the little white knob still in place? I'd say what's happened is the spacer has come apart from the small powder bar and it's partially or completely blocking the powder. With the small powder bar there's a spacer installed above it. the little white post is what holds it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Might ? be a spring missing??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Humidity and powder bridging? Try tapping the powder measure before pressing the case up into the die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrmblr Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Check the back where the Failsafe cam is attached to the powder funnel assembly. At the top of the Failsafe triangle piece, there is a small white square that fits in a slot of the powder bar. That's what moves the powder bar along its path. If the square isn't in the slot, or it jumps out of the slot before the full movement of the powder bar, you will get a low/no charge. Tighten the screw that holds the Failsafe close, and Locktite if needed. If it continues to loosen, check screw hole in powder assemble for a crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhett45acp Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 "the powder bar doesn't come out enough to drop the powder. If I pull it by hand, while the case is up in station 2, then it will drop, but otherwise I get nothing." I think this is a mechanical issue. Are you putting any flare on the case mouth? The reason I ask, is it possible the brass is not going up far enough into the powder die to fully activate the bar. 2.x grains of Titegroup is a pretty small charge to, so it leaves little margin for error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 turned the powder bolt a slight amount, and started getting about 2.68 grains of Titegroup instead of 2.625 that I was getting before. What scale do you have with a resolution to a thousandth of a grain? Take the measure off and make sure the plastic bushing is still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dillon Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Be sure the failsafe return rod is hooked up, and that the bellcrank cube is engaging the notch in the side of the powder bar. Does the bellcrank move when you pull the handle down? Be sure you have a case under the powder measure to activate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustybayonet Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 In a thread I started, I found a moth in a new never opened jug of powder. I have read threads of people finding objects in there factory new powder, so I pour slow and keep an eye out. If possible try dumping your powder measure in a bowl and make sure everything is clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 (edited) turned the powder bolt a slight amount, and started getting about 2.68 grains of Titegroup instead of 2.625 that I was getting before. What scale do you have with a resolution to a thousandth of a grain? The scale only goes to x.xx but I did an average over 20 powder throws to see where I was at. I had thrown a total of 52.5 grains which averaged out to 2.625 per throw. Edited July 14, 2016 by Dlister70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Thank you to everyone for your great advice! As per usual, the most obvious answers are sometimes the ones we overlook. I tried over and over again to put powder into the same test brass instead of trying multiple rounds to see if it was just that one case having issues. I'd pull the lever, advance the station and then pull it out of station 3 when I saw no powder and put it back in station 2 and try again. Turns out, it was a 380 Auto case instead of a 9mm all along. I looked through my coffee can of cleaned brass and found a couple of them in there so I guess I didn't sort well enough and the ones that weren't getting powder were because they weren't the right size to trigger the powder drop. And when I stopped to test things out, I just kept using that same 380 Auto case and getting nothing. I'm an idiot. Lesson learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhett45acp Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Think about it, the lesson you just learned is priceless. Anybody that has been doing this anytime has a similar story. Like me calling Dillon 15+ years ago about 357 cases being torn on a SQD. Uh, forgot to put the locator button back in the press. Yes, and this was after measuring, testing, checking the bore of the tool-head. I was convinced the tool-head was warped. Now that's dumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrmblr Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 .380 brass is Satan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havfun Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 been there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phant1m Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 another heads up i found is if you dont tighten the screw on the powder dropper system it gets a bit loose and then stops dropping powder. Had that issue. stopped and sorted it quickly and was smooth flowing once again. i think it was more me doing 800 rounds or so in one session and got slightly loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x45 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Dillon powder measures only throw to +/-.1 grains, depending on if it's a sugar powder, or corn flake. Course powders can throw +/- .3 grains easy. Make sure you check your weights on full stations, just like OAL and crimp (de-bell). Watch for tiny flakes of gasket sealer on the powder jug, I found a flake of material in the hopper after 5 years by a visual inspect. Look at the case after the powder drop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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