RL550B Primer feed frustration...

[JoeRinMD]

Everyone,

I'm having a hugely frustrating time with the primer feed mechanism on my RL550B. The primer slide gets caught on something as it moves under the feed tube and so it doesn't slide underneath to push back the pin. The leaf spring doesn't move at all, so i know the pin isn't being touched. It seems like it's hanging up on the edge of the primer. When I try to pull on the slide manually, it seems to be stuck against something hard, because it won't move at all. Have you seen this before? I've replaced the feed tube tip, so that's not the problem. Is there a measurement I can take to see if the primer cup is sitting too high? Any other suggestions...this is driving me crazy and is pretty wasteful of primers, since it drops the full tube of primers when I try fiddling with the feed tube.

Thanks for your help,

Joe

[Alan550]

When this occurrs on mine, it's usually a "spent" primer that's managed to find its way on top of the primer slide, keeping the slide from coming back far enough to pick up a new one. It just blocks the slide's movement enough at the end of its travel to keep it from getting under the feed tube. FWIW?

Alan~^~

[Aristotle]

+1, I'm betting it's a spent primer that's found it's way back there. the first thing that I think of when I experience this.

[JoeRinMD]

I've disassembled and checked the primer mechanism at least half a dozen times...and nope, no primer stuck back there. I'll have to keep looking for the solution. My current thought is that the primer cup is sitting too high to slide under the primer at the bottom of the stack and gets hung up as it slides back.

Thanks for the suggestions,

Joe

[ChuckS]

Hi Joe,

You never stated that the machine ever worked so I will assume that it did. If you think the problem is clearance, then there are a couple things to look at. The first thing is to see if the tip of the primer magazine (14003/14024) are deformed and letting the primers fall too low on the side that faces the turret. The next thing to look at is to see if the primer seating punch is low enough. Look on page 5 of the 550 manual. There is a photo that shows a side view of the assembled slide. It shows the proper dimension for the height of the primer cup (1.215-1.220").

Take the simple route: bring a phone over to your bench and call Dillon tomorrow...

Later,

Chuck

[JoeRinMD]

Update -- I took it apart one more time tonite to measure the primer slide height, which turned out to be 1.217 inches -- so right in the band. While I was at it, I decided to clean the "primer track bearing" under the slide. There was a slight film under the plate, which I assume had leached under from the main press shaft lube. Once I re-assembled it, it worked perfectly!! I ran off 200 rounds in about an hour. I'm still not sure what caused the problem...or what fixed it, but I'm glad it's working now. I didn't find anything under the slide and I can't imagine that the film increased the height enough to cause the slide mechanism to bind up. At least now I know one place to check, if it happens again.

To answer your question about whether it ever worked right, yes it did. However, the small primer cup has always been more finicky than the large primer.

[ledavatar]

that problem happened to me a lot when I first got the press, and the only solution was just as you described - scrubbing the parts clean. It would run for another 300 RDS or so before getting stuck again. Eventually the problem went away by itself (i'm guessing all the burrs on the contact surfaces evened out by then). If the probl comes back again I suggest smoothing the primer bar w/ some sandpaper.

[benos]

In case this helps someone in the future, from my 550 Priming Assembly Adjustment Notes:

Thoroughly polish frame, wherever priming slide touches it, with green Scotch Brite. (Approx. every 3000 rounds)

Wipe off Primer Slide with solvent or alcohol. Leave it all dry.

At rest primer slide adjustment: Set so that one primer, dropped down the tube, goes all the way into the Primer Seating Cup, 10 times in a row.

Angle of Primer Slide Operating Rod (13869) - Release rod from rollers and swivel it 180º so it's pointing straight up - it should be parallel with the Primer Housing Shield, or maybe outward "a little"; it should not be "inward" at all.

Be sure both screws (14530) that tighten Roller Bracket Shell Platform (14280) from bottom (to the Shellplate Platform) are tight!

Make sure Priming Seating Punch Assembly is fully bottomed out before tightening screw (13996): Measured from bottom of Primer Slide (13920) to top of seated Primer Seating Cup (13284/5), dimension should be between 2.125 - 2.220 inches.

Be sure Priming Operating Rod Bracket (13887) is adjusted so it's within a few thousands of an inch from the top of frame/Toplhead.