Dillon RL550 dumpster diving

[NyFirefighter357]

The other day I was talking to the S-I-L of one of my companies customers I was servicing. She had gotten sick & spent some time in the hospital. They went to check on her house and saw it needed a good cleaning and some repairs. They removed 5 - 20 yard dumpsters from the house, I had mentioned I often find things of interest in basements. He asked what I look for I said tools & lead. He asked why lead & I replied with a smile and a wink, sinkers. He said I understand I have them too. So we got talking and he said that the tenant was asked to remove his long stored items from the garage and he tossed some kind of reloading press in the dumpster & if I wanted it he knew right where it was. Challenge excepted! I removed a solid wood door, moved a few tires & some old 6" tongue & groove fur sub-flooring and found the box. When I got home I went through the box, lg & sm metal primer tray, extra primer tubes, some cleaning rods, a sizing wax pad, a fixed handle Buck hunting knife, oh & a RL550. I just clamped it to my bench to give it a good shot of WD-40. From the die box I found I'm guessing it's set up for 45ACP. Now I have to decide if I'm going to use it, what cal. to convert it too. I'm thinking .38/357. I have to figure out what parts I need.
https://i.imgur.com/zp0aAJn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/CidfBIw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/1na1Guv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/wQ3xVBw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jVmndis.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mRiQ1vc.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/A7c4hCV.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/1vy7aeZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qDr7rFB.jpg

[osage]

Very nice score

[Gtrubicon]

That’s cool, clean your bench, then the press.

[Baltimoreed]

Buy a lottery ticket quick!!!! Very nice find.

[John in WYO]

Very nice score.

[hc18flyer]

Nice score! I have to say, seeing your bench, makes me feel better about mine! I am hoping to 'swing' a 550 in .38 Special in the next couple of years. Enjoy your find!
hc18flyer

[Winger Ed.]

Oh no,,, that thing is too far gone. And you might shoot your eye out anyway.
Better let one of us older guys do you a favor, and take it off your hands.:bigsmyl2:

[slim1836]

Very nice find, my bench feels much better after seeing yours.

Slim

[Outer Rondacker]

That’s cool, clean your bench, then the press.

I was going to say the same thing. Then I looked at one of my five benches and said better shut up.

[Sig]

Very jealous! Good for you.

[William Yanda]

I occasionally visit a forum where a reported find like that is called a gloat. The usual response from envious posters is : You s**k.
I won't say it here, I want to be family friendly. But if I did, I would color it so you knew that I considered you very lucky.;

[oldsman]

dillon can refurbish your press , call dillon for info . the odds are that they may just replace it with a new press for a small refurbishing fee and I believe it will be updated also and you may be able to request it in a different caliber

[MrWolf]

Wow. At least you got to it before the dumps. Good for you.

[Rapier]

Good find, it will clean up with just a little TLC. Toothbrush, solvent, some stainless steel wool or Scotch Brite scrub pads.. Steel wool leaves particles that will rust.
A 45 to 38 change will require a primer tube and primer feed bar, shell plate, pins, a die set, powder drop change. Extra tool heads come in handy to change cartridges back and forth.
Right now it looks as if you are missing at least some of the 45 shell keeper pins.
Get a small tube of powdered mica at the car parts, to lube the primer bar.

[Jal5]

Really nice score. That should clean up but I would at keast have a discussion with dillon about refurbishing too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hoodat]

Call me crazy, but I'd rather get something like that than to buy a new one. When you're done cleaning, repairing, and lubing it you will know much more about it than a new one in the box.

Remember that rust, when properly controlled is a fine patina which holds lubrication.;)

As far as your bench, well who aint been guilty of that. I am at the point right now where I look around critically and decide which of my projects and "treasures" need to go in the dumpster. jd

[Scorpion8]

Nice score!!!

[Baltimoreed]

I didn’t have to dumpster dive for my 550s, both were gifts but I did have to clean one up that had been through a flood from Irene.

[Bull]

Nice enjoy it. Just finished organizing my bench, but it doesn’t take long to clutter it all up again.

[Snakeoil]

You are the second guy I know that has found a Dillon in the dumpster. Friend at our club found one that was virtually new several years ago.

[jdgabbard]

That is an amazing score! I never get this lucky. If, and when, I do find anything it's usually beyond repair. Happy you rehomed it though!

[Messy bear]

Wow nice! People will throw just about anything away. Crazy!

[abunaitoo]

I'm sure many treasures have been tossed in the trash by family.
"That's just Grandpa's old stuff. Throw it out"
Sad.

