Smitty79 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I've been loading on a 550 for 2.5 years. I've probable loaded about 30k rounds, all pistol and mostly 9mm. Lately, the shell plate has been loosening up after about 100 rounds from when I tighten it. It doesn't seem to affect OAL much on flat point bullets. Get's wider than I like on round nose. I've read somewhere that you should not over tighten the brass tip set screw. So I had always tightened using the short end of the Allen key for the lever when tightening. When that hardly worked at all, I changed the set screw. The tip was pretty "chewed up". It looked almost like someone tried to thread it with a coarse die. The new one didn't seem to hold it any better and is now showing the same pattern on the tip. I have to crank it pretty hard to hold the shell plate at all. The Dillon manual says "Take the brass tipped set screw (#13923) insert and tighten securely in the tapped hole beneath the platform" What can I do to make my machine more reliable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 The set screw in my old 550 is just plain steel. Never had a problem with it backing out or loosening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njl Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Call Dillon. But this doesn't make sense to me. When you rotate the shell plate, if that set screw was not doing its job, the shell plate bolt would get tighter, not loosen. I don't see how it would loosen as you load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngeyes Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 You shouldn't have to tighten it very hard. Just let it touch. then give it a quarter turn. Its only there to keep the bolt that tightens the shellplate from loosening. There is not that much pressure on the bolt that you would have to muscle the screw tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal1950 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 If the plate bolt is not staying set you just need to tighten the setscreew a bit more. I use the longer end of the allan but don't go crazy, just good and snug. Never had a problem with my Dillion in 35 years. Grumpone, If your setscrew doesn't have a brass insert either if fell out or someone replaced it. Get a new one from Dillion before you damage the threads on your plate bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tino2212 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 +1 NJL if the set screw was to loose the shell plate would become tighter not looser . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now