Mark 7 on a Dillon RL1100

[Johnnymazz]

Looking for some feedback on folks that are running one. I currently run Ammobots on my Rl1100 and Cp2000. Im thinking about using the Mark 7 on my other Rl1100 press I just bought.

[midatlantic]

It’s a mixed bag for me. It’s great not having to pull the lever, but it requires a perfectly set up RL 1100, and I mean perfectly. It requires more frequent cleanings than recommended. For some reason putting it on the drive has caused more problems with the priming system, particularly the arms that move the priming bar back-and-forth. A couple of times the priming punch, the piece that pushes the primer up to seat it, failed to adjust correctly - too high - and I had to pull a part the priming system. Didn’t quite figure out what happened.

Priming clean washed range 9 mm brass has been the biggest issue. Even with the torque set higher than recommended the Mark 7 tends to shut down with some frequency, until the brass in the recapping sizing station is removed.

 

key take away,  The mk 7 unit itself is fine. Rather the interface with the Dillon is good but not perfect. 

Of course this could all be me, So your mileage may differ. 
 

I reload 9 mm, 40 and 45 ACP. The 40 and 45 pose fewer problems. I also size and prime .223 which has worked fine. I load powder and bullet on a single stage because I don’t wanna bother setting up the bullet feeder.

Edited February 19, 2022 by midatlantic
fixed explanation of primer seating

[belus]

1 minute ago, midatlantic said:

Priming clean washed range 9 mm brass has been the biggest issue.

Any lube? Washed brass can be extra tough to size.

 

I was having torque issues having recently restarted my automated press (Forcht, not Mk 7) which had been down since I moved. Forgot that a bit of lanolin makes everything easier.  I use two sizing dies, Dillon then Lee, but do decapping in a separate run.

 

I'd look at FFB's new drive if I had 1100's. I like the idea of the press only running in one direction.

[midatlantic]

Yeah, Hornady one shot. Always!

 

how do you set up the two sizing dies in the press?

Edited February 19, 2022 by midatlantic

[Johnnymazz]

I Rollsize and process all my 9mm brass first on the CP2000. 1st  pass on the Dillon is primer seating only 2nd pass is powder and bullets

Edited February 20, 2022 by Johnnymazz

[ddc]

37 minutes ago, Johnnymazz said:

I Rollsize and process all my 9mm brass first on the CP2000. 1st  pass on the Dillon is primer seating only 2nd pass is powder and bullets

 

So you have a four pass process?

1. Rollsizer

2. CP2000 processing

3. RL1100 seat primer

4. RL1100 powder, bullets

 

 

[Johnnymazz]

9 hours ago, ddc said:

 

So you have a four pass process?

1. Rollsizer

2. CP2000 processing

3. RL1100 seat primer

4. RL1100 powder, bullets

 

 

1. Rollsizer Decapper, decap brass , Rollsize, wetclean, process on cp2000 which includes full length resize, seat primers, powder and bullets

[midatlantic]

On your final pass to seat powder and bullets do you also use sizer die without the decapper?

[Johnnymazz]

No I dont , I full length resize on the Cp2000 . I use the Lyman M die to bell the case,

[Johnnymazz]

19 hours ago, midatlantic said:

On your final pass to seat powder and bullets do you also use sizer die without the decapper?

IM still in Havertown Pa. If your close I can give you a handfull of brass to try. My friend owns Target Shooting Solutions so I have 80,000 cases of 9mm brass at my house. I do use Hornandy One Shot to lube the cases, makes a big difference.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Johnnymazz

[Ryan67]

On 2/20/2022 at 3:58 AM, Johnnymazz said:

1. Rollsizer Decapper, decap brass , Rollsize, wetclean, process on cp2000 which includes full length resize, seat primers, powder and bullets

That seems excessive. I just got into the autodrive game but am currently single pass pistol 2 pass rifle and get extremely consistent ammo. If it takes more than 2 passes I'd take a step back and rethink things.

 

[Johnnymazz]

7 minutes ago, Ryan67 said:

That seems excessive. I just got into the autodrive game but am currently single pass pistol 2 pass rifle and get extremely consistent ammo. If it takes more than 2 passes I'd take a step back and rethink things.

 

To each his own, most reloading companies I know, use a similar system. They always prime on a single pass, then load. Ive been loading for over 30 years, this works for me.

[Ryan67]

If it works for you and you like your system that's all that matters. 

[ezra650]

On 2/24/2022 at 3:32 PM, Johnnymazz said:

To each his own, most reloading companies I know, use a similar system. They always prime on a single pass, then load. Ive been loading for over 30 years, this works for me.

How fast are you priming on the 1050/1100s? The dillon priming system doesn't seem to like running much above 2300rph output. I would like see 2800-3000 on priming. Any tips?

[Boomstick303]

3 hours ago, ezra650 said:

The dillon priming system doesn't seem to like running much above 2300rph output. I would like see 2800-3000 on priming. Any tips?

 

At a point you have to observe how much the press is moving (physically shaking) running at 2800-3000 rph.  I have yet to run my Mark 7 on the 1050, but I do not recall many people if any loading at 2800-3000 rph when I did my research awhile back.  I think those numbers are more for processing.  If my memory serves me right I want to say that 2300-2400 rph was a sweet spot for an updated/new Mark 7 on a 1050/1100.   Maybe Mark 7 has updated some stuff to run quicker, but I think the press becomes the limiting factor at some point.  Maybe someone has ran faster but I do not ever recall someone indicating that.

