My new 1050 and me :-)

[John Dunn]

The Ponsness-Warren machine has a slip clutch in it that is adjustable, if you encounter an obstruction it will not tear the press apart unless you decided to ignore the instructions and tighten the clutch way too much.

[MKfarm]

I don't have the 1050 but I do have the 650. My so called scarp rate is pretty close to zero. On occasion something goes wrong but even that iso so very very rare I couldn't give you a scarp rate.

I never once had a shell feed or primer issue. Though I do not use a case feed. I might of made a short stroke once that sent the case off center but that was my error.

My OAl has always been very good, now these are practice rounds so some very slight variances are not a problem. I do check the powder ever 100 rounds once I get going and again the weight and it has very minor variations. I do check the first ten after I get the measure set and it is always pretty much right on.

So if I pull the handle 100 times I am 100% sure I will get 100% perfect rounds. Now this is based on what I am looking for in my ammo, if you are looking for 100% exact powder and OAL on each round then you might have an heart attack trying to adjust any progressive reloader.

Reloaded on the 650 - 380, 38 Special, 357 Mag, 9MM, 40 S&W, 44 Mag, 45 ACP.

Why too many different powder, primers, bullets and weights for each caliber to to say which worked best but still no problems. I have not found a used case that the 650 doesn't like yet.

I am able to document the loads reloaded without primer issues and that would be just over 14,000. I guess one of these days I might pick up a primer the wrong way with the tube. I could count that as a primer feed issue then.

[dhenry132]

The Ponsness-Warren machine has a slip clutch in it that is adjustable, if you encounter an obstruction it will not tear the press apart unless you decided to ignore the instructions and tighten the clutch way too much.

As far as I know I have not ignored anything. After a few 100 thousand rounds a year I consider myself able to read instructions. Plus talking to a few other people (commercial people ) in my same business. There is nothing wrong with the PW/ drive. It just does not fit my application.

[John Dunn]

If the machine continues mercyless in such a case, I think, I'd need a new machine very soon.

This is what prompted my comment, not your literacy.

[LoSTViKiNG]

As I am still working on the crushing primer issue: Could you please kindly help me? Just for my understanding: On page 20 of the manual it says "primer station retain tab" in one sentence (middle column, top) and "priming station loactor tab" in another sentence (middle column, more below). Is this the same part? Are these names used synonymous?

Thanks for your assisstance!

[LoSTViKiNG]

I now took the whole machine completely apart, cleaned it, lubricated it and re-assembled it. I replaced the orifice of the primer tube as it looked sort of frazzled.

What I did too, and what I think was the crucial thing: moving the "primer station retain tab" (No. 12930) closer to the case. I used the factory setting of this part until now. Again I can say that it's good to recheck the settings even on a factory-new machine (against the recommendation Dillon gives in the manual).

I think the case had too much slackness in the seating station, therefore the primer didn't meet the primer pocket of the case perfectly centered thus crushing the primer from time to time.

The tab is now tighter than Dillon recommends in the manual ("Be sure the cases in the shellplate rotate freely past the tab.").

I did 200 quick reloads, and here is my scrap rate: 0 (zero)!!!!!!!!

I am very happy about this, believe me :-)

Another thing: Fighting the Berdan cases in my brass I usually manually checked every single case prior to loading (which was getting very boring soon). Then I _thought_ I could acuallly "feel" the berdan cases in my right hand. Well sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't which made me bend more pins than this robot in Futurama...

Here is my - admittedly makeshift - solution, but it works: I glued a little dentist-style mirror (using hot glue) to the toolhead in the right angle. A little led lamp illuminates the case that is in the case feed plunger. Berdans are now quickly discovered and sorted out before being actually "de-primed".

[Jaxshooter]

I just turned the computer on after talking to a friend about his brand new 1050. All of the dies were rock solid tight but out of adjustment by at least .002. The sizing die was almost an eigth of an inch to high. I am contemplating the purchase of a 1050 but it seems there have been quite a few problems with brand new mahines.

[LoSTViKiNG]

I just turned the computer on after talking to a friend about his brand new 1050. All of the dies were rock solid tight but out of adjustment by at least .002. The sizing die was almost an eigth of an inch to high. I am contemplating the purchase of a 1050 but it seems there have been quite a few problems with brand new mahines.

Well, I think it's a great machine. The only thing is, not to rely on the out-of-the-box factory adjustments. A certain interest in technical stuff and machinery is however a prerequisite.

