jimstc Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 I have a Dillon 650 which came with the primer loading tubes. Three came with it and two have primers wedged inside.There has got to be a faster way to load primers.I almost spend more time loading primers than I do ammo. About every 4 or 5 primers one gets turned sideway and I have to take the cap off and dump them out and start over again. BTW this is the large pistol primer tube. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 I only load small pistol primers (usually Federals). I have ten or twelve tubes and, after thousands or rounds, I have never had to take them apart for any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerjg Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 this should speed things up, if you want to spend the $$. Dillon's RF 100 Automatic Primer Filler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 I am like Flex, I have about 10 or so and don't have any problems...I guess the auto primer loaders are good, I just don't have any experience with them.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerjg Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 I dont own one, but i have a friend that does. The day he got it, he liked it so much, he loaded about 1500 rounds just to see it do its job. he has had it for a few weeks and has had 0 problems with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old shooter Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 jimstc, I am curious, you are using the tube to pick up the primers, right. BTW, Midway has the frankfort brand of vibrating primer filler on sale frequently for $29. They look cheezy, feel like a toy, and quite frankly I feel a little silly using it, but after the initial shakeout on how to use it, works suprisingly well. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonK Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 You should also make sure that the ends are on fully. The pick-up end (green one) especially can back off just enough to allow some primers to hang up in the gap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 I thought the RF-100 was a worthwhile investment. Others have had less success. Do a search and you'll probably dig up some threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBeazlie Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 The Franford Arsenal one sold by Midway works great. I'll load up 5 tubes and then crank out 500 rounds on the 650 in no time. Beats the heck out of loading the primer tubes one by one on a flip tray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOtherErik Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 I assume that you are usning a primer flip tray. If not, get one. It makes the chicken pecking easier. Also as jason said make sure that the tips are seated on the tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimstc Posted December 9, 2003 Author Share Posted December 9, 2003 Thanks for all the help. I am using the tubes to pick up the primers,I do have the flip tray and have asked for the $29 vibrating primer filler for Christmas. I probably haven't checked to see if the tube ends are seated all the way. At a match on Sunday a friend suggested running a .22 caliber bronze brush through the tubes to knock off any burrs in the tubes. I did that but haven't tried to load any tubes yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 This may sound silly... On the flip tray, you first put the primers on the half of the tray with the ridges, right? Then shake them around so they are all anvil-side-up? Then you put the other half of the tray on, then "flip" them over...so now they are all shiny side up? Then, when you use the tubes, you are picking them up from the shiny side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Anderson Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 You may be using a large primer tube with small primers.. that will cause EXACTLY what you are describing. They are the same diameter on the outside, but different sizes on the inside. Hold them all up to light and see if one is smaller on the inside... I didn't see an indication of what size primers you are using... SA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 This may sound silly...On the flip tray, you first put the primers on the half of the tray with the ridges, right? Then shake them around so they are all anvil-side-up? Then you put the other half of the tray on, then "flip" them over...so now they are all shiny side up? Then, when you use the tubes, you are picking them up from the shiny side? The ridges are what's supposed to make the primers flip. I don't waste time trying to mess with that now. I just pick the properly oriented primers on the first pass, then put on the lid and flip over the tray and get the rest. Mucho faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 I used to use Winchester primers and do the double-flip.. carefully open the primer package, place another empty primer tray (of the same brand and size) carefully aligned over it, & flip them both over & shake lightly. Now remove the now-empty tray, check the anvil-up primers, place a flip tray over it, then flip again and remove the plastic tray.. All neatly lined up and the right way up for picking. The RF-100 still beats all... fire and forget rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 I'm with Steve's suggestion. Sounds like small primers in a large tube. And btw, I have the RF-100 at a nice price - 221.95 for one size and 229.95 for both large and small primers! - AT THIS LINK. