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Question for the reloader who uses a Dillon XL650.

Just brought this machine for pistol reloading and wondering where best to put it. This is an old picture of my reloading bench, the only difference today is I currently have a Lee Classic Cast Breech Lock press on the right of the Lee turret press.

Thinking of putting the XL650 on the left edge of the table where that Hornaday concentricity gauge was sitting. The idea being that it would be less clutter than putting it on the right side plus I can get in closer on the left side and check powder before bullet seating. It would also allow me to put my rifles on the bench for cleaning. Would appreciate feedback from someone who uses this press – thanks!
 

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Big thing is being able to operate it easily. I personally would clamp it down in different locations until you find what suits you and your loading style best. As food for thought, I have several presses etc mounted to individual 3/4 cabinet grade plywood pieces(many layers-no voids) that slide in & out of a track. No clutter if you don't want it there, simply remove it & put it in a cabinet. Pretty simple & slick.
 
My choices are pretty slim - either left or right and certainly not in the middle. The idea of making it removable and putting it on a plywood piece that can slide on a rail is intriguing - I think I have seen photos of this setup somewhere. Can you tell me where you brought the rail and how steady is the setup?
 
I'm right handed and have always mounted my progressives (550B, then the 650) on the left side of the bench - give yourself about 12 - 18" of counter top to the left of the press for work space and you should be good to go. If your 650 is on a strong mount, you should be able to C clamp it down and play with positioning until you find exactly where you want it.
 
I think that is not a bad idea to start. I did get the strong mount, have lots of that good quality plywood (I am also a woodworker), and of course many C-clamps. One question I have for you guys is how heavy is the setup with the case feeder i.e. how easy is it to move once it is setup?
 
Its about 40lb I'd guess - its not that heavy, but its an unbalanced weight with the case feeder sitting up high like it does. I had my 650 mounted on a board for a while and when I needed to move it, I just took the case feed bowl off - just the blue part that sits at the top. Its not that much to pull off and re-install.


If you're a big guy, you shouldn't have problems moving it around. I've got a quirky/bad back so I don't take chances with mine.
 
Thanks! That’s what I was wondering about i.e. the unbalanced weight… I too have a quirky/bad back and so have to watch out for these things.
 
There is just one screw and the bowl lifts straight up and off - takes me longer to find the right wrench that it does to remove the bowl. Its only a matter of re-aligning the cartridge chute and drop tube while setting the bowl back on and replacing the screw. Again, takes longer to read this than to do it.

Its an awesome machine, I just wished I had bought this first, but I got my 550 so long ago it had a serial number on it and you had to buy from a dealer, 650 were not even on the drawing board back then. Lots has changed since then.....
 
Thanks! Looking forward to it. Brought it from Brian and the "extra" parts came today and my guess is the actual machine will come tomorrow. Looking forward to getting one round per pull of the handle! ;D
 
I prefer mine mounted on the right side of the bench. Mostly depends on preference. Just be sure your mount and bench is rock solid or you'll have operating problems with the 650. I'm not sure moving the 650 around is a good idea. I'd opt for a good solid permanent mount in your location of choice.
Gandolf
 
Thanks!

Assuming that I have nothing mounted, I would likely have put it on the right side too. To be fair though, I would say that I am more of a serious precision rifle reloader than a pistol ammo reloader, the latter which is what I brought the Dillon for, thus the reason to keep the Lee Classic Cast Breech Lock press on the “better” side. I brought the Dillon mostly to not load a huge amount of ammo but to baby my old shoulders so that I can reload and shoot for more years – the Lee turret has worked very well for me but 4 pulls/round was just getting a bit much….

I also can’t say that I am not concern about moving the 650 around, most of my concern would be potential accidents but at least in the short term, it might be a good way to go just to figure out where best put it. I build the bench and it is rock solid and weights a ton because of what I store on the bottom – probably not hard to imagine what that would be….LOL!
 
JLOW, one of the reasons I would want the press securely locked down is the 650 has a tendency to shake the brass when it indexes and locks into the index ball. This will shake a little powder out of your cases if you don't develop a smooth, consistent rhythm. One of the tricks I use is my middle finger to pick up the case that you will be placing the bullet on before the shell-plate locks into the index ball. My thumb and forefinger already has the bullet and places it on the case as it stops. This is the method that I use to keep powder from being shaken out of the case. You will have to work up your own way but the key is to smooth out the lock up on the shell-plate.
Enjoy your new press and You will find it is really a time saver. I use it for several calibers when I am not after precision ammo. Good luck, Bob
 
There's a bearing set you can buy on ebay thatcleans up the wiggling you speak of. Its not expensive. Try loosening the shell plate bolt just a hair to see if that fixes your powder shaking problem.
 
Thanks guys! Yea, I’ve been hearing about that problem….

My only potential advantage is I use Tightgroup for my pistol and so less likely to spill that 3.3 grain of powder when the press indexes – at least that is what I am hoping. I am also pretty anal when it comes to reloading and have that hard and fast “always check powder before placing bullet” rule and so I might not be able to use your method unless I am reading that wrong.

If I go the temporary method and I have not yet decided, I will be locking the piece of plywood the strong mount is attached to in the front with a C-clamp and in the back with this puppy that I brought 20 years ago. You attach it to your table top via a nut and bolt and then it can clamp things down on the top like crazy. Very useful with a drill press that likes to throw things…LOL! ;D
 

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I've had my 650 for quite some time now. At first found the powder spill annoying but once I found the proper adjustment on the shell-plate screw it's pretty much gone. I use power pistol for my 9mm loads and it fills the case pretty full. It used to spill when the plate was snapped into position by the locating ball/spring below it. By snugging down just a very small amount on this screw so the ball could still center the case in it's station, but not snap into place, the problem became a non-problem.

The trick is to adjust, then lock the center screw. Turn the shell-plate and readjust to the point where it has just a very slight amount of resistance when you turn it by finger tip but will still freely let the detent ball position the plate as it moves over it. Just remember that the center bolt lock screw will cause the center bolt to tighten when locked so you have to work into the proper adjustment. The center bearing just makes this adjustment easier as it removes the friction between center bolt shoulder and the top of the shell plate.


BTW, be sure to clean up the shell-plate and it's support mechanism frequently. Everything from bits of powder, carbon, and even flakes of skin, can accumulate there and alter it's free movement.


If this is your first Dillon Progressive, you're going to love it. Just make sure it's FIRMLY mounted. Dillion is very much to the point on this. There's not all that much force involved in operating the handle but it's repetetive and can loosen the mount screws up over time. Through-bolt, no lag screws.
 
Thanks! Yea, I am pretty sure with Titegroup, since the 3.3 grains only fill the case about 1/4 full and spills are unlikely.

Proper adjustment is always a good idea as is periodic maintenance; one cannot use the press indefinitely and expect everything to work perfectly.
 
First, I want to thank everyone that has written in with ideas and suggestions – much appreciated.

I have thought about this quite a bit and have decided that I am going about this the wrong way. …

Although precision rifle reloading is the most important activity for me, it makes much more sense to mount the Dillon on the right edge permanently and put the two small Lee press on a wooden platen so that they can be moved and clamp down when they are needed – it’s just so much easier and safer plus finding a "garage" for the small press when they are not being use would be much easier than for the Dillon.

I only use my Lee single stage for priming, depriming, sizing, and with the LCD. The only activity out of these that involves any force is the resizing, but since I use Imperial lube, there is only modest pressure so putting the Lee on a platen and just clamping them down when I need it will suffice for these activities. The rail is a nice idea but probably overkill for the two Lee presses. FWIW, I already use the platen/C-clamp method when I use a Wilson trimmer, the Hornady concentricity gauge, and the K&M arbor press with force measurment and that method works flawlessly.
 
jlow-

A suggestion based on what I did in a previous house to maximize bench space. I cut several High Density Particle board squares about 12" X 12". I placed the first on on a position of he bench I intended to use for things like my Case Trimmer, Lee Progressive press, and my Rock Chucker II single stage press.

I drilled holes in each corner both through the square and in turn the bench. Holes were 5/16" bolt sized. I installed T-Nuts on the bottom of the bench and recessed the bolt head area using a spade bit (best to do this first) so the bolt heads don't protrude above the top surface of he cabinet grade particle board squares.

I then mounted my various items directly to the board using t-nuts in the appropriate size with bolts that were just long enough to use maximum threads in the T-Nuts without protruding. I made very slight recesses for the T-Nut heads on the bottom before drilling the holes.

My first "base board" became the pattern for the rest of the boards when I drilled the corner holes for the securing bolts.

This setup allowed me to change out the piece of equipment by merely removing the four corner bolts and then secure the next piece I was going to use with the same bolts.

The boards were deep enough so that I could merely line up the pre-mounted items on a shelf and to make sure they didn't accidentally get knocked off, a small C-Clamp or Spring Clamp would hold them to the shelf.

The 3/4" Cabinet Grade particle board is strong stuff and even when sizing 30-06 brass (F/L) I never had an issue. If that's a concern then Steel plate could be substituted for those Heavy Duty items.

I think you're right though. The 650 is not a practical item to "garage".
 
Thanks for more great ideas.

Started installing the Dillon and it is going well. Right now with the two smaller press I am planning on the KISS approach which would involve using the ¾” cabinet grade particle board squares but using the clamp approach – at least initially. Was at Lowe’s this morning and picked up an 8x24” sheet of 16 gauge SS which I plan to cut in half and bond it to the top surface of the particle board so that there would be a harder surface for clamping. If the clamping does not work out, your method with the T-nuts would be my next option.
 
jlow said:
Thanks for more great ideas.

Started installing the Dillon and it is going well. Right now with the two smaller press I am planning on the KISS approach which would involve using the ¾” cabinet grade particle board squares but using the clamp approach – at least initially. Was at Lowe’s this morning and picked up an 8x24” sheet of 16 gauge SS which I plan to cut in half and bond it to the top surface of the particle board so that there would be a harder surface for clamping. If the clamping does not work out, your method with the T-nuts would be my next option.

On my latest bench I used White Melamine coated particle board (cabinet grade). The melamine surface is smoother and harder than the plain particle board and it is easy to clean if I get a smear of "something" on it. Also shows up spilled powder grains as if they were large peices of gravel on my counter.

Many, Many, options limited only to one's imagination and ambition :) (well, wallet too).
 

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