Chief Rick Posted January 23 Posted January 23 I don't know how many thousands of rounds I've loaded with this specific powder measure and I haven't changed the charge (intentionally) in years. I noticed some irregular shots a couple matches ago, so I came back home and weighed a charge. Seems the adjustment screw is turning ever so slightly during operation, resulting in the thrown charges getting lighter and lighter over time. I made a couple of witness marks on the adjustment screw and can monitor the movement, but I'd really like to keep the screw from moving. Is there something that can be applied to the screw (not Loctite) to keep it locked in place, but yet can be removed/reapplied if I decide to go with another powder/charge weight? The 550 adjustment screw doesn't sit flush and has a couple of washers, so I was thinking some type of epoxy or RTV applied to the edge of the screw flats, across the washers to the charge bar. Thoughts? Quote
Eyesa Horg Posted January 23 Posted January 23 A wave washer under the bolt head. Or just a dot of purple or blue Loctite. It will still turn if needed. Could also try a piece of masking tape over it. I use one of the micrometer adjusters on my Dillon measure and at some settings it's a little loose, the tape holds it just fine. 2 Quote
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 (edited) I'd call Dillon and tell them about the problem. Bet they will (FOR FREE) send at least a new bar and slider/screw assembly. You try to lock it in place until ready to make each adjustment won't be worth it. None of my 3 Dillon measures drift like that. A possible cause for the drift might be that the adjusting bar in the slide has started to stick out somewhere and it drags a little as the slide operates. Seen that on other brands of measure bars where there is a mismatch between housing and the bar surfaces..... good luck, GJ Edited January 23 by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 1 1 Quote
J.D. Daily Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Use a hot glue. On my charge bars I installed Areddondo micrometer conversion. I did a cost comparison between a std charge bar for each caliber I reload and the cost of converting two sizes of charge bar. I saved money in the long run by using converted charge bars. P.S. I always check the charge of the 1st ten cartridges after changing calibers. 4 Quote
Chief Rick Posted January 23 Author Posted January 23 Found the hot glue gun. Will load 100 rounds tonight and see how that works. 1 Quote
Eyesa Horg Posted January 23 Posted January 23 7 minutes ago, Chief Rick said: Found the hot glue gun. Will load 100 rounds tonight and see how that works. Might be a pain to remove 1 Quote
I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Place a strip of blue painter's tape over the bolt. That's what I did, and it works. Besides if you need to make more adjustment, you can just easily peel off and reinstall tape. Works for me. 2 Quote
Chief Rick Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 6 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said: A wave washer under the bolt head. Or just a dot of purple or blue Loctite. It will still turn if needed. Could also try a piece of masking tape over it. I use one of the micrometer adjusters on my Dillon measure and at some settings it's a little loose, the tape holds it just fine. It already has the wave washer. It's just not holding. I tried a piece of duck tape and couldn't get it to stick. 3 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: Rubber O ring under the washer I don't have any o-rings, though that probably would have worked. 1 Quote
Chief Rick Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 3 hours ago, I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321 said: Place a strip of blue painter's tape over the bolt. That's what I did, and it works. Besides if you need to make more adjustment, you can just easily peel off and reinstall tape. Works for me. I tried a piece of duck tape and couldn't get it to stick. Quote
Chief Rick Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 3 hours ago, Eyesa Horg said: Might be a pain to remove We'll see. I don't have plans to remove it any time soon. I have a small heat gun and soldering iron should I need to make an adjustment. Quote
El Sobrante Kid Posted January 24 Posted January 24 1 hour ago, Chief Rick said: It already has the wave washer. It's just not holding. I tried a piece of duck tape and couldn't get it to stick. I don't have any o-rings, though that probably would have worked. Use a small rubber band and twist it underneath the bolt head several times. Should work about the same. 4 Quote
Eyesa Horg Posted January 24 Posted January 24 1 hour ago, Chief Rick said: I tried a piece of duck tape and couldn't get it to stick. Clean the area with solvent. Might have slight non stick surface from lube etc over time. Maybe you'll get lucky! 4 Quote
I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 3 hours ago, Chief Rick said: I tried a piece of duck tape and couldn't get it to stick. 1 hour ago, Eyesa Horg said: Clean the area with solvent. Might have slight non stick surface from lube etc over time. Maybe you'll get lucky! This then wipe area with alcohol. 3 Quote
Kid Rich Posted January 24 Posted January 24 10 hours ago, Chief Rick said: I tried a piece of duck tape and couldn't get it to stick. That stuff only works on ducks. Seriously tho have you checked to make sure there is nothing in the powder drop mechanism? Shirttail used to just pour the powder in not using a funnel and got a small piece of the foam from the lid in the powder drop funnel. Caused the same problem. kR 1 1 Quote
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted January 24 Posted January 24 11 hours ago, Chief Rick said: I don't have any o-rings, though that probably would have worked. Wrap some fishing line or thread under the wave washer. Quote
