Dillon and AA #5 powder

[medalguy]

I'm having a problem using AA #5 powder in my Dillon press. The powder is very fine and it seems to be clogging up the operation of the powder bar. It starts out after cleaning very smooth, but after about 200 rounds, particles of powder are starting to stick to the top & bottom of the powder bar slide, preventing it from sliding as it should. If I stop and clean it again, it works well for about 200 rounds and then I have to clean it again.

Anyone else had this problem, and how did you work around it?

 

[Hondo 60]

Take a new dryer sheet & wipe everything down the next time you take it apart.

I have AA5 in my Dillon 550 hopper right now & it works great.
Very consistent dropping 10.5 for 45 Colt.

 

[loadedround]

Washing your powder bar in dish washing detergent also may help with your static electricity problem. Ialso run #5 through my 550 w/o any problems.

 

[Seedtick]

medalguy,

I added some shim stock (.005" or maybe .006") on top of the powder bar spacer, between the spacer and the measure housing to take out some 'slack' that it had. I punched a hole in the shim to match up with the nylon powder measure spacer plug and to keep it in place.

I had read some tips and tricks about accurizing Dillon measures and this was just one of the things I did. Here are a couple of links to some of those tips.

Dillon Powder Measure Tips

Polishing A Dillon Powder Measure

Did any of this help? I don't know. The first thing I did when I got my used Square Deal B was completely strip it down and clean it up as I put it back together. It had been in storage a few years and it needed some TLC. I will say that I am wonderfully pleased with the repeatability of my measure and the press as well.

HTH

Seedtick

 

[morrow]

I have the exact same problem with AA#9. Call Dillon they will send you a thicker spacer right away for free. Also ask for a couple powder measure springs to help pull the bar back into place even if a little clogged.

 

[medalguy]

Thanks for the info but the problem is not with static. The powder granules (or pieces of granules) are getting stuck between the powder bar slide and the spacer bar. When I take the whole thing apart it looks like something black sticking all over the bar surface in a thin film.

I tried putting a piece of paper as a shim first thing, but there's not sufficient clearance to even allow .004 for a piece of paper. I'm going to call Dillon on Monday. This really has me puzzled. I have six Dillons and this is the first time I've had anything like this problem. Friday evening I loaded 1,000 rounds of .38 Special, and I had to stop and clean the bar twice during that session.

 

[steveumd]

Never had this problem

I have a 650 and load AA#7 in multiple loads, with 1000's of rounds made to date.

I do clean my powder measures, completely, but gently removing any residue without taking down metal. I do this generally prior to refilling the measure the 3rd or 4th time. Pain in the butt because I have reset my powder charge, but necessary.

I have yet to wear out a measure, but have friends who have replaced charge bars after thousands and thousands of rounds.

Good luck

 

[medalguy]

Steveumd, do you find crud sticking to the top & bottom of the powder bar? That's what I'm finding. It cleans off with acetone but boy it sure does slow down my loading regimen.

 

[steveumd]

Not really crud What is your humidity like?

I don't have crud on the buttom of my powder bar, just thin coat of black powder film. What is the humidity like in the room you load? My powder is loose and I have a used dryer sheet for static. I have never had clumping present. We are in a rain soaked week and my dehumidifier is running almost non-stop to keep the air at about 65%-68%. I would be interested to know if any latent moisture has an effect on clumping powder?

 

[medalguy]

I'm in Houston so humidity is always high. I'm seeing some kind of crud sticking to the powder bar but it cleans off pretty easily with a wipe of acetone. It's not a clumping issue at all. Still moving forward with this batch of ammo but I'm having to stop and clean the bar every 300-500 rounds. It slows me down but it also gives me a break in loading.

To answer your question, I don't think moisture would be a problem, since my loading roon is air conditioned as part of my house. Got to be something else. If I didn't have AC that might be a different answer.

 

[DILLONHELP]

Wipe off the powder bar and spacer with solvent, then wipe out the interior of the metal housing where the bar slides through. Measure the thickness of the powder bar and spacer with calipers- should be approximately .357" thick each. We can supply a slightly thicker spacer (.359") if there is room. To check, apply ONE strip of scotch tape to the top of the spacer bar, and see if you can reassemble the bar and spacer into the housing.Scotch tape is about .002" thick.BTW, AA #5 is the smallest granule size of all powder out there, and most likely to bind the bar up.