Update: Dilon 550 with powder check

[Steve Smith]

As you all know I decided to add a powder check to my 550b. I had the toolplate milled where needed and assembled the unit. I must say that trying to get it in and aligned properly was a royal PITA with the small toolhead of the 550. Its not coming out soon, that's for sure.

One problem that I ran into was an interference between part of the check die and a lower part of the powder measure. It is a clamp that holds the top (functional) part of the check die in place. With my powder measure in its proper position for full movement with a .223, I found that it interfered with that clamp on the check die. No biggie, nothing that a dremel can't fix. I took the corner off the clamp and it was finished.

Me being the brainiac that I am, I lost my instructions, so I had to get the die set up without Dillon's help (ok, I coulda called them, but I'm a man, dammit.) Got it roughed in pretty quick. I found that the die is pretty darn persnickety and will reject (buzz) on a case with just a little too much or too little powder. I didn't take the time to find out how little, but my Mark I eyeball tells me its a gnat's hair difference. Maybe .3 grains. Knowing that my Dillon holds closer than that anyway, it is most likely a volumetric difference than a weight difference. Either way, this will be an added blessing for my 600 yard loads! (I have shot some killer scores at 600 using the Dillon and I am definitely going to continue).

The ergonomics are not what they were. I'm now seating with my right hand on the right side of the press. Feels weird, but after a hundred or so I had it down. Just gotta reach around the handle every time.

 

[Steve Smith]

No comments?

 

[Edward429451]

Got any pics of it? Will it work with extruded powders? Hows it work? Is it caliber specific or transferable with a switch of drop tubes?

No comments, just questions!

 

[Steve Smith]

I can take a few pics tonight. It works with any powder type because all it is is a plunger with a buzzer on it. If it goes too far it buzzes, and if it doesn't go far enough it buzzes. You set the center of the "no-buzz" area and the threshold is very small (yet to be determined, but SMALL). Of course the wider the case, the greater the threshold. In my case I have power high in the shoulder so it doesn't take much for it to buzz. Just a different way the powder settles, maybe, but that's fine. I like it picky.

With the 550 it would be a minor pain to move it from one toolhead to another. You get three plungers with the kit, one for .22's, one for .30's, and one for .45 calibers and larger.

 

[swifter]

Steve,

I'd be interested in some pics, too. I gave up on loading rifle on my 550 a long time back, but it is not cast in stone... Always willing to learn new tricks...
Thanks,
Tom

 

[Steve Smith]

Here's the toolhead.

Here you can see what has to be cut out so the activation bar will reach the shellplate.

 

[Steve Smith]

activation bar

Here's the activation bar doing its thing. You can see the buzzer is hinged and the bar pushes it up and over into the top of the plunger.

 

[Steve Smith]

plunger

Here's the plunger. It plunges. The brass side goes into the neck of your case and "floats" on the powder as the case comes up into the die. That essentially pushes the other end (aluminum with the cut around it) up to meet the buzzer.

 

[Steve Smith]

good load


This is a good load, and the buzzer will not buzz.

 

[Steve Smith]

hot load

I intentionally loaded this one hot, and as you can see the buzzer trigger is against the plunger. It was really loud when I did this. The same will happen if you make a light load.

 

[Steve Smith]

Dang, these digital cameras are addictive. Here's a .223 with an 80 grain SMK.

 

[boing]

I've never seen a powder check in person, and here's the thing I don't understand about this modification:

The cut-out in the tool head is between stages, so how does the plunger get into the case to touch on the dropped powder charge?

Is it offset from the new cut-out location, putting the plunger itself over the case at station three, with seating being moved to station four?

 

[Steve Smith]

Take a look at the pics again. You see the plunger that I hold in my hand? That goes into the die and down through it. The black activation bar (that passes through the cut out) only presses against the shellplate (beside the shellplate actually) and rocks the buzzer over to the plunger. The plunger itself is in the die in stage three. Seating moves to stage four.

Hmm...my digital camera will take up to 10 minutes of video...I wonder how I could post about 30 seconds?


Hmm...I need to post a few more pics. No wonder you're confused. Tonight.

 

[uglymofo]

I'm not meaning this in a contentious or derogatory manner, but I think one of the best features about the Hornady LNL is the extra 5th station. The whole setup (not including reloading dies) ran me $586 for 5 caliber changes (including 20 bushings, 4 'common' powder die changes and 1 micro-adjusting rifle powder die and 5 drop linkages) and an RCBS lockout die. I can switch calibers and start reloading in 2-3 minutes. Without a case feeder or primer feeder, I can maintain a steady unhurried pace of 300-350 rounds an hour. I don't have to have a separate press for rifle; so far, the Hornady powder measure yields .308's capable of .5MOA, even with IMR 4064.

Granted I had some teething problems with the priming system, but it turned out to be user error with military primer crimped cases.

In my research, Hornady was the best option for the money; my next choice would have been the Dillon 650, but only under duress at their prices. That said, this modification sure looks like the best way around a 4-stage system if a powder check is the 5th station desired.

 

[Steve Smith]

You are absolutely correct that the 5th stage is a great thing to have, and the Hornady LNL provides that at a lower cost than a Dillon 650. Too bad that dang primer system on the Hornady is so flaky. If they could get that thing to 100% like the Dillon is, I'd probably buy one, and I'd definitely recommend it. Remember, many of us have had our 550's for a long time. The Hornady LNL is pretty new, so we missed the boat. This mod helps us update our somewhat obsoleted press.

 

[uglymofo]

I was one that cursed the entire Hornady employee geneology over their priming system, when I had my troubles with the priming system. After hours and hours and hours of frustration, I finally got on the phone to tech support.

"Coincidence" of reloading for 45acp and .308 first, caused a blind spot in my approach. Hindsight showed that there was nothing wrong (at least) with my press. I have loaded about 5000 rounds of 44mag, 50AE, and 45-70 without any special adaptations and never had any problems of any kind with the press.

It turned out that I wasn't swaging the milsurp primer pockets enough for the Hornady. That wasn't a problem on my old Dillon 450; it had the leverage, and I just cranked on the handle to force the primers in. Since it was a true "semi-progressive" I could always see when I shaved brass on the Dillon, and I'd just clean it out. The Hornady wouldn't tolerate the brass shavings in the primer cup, and being a fully progressive press, I'd never see the shavings until they fouled up (constantly) with my milsurp 45acp (and .308 Lake City). It never occurred to me to relate the two operations, since the Dillon priming system had greater tolerances and allowed it to function with extra muscle.

This was solved with a call to techsupport; the Hornady tech asked me if I was swaging the primer pockets, and I said "yes". Then he asked,"how much?", to which I replied, "Huh??" Opening the pockets just a couple more thousandths eliminated all the problems. Duh. Maybe I should stop for directions sooner, too...

 

[Steve Smith]

Reading the recent "Do you still like your Hornady" thread proves otherwise. Its still haveing problems and apparently you're lucky.

 

[uglymofo]

Hmm. I think my response would be, yes, the public reception to the LNL's priming system is truthfully, 'lukewarm'. I would certainly point out that it is obviously designed by an engineer who's never used his designed product (like a goddamned Blaupunkt radio. Are they still using those in MBZ's?). What a joke; fiddle with this to load that, add a brass rod to make it dependable...why NOT just copy the mechanics of the Dillon 450's priming system? Change a couple of dimensions, adapt it for a progressive shellplate, and done! No Rube Goldberg, and an infallible system that could steal the masses from Dillon. But, like a Blaupunkt, ya gotta mess with this to tune that... I guess I'll consider myself lucky and not look back.