[Cap'n Caveman]

Fantastic find. I love my 550B and the folks at Dillon are always willing to help. give them a call. 800-223-4570

[Big Wes]

dillon can refurbish your press , call dillon for info . the odds are that they may just replace it with a new press for a small refurbishing fee and I believe it will be updated also and you may be able to request it in a different caliber

I agree with Oldsman, send it in to DillonThey charge about $79.00 for an overhaul. I sent a SDB to them that I got for free, cost me about $50.00 to ship to them. They sent me a new SDB or a refurbished one couldn't tell if it was refurbished or not looked brand new to me, free of charge with upgrades i.e. New style powder measure, only money I spent was sending the old one in to them.

[lightman]

Nice Score! And yes, check with Dillon.

[fast ronnie]

Not free, or from a dumpster, but got a 650 for $50 about a year ago. It looks real nice next to my 750.

[Shanghai Jack]

And you got a free primer too - envious

[pcmacd]

The other day I was talking to the S-I-L of one of my companies customers I was servicing. She had gotten sick & spent some time in the hospital. They went to check on her house and saw it needed a good cleaning and some repairs. They removed 5 - 20 yard dumpsters from the house, I had mentioned I often find things of interest in basements. He asked what I look for I said tools & lead. He asked why lead & I replied with a smile and a wink, sinkers. He said I understand I have them too. So we got talking and he said that the tenant was asked to remove his long stored items from the garage and he tossed some kind of reloading press in the dumpster & if I wanted it he knew right where it was. Challenge excepted! I removed a solid wood door, moved a few tires & some old 6" tongue & groove fur sub-flooring and found the box. When I got home I went through the box, lg & sm metal primer tray, extra primer tubes, some cleaning rods, a sizing wax pad, a fixed handle Buck hunting knife, oh & a RL550. I just clamped it to my bench to give it a good shot of WD-40. From the die box I found I'm guessing it's set up for 45ACP. Now I have to decide if I'm going to use it, what cal. to convert it too. I'm thinking .38/357. I have to figure out what parts I need.
https://i.imgur.com/zp0aAJn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/CidfBIw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/1na1Guv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/wQ3xVBw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jVmndis.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mRiQ1vc.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/A7c4hCV.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/1vy7aeZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qDr7rFB.jpg

WD-40 is not a LUBRICANT. It is for displacing WATER. Thus the "WATER DISPLACING" prefix?

Use motor oil on your press.

I'm just sayin'...

...

[NyFirefighter357]

Dillon die are out of stock everywhere.

[ulav8r]

WD-40 is not a LUBRICANT. It is for displacing WATER. Thus the "WATER DISPLACING" prefix?

Use motor oil on your press.

I'm just sayin'...

...

Well, if you were just sayin, why did you have to include a page worth of pictures that had nothing to do with WD40????

[Brassmonkey]

Glad you got it lest it be trinkets or a bedframe soon. I really like those brass primer trays. The plastic ones are lacking in ways.

[M-Tecs]

WD-40 is not a LUBRICANT. It is for displacing WATER. Thus the "WATER DISPLACING" prefix?

Use motor oil on your press.

I'm just sayin'...

...

https://www.wd40.com/myths-legends-fun-facts/
A QUESTION OF LUBRICATION
Myth: WD-40 Multi-Use Product is not really a lubricant.

Fact: While the “W-D” in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product’s formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal.


Anytime I get a rusty dirty piece of equipment like this the first thing I do is to give it a heavy coat of WD-40 to stop any rust and start the cleaning or disassembly process.

Per Dillon here is the ENTIRETY of the lubrication section of the RL550C owners manual...

“Use 30 weight motor oil on the main shaft and bearing grease on the pivot pins. Do not use spray type penetrating lube such as WD-40 or Break Free as you run the risk of contaminating powder and primers.”

I installed zerks on my 650's and I use the same grease a on my RL1050's

[NyFirefighter357]

https://www.wd40.com/myths-legends-fun-facts/
A QUESTION OF LUBRICATION
Myth: WD-40 Multi-Use Product is not really a lubricant.

Fact: While the “W-D” in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants. The product’s formulation also contains anti-corrosion agents and ingredients for penetration, water displacement and soil removal.


Anytime I get a rusty dirty piece of equipment like this the first thing I do is to give it a heavy coat of WD-40 to stop any rust and start the cleaning or disassembly process.

Per Dillon here is the ENTIRETY of the lubrication section of the RL550C owners manual...

“Use 30 weight motor oil on the main shaft and bearing grease on the pivot pins. Do not use spray type penetrating lube such as WD-40 or Break Free as you run the risk of contaminating powder and primers.”

I installed zerks on my 650's and I use the same grease a on my RL1050's

We where on the same page at the same time. You couldn't have said it better. I did it for those exact reasons. Funny thing it loosened the surface rust up on the ram and it now operates smoothly. Now is it a good lubricant for high speed bearings? No, but it does work as a lubricant/solvent and even a cleaner decreased.

[GunsandCoffee]

What a find - as others have indicated, for a small fee you can send it off to Dillon and get back a new press. Dillon's "No BS" warranty is the best in the business.