Dillon 550 help needed

[Lefty Trigger]

I have been getting my Dillon back up and going again and been having some issues loading 300 Blackout on it, well anything really. The "bent paperclip" looking thing that is suppose to hold tension on the brass at stage 1 don't seem to do a thing it just flops around. When pulling back out of the sizing die and then pressing forward to prime my brass is almost never lined up and it is destroying primers. If I just barely touch the brass it primes every time without issue. I cant really find anything on how to adjust or setup the "paperclip" to keep tension on the brass. What am I missing??

 

[jepp2]

As the shell progresses through the cycle, the brass pin heads hold the case in the proper position. The "bent paperclip" looking thing, basically does the same thing. It springs out of the way to allow the case to be added, and once the case is in the plate opening, the paperclip just makes sure it doesn't move out of position.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

As the shell progresses through the cycle, the brass pin heads hold the case in the proper position. The "bent paperclip" looking thing, basically does the same thing. It springs out of the way to allow the case to be added, and once the case is in the plate opening, the paperclip just makes sure it doesn't move out of position.

Is that "paperclip" supposed to be locked down to hold tension or just flop around? Mine just floats and most of the time never even touches the brass, I think that is my problem.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

You lock it down with the button head screw to hold the case in place

 

[Lefty Trigger]

Mine had a little plastic spacer under the screw head, maybe for shipping? The machine is only about 5 months old. I removed the spacer and locked it down against the brass and it work perfectly. Thanks for the help...

 

[jepp2]

You lock it down with the button head screw to hold the case in place

That press looks brand new!! I don't even see any scuffs on the aluminum plate the brass feeds in on.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

That press looks brand new!! I don't even see any scuffs on the aluminum plate the brass feeds in on.

Mine is too rough for a pic- i stole that pic from a google search on setting up a dillon 550

 

[PatMiles]

Mine is too rough for a pic- i stole that pic from a google search on setting up a dillon 550

So what you're saying is your 550 has "character", kinda like my 650.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

So what you're saying is your 550 has "character", kinda like my 650.

Looks like holy hell man!

 

[Erud]

Just call Dillon. They’ll talk you through how to make it work, and will send you parts if anything is broken or not right.

 

[Jimmy James]

Locked down with allen head screw. I have mine set to where you could get somewhere between a dollar bill and credit card between paper clip and brass. Adjust as needed depending on what caliber you are loading. It looks like a total design afterthought and it probably was.

 

[JPB3]

the wire is supposed to be a couple of thousandths off the base of the case.. If it's touching the base of the case aggressively it can cause misalignment.. And if there's too much clearance between the wire and the case misalignment will also occur..

 

[Lefty Trigger]

I set mine to where you "snap" in a piece of brass but you cant "snap" it back out, no wiggle. Run 50 pieces of 300 Blackout and it never missed one primer. This will also solve my handgun issue as well.

 

[argrendel]

My guess is you will end up being very happy with your 550. I’ve been using one for over 30 years.

 

[ebb]

Erud is right I had trouble with a 450 that was given to me by a friend and called Dillon at 3 on a Saturday afternoon. They tech answered and told us how to make it work and sent some new parts we got for our next loading session. No body beats their service!!!