Edited June 30, 2009 by LoSTViKiNG

[DougCarden]

Lost,

easy way to know where to adjust the priming system tab is to loosen it, push the white tab all the way in, and rotate the shellplate around with a case in it. It will push the white tab out to where it needs to be to place the primer in properly. Just tighten the screw and you should be good to go.

It takes a while to "learn your machine", but once you do, you will never get rid of it!

DougC

[acowboy]

The machine itself is good. The problem for me is running so many different lot's/headstamp brass it's almost imposable to keep adjusted. I thought I had a deal going with a guy to build me a switch/system to stall the P/W drive when a shell hung in the shell plate and tearing the index claw out. This is my biggest and only problem with the drive. No word from the guy so I have postponed using the drive till I figure something out.

im suprised to hear youre having problems with the p/w drive.....sure sounds to me like the slip clutch is too tight.....i only load 223's on mine,,,but, there is alot of pressure required to size and pull the neck sizer thru,,,and yet never have a problem with the drive....if there is a prob,,the clutch just slips....takes abit to get it set right,,but, then its all go........

sure love to sit and watch it work, and listen to the cachink, cachink.............

also,,,used to have problems with primer feed, and since the p/w drive, pretty well solved.....think that electric motor is so smooth, it really helps with primer loading, as well as super consistent powder drops

[LoSTViKiNG]

The machine itself is good. The problem for me is running so many different lot's/headstamp brass it's almost imposable to keep adjusted. I thought I had a deal going with a guy to build me a switch/system to stall the P/W drive when a shell hung in the shell plate and tearing the index claw out. This is my biggest and only problem with the drive. No word from the guy so I have postponed using the drive till I figure something out.

im suprised to hear youre having problems with the p/w drive.....sure sounds to me like the slip clutch is too tight.....i only load 223's on mine,,,but, there is alot of pressure required to size and pull the neck sizer thru,,,and yet never have a problem with the drive....if there is a prob,,the clutch just slips....takes abit to get it set right,,but, then its all go........

sure love to sit and watch it work, and listen to the cachink, cachink.............

also,,,used to have problems with primer feed, and since the p/w drive, pretty well solved.....think that electric motor is so smooth, it really helps with primer loading, as well as super consistent powder drops

What automatic bullet feed device are you using?

[acowboy]

using the KISS unit

[JasonC]

My 1050 has about 150K rounds through it and on average I crush about 1 primer per thousand. Some things that worked for me:

A solidly mounted machine.

A smooth pull on the handle.

Do not overtighten the nut at the top of the primer tube. Snug is fine.

Make sure the plastic tip on the primer tube is in good condition and the tab is properly indexed.

Polish the primer bar and the parts it rides against.

Make sure the top of the pin that pushes the primer into the case is clean.

Make sure the hole in the primer bar that the primer sits in is clean.

The shell plate should be able to be turned easily by hand.

Adjust the white primer station tab so that it is snug against the case but not tight. Adjust with the tool head down so that the shell plate is locked in place.

After each loading session, blow out the shell plate area and primer bar area with compressed air.

I have not found adding more swaging to help. Just do enough to remove the crimp.

As for Berdan cases. I use Lee dies, so the decapping pin is held in the die with a compression nut. I don't bother to sort brass, so when I get the occasional Berdan case, it just pushes the pin out the top of the die. Have never broken or bent a pin.

[LoSTViKiNG]

My 1050 has about 150K rounds through it and on average I crush about 1 primer per thousand. Some things that worked for me:

A solidly mounted machine.

A smooth pull on the handle.

Do not overtighten the nut at the top of the primer tube. Snug is fine.

Make sure the plastic tip on the primer tube is in good condition and the tab is properly indexed.

Polish the primer bar and the parts it rides against.

Make sure the top of the pin that pushes the primer into the case is clean.

Make sure the hole in the primer bar that the primer sits in is clean.

The shell plate should be able to be turned easily by hand.

Adjust the white primer station tab so that it is snug against the case but not tight. Adjust with the tool head down so that the shell plate is locked in place.

After each loading session, blow out the shell plate area and primer bar area with compressed air.

I have not found adding more swaging to help. Just do enough to remove the crimp.

As for Berdan cases. I use Lee dies, so the decapping pin is held in the die with a compression nut. I don't bother to sort brass, so when I get the occasional Berdan case, it just pushes the pin out the top of the die. Have never broken or bent a pin.

Dear Jason,

thanks for sharing your experiences.

I haven't loaded a thousand since I re-adjusted my my machine, but a 1 in 1000 rate sounds quite good. Haven't had any crushed primers since but I'll keep my fingers crossed...

