Mo Zee Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I did a search on how to align the priming unit and found most used a dillon alignment tool. Is there any way to do this without the tool? I am in South Africa and I need to align this urgently, therefore calling Dillon is not an option... Oh yeah - THe problem I am having is that primer punch is not aligning with the shell plate 100% of the time. In order for me to get the primer seated I need to play around with the shell plate until the primer pops in. Prior to stripping and cleanin the press it was working perfectly.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigfixer Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I did a search on how to align the priming unit and found most used a dillon alignment tool. Is there any way to do this without the tool? I am in South Africa and I need to align this urgently, therefore calling Dillon is not an option... Oh yeah - THe problem I am having is that primer punch is not aligning with the shell plate 100% of the time. In order for me to get the primer seated I need to play around with the shell plate until the primer pops in. Prior to stripping and cleanin the press it was working perfectly.... What press are you using ? I've got a 550 but never heard of an alignment tool ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufftytuffty Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Loosen primer feed bar. Pull handle so primer cup is through shellplate. Tigthen primer feed bar. TA-DA!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcbridgwater Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I did a search on how to align the priming unit and found most used a dillon alignment tool. Is there any way to do this without the tool? I am in South Africa and I need to align this urgently, therefore calling Dillon is not an option... Oh yeah - THe problem I am having is that primer punch is not aligning with the shell plate 100% of the time. In order for me to get the primer seated I need to play around with the shell plate until the primer pops in. Prior to stripping and cleanin the press it was working perfectly.... What press are you using ? I've got a 550 but never heard of an alignment tool ? Yes Dillon has an alinement tool fot the 550 to align platform assy to the tool head. They will send you one if you ask for it. I do not know how you would aline it with out the tool and get it perfect. Except trial and error till you find the sweet spot. When you cleaned the press did you loosen the 2 screws under the shell plate that mounts the platform? If so I would get the alignement tool. Good Luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitchl Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 The Dillon alignment tool is pretty simple. If you have a lathe or know someone who does you can make one in less than 30 minutes. The Dillon tool is a short piece of rod with the OD turned to be a close fit with the opening in the shell plate. One end of the rod is drilled to be a close fit with the rod for a large primer punch and the other is drilled to fit a small primer punch. The Dillon tool is steel but aluminum would work as well. To use the tool insert it through the shell plate and adjust until the primer punch enters the tool without interference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigfixer Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I did a search on how to align the priming unit and found most used a dillon alignment tool. Is there any way to do this without the tool? I am in South Africa and I need to align this urgently, therefore calling Dillon is not an option... Oh yeah - THe problem I am having is that primer punch is not aligning with the shell plate 100% of the time. In order for me to get the primer seated I need to play around with the shell plate until the primer pops in. Prior to stripping and cleanin the press it was working perfectly.... I bought a used 550b took it completely apart, cleaned it and reassembled it. That's to say I took the ram completely apart and out of the frame. The primer feed/ram adjustment screw was missing so I replaced it and took about 5 minutes to adjust everything. The press has been good to go sence. You should be able to adjust the primer feed/ram from the primer stand to align with the shell plate ? I know my terminology is wrong but hope you understand what I'm talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbarr Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Loosen primer feed bar.Pull handle so primer cup is through shellplate. Tigthen primer feed bar. TA-DA!!! Works great for me. A.T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Zee Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 I did a search on how to align the priming unit and found most used a dillon alignment tool. Is there any way to do this without the tool? I am in South Africa and I need to align this urgently, therefore calling Dillon is not an option... Oh yeah - THe problem I am having is that primer punch is not aligning with the shell plate 100% of the time. In order for me to get the primer seated I need to play around with the shell plate until the primer pops in. Prior to stripping and cleanin the press it was working perfectly.... What press are you using ? I've got a 550 but never heard of an alignment tool ? Duh - Should have mentioned I am using a 650. