Dillon 650 parts

[shell70634]

A couple weeks ago I broke the ring indexer on my 650 so I ordered a new one. I installed it and the new one lasted less than 1k 223 rounds. The original is over 10 years old. So I went to order 2 more. The total cost around $24. Shipping $11 for less than a pound of plastic. This disgusts me.
Do any of you guys with 3d printers make these? I like my 650 but hate the high cost of shipping when it could be shipped cheaper.

Rant over.

[1006]

They will keep sending them to you for free. I complained about that part, told them I had been through several of them, and that none had lasted as long as the original. They sent me a new one and a spare.

Mine tend to break when the case in the last station fails to eject smoothly, the shell plate momentarily locks up, and the stress exerted on the handle breaks the part.

[JimB..]

I hate their shipping, but they never charge me for repair parts or shipping of them.

[shell70634]

When it's my fault, I just order the part. This is just a poor copy of the original. Turned a piece of aluminum stock tonite. Tomorrow I'll plan the milling to make it out of aluminum. IIRC the first 650's had that part made of metal. It'll take a while and alot of hand fitting but I'm determined to make it work.
I pulled the old one from the trash and compared it to the new. The old one was more dense. The break on the new one was more granular and I'm sure it's a different kind of plastic.

[JimB..]

The plastic part breaks when subjected to excessive stress, before you fit an aluminum part that will easily survive that level of stress, consider what will break instead of that now nearly indestructible ring.

BTW, unless you took it off the press and were throwing it around the shop, there is no way to break that part that is your fault.

[Tatume]

BTW, unless you took it off the press and were throwing it around the shop, there is no way to break that part that is your fault.

How is this not also the fault of the person who broke the part? :-)

[JimB..]

How is this not also the fault of the person who broke the part? :-)
It is partly the fault of each of us and of each of the creatures that have ever lived on God’s green earth.

[Hossfly]

A couple weeks ago I broke the ring indexer on my 650 so I ordered a new one. I installed it and the new one lasted less than 1k 223 rounds. The original is over 10 years old. So I went to order 2 more. The total cost around $24. Shipping $11 for less than a pound of plastic. This disgusts me.
Do any of you guys with 3d printers make these? I like my 650 but hate the high cost of shipping when it could be shipped cheaper.

Rant over.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a ring indexer? I must not have broken it yet, when the last station eject becomes sticky I’ve been adding a little silicone grease,then they seem to work easier. Maybe I’m just not understanding where this problem exists?

[DocSavage]

Are we talking the plastic part under the base? I've replace a couple from wear but at one point I replaced the part that engages the indexer with an after mart piece that uses a bearing press runs much smoother now.
I've had a Dillon press for the better part of 30 years starting with the 450 and NEVER had to pay for a worn or broken part. I screwed up the 550 I had called to find out how much to fix it told to send it in. Explains nicely but I caused the damage,was told send it we'll fix it no charge. You'll be hard pressed to find a better warranty than Dillon.

[shell70634]

The first indexer broke because I didn't recognize the resistance from a primer hang up quick enough. I just wasn't paying attention to what the machine was telling me. The second broke during normal operation and there was no abnormal resistance prior to breaking. I've got a 550, a 650, and a 1050 and they all would telegraph problems before breaking parts. Not this time.

I do like Dillon products. My rant was about substandard replacement parts and shipping at 50 percent of the order when there are more economical shipping methods. If they are paying less than what they charge for shipping then I consider that an increase in price for the product. If the amount they charge is actual cost then they should help the customer by finding or offering less expensive methods.

Excess shipping charges are becoming the norm with mail order purchasing from many companies.

[jmorris]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a ring indexer? I must not have broken it yet,

It’s part #20 on page 52 of the manual.

https://dilloncdn.com/manuals/dillon-xl650-manual-english.pdf

If you haven’t broken one, you are not alone and I have loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds on my 650’s, without breaking one.

If you don’t use excess force and stop when things don’t feel right, you won’t break one.

The 1050’s are the only presses they have ever charged me for parts, even then they still give me the orifice tips for free despite me telling them it’s for a 1050 not one of my SD or 550 presses.

[Burnt Fingers]

1. Get a spare parts kit.
2. When you use a part out of the kit call Dillon and they will replace the broken part.

[DocSavage]

I don't understand why when a part on a dillon breaks people insist on buying the part when they can get it for free. The last part that wore out on my 650 I called for a replacement it was the indexer and they sent me 2 free . Now it appears to be a different material it may not last as long as the original but again it was replaced free of charge.

[GWS]

2 things come to my mind....

1: Slow down....progressive loading speed records cause more serious problems as well, and your press and your guns will thank you.
2: If it isn't smooth it isn't right. Stop and see what you did wrong.

Even my Pro Chucker 7 press is still on it's original primer sliders....only because I'm religious about the two things above.....it works...and it keeps my blood pressure down.

[Hossfly]

It’s part #20 on page 52 of the manual.

https://dilloncdn.com/manuals/dillon-xl650-manual-english.pdf

If you haven’t broken one, you are not alone and I have loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds on my 650’s, without breaking one.

If you don’t use excess force and stop when things don’t feel right, you won’t break one.

The 1050’s are the only presses they have ever charged me for parts, even then they still give me the orifice tips for free despite me telling them it’s for a 1050 not one of my SD or 550 presses.