I changed a couple of things at the same time (plastic tip, retain tab, etc.), therefore I can't definitly say what was the cure in the end.

Solid mount and consistent pull of the handle as well as keeping the machine as clean as possible: Yes, absolutely. I use a vacuum cleaner to clean the machine. Make sure you remove the locator pins fist! ;-) Was sort of unpleasent and dusty to recover once I sucked one in...

To my experience the shellplate should index easily but should not be any looser as this lead to feeding problems with the case feed plunger.

And yes, over-swaging doesn't help anything.

I guess, the correct setting of the primer station retain tab is most important for flawless primer seating.

[LoSTViKiNG]

Today I had the problem that every 8 strokes the resistance for advancing the shellplate was way above average, resulting in spilled powder due to "un-smooth" operation. Initially I had no idea what caused this behaviour. My first guess was that some polishing media made its way into the machine. I took the machine apart, no trace of corn cob media, however. Cleaned it, re-lubed and re-assembled it. Problem still persisting...

After quite a while I finally found the cause: I re-adjusted the retaining tab in the primer seating station. Obviously the shellplate is not perfectly circular in shape, it's not a perfect "circle" so to speak. So the shellplate "collided" with the retaining tab thus adding resistance while rotating the shellplate.

Maybe this is a bit clumsy written but I hope you get the idea...

And, another thing I noticed today (again): If the cases don't feed into the shellplate properly: tighten the lockring!! Loosen it just enough to facilitate a smoothly and easily rotating shell plate. 1/16 turn is probably enought...

[joie777]

Thank you for your replies!

Yes, I still think it's a good machine. As I stated earlier, I tried out my colleauge's 650 and decided to go for the 1050 which I didn't regret so far (as the scrap rate on the 650 was even higher, especially with certain combinations of cases and primer brands).

I try to operate the machine at a constant pace. However, some primers crush, some don't.

Regarding the auto-drive thing: I don't even dare to think to use such an automated drive. Operating the machine manually gives me the chance to stop immediately if anything blocks (which happens now and then for various reasons: upside down shell, primer slide can't travel all the way, etc.). If the machine continues mercyless in such a case, I think, I'd need a new machine very soon.

What I tried out in the meantime: To apply more swage --> No improvement.

To put on some weight on the primer tube follower rod --> No improvement.

Tomorrow my colleague will give me a thousand CCI primers. I will try them out instead of the Federal (which are said to be more prone to crushing than others).

What's your average scrap rate? (I.e. How many proper rounds come out of the machine, if you pull the handle 100 times, with a perfectly seated primer, correct OAL, etc.)

Thanks for your imput!

i found the same problems with my 1050 just recived it two weeks ago found out part of the problem was the primers were braking off in the 223 brass in the primer pockets when i torn them apart also if you tumble your brass the little pieces of media get in the primer slide and throw it off also the swager dosn't get it all the first time i run them threw again or take a reamer and touch them up a little bit midway makes a chamfer tool and you can by the part that will let you run it in a cordless drill i use it on my 308 and 3006 military brass hope this helps out i'm glad i'm not the only one having problems with there new 1050 still haven't got the plunger to feed the 223 brass in the shell plate right

[LoSTViKiNG]

Thank you for your replies!

Yes, I still think it's a good machine. As I stated earlier, I tried out my colleauge's 650 and decided to go for the 1050 which I didn't regret so far (as the scrap rate on the 650 was even higher, especially with certain combinations of cases and primer brands).

I try to operate the machine at a constant pace. However, some primers crush, some don't.

Regarding the auto-drive thing: I don't even dare to think to use such an automated drive. Operating the machine manually gives me the chance to stop immediately if anything blocks (which happens now and then for various reasons: upside down shell, primer slide can't travel all the way, etc.). If the machine continues mercyless in such a case, I think, I'd need a new machine very soon.

What I tried out in the meantime: To apply more swage --> No improvement.

To put on some weight on the primer tube follower rod --> No improvement.

Tomorrow my colleague will give me a thousand CCI primers. I will try them out instead of the Federal (which are said to be more prone to crushing than others).

What's your average scrap rate? (I.e. How many proper rounds come out of the machine, if you pull the handle 100 times, with a perfectly seated primer, correct OAL, etc.)