Bison Bud Posted January 24 Posted January 24 I've never had this sort of issue with either the large or the small charge bar on my 550 and I change the settings and bars rather often. As a safety and quality control issue, I do cycle the powder measure several times into an empty shell casing, then weigh the actual charge to confirm it's right before each loading session. This not only confirms the proper setting, but that the measure is feeding properly and the powder isn't clumped up etc. I think this is especially important if you leave powder in the measure for any length of time. Frankly, a little prevention goes a long way. As for your problem, I have to agree with several of the pards above that a small dap of hot glue should take care of the problem and not be much of an issue to remove when needed. However, a call to Dillon may get you a brand new charge bar, so it's up to you. Good luck and good shooting to all. 4 Quote
Matthew Duncan Posted January 24 Posted January 24 (edited) 18 hours ago, Chief Rick said: ...Seems the adjustment screw is turning ever so slightly during operation...Is there something that can be applied to the screw (not Loctite) to keep it locked in place, but yet can be removed/reapplied if I decide to go with another powder/charge weight?...Thoughts? A drop of Elmer's wood glue or a drop of fingernail polish. Edited January 24 by Matthew Duncan 1 Quote
Boggus Deal #64218 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Haven’t had the problem on a Dillon but have on an older adjustable charge bar in a shotgun press. I drilled, tapped and added a set screw like the later versions. 2 1 Quote
Hud McCoy Posted January 24 Posted January 24 18 hours ago, Chief Rick said: I don't know how many thousands of rounds I've loaded with this specific powder measure and I haven't changed the charge (intentionally) in years. I noticed some irregular shots a couple matches ago, so I came back home and weighed a charge. Seems the adjustment screw is turning ever so slightly during operation, resulting in the thrown charges getting lighter and lighter over time. I made a couple of witness marks on the adjustment screw and can monitor the movement, but I'd really like to keep the screw from moving. Is there something that can be applied to the screw (not Loctite) to keep it locked in place, but yet can be removed/reapplied if I decide to go with another powder/charge weight? The 550 adjustment screw doesn't sit flush and has a couple of washers, so I was thinking some type of epoxy or RTV applied to the edge of the screw flats, across the washers to the charge bar. Thoughts? This may sound crazy and expensive to some, but what I did was I ended up setting my powder bars to the desired grain amount of powder and then drilled and tapped with a blind Allen screw to hold my desired grain amount, I just ended up buying a few more powder bars. 1 Quote
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted January 24 Posted January 24 1 hour ago, Bison Bud said: I've never had this sort of issue with either the large or the small charge bar on my 550 and I change the settings and bars rather often. As a safety and quality control issue, I do cycle the powder measure several times into an empty shell casing, then weigh the actual charge to confirm it's right before each loading session. This not only confirms the proper setting, but that the measure is feeding properly and the powder isn't clumped up etc. I think this is especially important if you leave powder in the measure for any length of time. Frankly, a little prevention goes a long way. As for your problem, I have to agree with several of the pards above that a small dap of hot glue should take care of the problem and not be much of an issue to remove when needed. However, a call to Dillon may get you a brand new charge bar, so it's up to you. Good luck and good shooting to all. Same here. I check every time I reload, for correct weight. I always throw three charges to verify at start. And check again every 50-100 rounds. With my TiteGroup, Bullseye and Claydot I generally have near zero variation. For sure I would keep the adjustment mechanism free because I do use multiple different powders and different weights of each. You will need that. Also I have found different lots of the same powders weigh differently, sometimes by two or three tenths of a grain. Which at the low levels we use can equate to a 5-10% change in the charge weight. Similarly, though humidity is not a big factor here in Colorado, I recheck my charge if I have left powder in the hopper more than a couple days. Normally I finish off what is in the hopper and put it back into the original container, then start over but sometimes I get distracted! Regards Gateway Kid 2 Quote
Chief Rick Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 3 hours ago, Kid Rich said: That stuff only works on ducks. Seriously tho have you checked to make sure there is nothing in the powder drop mechanism? Shirttail used to just pour the powder in not using a funnel and got a small piece of the foam from the lid in the powder drop funnel. Caused the same problem. kR Admittedly, I didn't take it apart and look. I did adjust the screw about a half turn and was getting my original charge weight thrown again, so... It was after this I made a couple of witness marks and watched as I started loading another 100 rounds. After about ten rounds, I could see the witness marks were not lining up. Not off by much, but definitely off. I then tried blue painters tape and duck tape, neither would stick adequately to keep the adjustment screw from moving. A dab of hot glue worked for 100 rounds last night. I'll load another 100 this weekend to verify. 2 Quote
Choctaw Jack Posted January 24 Posted January 24 I had the same problem with my measure. I put a piece of black electricians tape on the head of the bolt. That same piece of tape is still on there close to 10 years. 1 Quote
Mogollon Munk,SASS#303 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Just email Dillon, ask for a replacement bowed washer for the powder bar. That will take case of it. support@dillon-precision.com 4 1 Quote
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