New Dillon XL650 Priming Problem

scott2000d

scott2000d

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Yesterday I finally decided to take the plunge and upgrade to a XL650 since my local supplier just got a huge Dillon order in. I got everything I needed to load 9mm and 40S&W. I spent most of the day setting it up and reading all the manuals. That was a job in itself. Quite different from my old LEE turret press. Once I had everything set up to my liking for 9mm I decided to try a run of 100. I found that about 6 of the primers weren't fully seated, which I figure is probably my own fault for not seating them fully, but there were 2 primers that were actually seated sideways. What can cause this and is there a way to prevent it from happening?
Also a few times during that run of 100 some of the primers seated very roughly, to the point that when it seated it spilled the powder out of the other cases. Is this normal, or do I have something not adjusted properly?
As for the primers that aren't fully seated, I'm planning to just pull the bullet and reseat the primer without any powder in it. Is this the best option? I cant see how pushing on a live primer in an assembled cartridge would be a good idea.

I am using Winchester brass, CCI primers, W231, and DRG bullets.

Thanks in advance,
Scott



 
Congrats on the 650, once it's setup and running they run well. Look into getting the roller bearing for the shell plate if you can find it.

Pull them and check the primer pockets on them. See if you have crimped primer pockets or dirt/rough edges on the primer pockets. CCI primers generally work well for me (Federal seem problematic) as do Winchester. Generally it's the edge of the primer somehow getting hung up on the primer pocket lip. I've had best results with Win primers for my 650.
 
Noticed the press is clamped to the desk at the side does it move at all when you push forward ?

Perhaps it does not get a firm forward effort that would cause the primers to not seat and also jump.

I'd also clean the internal of primer tube with an alcohol swab just in case..
 
Thanks, I have been looking at the bearing kits. I have the dimensions so maybe I'll just stop at a local bearing store and grab one and see how that goes. What is the safest way to pull live primers? The manuals say not to. Would having no powder in the hopper, and no primers in the feeder and just take it slow be good?
 
At first it moved a very small amount until it jammed against the back of the bench. Ill try putting another clamp at the front if I can fit it in there.

Another thing I just remembered was that the low primer warning guide rod wouldn't slide freely under its own weight to the bottom of the primer feed so I taped a 230gr 45 boolit to the top of the rod and it seemed to do the trick. Could this be causing any problems?
 
scott2000d said:
At first it moved a very small amount until it jammed against the back of the bench. Ill try putting another clamp at the front if I can fit it in there.

Another thing I just remembered was that the low primer warning guide rod wouldn't slide freely under its own weight to the bottom of the primer feed so I taped a 230gr 45 boolit to the top of the rod and it seemed to do the trick. Could this be causing any problems?
Click to expand...

I use a 45 ACP shell on the top of the rod it fits fine no need to tape and it helps keep enough pressure on the rod to aid in a smooth drop..
 
silverfoxdj said:
I use a 45 ACP shell on the top of the rod it fits fine no need to tape and it helps keep enough pressure on the rod to aid in a smooth drop..
Click to expand...

I tried that one and it wasn't quite enough to push it down. It definitely looked a lot better than the tape though.
 
scott2000d said:
I tried that one and it wasn't quite enough to push it down. It definitely looked a lot better than the tape though.
Click to expand...


Then there may be a problem with the rod rubbing or something else it should be good enough possibly the press jumping around is my thinking.. and you don't need to jam the handle back but seat it with a strong shove..
 
silverfoxdj said:
Then there may be a problem with the rod rubbing or something else it should be good enough possibly the press jumping around is my thinking.. and you don't need to jam the handle back but seat it with a strong shove..
Click to expand...

Ill try cleaning the primer tube this afternoon as you had suggested. Any jumping around of the press would be from the entire bench moving. the board doesn't move now. Maybe I'll also attach the bench to the wall to stop that from moving as well.
 
A 650 (as does any progressive press) requires a solid base/bench and a solid mounting to the base for the repetitive equal movements required for consistent seating of primers and powder throw movements.

