[Balrog]

I am setting up my 650. Everything is going well, and I am about to start loading 10mm. I have noticed that as the press indexes, there is a click near the end of the index cycle, which results in a slight jerk of the shell plate. I am loading 13.5g of AA#9 into 10mm cases, which fills the case pretty much up to the bottom of the bullet.

This small jerk causes a little bit of the powder to jump out of the case mouth. It is just a very small amount, mainly 10-20 granules of AA#9, which is a pretty fine powder. It does not seem to be enough to significantly alter my charge weight, but is enough to make a little bit of mess.

Has anyone else encountered this?

[atblis]

Yes very common. There are a number of suggested fixes.
-One uses a thrust bearing under the shell plate bolt to smooth the indexing motion.
-Clip a couple of coils out of the indexing ball spring so it snaps into place less vigorously.

My solution was to move the powder measure to station 3, and place the bullet on top of the case while the charged case is indexing between 3 and 4. I originally was using a powder checker buzzer thingy at station 4, but decided I didn't need it as the case was full enough to do this visually. Moving the powder measure to station 3 was needed because I use a Lyman M expander and needed to do that before dropping powder. Moving the powder measure to station 3 is also nice because between 3 and 4 is the ideal spot to put a bullet in place (less hand movement needed). So basically, immediately after a case is charged, I have bullet on top blocking powder from flicking out.

[Balrog]

Will the vigor with which the press indexes subside over time as the press is used?

What is a thrust bearing? Is this something I need to call Dillon about?

[Walkalong]

Drag your finger on the shell plate and it will stop it. I have a couple of loads that tend to shake a few flakes of powder out when loading on my LNL. That is what I do. Simple, cheap, and it works.

[cmgred]

Call Dillon, they're happy to help. Or this forum has lots of Dillon Q&A:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?act=idx

[arizona98tj]

]Drag your finger on the shell plate and it will stop it. ...... That is what I do. Simple, cheap, and it works.

Agreed....this gives you complete control with no additional cost or mods.

[Redbeard55]

Your shell plate needs more tightening. It is simply up to high. Lowering the shell plate will smooth our the cycle;

[Balrog]

how do i lower the shellplate?

the shellplate came installed, and I have not tried to change or adjust it.

[arizona98tj]

Tension on the shell plate is maintained by the large hex bolt running through the middle of it. There is a set screw that secures the hex bolt and it must be loosened first. The set screw is located at the top of the main ram on the left (looking at the press while standing in front of it). If you tighten the hex bolt too much, the shell plate will have difficulty indexing.

Your owner's manual should cover all of this.

[EddieNFL]

http://hitfactorshooting.com/category.sc;jsessionid=8CC4AC0D952DE4B47FDF6D045CAE9FF5.qscstrfrnt04?categoryId=20

It's doesn't completely eliminate the "jerk," but it does help.

[atblis]

Those are automotive bearings. You can order them off of Amazon IIRC or Grainger/McMaster Carr. Don't have the part numbers handy, but should be easy to find via a search.

I thought about going that route, but decided against it as my powder flicking problem actually occurred when the indexing pawl snapped into place. I didn't think the bearings would solve it.

I also tried simply greasing the center bolt with some of the super tacky purple/blue brake caliper grease. That actually worked, but it also made the machine slower to run.

[Balrog]

Your shell plate needs more tightening. It is simply up to high. Lowering the shell plate will smooth our the cycle

I tightened up the shellplate. When I did, the ram would not cycle all the way back down. So I loosened the shellplate bolt just enough to let the ram be able to fully cycle. There does not seem to be any play in the shellplate when I mash on it now, but this did not seem to fix the problem.

When I look carefully at the shellplate as it indexes, it moves smoothly until about the last 1/4" of rotation. In that last 1/4", the shellplate kind of snaps forward unti it reaches position, and this is what is cause the powder to hop out of the case mouth.

Is this caused by the indexing pawl?

[rfwobbly]

One way to find out. Remove the ball under the shell plate.

If that fails, I'll trade you may 550b even! :evil:

[atblis]

That sounds like the indexing locator ball snapping into place. If you remove the shell plate, it's the shiny ball thingy that's underneath it. I believe it is between stations 4 and 5. I've heard of people snipping a coil or so out of the spring that's underneath it to make it less of a quick hard snap.