Thanks for that link. Kept me from looking it up, especially it being at end of book. I’ll keep an eye on it next time I’m loading. Been running a lot of 45 acp and found about 20 sp rounds and that stops operation, just cant get those LP primers to go in LOL.

[1006]

A word for those who think it is operator error:

NEGATIVE

The part is cheaply made and the force required to break it is no more than that which is exerted during normal slow paced reloading.

The older parts were made from a more durable plastic than the newer ones, but they all break sooner or later.

I have two of the 650’s, and have owned one other 650 in addition to those. The ring indexer has broken on all of them. I do not try to speed reload, and Dillon knows the part is problematic. I imagine that is why they have used at least three different plastics for the part. The part typically breaks on the upstroke as a result of a case getting hung up in station five, or from a high primer dragging the platform as it moves from station to station.

The only way that I have found to avoid the problem is to prime in a separate operation, and keep the press clean. I size and prime all my cases on the 650 first, then run them through a second time for powder, Bullets and crimp.

[Tatume]

I've never broken one. I have had hangups that might have broken the ring if I had forced the handle, but instead I stopped, determined the problem, and corrected it.

[Burnt Fingers]

I've never broken on. I have at least 75K rounds on one of my 650 presses.

Of course I don't force things either.

High primers are a operator error. Priming off the press negates the advantages of having a progressive press. Rounds hanging up on the ejector wire means you don't have that wire tuned right.

[1006]

I load at a rate far slower than the 600/hour that Dillon advertises. As most have noticed, the older ones were made out of a stronger material. My first one must have gone 100k with no issue. Then it broke. By that time, I had purchased a new 650. I then sold the older one and bought a second new one, hoping to avoid issues.

For me the breakages have always been due to faulty case ejection from station 5.

Admittedly, I have tried tuning the ejection wire, but I do not think Dillon recommends ejection wire tuning as the press is switched between calibers. Dillon gives no guidance to tuning the ejector wire, that I have seen.

I still think it’s the best press out there, but it has a few weaknesses. I just want them to come up with a better replacement part.

[JimB..]

I just want them to come up with a better replacement part.

They seem to be pretty bright, just keep ordering replacements and they’ll eventually figure it out.

[jmorris]

I load a rates that far exceed Dillon’s like, 100 rounds in under 4 minutes, even with filling primer tubes and collators, 1000 an hour isn’t a problem but I use enough force to load not enough to destroy things if a problem occurs.

Like 38 seconds into this video, a stoppage and nothing destroyed, just rectify and continue.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl63cR9Y_Y0&t=4s

Same with priming, it’s not rammed in there like it or not, feel it enter the pocket, then seat it.

[onelight]

jmorris you videos are always a treat to watch , you sure know how to get the most out of a piece of equipment.
That is a sweet running press.

[JimB..]

I load a rates that far exceed Dillon’s like, 100 rounds in under 4 minutes, even with filling primer tubes and collators, 1000 an hour isn’t a problem but I use enough force to load not enough to destroy things if a problem occurs.

Like 38 seconds into this video, a stoppage and nothing destroyed, just rectify and continue.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl63cR9Y_Y0&t=4s

Same with priming, it’s not rammed in there like it or not, feel it enter the pocket, then seat it.

Is that bullet feeder your design? I rather like it, seems like it would handle a variety of bullets more easily than the dropper style feeders.

[DocSavage]

One of my 650s is at least 20 years old the other 10 ,I don't think I've done more than 400 rds an hour doing pistol ammo haven't timed rifle. Reloading is not a NASCAR race for me and at the rate I go I can feel any resistance which leads to a part breakage.

[Master Samwise]

I also find that bullet feeder interesting.
My 650 is probably in the 20 year vintage too, bought it used last year. I ended up sending it out to Dillon for a full service, and man what a difference. I have broken parts, mostly indexing rings, something about my particular machine just snaps them. A rolling cam made a world of difference with that though.

The auto drive setups, like the PW and the Mark 7 or Ammobot, start at 900 per hour, as their baseline. 900 is a little slower than what he's showing here, just a nice steady pace but faster than I could maintain personally.

[jmorris]

Is that bullet feeder your design? I rather like it, seems like it would handle a variety of bullets more easily than the dropper style feeders.

The toolhead/bullet feeder was made by GSI, I made the collator. I have them for 650’s and 1050’s but they are no longer made. I prefer them to my dropper style feeders because I can retain the powder check die and still seat in one step then crimp in another.

[jmorris]

The auto drive setups, like the PW and the Mark 7 or Ammobot, start at 900 per hour, as their baseline. 900 is a little slower than what he's showing here, just a nice steady pace but faster than I could maintain personally.


The one above doesn’t get 1500 rounds an hour. 100 rounds in 4 minutes isn’t the end of the story as far as hourly production goes as you have to come to a complete stop to replenish the components.

How that’s done can determine hourly output.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTZ-_v6Mks

Using a vibraprime your looking closer to 1100/hr and around 1300 using the Dillon filler.

My computer controlled 1050’s load 1000 in 51 minutes and 25 seconds and are even less work because all I have to do is keep them full and case gauge and box the rounds as they come out. That last part is something I still have to do after the fact on the manual machines vs concurrent on the driven ones. So, even though they load a bit slower, I am still done quicker.