Dillon 550B: What do I NEED? What should I WANT?

[ezypikns]

I'm planning on ordering a 550B press. I want to load the following:

.38 Special
.40 S&W
.45 Colt
.45 ACP

Two will require small primers, two large.

There seem to be several bells and whistles available for an extra charge. Which extras do you consider essential. The other thing is this. Is there some sort of primer quick change kit available, or is switching from small to large primers not a big deal.

I've got dies for all the calibers listed above, mostly Lee dies with a factory crimp die for each. Do I need anything else as far as dies go?

Thanks

 

[loadedround]

The Dillon 550B comes with primer tubes and primer seaters for both large and small primers, one die head, a powder funnel , powder measure, and a caliber conversion kit of your choice. Add your dies and you are ready to load one caliber. To go cheaply as possible all you need now is to purchase additional conversion kits for each other caliber you want to load. However I would recommend that you buy an additional die head and powder funnel for each caliber you want to load. These accessories will only run you an additional 20.00 each(die head and funnel) and will save you much time in changing calibers. Once you set up your dies in the die head, you need not have to adjust or remove them again unless you change components. Sounds complicated but it isn't...believe me. Yell if you have any other questions.

 

[1911user]

The primer system on a dillon 550 is EASY to change and takes less than a minute with a little practice. The 650 is a bit more complicated, but not that bad.

I second the toolhead and powder die as a minimum for every caliber. It makes life much nicer to keep all of your die settings. They sell micrometer adjusters ($20, not from dillon) for the dillon powder bars and 1 of those on the pistol bar would be cheaper than extra measures. It makes returning to a known powder charge easy and quick. I should have bought one when I had my 550.

If you can't buy enough extra toolheads, you can use hornady-style lockrings on the dies to keep from losing the die setting. Unless you already have the lockrings though, you'll pay just about as much for a set of 4 as a toolhead.

You may want extra primer tubes; 2 extra (for a total of 3) of each size would be my minimum. That would allow you to reload 300-400 rounds before having to fill primer tubes again. It's $17 for 4 of either size or 2 of each size. You'll need a primer flip tray to use with the tubes. I'd buy a $3 plastic one before spending $15 for the brass dillon primer flipper. You can also look into a thing called a vibra-prime that fills primer tubes. It works, but is loud/annoying enough that I choose to not use one. They also cost $30 or so. A $3 flip tray works for me.

If you want to save $9 on caliber conversion parts, the 45 ACP and 45 Colt conversion kits both use the same "E" expander funnel. All of the other conversion parts are different. You get a nice quantity discount when you buy 3 powder dies or 3 toolheads at once. If you order this through Brian Enos, you will save the shipping costs (at least $20) since the total order will be over $400. www.brianenos.com
He comes highly recommended by many people and has a nice forum for competative shooting discussions.

 

[SASS#23149]

If you don't buy the extra toolheads,you can use the Lee friction rings as they save the seettings fairly accuratley,just remove the die by the nut,NOT by turning the die body.
The strong mounts are really just a gimmick.If your bench is high enough you won't need the extra height.The stock 'ball' handle it come with is just fine.I 'upgraded' to the other handle but wouldn't do it again I dont think.
They have a new case feeder,and it is kinda spendy and not something I'd reccomend until you and the press get to know each other....if at all.
Safety glasses!!! primers do detonate and a tube full in front of your face can be a pants filler.
stock up on supplies and get ready to have fun.

 

[bouis]

If you want to save some money, you should consider getting Lee dies and powder measures. There's a thread here a few weeks old talking about how to do it, and it's a lot cheaper. I can say from experience that the Lee dies are nice. If you go with the lee stuff, make sure you get some extra plugs for the chains (see the thread..).

You'll still need Dillon caliber conversion kits, and, as someone said, toolheads. If you plan to leave the powder measures attached, the toolhead stands are nice too, though a little pricey at something like $13 each. You won't need the extra powder funnels if you use Lee dies.

The Dillon primer flip tray is great, and extra pickup tubes for the primers is a nice thing to have. The "strong mount," and various tray attachments are nice, but I don't know if they're worth the money.

 

[SASS#23149]

also

you will need a 'conversion kit' for your dies.The dillon uses a powder funnel under the powder hopper,and 3 locator pins for each die set.There is 'some' crossover,so ask the dillon folks which funnels/pins match your calibers.This will give you 4 extra Lee rings to start out wtih as you won't be using your powder dies.
run the machine in 'single stage' mode until you know what it does,then graduate to 'progressive',but DON'T HURRY.The faster you try to go the longer it's gonna take to fix your mistakes.Can you say 'bullet puller'?

 

[P0832177]

I would do this too! Took me 21 years to finally do it! Get an extra primer tube, no not the pick up tubes. The Armored Housing for the 550. Why? Well, you keep one set up for small primers and one for large. That way your not messing with tweaking the primer system for the swap over, and I kick myself for not doing it earlier.

You just need that, as you get the inner tube and the primer pick up in both small and large with basic press. I assure you your caliber swaps will be faster, and it will be the best money spent.

