Square Deal B powder measure - correct operation?

[matteekay]

Howdy!

 

I recently picked up a SDB from this board as a complement to my 650. It arrived freshly serviced by Dillon and I set it up following their instructions. 

 

I'm wondering if the powder measure is behaving correctly, though. The "arm" that gets pulled down by the rod that's connected to the press handle seems to hang up towards the end of the return sequence, and then "pops" free (causing the measure to jump). It's entirely possible that this is normal and I'm just not used to it but I figured I'd ask. My 650 only has the old, spring-driven measures.

 

Here's the "arm" position when a casing is fully inserted at the end of the downstroke:

 

 

Here's where it starts to make contact on the upstroke:

 

 

And here's where it hangs up just before it pops free:

 

Edited November 24, 2017 by matteekay

[Hi-Power Jack]

I believe it's a matter of adjusting the tension on the arm.

 

There's a wingnut at the bottom of the rod - you probably

have it too tight.    

[perttime]

At least on my old SDB, that bent rod is just a failsafe that ensures the powder bar returns under spring tension. Depending on how exactly the powder measure is mounted, the rod can stick and make at least unpleasant noises. Rotating the measure may help.

[matteekay]

5 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

I believe it's a matter of adjusting the tension on the arm.

 

There's a wingnut at the bottom of the rod - you probably

have it too tight.    

 

I'll give it a shot!

 

3 hours ago, perttime said:

At least on my old SDB, that bent rod is just a failsafe that ensures the powder bar returns under spring tension. Depending on how exactly the powder measure is mounted, the rod can stick and make at least unpleasant noises. Rotating the measure may help.

 

Yeah, that's how my 650 measures are. This one doesn't appear to have a return spring other than the arm.

[9x45]

All the newer Dillons have the "Harley" shifter linkage and not the older "Gold Wing" linkage.  The clunking noise is normal. But it bugged me out so I converted it back to the silent "Gold Wing" linkage. Dillon does not recommend that modification. Just drill out the 2 piece bell crank, saw off the side arm, remove the fail safe rod and stick it back in, or find an old school bell crank on ebay.

 

 

 

 

 

[matteekay]

1 hour ago, 9x45 said:

All the newer Dillons have the "Harley" shifter linkage and not the older "Gold Wing" linkage.  The clunking noise is normal. But it bugged me out so I converted it back to the silent "Gold Wing" linkage. Dillon does not recommend that modification. Just drill out the 2 piece bell crank, saw off the side arm, remove the fail safe rod and stick it back in, or find an old school bell crank on ebay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for being slow - is that the "gold wing" in your picture? That's what all of my other measures look like. 

 

I tried loosening the wingnut - no effect. However, it looks like it would take about 20 seconds with a sanding drum on my Dremel to get enough clearance to have smooth operation. Or I can let it clunk around as a way to shake up the powder between throws, lol.

[perttime]

The old style also has the arm for the rod - but the rod is just a backup. That rod is a bit of an irritation. At least on mine it goes through a pretty tight gap between the table and the completed rounds' chute. If I don't have the measure rotated in a perfect position, the rod makes an awful racket sliding up and down through that gap and the lower bracket.

[matteekay]

Yeah, I'm sure there's a reason the new style is an improvement but I don't see it. Maybe I just got spoiled by the liquid movements of my 650...

 

I'm going to relieve a tiny bit of material from that wing to see if that does it. I might put springs on there and make sort of a hybrid old/new style measure, too.

Edited November 24, 2017 by matteekay

[CHLChris]

I have that same "new" setup.  It definitely makes the powder jump on every up-stroke.  In fact, if I forget to place the powder hopper cover on, then powder gets all over.  But this is a feature, not a problem.  If a burst of energy goes through the column of the powder on every stroke, then it leads to even measuring for each throw.  I think it is designed this way to make sure that the powder keeps flowing into the arm.  It works great for me!

[matteekay]

I'm glad to hear it's normal.

That being said... a tiny bit of sanding later and I have a smooth press. It still makes contact and moves the measure but doesn't hang up and then slam down. I'll replace that part of I see flow issues but none of my other measures have needed that much shaking.

Unless it's Trail Boss.

Then... slap the measure like it owes you money between strokes.

Sent from my STV100-1 using Tapatalk

[9x45]

Original 1986 550 bell crank. Don't know when they started using the Teflon button. Kinda like the original 1974 Honda Gold Wing, smooth as glass. But I liked my 1984 Aspencade the best.

 

 

 

 

 

[bladewurk]

well I have to replace my old SDB measure that had the springs, not happy to see they 'improved " it with these parts. Guess I better study the above