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliez Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Same principle for 650, which I own. Without the tool you'll have to do it by trial and error. I have the tool, but in a pinch have also used the the quick shortcut. That is pushing the handle a bit so the primer punch lifts into the shell plate and then tighten the primer assembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThompson Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 (edited) On the 550 You can loosen the primer bar to align that, but that does not align the plate platform of the ram. To do that you need the alignment tool. You can have your primers go in fine, but still have other issues such as the powder die dragging one side or die alignment issues caused by the ram platform being adjusted improperly. The "tool" to which people are speaking is in the form of a pin. You place the powder die in station one and drop the pin in. With the shell plat off and the shell platform bolts loose you take the ram up and down until if will slip in and out of the shell platform plate hole without moving the pin. Then you snug the bolts up and make sure you still have proper alignment. If you do then tighten them puppies up and reinstall your shell plate and move your powder die back. You will, of course have to reset your decap/resize die. I do that by keeping a re sized case on hand and putting it in station one, running the ram to the top and then screw the die down until it just touches the shell plate. By adjusting it with the case in the die and plate, you have proper alignment of the die when snugging it down. Call Dillon and they will send you the tool free. If not PM me and I'll send you mine to use. JT PS. If you have a case feeder than this can cause the issue you are having too. In some cases the case feed plunger will contact the shell case on the downward stroke and push it at an angle. This creates a slight gap and the case is no longer firmly into the shell plate. Basically what you can have is an over travel situation. I had the very same issue. The deal with mine was bend the cam back a little to limit how far the plunger would travel. I've also seen presses where the plunger did not travel far enough. In that case if the cam is stopping the travel you can bend it in slightly. If the plunger assembly itself is the issue, you can remove a bit of material in front where the bearing contacts it. Be careful going this route as the case feed body is not cheap!! Edited November 1, 2009 by JThompson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Zee Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 On the 550You can loosen the primer bar to align that, but that does not align the plate platform of the ram. To do that you need the alignment tool. You can have your primers go in fine, but still have other issues such as the powder die dragging one side or die alignment issues caused by the ram platform being adjusted improperly. The "tool" to which people are speaking is in the form of a pin. You place the powder die in station one and drop the pin in. With the shell plat off and the shell platform bolts loose you take the ram up and down until if will slip in and out of the shell platform plate hole without moving the pin. Then you snug the bolts up and make sure you still have proper alignment. If you do then tighten them puppies up and reinstall your shell plate and move your powder die back. You will, of course have to reset your decap/resize die. I do that by keeping a re sized case on hand and putting it in station one, running the ram to the top and then screw the die down until it just touches the shell plate. By adjusting it with the case in the die and plate, you have proper alignment of the die when snugging it down. Call Dillon and they will send you the tool free. If not PM me and I'll send you mine to use. JT PS. If you have a case feeder than this can cause the issue you are having too. In some cases the case feed plunger will contact the shell case on the downward stroke and push it at an angle. This creates a slight gap and the case is no longer firmly into the shell plate. Basically what you can have is an over travel situation. I had the very same issue. The deal with mine was bend the cam back a little to limit how far the plunger would travel. I've also seen presses where the plunger did not travel far enough. In that case if the cam is stopping the travel you can bend it in slightly. If the plunger assembly itself is the issue, you can remove a bit of material in front where the bearing contacts it. Be careful going this route as the case feed body is not cheap!! Thanks for all the info. Ieventually managed to come right. I played around with the indexer block and sort of came right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JThompson Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Glad to hear it... sometimes you just need to read stuff and in doing so, you can get your mind around the issue whether or not the answer to your problem was given. Best, JT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan45hk Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 (edited) I just used the tool on my 650 after the plastic indexer broke. I have no idea how the primer system could not line up right. I tried it without the tool and I can't get it to not line up right. Maybe I'm missing something, it seats primers perfectly, no issues with the dies being misaligned either. The screws that hold it in place won't let you misalign anything. Edited December 24, 2009 by dan45hk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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