Dillon 650/750 Case Feeder Issues?

[Kevin Rohrer]

I bought a 750XL a bit ago and have finally decided to add the case feeder. It occurs to me that I will have two issues w/ it and would like owners to comment:

1. Small primer .45ACP brass that is mixed-in with the regular brass.

2. Some .45ACP brass may contain debris after cleaning (steel pins, dirt, etc). Will the brass moving inside the case feeder tend to have that debris fall out, and if so, where does it end up? Should I inspect the brass even after cleaning?

[rockrat]

If it has dirt in it, its not clean. You don't want the stainless pins messing up your machine, and yes, the sp pockets mixed in the lp pockets is a deluxe pain.

[Hossfly]

I bought a 750XL a bit ago and have finally decided to add the case feeder. It occurs to me that I will have two issues w/ it and would like owners to comment:

1. Small primer brass that is mixed-in with the regular brass.



2. Some brass may contain debris after cleaning (steel pins, dirt, etc). Will the brass moving inside the case feeder tend to have that debris fall out, and if so, where does it end up? Should I inspect the brass even after cleaning?

Yes, after cleaning you need to sort by caliber, and if you find sp mixed in with lp, you will need to get to one type primer pocket.

[JimB..]

The case feeder has a couple little holes in it where small bits of junk, most often walnut media, will fall out.

For those calibers where you have both large and small primer options you just gotta sort them before you drop them in the collator. I’ve begun marking the bottoms of my 45 and 223/556 to save processing steps.

[John Wayne]

Hi Kevin,
I have glued 2 shotgun hulls with Goop brand glue to the back of the case feed hopper to catch the tumbler media and keep it off the bench. Once a year I pass over them with the shop vac. I use the Dillon media separator after tumbling with walnut/corncob hulls. I've found that if I spin that separator an extra minute or so I get 99.9% of the media before it can make it to the case feeder.

[jmorris]

Both of your issues are not press related rather your process related. If you let dirty or the wrong brass get into the case feeder or press, none of them can fix that on their own.

Kind of like putting gas in a diesel or diesel in a gasoline engine, neither will work but it wasn’t the fault of either engine.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Both of your issues are not press related rather your process related. If you let dirty or the wrong brass get into the case feeder or press, none of them can fix that on their own.

Kind of like putting gas in a diesel or diesel in a gasoline engine, neither will work but it wasn’t the fault of either engine.

Right, am aware of this. Am asking how others dealt w/ these problems.

[jmorris]

For clean brass I either tumble them dry in corn cob or wet with pins and let them dry.

I use a media separator with both to ensure everything is gone from the case. If I am wet tumbling with media I fill the media catch tub with water to reduce the surface tension of the soapy cases and never had a pin make it to the press.

The primer pockets are another story all together. I wound up going with a 1050 for awhile because I had an idea that would eliminate hand sorting and built this.

[jmorris]

A couple years ago I decided I wanted a stand-alone sorter to make my other 45 ACP presses more useful than paper weights and I built this one.

[Kevin Rohrer]

For clean brass I either tumble them dry in corn cob or wet with pins and let them dry.

I use a media separator with both to ensure everything is gone from the case. If I am wet tumbling with media I fill the media catch tub with water to reduce the surface tension of the soapy cases and never had a pin make it to the press.

The primer pockets are another story all together. I wound up going with a 1050 for awhile because I had an idea that would eliminate hand sorting and built this.

You, sir, are a Reloading God!

I'll just run the brass thru my Dillon media separator a second time before it goes into the case-feeder, and cull what few SP primer cases I come across in the press.

[John Wayne]

Mr. Morris is one of a kind!!! Too bad you have to mark the small primers brass with a sharpie

[Kevin Rohrer]

I added the case-feeder last night and loaded 200-rounds in just a few minutes. Am glad I got it (even at the over-the-top price of $300). It was easy to install and works well. The only reason not to add one to a 650 or 750 is to save money.

As far as my perceived problem of finding small primer .45 ACP rounds is concerned, it is a non-issue. If a case doesn't prime, it is SP and I pull it out and continue. As far as junk in the cases, I just run small amounts of brass thru my Dillon media separator a second time. The only problem I see occurring at this point is when smaller brass (9mm or .40cal) end-up in the .45 brass. No matter how well I inspect the brass, I know some will slip thru.

[jmorris]

For keeping the wrong cases out of the operation I use this. Still have to stand there to catch any that might be nested inside another, separate and toos back into the collator.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Am liking this. The downsides (besides the high cost) are minimal.

[David2011]

I added the case-feeder last night and loaded 200-rounds in just a few minutes. Am glad I got it (even at the over-the-top price of $300). It was easy to install and works well. The only reason not to add one to a 650 or 750 is to save money.

Just my opinion, without the case feeder on a 650/750 you might as well have a 550. I’ve had a 550 for almost 30 years and a 650 for close to 15 years.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I have encountered the case-in-a-case problem, which was minor. Have also encountered the small pistol primer problem, which was also minor and easily solved. And have seen the wrong case in-line, which is rare.

Last night I encountered my first parts that vibrated off the press and hit the floor problem. Time to get out the Locktite.

And a minor inconvenience is how weak the motor is for the case-feeder. The instructions say to not fill it more than half-way. I filled the drum about 20% full but it would not revolve. Had to empty it to only a couple hundred cases before it would work. Are there stronger motors out there I can swap-out the stock motor for?