What DON'T you like about your XL650?

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I've been using a LnL AP for the last 6 years. I'm looking at moving to a 650. I don't want to start another red v blue thread, there are more than enough of those, but I'm interested in things that you don't like about the 650. I don't think the spent primer system on the 650 is very good, although I know there are upgrades available. I'd like to know if there are more issues, and if there are reasonably quick and inexpensive ways to address them.
Set up the way I'd want it, a 650 would be around $1400. That's serious coin, at least around here, and I'd like to know more about issues before make that move.

Thanks to all.
 
If I recall (correct me if I'm wrong) that the 650 will advance a primer weather it's used or not on a empty station. It's designed around the brass feeder so its a must, which is not a bad thing.
 
There isn't one bad thing I can say about the 650 and I've had it for 10 years.

Had a 550 for 3 years and can say the weak point is not being able to have a powder check die.

Having owned a 650 and 1050 I have never had a complaint about anything operational on these presses. Both serve me well.
 
I bought my 650 back in August as an upgrade to the lnl. While i do like the 650 better i did have upgrades that i bought to make it run better or to fix things i didnt like about it. Like the spent primer catch system or the primer advance. I have purchased the primer stop switch, the roto cam actuator, live primer catch system( before the primer stop switch), and shell plate bearing kit. I probably have about $100 in the upgrades and in my opinion was well worth the cost.
 
How I ordered by 650:
Roller Handle Upgrade
Case Feeder
Mr Bullet Feeder

Things I changed on my 650 for aftermarket:
Spent primer upgrade
Lighter weight Detent Ball and spring
Shell Plate bearing
Replacement live primer catch

TBH I wish I can just gone straight to the 1050, the additional station would mean I could use the powder check with a seperate seating die and the MBF. Also I could swage my primer pockets, which is handy as I get a lot of brass with tight primer pockets.

Since the SHOT announcement I am seriously looking at the Mark 7 Evolution due to the electronic powder measure, and the primer collator. It also has the advantage that right now I keep a tool head complete with powder measure per load, so I have less adjustment when I switch loads, but I think with possibly I can go to one tool head per caliber sharing the powder measure with the Evolution.
 
It's a real PITA to keep the primer tubes filled, which is looking like it will cost me another $350 to remedy by buying a RF100.

So far I've bought aftermarket:
Spent primer upgrade (Awesome)
Lighter weight Detent Ball, spring and bronze bearing/bolt (does help with powder spillage)
Replacement live primer catcher (Awesome)

I'm debating a bullet feeder now.
 
Hoopjj said:
I bought my 650 back in August as an upgrade to the lnl. While i do like the 650 better i did have upgrades that i bought to make it run better or to fix things i didnt like about it. Like the spent primer catch system or the primer advance. I have purchased the primer stop switch, the roto cam actuator, live primer catch system( before the primer stop switch), and shell plate bearing kit. I probably have about $100 in the upgrades and in my opinion was well worth the cost.
Click to expand...

Hoopjj,
Can you send a link to the primer stop switch and roto cam actuator? I've seen the primer catch system and shell plate bearing, but these are new to me.

This is exactly the information I'm looking for. Thank you very much.
 
You can find them on eBay. There is a cottage industry that popped up there, making upgrades for all sorts of reloading equipment. Along with a few different ways to light them up. From stick on LED strips to LED circuit loads perfect sized to stick onto the Dillon tool heads.
 
Only thing I don't like about the 650 is changing priming systems and that I only have two, rather than somewhere around 10. Been threatening to try a SDB for years now.
 
Blue68f100 said:
If I recall (correct me if I'm wrong) that the 650 will advance a primer weather it's used or not on a empty station. It's designed around the brass feeder so its a must, which is not a bad thing.
Click to expand...

You can remove the cam that advances the primers. Very easy, just one bolt.
 
I have added a few add-ons to my XL650 as well, and I guess they address features that I wish the XL650 had from the factory, but then again, I am a sucker for gadgets!!! I bought the Case Feeder from Dillon, so I don't really consider that an upgrade, but you can call it that if you would like.

1) Spent primer catch system (mine has a plastic tube that leads to a 2L bottle on the floor)
2) Live Primer catch system (small plastic bottle)
3) Primer stop switch (I love this thing!!!)
4) Light-weight detent ball/spring
5) Roto cam accuator
6) InLine Fabrication Roller Handle
7) InLine Fab Skylight
8) InLine Fab Ultramount

I also recently bought the $50 Franklin Armory Vibra-Prime to load the primer tubes. Works amazingly well for SPP, and does a pretty good job with a few hiccups here and there for LPP. Overall a great device that I could not live without now that I have been using it for a while. Much less expensive than the $400 Dillon units.
 