Thanks for your imput!

i found the same problems with my 1050 just recived it two weeks ago found out part of the problem was the primers were braking off in the 223 brass in the primer pockets when i torn them apart also if you tumble your brass the little pieces of media get in the primer slide and throw it off also the swager dosn't get it all the first time i run them threw again or take a reamer and touch them up a little bit midway makes a chamfer tool and you can by the part that will let you run it in a cordless drill i use it on my 308 and 3006 military brass hope this helps out i'm glad i'm not the only one having problems with there new 1050 still haven't got the plunger to feed the 223 brass in the shell plate right

I have no experience with other than 9mm but what I have learned so far: a. The 1050 is a great machine but very sensitive :-) Even the smalles mis-adjustment can mess up everything. b. Keep trying to find a solution. As usual, there is one. It might take a while, especially for a novice, to find it. Don't settle for anything less than perfect.

[Matt P.]

I have learned with my 1050 setups that because I was new to them, the fine tweaking was more teaching me about the machines versus the other way around.

Now, I feel like I know my machine inside and out and when I am ready to crank out a few thousand, it's a piece of cake.

As like Brien mentioned earlier on the OAL, the minor difference does not bother me at all. I can accept a less than 1% tolerance.

I also have the bullet feeder and PW Autodrive. I wouldn't have it any other way!

[Duane Thomas]

I am a bit usure about OAL: What grade of accuracy can I expect from the seating die? I had a variance of approx. 0,25mm (i.e. 0,01'' I guess). Is this acceptable?

Years ago I was really a bug about frequently measuring OAL. I had just come out of years of loading lead (200-grain LSWCs in .45 ACP, to be exact) where bullet lube will build up in the seating die over time. You have to watch that, measuring the rounds frequently, to know when lube build-up has gotten to the point it's beginning to affect OAL so you can yank the seating die and clean out the crud. After I switched over to jacketed and plated bullets, I kept up that frequent measuring procedure for a time. Force of habit. Thus I noticed that I was getting minor fluctuations in OAL. Not a lot, from shortest to longest it was about 0.01" plus or minus, i.e from 1.240" up to 1.260" with 1.250" being the goal.

Well, this is how anal retentive, um, detail oriented I am, er, was: I took triple digit rounds, every one I had loaded at the time actually, measured their OALs out to the thousandth of an inch and sorted them by OAL. "Here I have everything that's 1.243, here I have all the 1.244s, etc." Then I took all the rounds and ran them over a chronograph to see if those differences in OAL had any affect at all on velocity. They didn't.

So, that was maybe a long answer to a short question. Here's the short answer: yes, it's acceptable.

[Duane Thomas]

Even with the 1050 and its swaging station I wasn't able to avoid a crushed primer now and then. I think I will change from Federal primers to CCI. I was told, the Federal are more prone to crushing than others.

Not a fan of CCI primers, myself. Years ago I had a situation where the feed lips on my primer tube just suddenly snapped off. I called up Dillon and explained the problem to the very helpful, friendly guy on the other end of the line. He said, "You're using CCI primers, right?" I said, "Well....yeah. How did you know?" He explained that the variance in CCI primers, re their top to bottom measurement, is so severe that occasionally you get a primer so tall it won't clear the feed lips, you try to force it, snap!, the feed lips break. I said, "Okay, how much will you charge me for a replacement part?" He said, "Well, if you promise me you won't use CCI primers anymore, I'll send you three for free. If you tell me, 'I'm going to keep on using CCI primers,'....30 cents apiece." And from that day to this I have never again used CCI primers.

[Duane Thomas]

I eventually switched back to an old beam scales I borrowed from a colleague.

I currently have an article in to Dillon's Blue Press titled "On Being Well-Balanced" making the case that the simple balance beam unit is the reloading scale of God. And if you don't believe that, I have pictures of God weighing powder charges, and he is in fact using a balance beam scale. So there.

[Duane Thomas]

I wonder if metric tools are as exotic in the US :-)

Nope. Sorry. They're common and easily available.

[joie777]

just a little tip on my 1050 i finally got the #$%@^& to run right to day made 800 rds an hr. the problem with the primers i found was the plastic piece with the allen head on it needs to be almost touching the shell plate just a rch off its the one where your priming station is. it helped my primer problem 99% only hand two crushed primer out of 4000 rds today also when you swadge the brass grab the shell in shell plate and see how tight it is i set mine so it was putting on a little preassure on it with the die and tured the swadger rod up a little bit so it was very tight. i also put a 200 gr bullet on the primer rod to help it with weight only once did i have to stop and tap the primer tube to get it going if you run out of primers tap on the tube and see if they will feed again'

the other problem i had was the fedding tube would get brass stuck in it just tap the plastic tube they will feed right again aslo try to put less brass in toy case feeder it will feed better and not plug up i have had it for two week and the best it has ever runjust going to run out of powder before i get all the 223 loaded'one the back of the machine the arm has a bolt that runs the primer feed i had to adjust mine to get it to fun right it goes up and down in the notch the adjustment is on the primer tube its worth s try11111111`1111111LETus know if this helps you out.joe

