Dillon 450

[MikeyB]

I just acquired a Dillon 450 for free. Any good tricks, mods or DIY updates and the like for the old units?

The 450 will be dedicated to loading .45acp only so I'm not planning to update with the 550 frame and tool head.

 

[chipking]

Given your single cartridge usage the only upgrades I would do are the auto primer feed (in large primer of course) and the case activated powder measure as used on the 550. Both upgrades are available as kits from Dillon. I have one completely upgraded 450 (now the same as a 550) that handles all my large primer stuff (41, 44, 45) and a second 450 with the 2 upgrades dedicated to 38 Special.
Great set ups.
Enjoy yours.
Chip King

 

[fredj338]

See if Dillon will upgrade it for free.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Dillion won't upgrade it for free. But the parts you need should be less than $200. However try loading a few thousand rounds as is, and see is you want the upgrades. I bought mine in the mid 80's, and did a batch of 223 that was 20,000 rounds, with the old features and did just fine. I would think the powder measure would be the important upgrade I would go with first. By the way, the original powder measure is perhaps the most accurate drop in everyday use. So don't get rid of it. Ivan

 

[mistergizmo]

I modded my very old 450 two years ago. I needed to modify the base plate with a grinder to as to make a chute between stations 4 and 5 for the loaded round to fall out. Also had to drill 2 holes at the rim for the kicker-outer thingamajig.

Kept the original manual powder mechanism, springs and all, 'cause I feel I get more uniformity of drop. Also kept the manual primer system.

BTW, keep in mind that the powder slides for the manual powder system are unique to the 450 and are dimensionally different from the 550.

pic attached.

 

[loc n load]

Bought one back in the early 80's when I lived in Mesa, Az....at a LGS there......loaded 45 acp's on it weekly for years and when the 550 upgrade came along I made the mod's....I have loaded 45's on that press ever since.....ten's of thousands of 45 acp's over a period of decades.....it is still bolted to my bench and I still load on it.....in it's 450 format it will serve you well.....and you can upgrade it if you wish.....good loading/good shooting.

 

[Engineer1911]

You will prevent a lot of heart burn and save at least one barrel in 45 ACP if you upgrade to auto primer and auto powder. Your old 450 will really sing the 45 ammo waltz if you add auto eject.

I won't bore you with the details, but can assure you a new match 45 acp barrel installed costs as much as the upgrades. You are getting free knowledge from my personal experience.

 

[MikeyB]

Thanks for the info gents.

The auto eject will probably be my first mod (and lighting).

 

[BobR1]

I started with a 450 and have had 2 of the 550's since. My last is the current version with grease holes.

My 2 Cents
I have no problem with the Manual Powder and Primer System.
I would ADD a Star Wheel to advance the cases.
I guess I forgot the 450 did not have the auto eject mentioned above. That would be handy also.

For 45acp only the 450 should take care of you for years.

Bob

 

[MikeyB]

I modded my very old 450 two years ago. I needed to modify the base plate with a grinder to as to make a chute between stations 4 and 5 for the loaded round to fall out. Also had to drill 2 holes at the rim for the kicker-outer thingamajig.

Kept the original manual powder mechanism, springs and all, 'cause I feel I get more uniformity of drop. Also kept the manual primer system.

BTW, keep in mind that the powder slides for the manual powder system are unique to the 450 and are dimensionally different from the 550.

pic attached.

Is that the auto eject kit for the AT500?

The kit that I looked at for the 450 comes with the new shell plate with the holes and slot.

 

[mistergizmo]

I made it auto-eject by I rescuing the V-shaped case kicker from an old 550. The star-wheel came from the same 550 along with the finished round chute and spent primer catcher.

Couldn't use the base plate from the 550, so had to grind and drill the 450 base plate.

My out-of-pocket cost for the whole conversion was nada!

 

[medalguy]

I have five 450 presses. The first one worked so well I started looking for them at gun shows and garage sales and bought whenever I found good deals. I finally bought a 550 when they came out, tried it and really didn't like the primer feed, sold it and went back to 450s. I have one set up for 9mm, .45, .380, .30-06, and .308. I don't change calibers, I change presses and leave them set up and adjusted for the loads I use.

I had a lot of trouble with the primer feeds on all of the presses so I decided to use an RCBS bench mounted autoprime, and then put the primed brass into the 450. A bit of extra work but it produces great ammo.

Do whatever works for you, but I do definitely recommend the autoeject feature. It's great.

 

[MikeyB]

Yep, the auto eject kit is on my 'Dillion Wishlist'.

 

[m657]

I recall fondly starting my very first novice reloading with the then-new 450 press. It worked so well (AFTER learning the rather complex operational procedure) & I was so enthused I upgraded to the 550 parts as soon as possible.

I recall more fondly the issue SOLVED by the 550 that I never liked on the 450. Still, a most worth device that with suitable personal mods will give great service.

 

[MikeyB]

Picked up the Dillon today and it does have the auto eject. Came with extra primer pickup tubes and 9mm, .38, 30 Carbine, .44, 45 ACP and .223 conversion kits.

 

[BE Mike]

I bought my Dillon 450 in the 80's before they were marketing directly to the public. I paid top dollar for it. I ended up upgrading it and now it is a 550B. I never regretted doing either.

 

[MikeyB]

Got the 450 up and running over the weekend after a good cleaning and lubing. The primer system was acting funny but got that fixed with a shot of dry graphite lube. Loaded up over 200 rounds of .45acp yesterday.