TargetTalk

Good Evening,
Just ordered a Dillon 550 in (.45ACP dies, strong mount, aluminum roller handle, empty case tray, bullet tray, 1" wrench, and primer flipper) from Brian Enos. This will be my first progressive metallic reloading press. I've loaded shotgun shells on a MEC Grabber for quite a few years. My bench seems to be rock-solid stable. What, if any, "tricks" or suggestiong do you have to setting it up and operating it, I'd appreciate hearing about them. Thanks
Tom

I would suggest getting the Dillon DVD on setting up the 550.
It is very detailed, you should not need more than that.
It will also show to take it down for repairs.
The 550 is a great machine.
Clean out the powder measure with a anti static cloth.
Put some oil on all moving parts, keeping it away from the primer tool.
I like the roller handle rather than the ball. Gives better leverage. See you got it....
Make sure the dies are locked down tight after you are happy with the adjustment.
Have a good time...

Setup:
Pay special attention to Primer Slide alignment. When the slide is extended, the primer cup should enter the hole in the shellplate platform just perfectly, without catching on the rim. When the slide is all the way back, make sure the primer cup is not catching on the walls of the primer shield and that it moves smoothly all the way back to capture a primer.

Operation:
When you are cycling the press and pushing the handle forward always take a quick look to make sure there is a primer in the cup. Eventually you will get a feeling of a primer being seated when you finish the push, but it is always good to check visually. There is nothing as annoying as getting a cartridge, powder in, bullet seated and crimped, with a hole instead of a primer, spilling powder all over the shellplate. If that happens, do not simply put a primer in: there is less powder now than supposed to. Use inertia bullet puller to take the round apart.
When a primer feeding (or any other) problem has occurred that interrupts the normal cycle and that you have to clear, pay special attention to make sure there is no powder in the case under the powder die. There is nothing as dangerous as the double charge. Remember your 550 does not have a special powder checking station.

Good luck!

I was able to set up right out of the box with no problems. Just follow the directions. Lots of info on YouTube too.

The DVD sounds like a good thing to have.

To make it easier to adjust the powder tube, add a RCBS lockring.


Clearance the hole to free the primer operating wire, add a drop of oil and hold it now with the rubber band. This gives free motion to the rod.


I prefer the old twin spring action on the powder measure. You can duplicate this by removing the side spring and pop-riveting the cam together.


Check out the extras from here. I like his stuff.
http://www.inlinefabrication.com/

Hi,

I too prefer the twin springs of the older generation powder measure, I think I just bent the tab straight, installed the two springs and it worked.

It is a wise idea to visually check the powder in each case before seating the bullet, its actually easy to do.

I do not let powder in my powder measure anymore. I have a discolored powder measure which I do not like. I think it was winchester 231 powder that did it.

Youtube can be a wealth of knowledge, look at a few videos and take it into all into consideration and find what works for you.

Closing thoughts: You made a great choice, I highly recommend the 550 to anyone looking for a reloader.
I really like it because you can load 1 at a time untill its all setup then you can go into full production.

Have a Good Day,

XPshooter

I am always careful to advance the cases if I have to stop for any reason, in addition to eyeballing the powder in the case after the powder measure. A double charge will only happen if you crank the handle without having advanced the cases; therefore, always advance them if you stop for any reason and you greatly reduce the risk of a double charge.

Be extremely careful about lube buidup in both the seating and crimping dies. If your bullets have either a waxy or sticky lube, you will need to pull both dies and clean them with solvent about every 500 plus rounds to keep your seating and crimping consistent.
My 550 likes Winchester primers better than CCI. The Winchesters are softer and a little easier to seat.

Dillon customer service sent me a complete primer tube assembly and slide as I was experiencing difficulties changing from large to small primers. Smart move. I do see on other forums that some 550 owners have both set-ups to skip the problems of alignment, depth setting and wear. It is a good press. A high intensity LED light over the powder stage helps to verify powder drops. A handfull of filled primer tubes is a necessary addition if you want production. The Dillon decapper has a spring snap action to eject pierced primers off the decapping pin. I use a hairdryer or heat gun to melt gobbed up lube from the seating die. The LEE factory crimp die is a sweet die for the final stage, too. The primer slide is prone to getting boogered up with debris falling from primer pockets, so I have an air hose and safey solvent handy for frequent cleanings of that mechanism. Wafer and disc style propellants meter fairly well, but not nearly as nice as the rotary lil' dandy measure on my RCBS green machine. Without a doubt, I can load 600 rounds an hour without stopping except for changing the filled output trays, refilling primers and powder. Debris drops into the primer seater and will engrave dents in your primers, a toothbrush and/or air hose helps. Nice thing about this machine is that it works well going slow or fast, just be careful with compressed powder loads, as you can slosh out powder on advancing the case too quickly. The loaded rounds can tumble oddly and drop to the floor as they fall between the handle and the catch box on occasion.

Great setup.

The little "hopper" that opens up to catch the spent primers on mine was sticking closed, sending spent primers onto the floor. I applied a little graphite powder used for lubricating locks and it works great. The graphite powder is not greasy at all so will not attract dirt, etc...

Highly recommended.

38 HBWC, How can having two complete primer setups help when changing since that part only requires unscrewing the end, pulling out a tube, putting in another and screwing the end on again. Are you sure you are talking about a 550.