For a 650 to feed primers sidewise there must be a misalignment of on or more of the components. If assembled properly there is no room for a primer to rotate in the pockets without jamming up. The first place I would check if you say the primer follower doesn't feed properly (both of my 650's, the plastic rod drops very easily from top to bottom...no weight or push of any kind required). First, remove primer feed mechanism from the machine and empty it, unscrew the knurled knob at the top of the primer feed and remove the primer magazine. When removed inspect it and the other (probably large primer if your loading 9 mil. ) and make sure they are identical in all aspects except inner primer size diameter, if one is different, one of them has a manufacturing defect. If both are the same that's good, now run the primmer follower rod in and out of both to see if or where the restriction is happening...I would bet it is caused by the rod somewhere and not the tubes (a slight curvature of the shaft or a molding ridge not cleaned/trimmed off properly would be my guess).

If all the above is as should be, the next thing I would look at is to make sure the primer pocket wheel is held up flat against the primer feed base by the axle pin spring and held securely by the wishbone locking clip. It should have rotational movement but no sideways flop at all.

Next I would check for burs or something not allowing the primer feed base to fit snuggly into the press so that the primer wheel again fits flat against the press mounting position only allowing rotational movement (no "flop room allowed here either). If all is well here re-install the primer magazine, you should feel a very slight resistance as the brass end of the magazine seats to the bottom of the tube base.

When assembled as designed the 650 cannot feed a primer sideways from the magazine. The only way I can see a 650 feeding a sideways primer is if it is being "bounced" in the pocket after sliding out from underneath the feed housing...again... a solid mounting is required so no press jerking or jumping while being operated.

Nice looking pile of boxes with new goodie...I can still remember feeling like the Red Rider BB gun kid unpacking my first Dillon....and I was 50 yrs old.
 
Attaching to the wall is good, and you can also weigh down your bench by storing your bulk projectiles in that compartment under your press. I store ~20k 9mm projectiles on the lower shelf of my loading bench and it's pretty solid now :)

For the primers not seating fully, are you consciously completing your push stroke to seat your primer? That's something I had to develop a feel for and probably the most problematic area for me. I had to develop the feel for the push stroke properly seating the primer fully, the occasional instance where the old primer got sucked back in to the case in station #1 and my push stroke was just re-seating the old primer (the push stroke is too light and short). And cases with tight primer pockets (sharp resistance followed by fairly normal resistance - and hopefully no BANG lol).

I also had to develop the rhythm where on up stroke of the lever (the turret is moving down and indexing), I paused slightly before I started the push stroke to seat the primer. If I went too fast, sometimes I would be pushing to seat the primer before the case was properly indexed on top of the fresh primer so the primer ended up being crushed in at an angle. Those cases with tight primer pockets (I think they were military) are especially sensitive to this.

scott2000d said:
Ill try cleaning the primer tube this afternoon as you had suggested. Any jumping around of the press would be from the entire bench moving. the board doesn't move now. Maybe I'll also attach the bench to the wall to stop that from moving as well.
Click to expand...
 
I am not familiar with the 650, however I had the same issues with my 550b, and the solution was to align the priming mechanism to the shell plate with the screws loose, and the shell plate down, and then tighten. Yours might be different, but I found that tiny bit of slop was enough to cause friction, and primer bounce. I also found that the occasional primer would bounce on the down stroke, if the cases were not lubed a bit, too. Anything you can do to prevent bounce helps.
 
I'm not sure how the primer tube is as compared to my 1050 but here's a hard lesson I learned... the bottom of the primer tube has a tab that orients and slides into the bottom of the primer blast tube. If you don't realize this and have the primer tube not fully seated you are in for a primer nightmare. Make sure that inner tube is down as far as it needs to be.
 
So I went and took a closer look at the bench and how the press was mounted last night and realized the bench itself really isn't sturdy enough to not move around and wiggle when priming. I'm thinking that this wobble might be enough to cause the not fully seated primers and in some extreme wobbles maybe caused the two primers to not sit properly in the press and get loaded sideways. So I spent most of last night building a new bench just for the dillon that is attached to the wall. This one does not move at all. Hopefully when I get the time to do another test run it will be better. Everything in the primer feed assembly looks to be good, except the guide rod does have a couple very slight bends to it so that is why it doesn't slide freely into the primer tube without a little weight to help it.

 
Bolt a couple of 4x4s to the front corners down to the floor, that'll sturdy it up a tad.

All the times I get sideways primers, it ends up being a rough edge on either the case or the primer.
 
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OP, Next time you're experiencing an issue, Call Dillon!

When you bought the best, you paid for the best customer service.

Their techs will walk you through any issue (they've seen it all) and get it fixed up fast - and sometimes (more often than not for me) it results in a face palm at yourself for doing something wrong.

and - nice bench you built there!
 
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