I don't know why 9mm was so hard to size on my Dillion 550B, but lubing the cases with RCBS water soluble, and leaving the lube on, sure made sizing easy. I fired the rounds with the RCBS water soluble on, function is in fact better with light loads, as long as I keep dirt off the lubed cases.
Plague of 9mm stuck cases in my Dillion!
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wally
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I was one of them until yesterday!
While I haven't tried it yet, it looks like I'd just have to mount the measure rotated from its current orientation and worst case drill a hole in the current bracket.
Hopefully Dillon tech support has the answer in the new shell plate. But I need to get back to reloading, if I wanted to figure out and fix problems I'd move the 9mm dies to my Lee Loadmaster
jmorris
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We are trying to help, why I asked for photos of your shell plate a few times.
If you don't want to figure it out, just send it back to Dillon and they will fix it for you, likely at no cost to you except shipping to them.
It is likely pointless trying to fix the problem you have by moving it to a different location.
If you don't want to figure it out, just send it back to Dillon and they will fix it for you, likely at no cost to you except shipping to them.
It is likely pointless trying to fix the problem you have by moving it to a different location.
I was hoping to see a resolution at the end of the thread.
I have taken to using a small amount of Imperial sizing wax when loading pistol. A touch on the wax about every tenth case or so and spreading it on a case (and usually a little is left for the next one). They size like butter, and you can feel when the lube is used up.
I guess I'd make sure there isn't anything stuck inside the die - which is possible.
I have taken to using a small amount of Imperial sizing wax when loading pistol. A touch on the wax about every tenth case or so and spreading it on a case (and usually a little is left for the next one). They size like butter, and you can feel when the lube is used up.
I guess I'd make sure there isn't anything stuck inside the die - which is possible.
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wally
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I will report if the new shell plate cures the issue or not.
tightgroup tiger
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Wally, I would think that if the shell plate was out of time with the die that you would see it in the side of the case when you extract it from the die. That should be a no brainer. The case should have a hard rub on one side of it.
I think your shell plate is not machined right like RC said, maybe the opening in the shell plate is to large to support the 9mm correctly. I know this is what Dillon and a lot of others have to be thinking. After getting the new shell plate I think you'll see a difference. 9mm are tapered and that's what has me confused about your problem. When pulling a tapered case from a die it will release quicker from the die because of the taper.
I'm with the guys that think the shell plate openings are to big. Whether the shell plate says the right number on it means nothing. I just sent a shell plate back that was machined so poorly it wouldn't even bolt down to the press. Screw up happen with all the companies.
I'm anxious to see what the outcome of this post is as I'm sure a lot of other people are.
I think your shell plate is not machined right like RC said, maybe the opening in the shell plate is to large to support the 9mm correctly. I know this is what Dillon and a lot of others have to be thinking. After getting the new shell plate I think you'll see a difference. 9mm are tapered and that's what has me confused about your problem. When pulling a tapered case from a die it will release quicker from the die because of the taper.
I'm with the guys that think the shell plate openings are to big. Whether the shell plate says the right number on it means nothing. I just sent a shell plate back that was machined so poorly it wouldn't even bolt down to the press. Screw up happen with all the companies.
I'm anxious to see what the outcome of this post is as I'm sure a lot of other people are.
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wally
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The kicker is this thing has probably loaded at least 25K rounds without issues until now.
I do see some wear on the underside indexing holes which may be the issue, of course there is no finish any place the brass touches the shell plate.
I look forward to the replacement arriving.
I do see some wear on the underside indexing holes which may be the issue, of course there is no finish any place the brass touches the shell plate.
I look forward to the replacement arriving.
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wally
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Replacement shell plate seems to be the solution.
The replacement shell plate arrived yesterday afternoon and seems to have solved the problem.
Loaded 100 yesterday and 500 more this morning without issues. Used the last of the "over cleaned" cases and some of my more normal, minimally cleaned ones. Press is running as smooth as ever now.
Called late afternoon on June 10th and back up and running the evening of June 13th, can't beat that!
Midway was also great getting the replacement sizing die to me yesterday (which I haven't even opened) but I really did need replacement RCBS small decapper pins and corn cob media that filled out the order.
Only a few "weird" cases had significant differences in the strokes -- as always the WCC NATO circle with + inside, and a few I'd not encountered before HRTRS, GECO, and one that just had 9mm PARA with a triangle (Greek Delta) as the headstamp.
The replacement shell plate arrived yesterday afternoon and seems to have solved the problem.
Loaded 100 yesterday and 500 more this morning without issues. Used the last of the "over cleaned" cases and some of my more normal, minimally cleaned ones. Press is running as smooth as ever now.
