Dillon power trimmer and dies

[Evoken]

Good morning gents,
I am thinking about ways to make my bulk brass prep more efficient. Military brass primarily. As it goes now, size on one press, swage primer pocket on another, then trim and deburr in the f.a. power trimmer.
Looking at the Dillon electric trimmer they describe their trim dies as sizer dies also. But the description and photos leave something to be desired. Does the trim die truly full length size? How does it do this, I assume it does not have an expander ball.
I am also looking at the swage-it tool for the Dillon 550 as I do not prime on it anyway. This would make short work of those tedious little 5.56 cases. Deprime, swage, trim, size all in one throw would be nice. I am also getting ready to dive into 300 aac and the trimmer would be nice to convert cases.

Any experience and pros/cons would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ken

[oldsman]

not sure about space on the the 550 for dies with the trimmer . on the 650 and 1050 the adjacent holes on the die plate are not usable , and you will need the die plate with the milled out step for 223 and shorter cases for the trimmer.
on the trimmer die I dont use it for sizing but you can I dont set it up that way I size before trim.
On the swage it tool , I read alot of mixed reviews and it voids the dillon warranty it puts alot of pressure on the shell plate
my friend bought the dillon cp2000 , we use that now for processing brass
I have used the dillon trimmer setup on a single stage press in the past

[Old Sarge]

I have the older version (RT1200) and have used it for 5.56mm and 308Win. It dose resize and there is no expander ball on it. For a while I would run them through a RCBS die to expand and then later just skipped the expander step. Never had an issue with it (yet). It works well if your doing a bunch of them at a time. I like to break it down into lots of 500 or so. Size & trim them then run the through the Swaging tool (also a Dillon). Small lots I would think its not as time efficient. I use it on a RCBS Rock Chucker press.

Old Sarge

[oldsman]

I have the older version (RT1200) and have used it for 5.56mm and 308Win. It dose resize and there is no expander ball on it. For a while I would run them through a RCBS die to expand and then later just skipped the expander step. Never had an issue with it (yet). It works well if your doing a bunch of them at a time. I like to break it down into lots of 500 or so. Size & trim them then run the through the Swaging tool (also a Dillon). Small lots I would think its not as time efficient. I use it on a RCBS Rock Chucker press.

Old Sarge

that is way I use to do it , I also have the rt 1200 and dillon hand swager and done all the prep on the rc press then load on a 650

[Gunor]

I have a Lee APP for depriming
Wet SS clean next
Lee APP for swaging (use my new primer gage - a great tool)
650 and RT 1500 - first station - 223 sizing die - just to make sure it sizes easy in the trimming die (does not size all the way - just backed out a little)
Dillon trimmer die - for finishing sizing and trim.

Dillon lube for the sizing operation. Using a Case Feeder (to be mounted on Lee APP)
Final is Wet SS.

Swaging on 550/650 - never tried, heard that it can break the 550/650..but i don't know

[derek45]

DILLON XL650

sta.1 LEE de-capper

sta.2 "SWAGE-IT" primer pocket crimp remover

sta.3 DILLON trimmer and die that also resizes ( which holds the brass firmly so it can be cut)

sta.5 Redding neck sizer, adjusted to kiss the neck

----------------------------------
Operation.

spray LC brass with home brew dillon style case lube
pour into XL650 casefeeder.
each crank of the handle produces a resized, trimmed, decapped, primer pocket swaged case.





now take all that processed brass and dry tumble with tiny 20/40 grit corn cob media....this removes the spray lube.

swap out the XL650 toolhead with a normal one that has
1. Lyman M-die to open the mouth a bit
2. primer system, and powder measure
3. Powder check system
4. bullet seater
5. optional crimp

now load up just like pistol...



20/40 grit is too tiny to clog up primer pockets

[Evoken]

Thanks for all the information fellas. It sounds like this may save me one step at least. I am considering getting into a 750 soon and would like to convert the 550 into a prep station.

The 1050/1100 and the cp2000 look like real nice machines and have a primer swagger built in, but 2+k is a hard pill to swallow for me.

[Plate plinker]

FYI Dillon does not endorse using the old case trimmer for making 300 brass. Motor is supposedly to wimpy to hold up to the abuse.

[derek45]

FYI Dillon does not endorse using the old case trimmer for making 300 brass. Motor is supposedly to wimpy to hold up to the abuse.

this new one does

"..RT1500 | Electric Case Trimmer
The RT1500 Electric Case Trimmer is designed to handle the heaviest trimming jobs, including converting 223 Remington into 300 AAC Blackout. ..."


https://www.dillonprecision.com/62164

[Plate plinker]

That’s correct.