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Cleanin' the Dillon 550 B


Rance - SASS # 54090

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Tuesday thought I'd load some ammo...

Yeah.. I load with a Dillon 550.. 38 specials

 

About every 500 rounds or so.. the primer slide starts stickin' :angry: gets dirty in there.. won't drop a primer :angry:

OK.. take off the primer tube :mellow: and clean everything with Alcohol

 

Well yesterday I thought to myself...

That aeresol "Brake Cleaner" works to clean out the inside of my guns... :)

 

Soooo...

I, (of course made sure I didn't have any primers in the primer tube or slide)

sprayed the heck out of it.. wiped it off.. and sprayed it again... wiped it off :blink:

Worked!!!

Had to reoil the ram.. cleaned it off too..but it worked..

 

Rance <_<

thinkin' I'd pass it along :blush:

maybe everybody else does this..

but I didn't know :blush:

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Spent powder & primer residue will get under the primer slide & cause it to drag too. When I change over from small to large primers or if the primer slide starts to get balky, I remove the slide & clean it & the press base. Sometimes it takes a little polishing to remove the rough spots. I polish the bottom just a little with 600 grit metallic oxide sandpaper if it needs it. Lay the sandpaper on a good flat surface then drag the primer slide over it 2 or 3 times with very light pressure - you don't want to remove any metal, just smooth it up. A light dusting of powdered graphite on the bottom of the slide makes it work slicker than owl snot. I use white lithium lube on the press ram & pivots, but I want any oil-based lubes in any of the primer mechanism.

 

Back in the spring, my press action got really stiff, so it took a huge effort to work the handle. I couldn't figure out why, so I disassembled everything & found that a lot of dirt, brass & lead residue had gotten into the knuckle joints. I pulled out all the pivot pins, cleaned them & the bores with winchester aerosol gun cleaner, then gave them a good coat of white lube & reassembled everything. What a difference...it took almost no effort to work the handle. If you do that, remember to align the base plate on the end of the ram - if you don't, primers won't seat like they should (learned that lesson the hard way). By the way, that winchester aerosol stuff will remove some of the blue paint & causes plastic to go soft, so be careful where you use it.

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If you are going to disassemble your 550 or 650 by removing the pivot pins, call Dillon and get an alignment tool (it's a freebe and works on both), otherwise reassembly is a hit or miss. You can always check with your local pards, as the chances are someone has one you can borrow. Always use wheel bearing grease on the pins, not oil.

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Wow...aerosol brake cleaner is really strong stuff...carbon tet, maybe? It leaves NOTHING behind. I'd be real cautious with that on an assembly that includes plastics and painted components.

 

I use WD-40 on the ram and plate; I keep the primer mechanism clean with a soft brush and a can of pressurized air. Somehow, when you produce as much fine grit and dirt as you do on a reloader, I tend toward very minimal use of oils.

 

Does Dillon have specific lubrication and cleaning recommendations?

 

LL

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Any cleaning of all the parts on my Dillon is done with Eezox and an air gun. Cleans-lubes and rust preventative

Edit: Don't forget to clean the insides of the seating and crimping dies

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Wow...aerosol brake cleaner is really strong stuff...carbon tet, maybe? It leaves NOTHING behind. I'd be real cautious with that on an assembly that includes plastics and painted components.

 

I use WD-40 on the ram and plate; I keep the primer mechanism clean with a soft brush and a can of pressurized air. Somehow, when you produce as much fine grit and dirt as you do on a reloader, I tend toward very minimal use of oils.

 

Does Dillon have specific lubrication and cleaning recommendations?

 

LL

 

 

Looked at the Dillon 550B manual, which includes the following:

 

 

Lubrication

Use 30 weight motor oil on the main shaft and bearing

grease on the pivot pins. Do not use spray type penetrating

lube such as WD40 or Break Free as you run the risk of

contaminating powder and primers.

 

And...

 

Another common problem is that the primer slide fails

to return fully forward with the new primer. Periodically

wipe the primer slide with rubbing alcohol. This removes the

spent primer residue that causes the slide to drag.

 

And...

 

Keep it clean – primer residue, spilled powder and just

plain dirt can jam your machine.

Clean your powder bar about every 500 rounds. Some

powders build up and will eventually stick the powder bar.

Paint thinner, acetone or lacquer thinner works well to

remove any build up.

 

LL

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Spent powder & primer residue will get under the primer slide & cause it to drag too. When I change over from small to large primers or if the primer slide starts to get balky, I remove the slide & clean it & the press base. Sometimes it takes a little polishing to remove the rough spots. I polish the bottom just a little with 600 grit metallic oxide sandpaper if it needs it. Lay the sandpaper on a good flat surface then drag the primer slide over it 2 or 3 times with very light pressure - you don't want to remove any metal, just smooth it up. A light dusting of powdered graphite on the bottom of the slide makes it work slicker than owl snot. I use white lithium lube on the press ram & pivots, but I want any oil-based lubes in any of the primer mechanism.

 

 

I did almost the same when I first got my 550. The primer feed wasn't working 100%, so I took it apart, polished the slide with 600 grit paper (just removed burrs, really), and lubed with dry lube. I also keep q-tips next to my press to periodically wipe any debris from the primer cup and slide.

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