value of Dillon RL550 press

[bedwards]

Have friend who knows nothing about it. Wants to sell used with tumbler, rotary sifter and some boxes of 38spl brass. I assume it has 38spl dies going to look at it this afternoon.
I understand caliber change may be expensive so any ideas-pitfalls on value and what to look for before I take the plunge? I currently have a Lee 1000 with dies for everything I own so may may not want to spend the extra money.

thanks in advance
be

[HodakaGA]

550's don't lose much value and are pretty cheap and quick to swap calibers. SDB's and 650's are more time consuming and expensive for changes.

Check the Dillon site or Brian Enos' site for current prices. Brian sells for the same price as Dillon but includes shipping.

If you can buy it at 80% of new or less, you'll be doing good. I often see them sell on Ebay used for as much as new.

Most cal. changes cost around $35. That's for the shell plate, buttons, and powder drop/case mouth expander.

Tool heads are about $20. You want one for every set of dies you'll use so you can leave them pre-set.

It's really nice to have a toolhead preset with dies and a powder dispenser too.......that runs about $85-90 per setup.

[para45lda]

Love my 550. If you have the $$ splurge on the powder measure to go with your caliber conversions. Very sweet.

Takes less than 10 minutes to change from small to large primer. A little less for caliber changes only (not course nting powder charge weight verification of course).

I'd love to have another one so I could leave one set up for small primers and one for large.

Wes

Tell your friend I'll give him $200 for everything.:kidding:

[Kevin Rohrer]

Quoting from their online catalog:

The current price for a new 550B is $430.

The Tumbler is is either $140 or $185, depending on the size.

The sifter (I have one and it is GREAT) is either $46 or $72, depending on the size.

A deluxe caliber change kit including the toolhead, powder measure , stand, and powder die costs $99; the conversion kit are $45, and dies (which you don't need; regular dies work fine) are $63, costs a total of $144 w/o dies. A caliber changes w/o changing the primer arm or powder bar takes about 3-minutes.

A fair price for a 550B is anywhere up to and including the retail price. Make him a reasonable offer (the better the friend, the higher the price) and see what he says.

I have had a 550B since at least 1995 and with the Strong Mount, probably won't ever get rid of it. The press is too versatile.

And a slight correction to what Hodaka said: Dillons NEVER lose their value. They appreciate in value as the retail price increases due to Dillon's No BS repair/replacement policy.

[FWest]

I'll say the best price I have seen lately on a used 550 is $200, press only.

[ReloaderFred]

I won a 550B at a match and sold it new in the box to a friend for $300.00. It was set up for .45 Colt. He was happy and I was happy, so it was a good deal all around.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[LUBEDUDE]

Amen to everyone's comments.

It would be nice to know if it comes with the "Strong Mount", primer warning system, powder warning system - any or all. As you probalbly know, you don't have to have, but nice to have and they add up.

When people ask me which Dillon to get, I say, if you are going to change calibers, then go 550, for reasons stated above. Like others have said, I keep all my conversions with dies set on tool heads with their own powder dispensers on a stand - the only way to go.

Until you know more details, it's hard to put an exact fiqure, but if push came to shove I'd say anything $300 or less sounds fair - you did say he was a freind ?

[bedwards]

Ok, the press is NIB still in the plastic wrapper with the powder and primer attachements. I saw the original receipt dated 1988. It has dies for 38/357 and 44/44mag. I think it has an extra tool head in the box with the dies. There was also some kind of cloth cover in the box. There was a NIB Midway vibratory case cleaner, NIB rotary sifter and a NIB Dillion scale. It also came with 3-4 boxes of once fired brass. They are asking 300 for the whole deal.
I think I can use my Lee dies with whats here to cover all the other calibers I need to load. I have everything I need in Lee, i just always wanted a nice progressive like this one. Gotta get clearance from my wife too. Money's tight.
Would you spend the money even though your already set up in Lee?

thnks for your thoughts guys

be

[GabbyM]

Sounds like a great deal to me.

[para45lda]

Sounds like an Awesome deal to me. Almost a steal.

Wes

[Alvarez Kelly]

Those Dillon dies are carbide and are designed to work well in their progressive press. If you didn't need them, you could probably sell them all day long for $45 to $50 per set... If they are in a cailber you plan to reload on the Dillon, use them and park your Lee dies. The Dillon dies have a much larger radius on the entry, which makes progressive loading smoother.

Considering everything you stated was included, I'd say you found a real bargain. If you don't buy it, I will, and will pay the $35 to $40 to ship it to me.

But seriously, it's a great deal. Grab it up. You won't be sorry. If you use it for a while, then money gets tight, you can still sell it for a profit.

[kelbro]

It will be the best reloading $300 that you will ever spend. If I didn't already have two 550s and those caliber setups, I would offer you a $100 profit on the rig and pay for shipping.

[CLAYPOOL]

Life can be good...

[bedwards]

ok, will let you know how it goes tomorrow

thanks again
be

[LUBEDUDE]

Stlll new, wow!, Smokn' deal!

