It's dead, Jim, it's dead.

[Jim Watson]

I broke my 550b's handle-ram toggle, the "crank" #13409 on the drawing .  It had probably been cracked for a while, I was having to push the handle harder and farther to seat primers.  I even ground out the clearance notch in the loaded round chute to let the handle swing farther away on the prime stroke.  Finally it just slammed over and I saw the crank had broken clear away, both sides of the bottom of the ram.

 

I phoned in to ask about sending it in for repair but Jeff said he would just send me the part and an alignment tool.  

[Sigarmsp226]

No finer CS than Dillon when it comes to taking care of their customers that are using their presses.....

[Jim Watson]

It was a challenge getting the sucker apart.  I had to beat and twist the handle out of the broken crank.  Now I will be trying to clean up the threads.  I doubt FLG has a die that big but I may have to ask.  

Edited July 16, 2020 by Jim Watson

[open17]

Interesting.  That's the only major part on my 550B that has ever broken.   Friend of

mine also broke his.  Neither press had ever loaded anything but pistol ammo.

20+ years of grinding out ammo,  new part in 2 days----no complaints!

[ChuckS]

My first press was a late 80's 550 that I got from a fellow shooter. The round count was "a shitload". The crank was the only part that broke. Other than the hinge pin for the primer chute and keeping the primer bar moving smoothly, the press worked great.  It was replaced with a 650 in 2004.

 

 

ETA: And yeah, they sent me the part and alignment kit and it was easy to get back together...

[Jim Watson]

Yup, same place.  Looking at how thin the web is in that mung metal casting, it is easy to see why.

 

I broke two SDB mounting flanges, replaced for free of course.  The second replacement was beefed up there, so they do pay attention and not just "Ho hum, send out another."

 

I really crunched the threaded end of the handle, I will report to FLG tomorrow morning and I am sure he can straighten it out, even if the handle comes out an inch shorter.

 

So I went over to FLGs place and showed him the handle.  He looked it over, told me what I should have done, set it up in the lathe and chased the threads.  It took off a good deal of displaced steel and galled on aluminum.  He even lathe filed out the wrench marks and cold blued it.

Then we sat on the porch and got caught up socially until it got too hot.

FLG is one of the few people that Dillon charges for parts, he can't resist telling them how they could improve the product.

 

Fedex tracking says maybe Monday for the replacement crank.  I think I have enough ammo loaded to get me through the weekend.      

Edited July 17, 2020 by Jim Watson
Started repairs.