Dillon Square Deal B Excessive Case Belling and Splitting.

Kiwi cop · Jul 19, 2021

I have had my SDB running for a week now with around 250 loaded .45 ACP rounds produced over some short runs. (50 - 100 at a time)

I have noticed that the case mouth belling during the powder drop is a lot more pronounced, so much so that an unsized case used twice to drop powder for weighing will not go into the size die under any circumstances.

While quite an aggressive case bell results it comes back down to size in the crimp die.

But something worse is that back in 2018 I bought 500 new Winchester cases which I loaded with my usual IPSC 175 PF load. When fired they were splitting, and twice there was total case separation. Thinking my reloading might have gotten careless, but not seeing how as everything later checked out, I pulled all the loads then, just in case, reloaded the cases to 150 PF for CAS Wild Bunch and a Service Match here with a minimum PF of 120. These cases were kept well and truely seperate from my other .45 cases.

Today I ran just under 100 of these through the SDB with around a dozen case splits, as in the photo.

So two issues, can I adjust the case mouth bell without turning down the expander?

And are Winchester cases softer/weaker than other makers?

ken158 · Jul 20, 2021

From the looks of your brass, you are expanding the brass way too much - all you need is about the width of a coin. Something has worked loose in your expander die - either the die itself or the expander button. The softness of the cases are not an issue here.

austintexas · Jul 20, 2021

I have been running 3 Square deals for years and never had that problem. It looks like your belling die was set for 45 Gap. Easy adjustment is remove the primer feed. loosen the clamp around the belling die and powder dump and slowly turn the die up and keep checking until you get the bell you desire. tighten the clamp around the belling/powder dump reinstall the primer feed and you should be done. I have to do this every time I change from 44 mag to 44 Special and 357 mag to 38 special.
SWCA 892

Mike0251 · Jul 20, 2021

WAY to much belling, your actually destroying the cases (obviously)! You only need the slightest amount so the bullet will sit there without falling over during its rotation to the crimp station. If your bell is still on the large size then you will scrape brass off when it goes up into the crimp die and will see these shavings as well. Additionally to much belling shortens case life for reloading. See how subtle we are talking about here?

jag22 · Jul 20, 2021

It's still like any other press. Everything is adjustable. Usually they are set according to their standards right out of the box but a lot of shooters may want something slightly different, such as OAL. You should be able to figure it out but if you are unsure call Dillon, they are always helpful.

smithra_66 · Jul 20, 2021

Kiwi cop said:
I have had my SDB running for a week now with around 250 loaded .45 ACP rounds produced over some short runs. (50 - 100 at a time)

I have noticed that the case mouth belling during the powder drop is a lot more pronounced, so much so that an unsized case used twice to drop powder for weighing will not go into the size die under any circumstances.

While quite an aggressive case bell results it comes back down to size in the crimp die.

But something worse is that back in 2018 I bought 500 new Winchester cases which I loaded with my usual IPSC 175 PF load. When fired they were splitting, and twice there was total case separation. Thinking my reloading might have gotten careless, but not seeing how as everything later checked out, I pulled all the loads then, just in case, reloaded the cases to 150 PF for CAS Wild Bunch and a Service Match here with a minimum PF of 120. These cases were kept well and truely seperate from my other .45 cases.

Today I ran just under 100 of these through the SDB with around a dozen case splits, as in the photo.

So two issues, can I adjust the case mouth bell without turning down the expander?

And are Winchester cases softer/weaker than other makers?

Why don't you just adjust the expander/powder drop die? Back it out a turn or so until its right.

socal s&w · Jul 20, 2021

"Easy adjustment is remove the primer feed."
Not sure why the primer feed needs loosening?
If you look at the powder drop station, where the clamp is at the top of the die plate, loosen that clamp (as stated above). Then the entire powder dispenser should turn slightly (may be 1/8 of a turn at a time?). Turn it in the direction needed (up/counterclockwise in your case), then tighten clamp enough so that it doesn't move or 'go back' to the original position when taking it back (clockwise) to get another bite.
Repeat until you have the correct flare, tighten clamp down for good and it should be okay then on out.
If you can't get enough of a turn, you may need to take off the safety rod (it's normally black with a cotter key) temporarily until finished, then reassemble the safety rod. The safety rod at times can prevent getting a decent turn.

Kiwi cop · Jul 21, 2021

austintexas said:
I have been running 3 Square deals for years and never had that problem. It looks like your belling die was set for 45 Gap. Easy adjustment is remove the primer feed. loosen the clamp around the belling die and powder dump and slowly turn the die up and keep checking until you get the bell you desire. tighten the clamp around the belling/powder dump reinstall the primer feed and you should be done. I have to do this every time I change from 44 mag to 44 Special and 357 mag to 38 special.
SWCA 892

Well it seems I missed the part in the manual about adjusting the powder die to change the case flare

On checking it is there.

Thanks to all who advised me the case flare button was not fixed as I thought

Five minutes with a couple of hex he'd wrenches and my powder scale and it is now running as it should.

Dillon Square Deal B Excessive Case Belling and Splitting.

Kiwi cop

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