Dillon Super 1050 - Primer seating problems

A

albog

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North GTA
Hey, Super 1050 owners in the GTA area or anywehere else! After successfully loading about 500 rounds on my brand new Super 1050, all of a sudden I am having problems with primer seating - out of ten loaded rounds, 6-7 come out of the priming station with either no primer or primer seated incorrectly (protruding, crushed, etc.). Also, when that happens, I am usually having a problem with indexing, the machine sticks midway through the index run - I assume primers are getting lodged under the shell plate or somewhere else.

Any ideas how to fight this thing? Please be very detailed in your suggestions, I am not mechanically savvy at all, and that thing looks awfully complicated even to remove and replace the toolhead and shell plate.

Input will be greatly appreciated.
 
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albog said:
Hey, Super 1050 owners in the GTA area or anywehere else! After successfully loading about 500 rounds on my brand new Super 1050, all of a sudden I am having problems with primer seating - out of ten loaded rounds, 6-7 come out of the priming station with either no primer or primer seated incorrectly (protruding, crushed, etc.). Also, when that happens, I am usually having a problem with indexing, the machine sticks midway through the index run - I assume primers are getting lodged under the shell plate or somewhere else.

Any ideas how to fight this thing? Please be very detailed in your suggestions, I am not mechanically savvy at all, and that thing looks awfully complicated even to remove and replace the toolhead and shell plate.

Input will be greatly appreciated.
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Get on the phone to Dillon, they will walk you through how to remedy your problem.

Your owners manual will explain how to strip your machine, read it.

It sounds like your machine is crushing primers, you must keep the priming system, especially the track where the primer shuttle travels, clean of primer dust. I use compressed air, a can of Dustoff will do the same. If you do not keep this area clean it could lead to a primer magazine explosion (it happened to me). You are wearing eye protection aren't you? I wasn't, the superior safety construction of the 1050 kept me from being blinded. Don't take the chance.

Dillon has the best warranty in the business, call them. You may also pm me if you like for more help.

Cheers
 
Weak spots in the priming system are the adjustment pin backs out(on the tool head) and the pivot for the primer seater backs out(on the side of the press), other issue is the pin in the press under the shell plate fills up with crud and does not move(likely your problem form the description). Oh yeah the holder for the seating punch can back out (under the sliding transfer bar for the primers) you have to remove the primer tube to check this.

hopefully this is of some help
 
One other thing the linkage on the back that goes into the primer slider may have slipped down, check to see if it is bottoming out mid stroke.
 
The problem seems to have been a cascade of minor issues.

I was able to have a look last night, and there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the press set up. As is normal from the factory set up, the press was a little bit over greased, and the indexing ball was a bit sticky.

The ratchet's frame mounted catch had broken, which is a moot point as it's a part I remove as redundant anyway.

I backed out the sizing die and swaging dies, and tightened them up properly. (They might have been perfect before, but I wanted to start from scratch)

The primer slide came out and was cleaned. The magazine was removed for inspection and found to be perfect, no torn or damaged spring lips.

With that taken care of, we started feeding brass and ran into problems quickly.

It appears that the source of the problem was primers being pulled back into the primer pockets.

Albog is loading .40, and like many other users has concerns about getting oversized brass. He's using the Henning undersized sizing die. It doesn't have the spring and snap ring system of the Dilllon, and it's primer punch seems to be snagging the odd primer and draws it back into the pocket.

When that happens, it's a cascade of fail. At the next station, with an obstructed primer pocket, the swager can't displace the metal, and the press can't cycle full stroke. The case being primed winds up with a smeared or tipped/missing primer because the punch can't insert it all the way. Damaged primers then wind up being ejected or leave debris in the priming system, creating further problems.

My suggestion is to shelve the Henning die, and use the Dillon in station 2. I'd also switch from the Dillon crimp die to the Lee Factory Crimp in station 8, which addresses some of the same oversized brass issues as the Henning die.
 
I've had the same sort of problem with 6.5x55 in my RCBS press. Some brands of factory ammo seem to have a primer that sticks to the decapping pin, so they get pulled back in. For the RCBS Pro 2000 I switched to a lee universal decapping die in the first station and sized in the second.
 
Primer seating problems on Dillon Super 1050

Gentlemen, thanks very much for your input, it helped a lot. Special thanks to Canuck223 who actually took time to travel to my place and help with disassembling the press, adjustments and suggestions as to how to get rid of the problem. A very classy act, much appreciated.

As suggested, I'm going to replace the Henning sizing/decapping die with the original Dillon and compensate with Lee Factory Crimp Die in Station 8 to size the rounds so there are no issues with feeding them into my gun's chamber, which is very tight (that's what actually prompted the use of the Henning die). Another observation made by Canuck223 also proved to be right - primers may have been displacing from the primer slide pocket during the rough operation of the handle, as the bench with the mounted press moves slightly if force is applied to operate the handle. I tried to load approximately 80 rounds concentrating on operating the handle as smooth as possible and it went without a hitch.

Seriously considering acquiring a Ponsness electric motor for operating the handle and a bullet feeder. Very pricey, and I have to be sure the press operating without any problems before I buy them.
 
albog said:
Seriously considering acquiring a Ponsness electric motor for operating the handle and a bullet feeder. Very pricey, and I have to be sure the press operating without any problems before I buy them.
Click to expand...

You won't be sorry your did...

Reloading is a chore for me at the best of times...but the 1050 with bullet feeder and auto drive sure makes it more tolerable...
 
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