Called late afternoon on June 10th and back up and running the evening of June 13th, can't beat that!
Midway was also great getting the replacement sizing die to me yesterday (which I haven't even opened) but I really did need replacement RCBS small decapper pins and corn cob media that filled out the order.
Only a few "weird" cases had significant differences in the strokes -- as always the WCC NATO circle with + inside, and a few I'd not encountered before HRTRS, GECO, and one that just had 9mm PARA with a triangle (Greek Delta) as the headstamp.
brutus51
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posted this elsewhere,
I tumble my brass in walnut media and while the brass comes out sparkly clean I've found that particles of it, over time, will create a sludge build up inside the grooves of the shell holder. Some of you may have noticed this when a case doesn't seem to slide into the shell holder without some effort, This can cause a misalignment which ads more stress to the case, especially with longer rifle cartridges.
I tumble my brass in walnut media and while the brass comes out sparkly clean I've found that particles of it, over time, will create a sludge build up inside the grooves of the shell holder. Some of you may have noticed this when a case doesn't seem to slide into the shell holder without some effort, This can cause a misalignment which ads more stress to the case, especially with longer rifle cartridges.
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wally
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Everything got cleaned after the first case got stuck and quickly had another stuck case a few rounds later with brass of a different headstamp. Case lube helped but didn't cure the problem, and I've never needed to lube handgun cases before when using carbide dies in ~30 years of reloading, I've been using this press since about 2006 and had loaded well over 20K rounds with it the past 12 months alone.
The replacement shell plate as recommended by Dillion technical support was indeed the solution.
The replacement shell plate as recommended by Dillion technical support was indeed the solution.
evan price
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Should have bought a Lee press. Lifetime warranty you know. Heard a guys house burnt down and Lee gave him a new press.
(J/K, it's not often we Lee guys get to mess with Dillon)
(J/K, it's not often we Lee guys get to mess with Dillon)
My two cents, since the press ran fine for a while, it sounds like it may be a timing issue.
The old shell late may have some wear in some places that let it get out of time that the new shell plate corrected.
For grins and giggles, I would check the timing and make sure it is dead on. Otherwise, it might be a recurring problem in another 25k rounds.
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wally
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They timing on the XL650 is set by the shell plate detents and the ball and spring in the ram. Unless the cam on the left side is so worn or mispositioned so as to not do a full stroke from detent to detent as the ram moves down there is nothing to adjust other than the tension of the shell plate bolt -- too loose and the shell plate "jumps" to the next detent which can spill powder out of the case (I use bulky powders) or too tight and the rotation binds as the handle moves up.
Now is the ball and spring mis-positioned in the ram because of manufacturing tolerance stack up? If it starts happening again I'll have to send it back to Dillon to be checked. But if the indexing is off, the primer system will most definitely not work right as the de-primed case would not be centered on top of the primer ram. I'm pretty sure this is the tightest tolerance involved in the press.
The hassles of keeping my old Hornady Pro-7 timed well enough for the primer system adjustments to work is why I went with Dillon the next time. I got lot of good years out of the Pro-7 but eventually I was spending more time re-adjusting it than reloading
Initially I choose the Hornady over the Original Dillion 550 (the 650 wasn't out yet) for the auto-endexing.
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wally
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Nope its the plate that came pre-installed from Dillon and matches the one on my .45ACP press in design, but the new one is slightly different. On the two originals (presses purchased about 1 year apart) the indexing holes are drilled through and plugged. The new plate Dillon sent does not have the indexing holes drilled through and thus don't have plugs on the top.
Why would Dillon replace an after market shell plate? You think I'm too stupid to go back to the factory shell plate when I started having problems if I'd had an after market plate? After all I was clever enough to swap dies and test them in a single stage press to show it wasn't a problem with the sizer dies. As I said the cases weren't really all that stuck -- I was able to simply screw in the decapper on the RCBS die after loosening the lock ring and a few turns with no particularly hard effort with a screw driver popped it right out.
I did take pictures of the replacement and the original during the swap but I can't see anything obvious comparing the old and replacement plates, no way you'll see anything in the photos. Obviously there is a lot of wear on the old one that is not there on the replacement (yet) some of it must have been just uneven enough to cause the issue.
The flattest surface I have available is the bed of my milling machine, I can't detect any unevenness in the old plate rotating it on the bed or holding it bottom to bottom with the replacement, so it sure doesn't seem warped or bent.
jmorris
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I didn't think about the chance that could have been the issue except for this thread.
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=195807
and Dillon actually replaced the aftermarket shell plate with a new one at no cost, despite the 1050 not having the same lifetime warranty as the other machines.
I would certainly not call you stupid, just didn't understand why you could post photos of the damaged cases and did not post any of the part that damaged them.
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