Those of you that might be wanting to mod a Dillon 550 or 650 for precision reloading might have read that clamping the toolhead is necessary along with a floating die set up.
After a bit of brainstorming about clamping the toolhead in the frame I came up with a very inexpensive solution that does not require any modification of the frame.
I tapped the toolhead holes with an 8-32 tap and installed 8-32x.250" dog head setscrews in my Whidden toolhead. Now it's a case of sliding the toolhead in the frame and snugging down the setscrews with a 5/64" hex head wrench through the top holes in the frame. Doing so pushes the toolhead up in the frame slot and locks it in place using the bottom frame holes.
EASY PEASY!
The 8-32 tap requires a #29 drill (.1360"). The factory Dillon toolhead alignment holes are .1260" and will need to be drilled out with the #29 drill. The Whidden toolhead alignment holes are .140" and can be tapped as is. Take the time to start the tap straight and use cutting oil.
The 8-32x.250" setscrews should cost around 30 cents each at the hardware store so each toolhead will set you back less than $1.00.
After a bit of brainstorming about clamping the toolhead in the frame I came up with a very inexpensive solution that does not require any modification of the frame.
I tapped the toolhead holes with an 8-32 tap and installed 8-32x.250" dog head setscrews in my Whidden toolhead. Now it's a case of sliding the toolhead in the frame and snugging down the setscrews with a 5/64" hex head wrench through the top holes in the frame. Doing so pushes the toolhead up in the frame slot and locks it in place using the bottom frame holes.
EASY PEASY!
The 8-32 tap requires a #29 drill (.1360"). The factory Dillon toolhead alignment holes are .1260" and will need to be drilled out with the #29 drill. The Whidden toolhead alignment holes are .140" and can be tapped as is. Take the time to start the tap straight and use cutting oil.
The 8-32x.250" setscrews should cost around 30 cents each at the hardware store so each toolhead will set you back less than $1.00.
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