midatlantic Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 I’ve had a dillon 1100 and mk 7 Drive For a year or two. And a mr bullet feeder. After producing a few hundred 9mm rounds w no problem this week the 124 grn bullets suddenly started falling off as the shell plate rotated into and stopped at the final position (seat and taper crimp die). Nothing was changed on the press or the drive. BUT, the shell plate seems to have suddenly begun jerking a bit more as it rotates into the final position, causing the bullet to fall off as it comes to a halt and before it can be seated. Tried adjusting mk 7, and adding more bell to the brass and resetting the bullet feeder die but no matter what the shell plate seems to have a hard stop and a small jerk so the bullet falls off. Always. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robertwil18 Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Take a look at your eccentric drive stop. If that doesnt fix the indexing issue, disassemble, clean, lube, etc and make sure the shellplate is appropriately locked in place but has enough room to move correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kema Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Dillon shellplates are prone to crack. Just bought a new one cause cant get other than originals from Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddc Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 10 hours ago, Robertwil18 said: Take a look at your eccentric drive stop. If that doesnt fix the indexing issue, disassemble, clean, lube, etc and make sure the shellplate is appropriately locked in place but has enough room to move correctly. I agree. I've got an Ammobot on an 1100 so somewhat apples to oranges but... The majority of my indexing issues have been due to one of two issues: 1. The press needed a good clean and lubricate. Automation places a premium on keeping up with your machine maintenance. In particular ensure the indexing ball and spring are free to move easily. 2. Either the index roller shoulder bolt or the index lever shoulder bolt have become bent. They bend easily. It doesn't take much of a bend to screw things up and it will not necessarily be obvious to the naked eye. The eccentric drive stop has been another area that has needed a small adjustment on a couple of occasions. In each case I've had to add just a skosh of additional movement. In my experience the problem has never been on the automation side. It's always been an 1100 related issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midatlantic Posted August 5, 2022 Author Share Posted August 5, 2022 Thanks all. Will get to it this weekend and report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 2 hours ago, ddc said: The eccentric drive stop has been another area that has needed a small adjustment on a couple of occasions. In each case I've had to add just a skosh of additional movement. How is this done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddc Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, Boomstick303 said: How is this done? I'm attaching a photo. The photo is from my manually operated 1100. Actually I misspoke. With the Ammobot I don't actually use the mechanical drive stop. The 'bot has a proximity sensor that tells the machine to reverse direction. On the Ammobot driven machine the mechanical stop is backed off far enough that it never makes contact with the eccentric drive. But the idea is the same. I've had to occasionally adjust the proximity sensor to allow a very small amount of additional travel over what I had it initially set for. I also had to tweak my manual 1100 as it came from the factory with the mechanical stop restricting travel just a bit too much for a nice clean indexing. I realize some of this is not directly applicable for a Mk7 drive but hopefully some of it is helpful. Edited August 5, 2022 by ddc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuz Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 I think it’s time for a detailed cleaning and lubing of the press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddc Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 11 hours ago, Cuz said: I think it’s time for a detailed cleaning and lubing of the press. Yes, it would be interesting to find out how many rounds have been through the machine since the last time it was detailed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N7VY Posted August 7, 2022 Share Posted August 7, 2022 You can also slow the rotation at the bottom of the cycle. I have mine set at “7” to keep bullets and powder from spilling. Cleaning almost always helps take care of problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnymazz Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 (edited) Just a little FYI you cant over index the RL1100. The shoulder bolt is most likely bent. Put the machine at full upward stop. If the index lever has slop the bolt is bent . Also like stated maintenance is the key to a happy autodrive. Make sure you do a full teardown and cleaning every 10,000 rounds. After about 8,000 rounds I have to loosen my shellplate lockdown a hair to compensate for the grease getting skanked with use. Edited August 8, 2022 by Johnnymazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midatlantic Posted August 8, 2022 Author Share Posted August 8, 2022 (edited) well,,,,actually do keep the machine pretty clean! Tho, I did do a thorough cleaning again, etc etc and even called Dillon. Turned out the issue was bullet size, tho what I can't figure out is why it suddenly couldn't handle .358 Ibeji heads but works fine with .356 Ibeji as well as other plated bullets. Still can't get the .358. to work anymore....but its more likely something to do with the particular bullet. Edited August 9, 2022 by midatlantic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddc Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 31 minutes ago, midatlantic said: well,,,,actually do keep the machine pretty clean! Tho, I did do a thorough cleaning again, etc etc and even called Dillon. Turned out the issue was bullet size, tho what I can't figure out is what it suddenly couldn't handle .358 Ibeji heads but works fine with .356 Ibeji as well as other plated bullets. Still can't get the .358. to work anymore....but its more likely something to do with the particular bullet. That sounds like the bell/flare was not optimized for the Ibejiheads. I've loaded those in the past after a run with .355 FMJ. I definitely needed to tweak the flare to accommodate the larger diameter. It's not uncommon to have to adjust the flare whenever you change to a new bullet. If you sort by headstamp then changing from a run with one headstamp to another can also require an adjustment even when the bullet stays the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnymazz Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 Were always here to help. Thats what this Forum is all about. Have a great week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnymazz Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 If you have an empty station, expand the case mouth with a Lyman M die or Redding Expander, instead of using the the powder drop funnel. Much more consistant and it keeps the powder funnel from jerking on the upstroke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOGRIDER Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 21 hours ago, midatlantic said: well,,,,actually do keep the machine pretty clean! Tho, I did do a thorough cleaning again, etc etc and even called Dillon. Turned out the issue was bullet size, tho what I can't figure out is why it suddenly couldn't handle .358 Ibeji heads but works fine with .356 Ibeji as well as other plated bullets. Still can't get the .358. to work anymore....but its more likely something to do with the particular bullet. IMO, if your experiencing issues when switching to the larger OD bullets, then you need to consider switching to a larger expanding powder funnel: https://www.photoescapeinc.com/products/9htc-ptu.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HesedTech Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 On 8/8/2022 at 12:49 PM, midatlantic said: I can't figure out is why it suddenly couldn't handle .358 Ibeji heads but works fine with .356 Ibeji as well as other plated bullets. To be honest, unless you really find a huge improvement in accuracy .358 bullets aren't worth the additional hassle. I ran through a couple of hundred just to try them and during the reloading process I found the brass needed more bell, and there were more failures due to bulging of the brass where it tapers. Blues are .355 and I find .356 shoot really nice and load easily; no real need for .358 in a 9mm gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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