morebullets Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 I put a spring on the powder measure, like they used to come with. I don't see a need for the fail safe rod. The spring is plenty strong enough to return the measure. I used to reload on a Hornady Projector, it didn't have a fail safe rod. It just used a spring. I never had any problems. Let me know if I am way off on this. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihatepickles Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 What's the upside to gambling without the rod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 I forgot to put the failsafe rod back on after installing a bulletfeeder. I had 3 squibs in the next 200 rounds. This was with an old spring-style powder measure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 I have several OLD dillon powder measures pre rod version. after the upgrde to two large springs I have not seen a problem. However I have had the measure stick open before that upgrade.! Years ago dillon sent me one kit to upgrade the press, the complete rod thing, and parts for one powder measure. When not using that measure (I have six others) I dont use it.....But I watch each and every cycle just to be sure. At some point I intend up grade ALL my measures!!! Moral of the story ...yes it works.....But if you HAVE it USE IT. Just my 2c worth Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Belt AND suspenders for me reloading, there isn't a reason not to and there isn't a reason to take a chance on bad things happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 IMO the failsafe rod causes a "jolt" when it hits the end of the stroke. This is a good thing. Again, IMO, the jolt keeps the powder flowing smoothly and helps prevent bridging in some of the extruded powders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Belt AND suspenders for me reloading, there isn't a reason not to and there isn't a reason to take a chance on bad things happening. If that's what you want to call it, so be it. But why not gamble with success? If it's there use it. I have the new style measures and they just plain work. There's a thread on changing the new ones to the old style, not for me, I'm satisfied. Merlin: I've never noticed the jolt - swine, now I have to look. Just something else to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L9X25 Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 For those that hate the "clunk" at the end of the cycle, you can disable the "clunk" feature without removing the fail safe rod. Do a search here and you will find the instrustions for the mod, but there is simply no good reason to remove the failsafe rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentlemanJim Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Man this getting old stuff Just remembered my buddy...was loading lots of 300 win mag had the measure stick and did not notice....got to pull a BUNCH of bullets. Also before I got my first 550 I used to load on a friends 450..loaded some squibs. This was about 25 years ago..I had a squib did not know it and racked a round in and shot it....it WAS a llama 45...bbl looked like snake that ate a golf ball! All the Dillon stuff has evolved over the years...for good reason.. We all take reloading seriously and we should all use any safety device that is available. Very sorry for the rant....Just dont want anyone to get hurt. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 I put a spring on the powder measure, like they used to come with. I don't see a need for the fail safe rod. The spring is plenty strong enough to return the measure. I used to reload on a Hornady Projector, it didn't have a fail safe rod. It just used a spring. I never had any problems.Let me know if I am way off on this. Thanks I'd never load a round without the failsafe rod in place. (But you can certainly leave the springs on too.) be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Yeah, it pretty much sucks to look up and see the powder bar stuck, and wonder how many squibs you just made. I haven't had this happen in a long time now, and never on a machine with the failsafe rod, of course. One additional safeguard I have discovered for my one measure that hasn't been upgraded--a spray of Rem. Dry-Lube on the powder bar every session helps to keep things from getting sticky. Not Rem-Oil, I'm talking about the Dry-Lube stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 I use two springs and the failsafe rod. Belt, suspenders, garters, and good underpants I guess, but it beats embarassed and worse by a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 For those that hate the "clunk" at the end of the cycle, you can disable the "clunk" feature without removing the fail safe rod. Do a search here and you will find the instrustions for the mod, but there is simply no good reason to remove the failsafe rod. The term to search for is "fartknocker"! Really! Later, Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morebullets Posted February 16, 2007 Author Share Posted February 16, 2007 Well I put the rod on. It just didn't seem like a good idea to leave it off. I got rid of the clunk part, just like it shows on here. I just got done loading approx 500 9mm on my new Dillon. You know what they say...............Once you go BLUE you'll never go back!!!! I should have got one of these long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Shred's Quick Squib-Finding Trick: Say you have a small pile of ammo and think there's a squib or two in there. Grab your handy digital scale (it works with a beam, but less quick) and find three rounds that weigh the same or very close to the same, preferably known-good rounds. Put all three into the pan, and zero or tare the scale. Now grab 3 at a time out of the questionable pile and put them on the scale. If the batch weight is significantly different from the first sample (more than a few grains) throw those into a 'suspect' pile. If they're close to the control sample, throw them in a 'good' pile. Repeat. Once you have a small suspect pile, re-zero the scale on one of the three 'good' rounds and go through the suspects one at a time. This works best if your brass and bullet variation is much less than half your powder weight. Tiny powder charges and big brass or bullet variations won't work.