 

[ezypikns]

Are There any Problems Using Lee Dies in a 550B?

Or should I invest in Dillon dies too?

 

[FJC]

I've used (and am using) Lee dies in a Dillon 550B. I personally found that the Lee sizing die didn't work that well for me, as on a progressive you really want dies with a bit of a radius on the bottom to help guide the shells into place. In fact, I have an active thread right now where I'm looking for the best replacement for a Lee 9mm seating die for a similar problem.

On my 550B, I bought/installed the roller handle. I *really* like it a lot better than the ball handle, but it is NOT a necessity. If I bought another 550B, I'd definitely get it, though - way more comfortable for my hand.

I agree that you'll want extra primer pickup tubes. I have 9 for both large and small calibers, and I've even considered getting more.

I also have the bullet tray. DEFINITELY not a necessity, but it is nice to have. I didn't get it when I bought my press, I just put a box of bullets there and reached a bit farther for them. I asked for the bullet tray as a Christmas gift, and enjoy having it now, but as stated it's not a necessity.

I also have the dust cover. I reload in my basement, which can be quite dusty and spiderweb-filled, so I considered it a necessity. Keeps your quality machine clean.

 

[Ron Brooks]

Primer Tube Cleaning

One thing about primer tubes. They do get dirty. They will build up a residue of powdered priming compound. What I do is to get one of the alchol wipes, the same type I use to clean the primer bar and use the primer feed bar to run it through the primer tube, like you are running a swab through a barrel. After 400 or 500 primers it comes out greenish. Just takes a second and helps me to not worry so much about the tube detonating.

Ron

 

[1911user]

I used Lee dies and didn't have a problem. You do need to make certain to push the new case all the way into the shellplate each time otherwise it could catch on the edge of the sizing die.

If you have dies already, I would try them and they'll probably work fine. If you have problems, then switch to the dillon dies. They do have some built-in features that are handy for progressive reloading, but they are far from mandatory.

 

[SASS#23149]

Lee dies

You mentioned you already have some Lee dies.The older ones...not sure how far back...were too short for the dillon,so some folks put the lock ring on the bottom of the die once it was adusted down through the toolhead.
The radius on the mouth of the sizing die sure does help,but you can get by with dies that don't have the radius if you are careful with aligning the case.Thee will be a 'paper clip looking' dealie taht pushes the case into place,just be sure it's adjusted for each size case.

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

A really nice upgrade to the 550 is a LNL AP "upgrade kit" from Hornady. It replaces the 550 frame, ram, shell plate, primer feed, and powder measure to upgrade the 550 to a 5 station, auto-indexing press! Come to think of it, you really don't even have to buy the 550 first, the hornady "upgrade" works just fine stand-alone too!

Seriously, if you want to save the most time changing calibers (instead of money), on a Dillon, then buy a complete powder measure for each caliber/die plate, to avoid having to reset the PM for each caliber.

Other users used hornady or Lee PMs that change powder/settings more easily or are cheaper to buy in multiples. Hornady now also has a drop through expander feature on their new PM linkage.

I would not suggest using Lee lock rings if you want to remove dies from dillon die plates instead of swapping whole die plates. With all the dies on the die plate, reaching the lock nut to remove the die is not a simple task. I like Hornady lock rings; they combine clamping action with wrench flats.

Andy

 

[1911user]

http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1231
This is the cadillac of micrometer adjusters for dillon power bars at $50.

If you are going to be doing lots of caliber setup changes, it could be worth it for the time saved. I always did big batches so caliber changes were not very frequent.

There are also knobs available to replace or fit over the bolt head of the powder bar adjustment. These are much cheaper, but do not show how many revolutions the adjuster bolt/knob has been turned. They aren't hard to use and get repeatable settings, but micrometers are plain easy. If you have kids and think there is a possibility of them getting to the press and tinkering with it, I'd use the powder bar in stock condition where it takes a small wrench to change the setting. A kid might not resist turning the pretty knob giving you a major powder overcharge. Just something to consider.

I have a hornady press now and bought micrometer adjusters for both rifle and pistol powder measurements (see reasoning in edit below). The dillon 550 is a good machine, but my needs changed after 7 years of using it.

If you are not changing setups very often, it may not be a big deal to use the stock powder measure as is. Try it and see if there is a "problem" before throwing money at a solution.

EDIT: redneck2 (in the post below) has a good point. I too tried to minimize the money invested in a reloading setup and have found out that it makes more sense to buy the needed (and useful) accessories ASAP instead of waiting until you just can't get the job done without it. You spend the same money, but get more use (long time period) from the same item. If it's good quality and taken care of, you can probably resell it later for 70-80% of the new cost if something changes where you don't need it anymore. That can make for some pretty cheap accessory rental and having the right tools for the job makes life so much easier. If you can find the extras for sale used, that's even better.

 

[redneck2]

I tried to get by cheap for years. Didn't get the quick change kits or even heads and I had to re-adjust everything on every caliber change. I could kick myself for having such a good press and trying to save a little money. Now I have 5 total quick change kits and 4 extra tool heads for rifle.

Dillon dies are easier to use (pistol) because of the radius.