I bought a used one (at least 3rd hand) last year. I freakin' love it. I don't have any dislikes so far, although the primer stop switch is of interest to me. Other than having Dillon send me a couple of replacement parts for bent/broken old stuff (for which I was charged $0 despite telling them I bought it used and was willing to pay), the only thing I've really had to mess with is that primers were seating right at flush or barely below. I like a nice, full/deep seat on primers. There's no adjustment for that on the 650... but it's not hard to change! I just attached a small stack of the stick part of some post-it notes to the bast that the priming arm gets pushed against at the bottom of the stroke... now it seats a little deeper. I had the post-it notes on hand and already had an x-acto knife to cut out a little .75"x.75" square from the stick part, so this was also a $0 fix.
 
only thing I've really had to mess with is that primers were seating right at flush or barely below. I like a nice, full/deep seat on primers.
Click to expand...

Make sure the primer seater thing is actually screwed all the way into the bottom of the platform... the only time I've had what you describe happen was on my first 650 after over 100k rounds, and it started backing out. If it is threaded all the way in, it should crush those puppies as far in as you want.

My biggest functional gripe with the 650 is the reliability of getting cases actually fed correctly into station #1. About once every hundred rounds, at least, I will have one jam at the top of the feed ramp. Most of the time it is a one second quick fix without taking my right hand off the handle. Maybe one time in 5 or more, the case will pop all the way out and launch somewhere.

It isn't a "big" deal, but, for instance it is enough of an issue that I would never pay money to automate a 650.

I've also snapped virtually every spring on it at some point, but I guess that is just the nature of springs.
 
Upgraded to the Dillon roller handle when I ordered it. Personal preference and not a need. I think it should come standard on a quality machine such as the XL650.

Frankford Arsenal Vibra Prime. Already had it from when I first bought my Hornady LnL AP. No way I’m stabbing at all those primers. Worth its weight in gold. Couldn’t imagine keeping up with primers without it.

Case feeder. Again, couldn’t imagine keeping up without it.

Powder hopper is big enough for my needs. Just barely. Do have to keep an eye on it. Seems to need refilling a lot.

That little cartridge case catch bin? Had to upgrade that, too. A low profile tub that’ll hold hundreds of rounds. So busy filling case feeder, powder, and primers that I’ve got no time for that. As the rounds pile up below the chute I can just push the pile further over in the tub.

I haven’t seen a real need for any of the other Ebay “upgrades”. I get it that some people have to spread a little love to their toys. It’s a hobby (for most) and supposed to be fun.

Price is the biggest sticking point. But don’t spend “almost as much as a Dillon” and at the end of the day not have a Dillon. That’s called regret. I bought mine to keep up with production on 9x19. Plus, 9x19 is tapered making it more difficult on my arthritic shoulder. 650 leverage and smooothnesss takes away that pain, too. Lower volume straight walled cases like 38/357, 45acp, and finish loading on 223 is easily doable on my Loadmaster. A little love on that press and its cousin the Pro1000 makes them a real hoot to use. Mine are perfectly reliable.
 
COST
The powder dispenser works, but is overly complex and expensive. I sold mine and bought 3 Lee powder drums for about the same cost that I leave attached to the tool head. Makes caliber changes a lot easier.
Live primer catch is ok, but could be better. I prefer something tape around the edges like a fence to the small bottle. I've never been real comfortable with primers in a bottle.....
Primer change is a pain.
Dillon should have updated the 650 to include the roller cams instead of greased ramps long ago.
Case and primer feed stop tools should be included in the package instead of making me make them out of paper clips.
Cost.

Honestly, I love mine, but it has weak spots/flaws/opportunities for improvement. But I have never owned a product that I didn't think could use some tweak or mod.
 
What DON'T you like about your XL650?
Click to expand...

That I don't have one.

But, even though I am a life-long RCBS guy, from everything I have read on forums like this one, if I were to make the jump from a single stage RCBS press to a progressive, it would probably be a Dillon 650, so the thing I don't like about it is that I don't have one.
 
I wish it had a swage station and positive primer seat depth that is adjusted vs felt. I would sell my 1050’s then. The 650 has the most reliable primer feed system of any press I have used. When people complain about it, it’s because they always feed primers. Not a problem if that’s what you are expecting.
 
On my xl650 I didn't like the design of how the bolt held down the rotating shell plate. Luckily that was a less than $10 fix from McMaster Carr for a bearing and 2 hardened washers.
I didn't like the spent primer cup design. Fortunately I was able to fix that with a relatively inexpensive purchase from http://www.dillonupgrades.com/ (I think I used their ebay store)
In that same purchase I also bought their fix for the live primer "ski jump" and the case feeder crud catcher.

One thing I will say that people for some reason overlook when it comes to progressive presses is the cost. If you own a progressive press you're going to put thousands of dollars in reloading materials through said press. Complaining about a few small purchases to improve the press is negligible. If you're worried about a few dollars, heck even a few hundred dollars, when it comes to the cost/improving of a progressive press, you shouldn't be reloading progressive.
 
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