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Shred's Quick Squib-Finding Trick: Say you have a small pile of ammo and think there's a squib or two in there.Grab your handy digital scale (it works with a beam, but less quick) and find three rounds that weigh the same or very close to the same, preferably known-good rounds. Put all three into the pan, and zero or tare the scale. Now grab 3 at a time out of the questionable pile and put them on the scale. If the batch weight is significantly different from the first sample (more than a few grains) throw those into a 'suspect' pile. If they're close to the control sample, throw them in a 'good' pile. Repeat. Once you have a small suspect pile, re-zero the scale on one of the three 'good' rounds and go through the suspects one at a time. This works best if your brass and bullet variation is much less than half your powder weight. Tiny powder charges and big brass or bullet variations won't work.. Ahhhh. It sounds as if the voice of experience has spoken. Thanks for the tip on averaging 3 at a time. I never felt comfortable doing one at a time due to the variations in bullet weight and brass weight. djd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Shred's Quick Squib-Finding Trick: Say you have a small pile of ammo and think there's a squib or two in there.Grab your handy digital scale (it works with a beam, but less quick) and find three rounds that weigh the same or very close to the same, preferably known-good rounds. Put all three into the pan, and zero or tare the scale. Now grab 3 at a time out of the questionable pile and put them on the scale. If the batch weight is significantly different from the first sample (more than a few grains) throw those into a 'suspect' pile. If they're close to the control sample, throw them in a 'good' pile. Repeat. Once you have a small suspect pile, re-zero the scale on one of the three 'good' rounds and go through the suspects one at a time. This works best if your brass and bullet variation is much less than half your powder weight. Tiny powder charges and big brass or bullet variations won't work.. Shred: The only flaw in this is MIXED BRASS. You would have to sort by mfg, and if 45 ACP, large and small primers. You may have a problem with loads and small charges of powder (3.0 - 4.?). Else it's a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 shred's procedure probably works best for racegun loads, in the end (typically same make of brass, larger powder charges, consistent bullet weights...) I need slave labor to run all my ammo through that process for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 I forgot to put the failsafe rod back on after installing a bulletfeeder. I had 3 squibs in the next 200 rounds. This was with an old spring-style powder measure. Me too. Bought used 650 w/ 2 old style measures (spring required). Did not have all the parts for the rod, so I did not use it. Everything was fine w/ .45 & Clays, but as soon as I switched to TG & 9mm - - something went wrong & I had about 5 squibs out of 1000. Tore everything down, cleaned, installed the rod & no problems since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morebullets Posted February 16, 2007 Author Share Posted February 16, 2007 (edited) I ended up using the rod and the spring. It seemed a lot smoother than just the rod. Edited February 16, 2007 by morebullets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 This works best if your brass and bullet variation is much less than half your powder weight. Tiny powder charges and big brass or bullet variations won't work.. The only flaw in this is MIXED BRASS.You would have to sort by mfg, and if 45 ACP, large and small primers. You may have a problem with loads and small charges of powder (3.0 - 4.?). shred's procedure probably works best for racegun loads, in the end (typically same make of brass, larger powder charges, consistent bullet weights...) I need slave labor to run all my ammo through that process for me... Yeah, hence the last line in my post. I found that my 'good' .38 and .40 loads don't have a 3 grain swing one to the next, even with mixed brass, so it works fine. I've not loaded .45 in so long that I have no idea what the variation there is, but I suspect lead bullets and random amounts of bullet lube probably aren't good. I don't do this on a regular basis, only when I'm pretty sure there's a problem. If you have a huge pile of ammo, put it in the practice bin and bring along a squib rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobocracy Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 "Spare the rod, spoil the load." Or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x21 Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 (edited) Why even consider? Unless you have a squib rod mag pouch.............................., lots of Pistols (like me) and love a challenge................... Edited February 16, 2007 by 9x21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Blastem Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I'm new to the Dillon machines...bought my first 550 through Brian just 30 days ago. I noticed , while setting it up, that Dillon didn't include the 2 springs for the powder measure shown on the video so I called Dillon to get them. They told me that they are no longer used and that the powder bar return was accomplished by the safety arm only...Instructions to adjust wingnut and rod spring tension is to place operating handle to full upright (primer setting) position. Then tighten the wingnut until the spring is in full compression and then back off 1 turn. Worked for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I have found that when loading Clays the fartknocker is a good idea. So I made mine out of a rubber band with enough tension to cause the fail safe arm to hit the powder measure before the rod pulls it down. This causes a snap to the bar settling the powder better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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