My new Square Deal B arrived last week. I opened the box and used the quick setup guide to check everything was there. While not going through all the little bits sealed in plastic it looked good. I put it aside until I could dedicate a couple of hours to put it together. Yesterday was the day!

Everything I had read from both Dillon and the local importer said that the press came fully set up for a single caliber. It wasn't. Even the Dillon manual said the conversion kit box would be empty (nope, full of strange to my eyes tubes) and there would be two dummy cartridges, one with a dummy primer seated by the press and another with a loaded bullet showing where the dies were set. Both were missing as was the fourth "spare" brass pin.

First off I fitted the mounts for the loaded bullet catcher and the primer catcher. Then I bolted the press to my bench. So far so good. Next i set up the powder measure arm and the powder measure, making sure I followed each step in the set up manual properly. Then the fun began.

I opened the caliber conversion box and set the shell plate in position. On working the press the shell plate advanced then sprung back again. Some online research found the reason, the ball detent was missing. Hunting through all those small sealed plastic bits I found the ball and the loaded round ejector wire and installed both. Now the shell plate refused to turn when the ram was cycled!

Some careful experimenting found that the pawl assembly was loose and needed to be pushed by hand to make the shell plate advance. Some more online research revealed the bolt on the rear of the ram that gave access to the pawl assembly screw. Only problem was my bench was in the way of removing the bolt.

So I unbolt the whole press and carefully turn it over to access the bolt on the back of the ram. The primer assembly return spring caught on my sweatshirt sleeve and was pulled out so that it was now almost a foot in length (see pic).

A phone call to the importer I bought the press from revealed (surprise, surprise) no spare springs or kits. I did get a contact name at Dillon for requesting a replacement spring though.

With the pawl assembly tightened I worked the ram and saw the shell plate was moving as it should I bolted the press back to the bench then took a break.

After dinner I went out and found the place in the manual for changing dies to another calibre. Removing the powder measure, the top plate and inserting the dies I tightened everything down again. With that completed, and with the night chill falling (hey it's mid-winter here) I once more left everything and sent off an e-mail to Dillon for the replacement spring.

This morning I received a reply, the spring was on its way by USPS. The last item I had mailed to me by Amazon took six days to reach me. The time before that it took six weeks!

This afternoon I went back out to my shed and followed the manual's instructions for changing the primer system from small to large. I tried to cut the stretched spring and reuse it but it flew off the press to who knows where. A spring from a ballpoint pen was too weak for the job, so I left the priming system as it was and proceeded to set the dies.

A digital caliber, old case and bullet soon saw the seating die set up, while a loaded round from my store allowed me to set the crimp. Running my old dummy case and bullet through the crimp die looked good so I threw some puwder into the measure and set the powder drop. I got a little confused at one point on which way to turn the adjustment bolt, but soon had five consecutive powder drops right on the weight I wanted. By now the old case I was using to operate the powder die was belled so far it was never going to be used again!

At the same time I also set up my new Pro 1000, which until the 9mm conversion kit arrives for the square deal will handle loading that round. Eventually it'll become my .38 Special press. While the one I saw set up in the LGS came with the auto drum powder measure this one had the old auto disc unit. I have to admit, setting up the dies to seat 124 gn PC lead bullets was easy. It was so familiar. I found three Lee micro charge bars in my box of old Lee gear, one of which was marked close to the powder charge I wanted. I also swapped out the chain reset for a spring reset on one of the old auto disc units I had in the box.

Setting the powder charge was a bit more fiddly than the one on the Dillon, and the dummy round, at 1.145" with the bullet seated beyond the second lube groove, is longer than I am used to loading, but the length Hodgden gave for 124 gn lead bullet and Tightgroup powder was 1.150", so I left it.

A mate has two SDB presses and is looking for a spare primer return spring I can use until the replacement one gets here.

And. despite the issues, when the time comes for a dedicated 9mm press again I just might be in the market for a second SDB.

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View from down under

Definitely find a different importer. A real brand new SDB does come setup.

The upside is that you now know your SDB thoroughly.

Go ahead and order a spare parts kit. Inexpensive and will save down time if a part fails. Best money I ever spent on my 650 other than the spent primer replacement that drops in a jug. If a part fails get back running and then order a replacement under warranty. Put back in the kit for next time. Not to start up the never ending argument of who makes the best press, but parts will wear and break. It will ALWAYS happen at the worst time. I have well over 50k through my 650 and downtime has been minimal, but it will happen, so be prepared. Also I recommend buying at least 1 spare spring that is not in the kit. I think most are but nothing worse than a small spring launching across the room to never be seen again. I bet there is several pounds of springs and screws from presses and guns that are somewhere in my gun room

You can easily make a primer return spring with a pair of needle nose pliers. The end popped off one of mine. I simply turned down a coil. Hooked it back on and kept on truckin. BTW I've been running 2 SDB"s since 1989 with 6 caliber changes.

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S&W Accumulator

I am pretty sure a regular old BB is the same of close enough to replace that little ball bearing from under the shell plate. Ask me how I know.....

I have loaded a lot of 9mm on my Square Deal and sought replacements of parts from Dillon. They are the best when it comes to service. As stated above it's good to know your machine in order to diagnose problems.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

I am a true Blue Dillon guy since 1984! That said, with all the shortages going on; their service seems a little on the shortage side too. They haven't received a back order of Carbide from their supplier. My 357 Sig Carbide die set for my 550 was 6 months out in February when I ordered it and it is currently unknown, as that order hasn't arrived yet (and I had to pay in advance to get in line)!

A Very big PLUS ONE (+1) on get the spare parts kit. I have one for my 550, and it kept my best friend (he has a 450) and myself going when something breaks or just shoots across the room at 10 o'clock at night on a Friday! The a phone call during business hours (Standard Mountain Time) gets the kit filled back up. Decapping pins are not a warranty part, so you may as well order a 5 pack at the same time, and just keep them in the parts kit!

Dillon only makes SDB die sets for a limited few handgun rounds, But CH4D dies in Mt. Vernon, Ohio makes a large number of SDB dies in other offerings. You might check them out online.

If you need help with CH4D, let me know by PM. I live 20 to 25 minutes away and eat lunch by their "factory" a few times a month.

Ivan

"I bet there is several pounds of springs and screws from presses and guns that are somewhere in my gun room"

That is so funny and true

Kiwi cop. I’m a copier technician by trade and copiers have a plethora of springs in them. A work around my be to stop at one of the dealers in New Plymouth. They can probably get a spring from a scrap machine that’s close. I hope it helps you out.

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There are no bad pig parts!

I received a message today that Dillon shipped the replacement spring.

In the meantime I dropped by my local engineering supply store and bought the three smallest coil springs they had. All were a little long but the smallest one fit after cutting some coils and opening up the ends slightly to slide over the pins.

Better yet, the press is working with the primer arm springing back and rising through the centre of the shell plate hole cleanly, as it should.

I also stopped by my LGS and finally got to sort through the second hand 550 C. It comes with both 9mm and .38 Special dies, a second tool head and powder measure. There are a few items missing. The clamp on the second powder measure, the adjustment nut on the same measures charge bar, the crimp die for the .38 Special set (no problem I have a .38 Special Lee FCD on my bench doing nothing) and the large charge bars. After pricing everything up new I made an offer around 2/3 of the new price (these things are like hens teeth right now so I'm willing to pay a bit more than the 50% of new price second hand stuff usually goes for here). Just waiting for the current owner to accept or decline.

If he chooses to be greedy I'll probably buy another SDB as I have a 9mm calibre kit and complete second tool head, including powder measure, on backorder.

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View from down under