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogmaDog Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 Per Dillon's instructions, if you get primers jammed in the tube, soak it with WD-40, throw it in the trash, and call Dillon for a free replacement--they don't want you to detonate primers trying to unjam them. But primer tubes are plenty cheap...why not just call Dillon and buy however many you need in whatever size? DD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gun Geek Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 I'm also in the camp of the Vibra-prime thingy. I use the heck out of mine. At the price you can buy 2 or 3 and be way ahead on $$. If you loaded the volume for pro competition, it probably wouldn't hold up, but then neither would a lot of things. The VP is on sale now for $24.99 (I think). The extra tubes are also on sale, so buy a bunch. Takes me about 20mins to stuff 1000 primers in the tubes. There are a few things to check, though. Find a drill bit that sharp and just a smidge bigger than the inside of the tube and run it down into the plastic piece at the top. This removes burs and buts a little chamfer on the entrance of the tube. also, lightly dampen a cleaning patch with a little silicone (I do mean a little) and run it through the tube. I've also used mica powder (the stuff benchresters use to lube the inside of case mouths). Put a little in the tube, hold your fingers on both ends and shake. Smooths things out. The tubes that come with the VibraPrime are a a little too big to go into the blue Dillon plastic nipple, conversely the Dillon tubes are a little too small for the plastic locking collar. I have used a drill bit to expand the Dillon nipple and I have epoxied the collar to the tube. However, it seems that the best solution is to just use the tubes that come with the VP. I've found that you don't really need the blue nipple to keep the primers from spilling when you put them in the press. Enjoy Geek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 jimstc, I had the same problem not long ago. Had a problem with Federal Primers jamming up the tubes and switched to Winchester. The problem did not go away but seemed to get a little better. I was using large tubes with Large Pistol primers. Although they were new tubes I gave up and cleaned them with brake cleaner using a tiny patch. They all seem to work just fine now. Do not clean the plastic ends with brake cleaner!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 By the way, if it's cold where you're loading, I discovered an interesting little phenomena. I was playing with my RF100 when PaulW was having all his troubles and kept getting sideways primers. I was using the correct tube. Half-baked Theory of the Day: It seems that there's enough differential in the coefficients of thermal expansion between the brass primer cup and the aluminum tube that the aluminum tube's ID becomes slightly too big when everything's cold - as in below freezing. Warming everything above 50-60 degrees F fixed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 The VibraPrime form MidwayUSA works great!!! Your Dillon or other primer tubes work just fine. Just load 100 primers in the feeder tray - insert the tray into the VibraPrime 'pistol' and hold the tube under the 'primer exit' and pull the trigger. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ and your tube is filled. I just load all my tubes (ZZZ-ZZZ-ZZZ) and start loading Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimstc Posted December 10, 2003 Author Share Posted December 10, 2003 1. Large pistol primers and large tube are what I am using 2. Flex,yep I do the flip thing and pick up from the shiny side 3. EricW,my garage does get c c cold.That may be part of the problem. 4.AikiDale,I am using CCI 300 primers and have used Winchester with the same problem but not as bad. 5.GunGeek . 1000 primers in 20 minutes!! I hope Santa gives me the Vibra thingy for Christmas. Sounds like that will solve my problems Thanks to all for the help and advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gun Geek Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Well, I exaggerated a bit. I went and tried it today. From absolute start to finish for 1000 primers (clean bench to 10 loaded tubes, 100 ea) took 29:30. With all the stuff laid out neatly on the bench, it took 22:17. So, I exaggerated a bit, 22:17 or 29:30 is still pretty good. You couldn't do that with the regular pick-ups. PS, I suddenly had 1000 primers loaded up in tubes, now what to do with them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 In theory the RF-100 should be able to do 10 tubes in 20 minutes, but as it only comes with one tube, the efficient way to use it is to have it buzz away flipping and loading the next tube of primers for you while you're cranking rounds out of the press. As soon as you run out of primers, dump in the newly loaded tube, start up another one and get back to loading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 From absolute start to finish for 1000 primers (clean bench to 10 loaded tubes, 100 ea) took 29:30. With all the stuff laid out neatly on the bench, it took 22:17.So, I exaggerated a bit, 22:17 or 29:30 is still pretty good. You couldn't do that with the regular pick-ups. Just timed myself. Using shred's double flip, start to finish from a clean bench - 13 minutes for ten tubes. But shred is right - the advantage of the Dillon (and it is also an advantage over the hand helds) is that you load one tube, use it while loading the second, and just go back and forth w/o any extra time spent loading the last nine or whatever tubes. I'm just too cheap to shell out $200 plus for something I can do by hand - gotta save up to upgrade from my trusty but rusty (figuratively, as in muy viejo) SDB to a 650 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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