I have an infuriating problem with my 550 I can’t seem to solve. it really slows me down and makes reloading a real chore.
about me: been reloading for about 8 months or so. have loaded about 6k rounds since then, and I only load 9mm. the 550 is my first and only press.
the issue: on station 1, after being resized, the brass has often shifted out of position to be primed. see this handy graphic-
this is where I typically find my brass after it has been resized and deprimed.
(I am nearly certain) this is caused by what happens at station 2. (when there is no case in station 2, the newly resized case in station 1 is always in the correct place to be primed) the powder die often sticks to the case being belled out. the resulting violence of lowering the ram causes enough disturbance to shift the case in station 1 out of position to be primed. sometimes it only moves a little and I can do this little double or triple tap technique with the ram that shifts it back into position. However, mostly I have to push it back in with my thumb.
either way it really destroys my rhythm and even more so that it does not happen with every case. it does happen the majority of the time however.
I don’t think I am belling the case out too much with the powder die, causing it to stick. in fact, in an attempt to fix this problem I have backed the powder die back about as much as I can, and occasionally cases are belled so little the bullet doesn’t stay upright before its seated, and then I have to reset that. there is definitely minimum belling going on.
maybe the powder die itself is out of spec?
this makes me want to get rid of my 550 and get a XL650. (admittedly this is probably what I should have done first, but I don’t feel bad following the Enos FAQ and getting the 550 for my first press to learn on)
from the videos I have seen, it appears the 650 primes the resized case in station 2, in which the case is held in place by some sort of spring loaded mechanism, thus making any ‘case drift’ impossible and securely holding the case in place to be primed. if I am seeing this correctly, it seems the 650 is definitely the superior press, at least as far as priming is concerned.
well, that was fast. another forum steered me right. it was the paper clip thing. mine was loose, and doing nothing. this is rather embarrassing but the whole time I have owned and used this press I had no idea what it was for.
Yes. Indeed the wire retainer wasn’t adjusted properly. That sticking in station 2 varies by brass type. It’s bad when the brass has tar bullet sealant still in the case.
Your other commenter may have mentioned this, but from your picture it looks like your wire retainer is backwards as well as not lined up. You want to be able to push it smoothly out of the way when inserting a case, so align the “curl” to achieve that.
Regarding belling, you may want to try cleaning the end of the powder funnel/expander (it probably has some brass “smeared” on it) and hitting it with some case lube. I found Imperial sizing wax to last longer than I expected, and it made the operation much smoother.
Polishing the powder die will (mostly) alleviate the sticking problem. Chuck it in a drill and work on the radius & the portion actually belling the case. Start with 600 emery and finish with crocus cloth.
OP glad you got you issue resolved. I have a 650 and love it. If you decide to upgrade this is a nice press. But just to clarify the de priming and sizing take place in position 1 priming and powder in pos 2. As stated in a previous post if you have any other issues call up Dillon they are great and will do everything they can to get you going again.
The other thing that can happen is that your shellplate can get out of alignment with the tool head. If you find that cases want to jam going into the sizing die even though you have them seated properly at station 1, this can be the issue. If you experience it, call Dillon and they will send you an alignment tool at no charge.
BTW, check out my signature for a product that will never let you double a round by forgetting to rotate the shell plate. It will also make sure you take the press handle fully to each end of travel as well or give you an error. It has a round counter, RPM meter, and much more. Made in the USA by hand.
You’re only at the beginning of what ass aches the Dillon can give you. Holy Shit! If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to take an Ax to my fucking machine!!
The fix is to polish the outside of the powder funnel (the part that touches the inside of the cases, NOT the die itself), or even just touch it with greasy fingers now and again.
The the OP, that other loop of wire that guides the loaded round off the press can work it’s way up/out as well. It will prevent the shell plate from going down low enough or scrape those index fingers.
Just something to be aware of. Like forgetting to loosen that little brass tipped screw before backing out the index/shell plate bolt.
