What to do with Dillion ball handle

[FROGO207]

Dillon being as good as they are at the design part of the operation would have provided the other style of handle as an option I would think if they thought it would benefit the end user to any great extent. Like anything else there is usually a lot of research into the design of a product by the time an end user gets his/her hands on something. Nobody likes being the experiment when it comes to convenience/production, especially with reloading it seems. That is why the Dillon press that works so well out of the box is so popular IMHO. No I do not own a Dillon press or work for them in any way. Personal experience with friends that own them and the many stellar reports on the net are all good indicators however. I almost think that they employ an army of reloading ninjas that sneak into random customers houses at night and adjust their Dillon presses as needed to keep them humming along trouble free. Personally I own a couple turret presses and 3 single stage ones as well. I am not in a hurry to make ammo anyway. It is the process and control of the end product that is the relaxing part to me. Also I tend to shoot up less when I realize what it takes time wise on a SS press to make 300-400 rounds of handgun ammo. YMMV

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

I've put balls on the handles of all my RCBS presses. Much easier on my hands. Also wear leather palmed work gloves without the finger tips.

 

[Constrictor]

I have since found a use for the ball handle.

Use it on the Dillon 550B press. I tried the roller handle, but it just doesn't work for me as good as the crank that came with the press. I will be selling my aluminum handle on ebay most likely.

I have the Dillon Strong Mount as well, and I might try the roller handle again when the press gets moved to its permanent home. Maybe the Strong Mount will help with the disbursement of force, but for now with the press directly on the table the stock ball handle works much better for me.
The last couple nights running .44 Magnum I have had issues with rhythm on the press. Today I changed over to the stock handle, and I ran 100 rounds without fail and without any stopping. The last few nights with the roller handle I have had several issues where nothing seemed to work right.
I know it sounds funny, but it may work better because my hand is more inline with the ram of the press with the stock handle, and with the roller handle my hand is way off center with the press bolted to the table and not the Dillon Strong Mount.

For now Constrictor is right. It works better for me in this configuration.

I told you so!!!!

 

[kelbro]

There's a guy near me that converts billiard balls to press handle knobs. Works great. A little larger than the Dillon or RCBS ball. I like it better than my Dillon roller handle.

One thing that I found makes my roller handle more ergonomic is to not tighten it up all the way. It rotates when you cycle it keeping your wrist in its natural range of motion.

 

[Eb1]

To me whatever makes the machine work without fail is going to win. With the roller handle there were numerous primer flips, jerkiness, and just horrible rhythm. With the stock ball there was a smooth fluid motion, with zero primer flips, and less jerkiness.

I know I am not doing myself any favors for ebay bidders, but some people it might work better. It might work on the strong mount because of the disbursement of force to the table, but for now the stock handle stays.

You know. You would think I'd learned my lesson from all the motorcycle's I have customized my years, and the ones I ride daily that have lasted the longest are the ones that I have kept very, very close to stock.

 

[220slow]

Don't care for the roller on a 550 but love it on a 650. Keep a baseball bat in the car but don't for get the ball and glove. That way you are always ready to play!