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It's tough getting old. I ended-up getting Tendonitis from using my 750 to pump-out 10k+ rounds over the last year, so am looking to add an Auto-Drive to it. The Lyman/Mark 7 is $2k (!), while the Ponsness-Warren drive is $1k. Obviously I am looking at the latter motor. Whom here has experience w/ it, the Mark 7, or the Fast and Friendly Auto-Drive?
FWIW I have three PW Autodrives on PW machines and a Casepro. I love them, they are stalwart. Gotta get them adjusted. Over 100k cycles on one of them, with no maintenance, for sure. Tens of k on each of the others. No problems.
But I have never run them on a Dillon.
Hope it helps.
When I automated my first one using a 650 but switched over pretty quickly. Having to hit both ends of the stroke with precision using just a gear motor and over center linkage isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially over time.
I think the 1050’s are about the cheapest presses I would automate for two reasons. First everything happens on the down stroke sizing, powder charge and primer seating (that is a set depth with and Allen wrench). The 2nd is the swaging station.
Why the disparity in price between the two you are looking at? Easy, one you are paying for a base, linkage and gear motor. It checks nothing, just keeps on running the machine as long as you have it powered up. Crushed cases, no powder, primers or bullets, it doesn’t know or care, just keeps on trucking.
The other has sensors that aid in monitoring what’s going on. That in itself doesn’t cost 7k, I built mine before the mark7 or ammobot existed using a $99 PLC from automation direct and just wired into the factory low primer/powder alarms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrFhnDQ-eUU
750's and 650's xl can and do get a lot of problems with normal use (no drive)....but by using a drive you WILL crush shell cases and you WILL break a lot of indexing rings.
putting a drive on a 1050 dillon seems to work pretty good if it has all the safety features. powder alarms, primer and powder alarms etc.
Jmorris makes another one that even a , watch every step guy like me would like.
AMZING JOB !
Ive had a mark 7 on my 1050 for a few years now. A few weeks ago it sized and deprimed 40k 40 cases over a long weekend. I've broken 1 shellplate because my swager wasn't adjusted correctly and the plastic piece that holds the powder bar in. That's it.
A friend had one on a 650 and broke indexing rings every month. He had to keep stock of them just in case. He eventually got over it bought a dillon 1100.
No help with the auto drive, I have thought about doing it though.
I can say this, the operating effort to manually run my 1050 is less than the other progressives I've used. I have not used a 750 but have used a friends 650. I still use 2 Hornady presses for short run stuff.
Not having to seat primers on the upstroke makes the most difference for my somewhat messed up shoulder.
I have loaded over 100k rounds of 12 ga on an 800+. My concern on a 750 would be the consistency of priming on the “up” stroke.