RL1100 - Case not centered under powder dropper

[Bonfire]

Hello

I have a problem with my dillon RL 1100.
It seem like the case is not well centered in the shellplate when the case is under the powder funnel.

This happens when the primer is seated.

You can see in the video that happens.

Sometimes the powder funnel even crushes the case.

Video

 

My primers are seated quite evenly, so i do not thinks that the shellplate bends or something like that.

Any suggestions?

 

 

[dillon]

What cartridge are you loading? What number/letter is stamped on the shellplate? What number is stamped on the locator pin?

[Bonfire]

12 minutes ago, dillon said:

What cartridge are you loading? What number/letter is stamped on the shellplate? What number is stamped on the locator pin?

Cartridge: 9x19

Shellplate: 5

Locator Pin: 3

[dillon]

That is all correct. Lay a flat surface across the shell cutouts in the shellplate. Is it flat, or are any of the machined cutouts raised? Either over-swaging or having the swage backup rod not adjusted deep enough would cause the top of the shellplate to be bulged upwards. Next, push down on the edge of the shellplate at station 7. If it feels springy, then the shellplate lock ring needs to be slightly tighter,

[Bonfire]

22 hours ago, dillon said:

That is all correct. Lay a flat surface across the shell cutouts in the shellplate. Is it flat, or are any of the machined cutouts raised? Either over-swaging or having the swage backup rod not adjusted deep enough would cause the top of the shellplate to be bulged upwards. Next, push down on the edge of the shellplate at station 7. If it feels springy, then the shellplate lock ring needs to be slightly tighter,

 

Shellplate looks alright. All flat.

I do not swage. But i do use the swage backup rod for case extension.

 

There was no "springy" feeling in the shellplate. However, i screwed it down a little bit. It now turns harder at the end of the upstroke.

This did not eliminate my problem for 100% but it is a bit better now.

Maybe you have any other suggestions?

[dillon]

There is an adjustable spring at the priming station. It is there to prevent the case from coming out of the shellplate. With a case completely in the shellplate, the wire should be .002-.004" away from the shellplate.

[Bonfire]

Hello guys,

 

did not had the time to reload for a couple of days but now this issue really gets very annoying.

I followed all the instructions above.

Shellplate was tight and the spring in the primer station was well adjusted.

I loaded about 500 rounds without a problem.

Then i had the same issue again but the shellplate is still tight and does not move in any way during primer seating.

 

Here is a video of the primer seating.

Video

Cases are looking like this afterwards.

 

pic1
pic2
pic3

 

I am running out of ideas.

I already dissassembled the shellplate and the primer punch and cleaned everything. No effect.

All foughts and ideas are welcome.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Bonfire

[dillon]

Does this only occur on a single headstamp?

 

[jubi351]

If you are using foreign brass(geko) and I assume Ginex primers would almost certainly need to swage. I don't understand not wanting to swage, that's the whole reason to have a 1100. The reason the case is tipping is because the primer is not seated properly.

[Bonfire]

4 hours ago, dillon said:

Does this only occur on a single headstamp?

 

I use mixed brass and it occurs with everyone.

 

The primers are Fiocci.

 

The reason for not swaging is i have not seen one piece of 9x19 brass with crimped primer pocket in all my years.

 

[jubi351]

Your primer is standing proud of the case and should be .005-.008 under. It also looks like it's not going in straight, kinda canted. Fix that and the case will be straight going in to the powder station. 

[HOGRIDER]

52 minutes ago, Bonfire said:

I use mixed brass and it occurs with everyone.

 

The primers are Fiocci.

 

The reason for not swaging is i have not seen one piece of 9x19 brass with crimped primer pocket in all my years.

 

Then you need to invest in a gage set to do random primer pocket checks prior to processing.

 

https://ballistictools.com/store/small-and-large-primer-pocket-gauges

 

I think your going to be shocked at the results!

 

[ddc]

14 hours ago, HOGRIDER said:

Then you need to invest in a gage set to do random primer pocket checks prior to processing.

 

https://ballistictools.com/store/small-and-large-primer-pocket-gauges

 

I think your going to be shocked at the results!

 

 

 

To further this line of investigation I'd suggest the following experiment:

 

1. Sort out some quantity of a known well behaved headstamp such as Blazer, FC or WIN.

Those three typically provide less drama than some of the alternatives.

At least 100, better 500 or more. Don't mix them up. Pick one headstamp and sort them out.

None of those three typically require swaging but it wouldn't hurt to set up your swage station.

Be aware that each headstamp could require a slightly different swage adjustment to be optimum.

 

2. Load them and see what happens.

 

All three of those cases appear to be Geco.

I've loaded Geco in the past, although not a lot, and don't recall any issues and I don't recall if I had the swage station set up.

I typically don't bother because I sort for headstamps that typically don't require swaging.

But that's my OCD and certainly doesn't work for everyone, lol.

[HesedTech]

16 hours ago, Bonfire said:

i have not seen one piece of 9x19 brass with crimped primer pocket in all my years.