If I remember correctly, the indexing pawl snaps into place when ram is lowered (after it has indexed).

[snuffy]

The thrust bearing kit, or getting it from Mc Master Carr doesn't work! I saw this idea on here or another forum back 6 months ago. I installed mine, it raised the ejector wire up so short cases like my 40's would jam, not eject. I'm NOT going to try bending the wire, It's made such that you couldn't bend it to accommodate the raised position it now rests at.

The "snap" occurs because the detent ball comes to rest in a hole in the bottom of the shell plate It kicks the plate ahead too fast as it comes to rest. The Dillon 650 doesn't have "pawls". The indexing is accomplished simply by a ramp that turns the shell plate from underneath the platform.

I got 2 complete kits from Mc Master Carr, they're both available if someone wants them. Maybe I'm missing something on how to install them?

[Jeeper]

Snip the spring. Simple and works well.

[atblis]

The Dillon 650 doesn't have "pawls". The indexing is accomplished simply by a ramp that turns the shell plate from underneath the platform.
I suggest you take the shell plate off and take a closer look. It isn't quite that simple.

EDIT: Part number 18 is the pawl (that's what Dillon calls it too). I've found that when that snaps into place, powder is also flicked out. Not just when the indexing balls snaps in.

http://www.filebox.vt.edu/users/atblis/Thepawlishere.JPG

[Balrog]

I think I have solved my problem by playing around with the tension on the shellplate bolt. If I tighten it too tight, I can't lower the ram all the way, and the press wont index. If I loosen it too much, then the snap/jerk is more pronounced, and I lose powder.

But, if I tighten it just right, then the press will index, cycle, and is smooth enough that no powder is lost. I think it is fixed, as I just finished loading about 100 rounds with no powder spillage.

[snuffy]

I suggest you take the shell plate off and take a closer look. It isn't quite that simple.

Well time for a heapin helpin of crow! Yeah that could be called a pawl, pusher, grabber, okay pawl. I never really knew what it was that rotated the shell plate. Ya made me go look!!:scrutiny:

That said, I don't see how the pawl could be responsible for the shell plate snapping to a halt. It's got to be the detent ball dropping,(actually jumping up), into the hole in the shell plate.

[atblis]

I agree. I am not saying that the detent ball doesn't cause the snap/jump that's part of the problem. I am just trying to point point out that there's another mechanism that in my experience can also cause powder to flick out. It doesn't seem like much, but the pawl is located in such a spot that it snaps in directly under a spot where there are charged but uncovered cases.

After I took care of the detent ball indexing snap issue, I still had powder jumping out of the case due to the pawl. It only does it for me with 9mm and a case full of Unique.

[dan45hk]

I installed the thrust bearing tonight on my 650 and it does work, eliminated about 80% of the snap. I also ran into the problem of the ejector wire not fitting right because it's too high. It looks like a simple fix to bend the wire. I already have a replacement that came in the spare parts kit and Dillon will give you a new one for free if you mess it up anyway.

[EddieNFL]

I installed the thrust bearing tonight on my 650 and it does work, eliminated about 80% of the snap.

That was my experience. I haven't had any problems with ejection, but I load ,45ACP only on the 650.

The pawl doesn't cause spilling on my press. It doesn't "snap" into place on the indexing stroke, but on the return stroke. Remove the ball bearing and the snap on indexing disappears. You can hear the pawl snap back into position on the upstroke, but it doesn't cause the shellplate to jerk.

[ambidextrous1]

I've heard so much about the thrust bearing fix, I had to try it, even though I didn't have a serious problem with the way my press has been working.

Wow, what a difference! The press is smooth as glass now! I can also tighten the bolt tight enough to eliminate 99% of the shell plate looseness that was previously necessary for it to move smoothly.

I had no problems with the ejector wire; I've been making my own, with a separate ejector wire for each caliber. FYI, coat hanger wire is about the right size, is easy to form, and it's a bit "springy". If you decide to make your own, start by bending the part that fits into the hole in the frame first; that allows the rest of the wire to extend to the left, out of the way of everything. The springs I have made are still working great, even after thousands of rounds, in some cases.

Feel free to PM me if you need coaching on "rolling your own".