Spent Primer Handling for Dillion 550

[curiousgeorge]

Jmorris hit the nail on the head. Try using a hat pin, the ones that have the big bead on the end. Cut it off (it's too long as it comes), insert and put a little bend on the cut end with pliers.
Worked great on my 3 550's.

[onelight]

Another free piece of wire that is hard and still bendable is the wire from a utility locate flag . I have found so many uses for them I usually have a few around.

[Baltimoreed]

My Dillon 550 catchers work fine, I’ll have an occasional primer pop out of the cup on my Lyman T2s. I prime and deprime on my presses [for pistol ammo]. Prime off press for rifle.

[David2011]

Replaced the cotter pin on mine with a long 4-40 socket head cap screw and nylon locking nut a LONG time ago. I also stuck a small piece of self-adhesive felt on the catch cup where the primers first hit. That greatly reduced primers bouncing out of the cup. The long 4-40 screw was from an RC hobby shop.

[edp2k]

I also stuck a small piece of self-adhesive felt on the catch cup where the primers first hit. That greatly reduced primers bouncing out of the cup.

+1.

In addition to the cotter pin/hat-pin,
sticking a piece of self-adhesive felt, a piece of velcro (the soft velcro side, not the stiff side), or some similar cushy fabric
on the inside of the primer catcher cup and also on the inside of the RL550 primer trapdoor will minimize the primer ricochet
when the spring loaded decapping pin on the Dillon decapping/size die finally causes the primer to clear the primer pocket.

The suggestion to cut a corner out of a plastic milk jug to have taller walls on the primer cup is good also

[Capt. Senile]

You can take a safety pin about the size of the one that comes on an AR15 bandoleer and cut off the catch end, and the point end, then spread it a bit and put it on the inside of the primer catch thingy to spring load it to the open position when de-capping.
Works finer than frogs hair.

[Petrol & Powder]

Replace the cotter pin with a section of a paper clip or other one piece of wire that will allow it to pivot freely and not hang up.

/\ While I didn't resort to paperclip - this makes perfect sense /\

The little trapdoor/chute gets dirty and hangs up. This isn't a huge problem in my experience but when it hangs up it's a quick fix.

Pull the cotter pin out, clean everything well. Deburr the holes the cotter pin passes through and polish the area around the holes. Wax the entire thing with a bit of car wax - and it will work for about 15,000 more cycles before you have to clean it again

The 550 is a rock solid machine but even the best equipment needs to be cleaned and lubricated occasionally.

[David2011]

The suggestion to cut a corner out of a plastic milk jug to have taller walls on the primer cup is good also

I forgot about that. I raised the walls on the primer cup with tape folded over from the inside to the outside. That helps with the sneaky ones.

[jmorris]

Thank you everyone. Replacing the cotter pin supplied by Dillon with a section of paper clip helped a lot. I still lose a few, but I don't have to manually close the chute, which speeds up my reloading by elimination of one operation. Again, thanks all.

There are other 550 tips that can help speed up things too.

I know it’s not your original question but a concept every 550 owner should know about.

[Adam20]

Jmorris, Thank you for posting that video

[MrWolf]

Agreed thanks for that. Never thought of it.

[Big Wes]

Another free piece of wire that is hard and still bendable is the wire from a utility locate flag . I have found so many uses for them I usually have a few around.

Ditto works great!

[David2011]

Lots of comments about replacing the factory cotter pin with another type of soft metal. The reason I used a 4-40 socket head cap screw is that it’s hardened steel and won’t bend easily. The cotter pin in mine was bent badly and the source of the binding. The nylon insert locking nut let me secure the screw without any pressure on the light aluminum pieces. It has worked flawlessly for many years without any adjustment.

[Old School Big Bore]

Both of mine will shoot the occasional primer at a sharp enough angle that they miss the chute altogether. I find slowing the upstroke so that the primer is ejected less forcefully will usually let them drop more by gravity and less by being propelled. The chute staying folded up is a different problem. I frequently have to tweak the aluminum one way or the other to get it swinging freely again. Now is there a trick to stopping the feed from freezing up on the last primer, even with a follower pressing on the stack?
Ed <><

[alamogunr]

I learned of that method of changing primers on the 550 some time back. It may have come from jmorris then too. I've done it both ways and the video he posted is by far the easiest.

[alamogunr]

Lots of comments about replacing the factory cotter pin with another type of soft metal. The reason I used a 4-40 socket head cap screw is that it’s hardened steel and won’t bend easily. The cotter pin in mine was bent badly and the source of the binding. The nylon insert locking nut let me secure the screw without any pressure on the light aluminum pieces. It has worked flawlessly for many years without any adjustment.

I tried to use a small machine screw also. Even a #2 is too large to go thru the holes in the spent primer chute. And for sure the cotter pin will be too bent up to put things back together. I just used a length of wire that I cut off of a coil that I had in the drawer.
I know this says a lot about my shakey old hands.