[Johnnymazz]

I prime my cases at 1400 CPH . 2000 is way to fast. I run my CP2000 at 1600 CPH.

[ezra650]

15 hours ago, Boomstick303 said:

 

At a point you have to observe how much the press is moving (physically shaking) running at 2800-3000 rph.  I have yet to run my Mark 7 on the 1050, but I do not recall many people if any loading at 2800-3000 rph when I did my research awhile back.  I think those numbers are more for processing.  If my memory serves me right I want to say that 2300-2400 rph was a sweet spot for an updated/new Mark 7 on a 1050/1100.   Maybe Mark 7 has updated some stuff to run quicker, but I think the press becomes the limiting factor at some point.  Maybe someone has ran faster but I do not ever recall someone indicating that.

Yep the sweet spot I found was 2300+/- for loading pre processed, but not primed, brass. IIRC i am getting an output of 3k maybe more, when just processing 9mm. The idea crossed my mind of going to no lube or an evaporating lube like one shot and priming also on that processing pass. And therefore on the loading pass bump up to 2600-2800rph. I can load 9mm at 2600 now with my current setup but the only issue is missed primers. 


The only true solution here may to simply dedicate another press to priming only. But I'm not to that point yet of adding yet another machine. My work space is shrinking as is haha!

Edited April 5, 2022 by ezra650

[ezra650]

10 hours ago, Johnnymazz said:

I prime my cases at 1400 CPH . 2000 is way to fast. I run my CP2000 at 1600 CPH.

That seems really slow. Fine for personal use I guess... I was going faster than that when I hand cranked my 1100s.

[Johnnymazz]

On 4/5/2022 at 8:58 AM, ezra650 said:

That seems really slow. Fine for personal use I guess... I was going faster than that when I hand cranked my 1100s.

The faster you crank up the machine the more risk of breaking s#!t. I shoot 1,200 rounds a month its plenty fast. That speed gives you time to hit the stop switch in case theres an issue. Long as I dont have to manually pull the handle its priceless. Im set up like a commercial reloading operation. I have 2 RL1100 machines Im waiting for the autodrive for one. Rollsizer, Rollsizer decapper, Dillon CP2000 with sensors

Edited April 9, 2022 by Johnnymazz

[TheCaryBrassGuy]

I currently am leveraging the RL1100 with Mark7 auto drive for Case Processing purposes. Typically for the final full length sizing of the brass after it has been decapped, cleaned, rollsized. The key things I can say:

 

1) For 9mm Luger, even with my dillon carbide dies and CLEAN brass, I MUST lube the cases. I use some hornady one-shot, but your lube of choice "should" work. Otherwise the machine has to have the digital clutch set VERY HIGH and it will still stop too many times an hour. It runs most reliably for me at a digital clutch of 4-6 and 2000 cases per hour. 

 

2) You WILL bend the shoulder bolt that is labeled #8 on page 76 of your manual eventually. Thankfully, you can get these at ace hardware. Dillon told me this is the #1 issue that is caused by the auto drive because when a jam occurs and you have the digital clutch set too high it will try to force it to index and that is the weakest part. 

 

3) You absolutely need to double check the set screw on the drive sprocket of the Mark7. In my case it came loose and the sprocket had kind of walked its way into the motor causing it to grind and not function properly. 

 

4) Cleaning and lubing the dillon frequently is important. 

 

 

The only thing I wish Mark7 had that they don't is a way to kick out brass after the swage sense sensor detects a ringer or small pocket. Unfortunately they don't have such a thing. 

 

 

[Cuz]

I'm not interested in actual reloading speed, just saving my shoulder from having to crank the handle.  What is the slowest speed you can run the Mark 7 auto drive on an RL1100 press?

 

Thanks.

[George16]

On 5/15/2022 at 7:18 PM, Cuz said:

I'm not interested in actual reloading speed, just saving my shoulder from having to crank the handle.  What is the slowest speed you can run the Mark 7 auto drive on an RL1100 press?

 

Thanks.

Current firmware sets the slowest speed at 1000 RPH.

Edited May 17, 2022 by George16
Corrected 100 to 1000 RPH

[Cuz]

10 hours ago, George16 said:

Current firmware sets the slowest speed at 100 RPH.

thanks, I think an old manual I downloaded some years ago had it at 1,000 rph.  I don’t mind processing brass at the higher speeds but I’d like to run the loading pass at around 500-700 rph until I got comfortable, then bump it up to 900-1,000 and wouldn’t expect to go much over that. 

[Cuz]

2 hours ago, Cuz said:

thanks, I think an old manual I downloaded some years ago had it at 1,000 rph.  I don’t mind processing brass at the higher speeds but I’d like to run the loading pass at around 500-700 rph until I got comfortable, then bump it up to 900-1,000 and wouldn’t expect to go much over that. 

According to the current manual on their website, 900 rph is the slowest speed. 
 

can anyone confirm if the new firmware can go slower?  I’m just wondering if George meant to type 1000 instead of 100. 

[George16]

56 minutes ago, Cuz said:

According to the current manual on their website, 900 rph is the slowest speed. 
 

can anyone confirm if the new firmware can go slower?  I’m just wondering if George meant to type 1000 instead of 100. 

The manual needs to be updated. I received my MK7 from DAA two weeks ago and it has the latest firmware.

 

Here’s a pic showing the available speeds on the tablet.