[Kevin Rohrer]

Would you spend the money even though your already set up in Lee?

To use an analogy:
Lee = Yugo
Dillon = Chevy

$300 might be fair, although the 550B probably sold for around $200 then. You can sell your Lee stuff and recoup some of your investment.

1988 is pretty old. Are you sure it wasn't 1998? Is it a "B" or an earlier 550?

Dillon has made a few minor changes over the years. If you get it, call them and they will ship the parts for free. They will know what has changed. I am thinking that the metal plate the primer bar slides on was changed to a Teflon-coated one (mine is blued), and they may have added the powder measure safety rod.

[milprileb]

You been given great advice, its a good buy and you will not regret buying it. Bite bullet and do it.

Now: some lessons learned at my expense:
a. 550 is more versatile, simple and cheaper on caliber conv. Why I bought a 650
is beyond me.
b. 550 or 650: all dies work well. I have Hornady, RCBS and Lee dies in use on all
Dillons with flawless performance.
c. Powder measures: I see no advantage of Dillon measures (high cost) over the Lee Pro measure with adj charge bar (8 bucks for the bar). I use both kinds of measures on tool heads on 550 and 650 with flawless performance by both. Lee is 30 bucks for measure and performs flawlessly.... if it did not, it would be tossed in the trash.

Going from Lee progressive to a Dillon is like going from Craftsman tools to Snap On. Not mandatory for what you use tools for but what a difference in performance. OVer a lifetime,
you will not regret getting that Dillon.

Lastly on dies: Dillon makes dies that snap apart for easy cleaning for pistol which is nice if you load cast bullets a lot and their seating die seems to offer not only cleaning but a more precise bullet seating feature for different bullet shapes. While I don't suffer in bullet seating with any of the named brand dies I mentioned, I will go to a Dillon 9mm and 45acp seating die for convenience of cleaning out bullet lube and perhaps (maybe its true), a more precise seating of bullets so they won't shave lead. The cleaning feature alone is worth 24 bucks price of that die over a lifetime of use and I load a ton of pistol ammo for my own use monthly.

Buy the Dillon.

[bedwards]

Well..... if the guy will just call me back today, I will. Talked to his wife last night and he had already gone to bed. Will update in a short I hope


be

[Artful]

Good luck - that's a smokin deal

[bedwards]

Well.... ITS IN THE TRUCK! Thanks for all your input! I can't wait to get home and unbox this thing.

Bryan

[Alvarez Kelly]

As you may have heard, without photos, it never happened.

SHOW IT TO US. :-P

[bedwards]

ok, let's try the phone download:
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/2011-09-23_14-18-31_368.jpg
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/2011-09-23_14-20-49_906.jpg
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/2011-09-23_14-18-48_663.jpg
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/2011-09-23_14-19-51_391.jpg
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/2011-09-23_14-20-23_161.jpg
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/2011-09-23_14-20-23_161.jpg

[smilie=1:
be

[bedwards]

forgot one more: http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/2011-09-23_14-19-25_208.jpg

[bedwards]

It is too old to have the Powder Measure Failsafe kit for RL550. Do I need?

be

[Love Life]

Not really, but $25 is pretty cheap for peace of mind.

[Alvarez Kelly]

Lastly on dies: Dillon makes dies that snap apart for easy cleaning for pistol which is nice if you load cast bullets a lot and their seating die seems to offer not only cleaning but a more precise bullet seating feature for different bullet shapes. While I don't suffer in bullet seating with any of the named brand dies I mentioned, I will go to a Dillon 9mm and 45acp seating die for convenience of cleaning out bullet lube and perhaps (maybe its true), a more precise seating of bullets so they won't shave lead. The cleaning feature alone is worth 24 bucks price of that die over a lifetime of use and I load a ton of pistol ammo for my own use monthly.



Dillons older dies didn't have the snap apart feature you mentioned. I'm not sure when they started making the ones that come apart so easily. (And I LOVE that feature also.) His could be either kind.

So? Photos of die sets, conversion kits, or other "extras?" :-P

Great buy, by the way...

[Greg in va]

Very good buy, I've got 2 550's and a 1050 I love all of them got them mounted on the same bench all in a row...

[7of7]

I have one 550B, and six toolheads of stuff.. One toolhead, I bought I only have to change a spacer from the top to the bottom to change between 38, and 357... Good deal for 50 bucks..I also have to change the charge bar or readjust it.. it is easier to change the bar..

$300.00 for all of that?? You did good,... very good..

[Kevin Rohrer]

Please post pics of the assembled press. I'd like to see the differences between a 1988 (?) model and the current one.

[Mike Kerr]

Thank goodness you got it. I am just now catching up with the thread and for a while I thought you were going to pass it up, or the deal would crater, or something bad would happen. Great buy. I'm very happy for you and I mean that- I just had to supress my jealous side to type those words. Heck of a deal.

regards,
:grin::grin::grin:

[Fugowii]

It is too old to have the Powder Measure Failsafe kit for RL550. Do I need?

be

It's not too old. I updated my 550 (purchased in 1986) a few years ago. I forget what
it cost but it was well worth it and, in my opinion, absolutely necessary.

