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Old 01-01-2013, 12:46 PM
JohnnyO JohnnyO is offline
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Default Problem with Dillon 550B

My 550B is hard to operate. The shell plate, primer feed and powder slide all work just fine. It's the ram that is very stiff. It has been lubed with 30 wt oil as well as all the oil holes on the pivot points. I just called Dillon but of coarse they are closed for the holiday. Anyone else had this problem?
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Old 01-01-2013, 12:48 PM
Skip Sackett Skip Sackett is offline
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Take one of the pivoting arms off at a time. Clean and lube, replace. Do to both sides and report back.

How long has it sat since you last used it and where does it abide?
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Old 01-01-2013, 12:51 PM
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No BS?
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Old 01-01-2013, 12:53 PM
Skip Sackett Skip Sackett is offline
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No BS?
They have to be open though! hahaha
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Old 01-01-2013, 12:53 PM
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No BS?
Should have bought a LEE.
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Old 01-01-2013, 01:00 PM
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Should have bought a LEE.
Just remember to keep that turret head retaining ring clean...

(he says as he's trying to roll his own .40SW this morning)
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  #7  
Old 01-01-2013, 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnnyO View Post
My 550B is hard to operate. The shell plate, primer feed and powder slide all work just fine. It's the ram that is very stiff. It has been lubed with 30 wt oil as well as all the oil holes on the pivot points. I just called Dillon but of coarse they are closed for the holiday. Anyone else had this problem?
Yes. You'll probably need to disassemble and clean all the linkage for the ram. There are also little holes at each end of the toggle links. I use a needle grease fitting (like the ones used on chain saw bar tips) to inject grease in these holes.
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Old 01-01-2013, 04:28 PM
othomas3 othomas3 is offline
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Check the set screw under the shell plate on the ram body and make sure it is not protruding. Don't ask how I know this...
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Old 01-01-2013, 04:36 PM
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Should have bought a LEE.
Whatever for? I'll take Blue or Green over Red any day of the week!
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Old 01-01-2013, 07:00 PM
Skip Sackett Skip Sackett is offline
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Should have bought a LEE.
This from the guy that just started a thread about how to fix this same kind of problem from "THE GREAT RED" turret press?
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  #11  
Old 01-01-2013, 08:21 PM
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This from the guy that just started a thread about how to fix this same kind of problem from "THE GREAT RED" turret press?
But I knew how to fix it.

Hey I had to get a Red plug in there. You Blue guys always do.
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Old 01-01-2013, 08:31 PM
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I like Dillon, but have to ask, if I have a Lee does that mean they will be available anytime I need help? 24/7, 365 days a year! I doubt that, so guess I will stick with a REAL reloading press.....in other words, Dillon!
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Old 01-01-2013, 08:40 PM
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Mine got real stiff at one point, too...it is 24 years old and spends winters in an unheated garage. Old grease on the inside of the ram assembly had turned to shellac. I had to soak it to get it clean. I am a 550B fan and have put a lot of miles on mine.
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Old 01-01-2013, 08:43 PM
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Dillon won me over in the early days by going that extra distance when I really needed it. LEE lost me around that time with all the stupid little parts breakage and time lost by mailing parts back & forth.
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Old 01-01-2013, 08:49 PM
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I had a swing arm gall on my RL550. Mine was the era before they put the lube holes in the swing arms. Next time I have mine apart, I am going to drill and tap them for a grease zerk.

If you call Dillon they will send you for no charge a locator pin that is used to align the shellplate platform to the main shaft. I got one, but wound up not needing to use it.

It is fairly easy to disassemble and it's a good time to clean and lube everything.
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Old 01-01-2013, 11:57 PM
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Well after some disassembly and cleaning we are back up and running strong! Quinn, you were right, the crank pivot pin was the culprit. It was stiff as hell and a PITA to remove. But after cleaning and greasing all pivot pins it's smoother than ever!
This machine is 19 years old and has never given me any problems. I,ve rolled tens of thousands of rounds when it was new. Feeding myself and my 2brother in-laws as long as they would pay for the components. It sits in the basement were its warm and dry, but I'll admit it's been idle for years. I would do just a couple of hundred rounds a year. I caught the bug about 6 months ago when I found a nice 586 I just had to have. Since then I been buying bullets in bulk again. Thanks for the input folks!
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  #17  
Old 01-02-2013, 12:11 AM
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Quote:
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I like Dillon, but have to ask, if I have a Lee does that mean they will be available anytime I need help? 24/7, 365 days a year! I doubt that, so guess I will stick with a REAL reloading press.....in other words, Dillon!
Even Dillon is not open that much. Take a joke and get off your high horse.
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Last edited by Rule3; 01-02-2013 at 11:45 AM. Reason: off, not of, kant spel cause I use a Leeeee
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  #18  
Old 01-02-2013, 10:33 AM
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I'm starting to think my resistance to Blue is the volume of troll post slams that some many members of Blue seem to enjoy.
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Old 01-02-2013, 10:41 AM
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Well, I own a 550B, but would have no problem with a Lee Classic Turret, it's a fine press. I have friends who own them and are quite content.
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Old 01-02-2013, 11:03 AM
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The 550 I used was fairly old and very well used. I wonder if the issues I had with it were that it was in need of a little love. Maybe I would favor them more if I tried a new one or one that had been shown a little more care over the years. Everything seemed so loose fit and allowed a lot of wobble in the press I used. It was in the Nevada desert in a garage so maybe the dust had taken its toll over the years. I was thinking of maybe buying another LNL AP for not having to swap the priming out (which is really pretty easy but yes I'm that lazy) and maybe I should try a 550 of my own. Or at least a SDB since it would be for .40 SW only.
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Old 01-02-2013, 12:35 PM
Skip Sackett Skip Sackett is offline
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I do not have an RL550B, I have it's predecessor, the RL450B.
This was one of the original models with the manual primer and powder drop. I will be honest, I love this press BUT, had to get those two items upgraded!

I have less in it than what a new RL550B would cost and it works like a dream. It was rough when I got it but, I cleaned it up and it works great.


Personally, if I had a Hornady LNL AP, I probably wouldn't have bought Blue either....Now that I have it, and several caliber conversions, it would seem silly to change now, although, I am such a tool junkie, it may happen yet anyway!
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Old 01-02-2013, 12:35 PM
Skip Sackett Skip Sackett is offline
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p.s. Bob, get another LNL with a case feeder for the 40S&W, you will be glad you did.
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  #23  
Old 01-02-2013, 02:22 PM
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I want the LNL Reloading factory with all the case and bullet feeders. That looks like a deal! I could load all my bullets, brass and primers in one day!. (well almost)
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Old 01-02-2013, 10:08 PM
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For a turret press, I will go green. The Redding Turret is one solid massive hunk of precision metal. Love my early 90s vintage 550B also. It just keeps chucking them out. I do tear the thing down and clean/grease all the linkage every Christmas.
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Old 01-03-2013, 07:05 AM
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I ended up with a Dillon purely by chance. When I looked into reloading, I was at the local range and Dillon is what they carry. The "No B.S." guarantee and the fact that parts and accessories are literally 10 minutes away sealed the deal. And like the Beach Boys said : "Be true to your school"


If they dealt RockChuckers, no doubt I'd be into "The Wearin' O' the Green"
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Old 01-03-2013, 07:45 AM
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I couldn't live that close to the Dillon factory and not look like a member of the Blue Man Group. That close I think everything I own would be blue.
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