I find crimped brass in my range pick ups every time.

 

You should be swaging, not only does it nock down the little "crimp" edge it standardizes the pocket opening. 

 

I watched your videos and looked at the pictures and they clearly show the primer is hanging up on the edge and tilting the brass while attempting to seat.

 

You should also consider a brass hold down die at the primer station. There are some simple ones available, Everglades Ammo, to more complicated spring loaded ones.

 

I would also recommend changing the powder funnel to either the MBF or Alpha.

 

[Tom Freeman]

Put the swage rod back in and get it adjusted.

 

Something is causing the big gouges in the rim at some point.  Find out what is causing that and when they are getting dinged.  My guess is the little bent wire at the priming station needs to be snugged up closer to the case to ensure the case is in the proper position.

 

Try some WIN or FED brass to see you still have issues.

 

I would decap the bad cases and look inside the primer pocket just to see what it looks like in there.

 

[Bonfire]

Thank you all for the comments and thoughts. I appreciate that very much.

 

I use the same mix of brass for years now. It is mostly Geco, S&B and Magtech. But also small amounts of other brands. I never had this issue before with my cases.

Nevertheless i sorted it and tried it with swaging the primer pocket. No improvement.

I even tried some brand new cases. Also no improvement.

 

For me it seems like the primer pocket is not well sentered over the new primer which is going to be seated. I have no idea how to fix this. The spring is well adjustet. It is as near by the case as possible just without touching it.

 

I think i will leave reloading and thinking about it for a few days so i can return to it with a free mind.

[ddc]

1 hour ago, Bonfire said:

Thank you all for the comments and thoughts. I appreciate that very much.

 

I use the same mix of brass for years now. It is mostly Geco, S&B and Magtech. But also small amounts of other brands. I never had this issue before with my cases.

Nevertheless i sorted it and tried it with swaging the primer pocket. No improvement.

I even tried some brand new cases. Also no improvement.

 

For me it seems like the primer pocket is not well sentered over the new primer which is going to be seated. I have no idea how to fix this. The spring is well adjustet. It is as near by the case as possible just without touching it.

 

I think i will leave reloading and thinking about it for a few days so i can return to it with a free mind.

 

Is this a new machine that has never worked correctly or is this an older machine that has worked in the past but is now causing problems?

[Bonfire]

5 minutes ago, ddc said:

 

Is this a new machine that has never worked correctly or is this an older machine that has worked in the past but is now causing problems?

It is about six months old. Worked fine until now.

[midatlantic]

I had a variety of odd problems with priming in my machine. I ended up taking apart the entire primer rocker arm and primer punch assembly,  cleaning and reinstalling. Solved it. I never did figure out the exact cause. 

[Davecoff13]

I am not familiar with the 1100, but I would eliminate different systems that could cause it. Can you remove the primer punch and run some cases through without powder to see if it is the punch that is throwing it out of alignment? That would rule that part of the setup out.

[Davecoff13]

After rereading the thread I see your issue is definitely at the priming station. 
1. I would set up the sewage rod to remove crimps, if there isn’t a crimp no           Harm no foul.

2. Measure the height of your primers vs the depth of the primer pocket. 
3. Did this start with a new batch of primers as you said it has been fine until recently so something changed.

 

[dillon]

Does this only occur in a specific cutout or cutouts in the shellplate, or does it occur in all of them 100% of the time?

I see a lot of movement of the case in the shellplate as the primer is seated. Use calipers and compare the case rim

and extractor groove dimensions to SAAMI specs. See if something is amiss in the brass.

[Bonfire]

It's been a while since replied here. Sorry.
I stopped reloading and thinking about it for a week or two.

 

I do not know the problem was but i cleaned everything around the primer feeding system and the issue was gone. Would love to know what it was but i loaded 5000 rounds since then without a problem.

 

Thanks for all the comments and advice.

[ddc]

8 hours ago, Bonfire said:

It's been a while since replied here. Sorry.
I stopped reloading and thinking about it for a week or two.

 

I do not know the problem was but i cleaned everything around the primer feeding system and the issue was gone. Would love to know what it was but i loaded 5000 rounds since then without a problem.

 

Thanks for all the comments and advice.

 

I've seen this scenario on numerous occasions...

Sequence of events is more or less as follows...

 

Machine is working fine... 

Then occasional glitch here or there...not a big deal so far

Issues become more numerous; I'm still not ready to bite the bullet...

Perhaps not 100% sure what the actual problem is yet...

 

Finally there is a straw that breaks the camel's back.

 

I finish up the current primers if possible.

Disassemble, clean, lubricate, reassemble.

 

Guess what? Machine runs like it is supposed to.

 

I would guesstimate the majority of press problems posted on the internet would go away if people would just take some time and do some routine maintenance.

[HOGRIDER]

2 hours ago, ddc said:

I would guesstimate the majority of press problems posted on the internet would go away if people would just take some time and do some routine maintenance.

 AGREE!

 

You nailed it!