[Gavin Melville]

A few tips;

The best adjustment procedure for the shell plate locking ring is -- clean the shellplate, lightly grease it when changing it, and do it up fully tight and gentle snug the plastic locking tabs to they just touch the thread, then back the ring off until the shellplate just completes the cycle by itself. After cycling the handle the shellplate should move on it's own until the ball is in the hole, but only just. Cycle the press a few times, check it, and after the first 100 rounds check it again. After that it seems stable, but if the shellplate is correct then all else seems good. It must not rock.

Get a few thou ground off the top swager punch so the centre of the punch touches down when the swager comes up from below without expanding the cases, otherwise the projectiles are too loose. If the swager and it's mate are adjusted just right you can feel if a case didn't deprime before fitting a second primer to a already primed case.

The small piece of vacuum hose on the primer sled matters, but I can't see why.

You did clip half a turn off the detent ball spring -- right.....

Fill the shellplate with cases, loosen the white primer station tab slightly, press it too far in, and rotate the shellplate a full turn. Do the button head socket screw up. Neither of my shellplates are exactly round either. Close but not exactly.

Get the tab near the case feeder entry into the top funnel just right. The shape it arrives in is wrong. You need to watch a bit to see how to bend it, but it just misses the case. Best described as the top is bent down further than it started, so the body of the tab is angled maybe 20 deg further down than the body of metal it leaves from.

The adjustment of the big bolt on top of the toolhead matters. Both of my toolheads have the alignment pins drilled not quite true, so they seem to work best if the bolt is gentle tightened with the toolhead right down, then lift it up an inch (about half way up the pins) and tighten the bolt. That way the little shimmy in the shellplate as the head comes down is half to the left, half to the right. This affects priming accuracy. I use a bar across the die heads so I don't put load on the press frame when doing the big bolt up.

Get some long primer punch pins. These vary a bit, and I've had most success with the longer kind, but you still need the "snap" meachanism on top of the primer die to flick some primers off.

Sometimes you'll stuff a blue tip on the primer tube. Replace it. If there's even the slightest damage they don't work.

I've made a little mod to the powder checker -- when you're real stoked up you can't hear the short beep if there was a problem. It extends the beep to perhaps 1/2 second. If interested PM me and I'll send a photo. It's more about what fits than technical trickery. Involves 1 resistor and 1 capacitor.

When she's treated with care I'm getting about 1800 an hour, and with a bullet pouring, primertube loading assistant (factor in the arm set for the short stroke, One Shot case lube and no crappy brass) I have got 2500 in an hour. Then my arm fell off. I would expect to load 1000 without any failures whatsoever.

Gavin.

[LoSTViKiNG]

After approx. 30k rounds of flawless reloading, my 1050 developed a new habit which I didn't experience before:

Today I was operating the machine as usual: I was, as usual, fully concentrated to check if the spent primer was ejected properly, if the next case has no obstruction or is Berdan, etc. (using my tiny mirror glued to the frame, see other thread), if the case is properly charged before seating the bullet. After a while I noticed that the primer follower rod still was in its up-postion (instead of being in a low position, corresponding to the number of rounds I already produced). I grabbed one of the rounds in the bin: No primer! (And there were many more...) :angry2: :angry2:

So I disassebled the priming section, just to notice that a very small granule of whatever was lodged in the slot of the blue orifice and thus preventing the primers to make their way to the slider...

Had to pull ~80 rounds which sucks BIG TIME! :angry2: :angry2:

Re-assembled the machine, went on... And, after a couple of hundred rounds of normal operation, same thing again! And again I noticed much too late, had to pull another 50 rounds. And, to make things worse, I broke my RCBS kinetic hammer... And NO, I did NOT abuse the tool, it happened during normal operation.

Does anyone of you (especially the gifted tinkerers) have an idea how one could construct a device to monitor, if the follower moved down while operating the handle? I can't watch the follower all the time, not can I quality check every round that drops into the bin...

Apart from this I can just again emphasize that keeping the 1050 perfectly clean is of paramount importance for flawless operation (although I have no idea how the kernel made its way into my primer tube..).

Thanks for listening! :-)

EDIT: The dots in the picture is the spilled powder which was dispersed all over my desk and carpet, which happens if you pull ~120 rounds with no primer...

Edited December 22, 2009 by LoSTViKiNG