[bedwards]

I spent today trying to mount it with a home made removable mount. I should have bought Pat Marlin's instead of trying to make one. I mounted it and my Lee that way so I can remove them from my bench to cast. The bench is very small. I will get some pics tomorrow when I get it assembled.

be

[hicard]

You did great and will not regret your purchase at all. I have 2 550B's

[bedwards]

It took a long time to get these mounted in removable mounts on the bench. (not my idea)
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/1316977550854.jpg
http://i791.photobucket.com/albums/yy200/wbedwards/Dillon/1316977565156.jpg




be

[Alvarez Kelly]

Nice press! New old stock is great, especially when the price is right. The only differences between your press and the newer 550B is the failsafe mechanism on the powder measure, and a low primer alarm.

The low primer alarm is a simple add on. It makes an annoying buzzing sound when you get down to about 3 primers in the magazine tube. Running out and not knowing it is a mess, as powder leaks everywhere. Pretty cheap upgrade if I remember right. About $23.00 I think.

The powder failsafe mechanism is designed to help prevent accidental over charges. It manually pulls the powder bar shut. Unless you are a very vigalent, experienced loader, you can consider it cheap insurance. Make sure you keep the parts you take off to make the upgrade. There are some folks that prefer the older case activated powder measure for other applications. Your old parts can be retrofitted to a newer powder measure. You might even be able to swap your powder measure for a newer one, if you were so inclined.

I hope that all makes sense. Happy loading!

[LUBEDUDE]

Nice, ain't nothing wrong with that deal!

[bedwards]

So you can't, don't visually check the powder when it drops I guess? I always had a light shining in the brass with the Lee so I could visually check that the powder looked about right. The PM on the Lee was inconsistent with some powders like 2400.
Its all adjusted but I haven't tried to load anything yet. Will probably try tonight to load some 357 mag

(dont tell anybody, but they took $275 for the package deal :-) )
thanks again
be

[Alvarez Kelly]

You can look into the case before you set the bullet. Some folks use a pen light or even rig up a mirror. After a few thousand rounds without a problem, you get pretty comfortable with how it feels when things are humming along. You KNOW when something isn't right, so you go looking for it.

With time, you will become very proficient at knowing what problesm feel like.

Enjoy!

[Fugowii]

Nice press! New old stock is great, especially when the price is right. The only differences between your press and the newer 550B is the failsafe mechanism on the powder measure, and a low primer alarm.

The low primer alarm is a simple add on. It makes an annoying buzzing sound when you get down to about 3 primers in the magazine tube. Running out and not knowing it is a mess, as powder leaks everywhere. Pretty cheap upgrade if I remember right. About $23.00 I think.

The powder failsafe mechanism is designed to help prevent accidental over charges. It manually pulls the powder bar shut. Unless you are a very vigalent, experienced loader, you can consider it cheap insurance. Make sure you keep the parts you take off to make the upgrade. There are some folks that prefer the older case activated powder measure for other applications. Your old parts can be retrofitted to a newer powder measure. You might even be able to swap your powder measure for a newer one, if you were so inclined.

I hope that all makes sense. Happy loading!

The primer slide bearing is a 550B addition as well.

[Alvarez Kelly]

The primer slide bearing is a 550B addition as well.

True that. It is included in with the failsafe upgrade kit, since you are raising the shellplate platform (the same thickness as the primer track bearing) with the failsafe return bracket. Without the primer slide "bearing," the priming system wouldn't work correctly.

[bedwards]

I had a problem with the primer slide binding right out of the box. I adjusted the primer feed body to eliminate this. I hope it won't be a problem down the road. It sounds like I might want to get the update kit.
What are you guys lubricating the press with?

be

[Mike Kerr]

THE INFORMATION FOR YOU IN THE PREVIOUS FEW POSTS IS CORRECT
IN ADDITION This is from Dillon ALMOST VERBATIM

1. Ram can be lubed with motor oil - 30W
2. Links, Arms, etc with grease (almost any industrial grade grease for similar objects or uses).

From me: Best hour you can spend - Please don't lube anything else until you go to Dillon's web site & check both of the following:

A. Bar with black background at top of page for Technical Help then click Help Guides- then click headers marked for primers - read answers - 30 minutes tops wealth of knowledge- a few minutes reading will save you much grief and grease.

B. Bar with gray background Click Forum, then Click 450/550/550B - Run searches for Primer, Primer system, Primer slides, Primer track bearing, Powder slides, funnels, read discussions - 20 minutes tops - wealth of knowledge.

C. You are now a Dillon owner and every technical help person or customer service person at Dillon will help you & Say : " Don't suffer in silence - give us a call"

regards,

:grin::grin::grin: