Dillon SDB Damaging Cases

Chilidip

Chilidip

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I'm having an issue with my SDB damaging some cases in station #2. At first I thought I was simply not getting the case all the way into the plate at station 1 but watching closely confirmed the damage is happening at Station #2. I recently adjusted to add a bit more bell but this was happening prior to that as well. I'd say it happens to maybe 1 out of every 10 cases which is starting to eat into my brass supply. Anyone got any thoughts? Sorry for the blurry pic it's the best I could do on short notice with my phone.

9mm_case.jpg
 
Its not moving into position properly, or your shell holder may not be seated in position all the way. There may be some dirt or something causing it not to be in position .
 
I don't have a dillon so I'm not sure how their indexing system works but something similar used to happen to my Hornady lnl and I had to adjust the indexing. Looks like the case isn't centered to the die and it hits the mouth of the die bending the case and stopping the press.
 
Chilidip said:
I'm having an issue with my SDB damaging some cases in station #2. At first I thought I was simply not getting the case all the way into the plate at station 1 but watching closely confirmed the damage is happening at Station #2. I recently adjusted to add a bit more bell but this was happening prior to that as well. I'd say it happens to maybe 1 out of every 10 cases which is starting to eat into my brass supply. Anyone got any thoughts? Sorry for the blurry pic it's the best I could do on short notice with my phone.

9mm_case.jpg
Click to expand...

After the adjustment you made , do you bring the shell up into the die and tighten the lock ring
 
caperaway said:
I don't have a dillon so I'm not sure how their indexing system works but something similar used to happen to my Hornady lnl and I had to adjust the indexing. Looks like the case isn't centered to the die and it hits the mouth of the die bending the case and stopping the press.
Click to expand...

My guess it's the Indexing assembly
 
I appreciate the feedback. I'm brand new to reloading and haven't taken apart or adjusted anything at the time of the original post as I bought the machine used and don't have a full understanding of the breakdown of the machine as yet. I took off the shellplate this morning and cleaned out some shavings/slivers under the plate. The shellplate itself didn't seem loose but it took nearly zero effort to break the screw free so it certainly wasn't overtight either.

I'm searching online trying to find a youtube video showing the adjustment to Station two that PitBull1973 mentions and if I can't find one I'll get on the phone with Dillon.

As far as the indexing if that was the issue would the other stations not also be out of alignment and causing issues?
 
Normally if the indexing is off it will effect all the positions. On a Lee press there is a small replaceable piece of plastic, that acts as a guide for the indexing rod, it wears over time, but I'm not familiar with the Dillon presses.
Take a close look at the die to make sure its not damaged or has something stuck in it.
 
So my inexperience will show here but after taking to Dillon we've come to the cause of the problem. When I bought the press used I was assured the press was setup for 9mm and ready to go, but it appears the previous owner had mixed up his locating pins. I never questioned the fact that my station 2 had a #2 pin while the others had a #3 as the person I bought it from is experienced and I'm not. Apparently you need 3's for 9mm. :redface::redface::redface:
 
Chilidip said:
So my inexperience will show here but after taking to Dillon we've come to the cause of the problem. When I bought the press used I was assured the press was setup for 9mm and ready to go, but it appears the previous owner had mixed up his locating pins. I never questioned the fact that my station 2 had a #2 pin while the others had a #3 as the person I bought it from is experienced and I'm not. Apparently you need 3's for 9mm. :redface::redface::redface:
Click to expand...

That's great news glad you resolved it
 
So as a follow up for some other newbie down the road who uses the search function. I got my new #3 locating pin and excitedly headed to my reloading area to crank out some rounds. Now instead of damaging every 10th case or so I was crushing every single case, WTF! Further inspection while cycling the press through it's stages showed that the case was in fact misaligned as it cycled up into the die on station 2.

Pulled everything apart and inspected the die and all seemed well, no burrs or crap stuck in there. Going back to Pitbull1973's original thought on running a case up and then tightening the lock ring I pulled out the manual but couldn't find any reference to anything similar for the SDB. Went online and read through that portion of the 550 manual and while the SDB is a different locking setup the theory should be the same so I backed everything off set it up and ran a case up and then tightened everything back down. Ran through about 25 rounds as I was out of time at this point but it appears to be problem resolved now. Thanks again for the feedback.
 
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Sometimes a small adjustment is all it needs to get it working properly. Ive found that out trying to get dies set up before.
 
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