Question for Dillon RL550 users on powder measure?

[dave1918a2]

I have 2 Dillon 450's that have been converted to 550's but I use the old powder measures. I load 44, 41, 45LC, 45ACP on both of them with H110, WW296, WW231, H4227, And acc#9 & 7 with no problems. I think You might need a new or different charge bar and if doing smaller charges a small charge bar also. Or if the charge bar is loose have someone mill a thou or so, so it fits.

 

[MajorDude]

I was having problems with the measure on my 550B a couple of years ago and found some instructions to tear it down, clean thoroughly with alcohol and wax the metal parts with paste wax. This seems to have fixed my problem.

 

[dillonhelp]

The tolerances on the manual powder system are wider than on recent production automatic powder measures. The manual powder measure used on the RL450 was never suitable for H-110/ W-296/ AA9, and the manual said as much. No tighter fitting bars are available for the manual powder measure.
On the automatic powder measures, the manufacturing process was changed in the mid-1990s, so that the hole in the powder measure body was more consistent dimensionally. This allowed us to run slightly tighter tolerances on powder bar fit now. On older automatic powder measures we can broach the hole, and use the current powder bars. Some even finer ball powders, such as AA5, can still fit into the working tolerances of the powder measure. If W-296/H110/AA9 bind using the small powder bar, we have a slightly thicker spacer bar we can send that usually prevents this. Again, this applies only to the automatic powder measure.

 

[muddocktor]

The tolerances on the manual powder system are wider than on recent production automatic powder measures. The manual powder measure used on the RL450 was never suitable for H-110/ W-296/ AA9, and the manual said as much. No tighter fitting bars are available for the manual powder measure.
On the automatic powder measures, the manufacturing process was changed in the mid-1990s, so that the hole in the powder measure body was more consistent dimensionally. This allowed us to run slightly tighter tolerances on powder bar fit now. On older automatic powder measures we can broach the hole, and use the current powder bars. Some even finer ball powders, such as AA5, can still fit into the working tolerances of the powder measure. If W-296/H110/AA9 bind using the small powder bar, we have a slightly thicker spacer bar we can send that usually prevents this. Again, this applies only to the automatic powder measure.

Wow, you were a lot more help than the guy I talked to on the phone the other day. Thank you for replying and that helps me out a bunch. And I went ahead and ordered the upgrade measure from you all today after talking with one of our fellow forum members about his experiences with both the 450 and the 550 (he has both machines). I just didn't want to spend $100+ for something that would still give me problems with those 2 powders. Since I already have the adapter to mount my Lyman 55 on my 450, I was thinking of buying a Redding or RCBS measure instead of the upgrade measure system from Dillon if the newer Dillon measures gave lots of problem with this 2 powders.

 

[Engineer1911]

I apologize to Muddoctor for my email blow-up. I am glad I did not post it in this thread as it is easy to talk to more than one person on the telephone.

I was unaware of changes in Dillon powder measures that dillonhelp explained in his excellent post.

 

[Snapping Twig]

Had trouble with the powder bar sliding back to accept the charge, but a call to Dillon solved that. This was in the late 80's, so the details are sketchy. Did the twin springs, but now use the current larger diameter single spring.

No problems with H110/W296, in fact it is stone accurate once I get the charge set. I check every 10th round once I have established correct weight. I have a different powder bar for every caliber and for two charges each for all pistol rounds - standard and magnum.

I have issues with extruded powders for rifle, IMR long grain stuff like 4350, so I set the bar for an under throw and trickle each to completion. It's best for rifle anyway to get them perfect.

 

[muddocktor]

I got my new powder measure in from Dillon the day I had to leave for the rig. I got it set up on my 450, but I had to remove the primer depth adjustment screw off of the bottom of the shellplate platform to mount the return bracket for the return mechanism for the new measure. The depth adjustment screw was located right where the return bracket mounts. I guess I could take the shellplate platform off and relocate the mounting hole for the primer depth adjustment screw, but I almost always prime off press anyways. And I didn't get a chance to see how well the new powder measure works yet, so that means I need to go to the range and burn up some ammo so I can try it out.

Engineer1911 was nice enough to give me a call and talk things over about my old powder measure, which I appreciate to no end. He is one heck of a nice guy to take time out to help out a perfect stranger he only knows through interaction on these forums and give me some real helpful hints on making my old measure work better with the fine grained powders. And I definitely will give them a try too. I'm kind of an old curmudgeon myself and it didn't bother me one bit to have to hit the powder bar every time I needed to drop a charge. This new fangled auto powder dispensing setup on the new powder measure looks a bit Rube Goldberg to me.