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Recently got this Blue Press from a neighbor's relatives. Been sitting for many years. Would like to have help with Brand and model of it. Wanting to get a manual online so that I can get it cleaned up and operational to allow me to use it for some of my reloading.
I know bench is very messy,but been going to clean in near future.
Thanks in advance for any info
Looks like a Dillon 550.
Agreed, it's a Dillon 550. You should have no problem finding the manual online.
Many thanks for the help. Will download today and try to get it operational.
Thanks for the link. Will Start reading this evening....
If it seems to be a mess that you can’t or don't want to clean up Dillon will refurbish it for you. Hope those dies look better on the inside, but otherwise it doesn’t look that bad.
Thanks for the info, will look at it after reading the manual and see if I can work on it. If not will call Dillon and send it in to get refurbished.
I would love to find some neighbors relatives like you have. I'm sure you will appreciate the quality of that Dillon press compared to the lee that's next to it. my first press after graduating from lee loaders looked like the lee you have, I called it the lee bend-omatic because it would seem to flex when I was resizing 222 rem brass with it.
that dillon looks to be in great shape, I would try it out give it a few drops of oil in the right places and put it though its paces, you might be surprised and it may not need to be refurbished just because it has not been used in a while.
The Dillon website has a series of videos; one is of a detailed cleaning and lubrication of the 550. It looks like that is all yours needs.
Tony
I gotta say I am amazed that the pictured press does not have raised letters protruding along the cast aluminum body and link arms that spell out DILLON and RL550.
Older model 550.Quote:
Originally Posted by oley55
The press also has the older powder measure without the newer actuator cam that protects against double charges.
I would send it in for a rebuild and modernisation.
Noah
I would send that one back for refurb. While I have no doubt you could repair it yourself, Dillon will return you a press that looks brand new.
I would send it back to Dillon. I bought a 550B from a friend and there was rust in a lot of places. Had to trash the low primer alarm because the battery had leaked and corroded it beyond recovery. Took awhile to get all the rust off with ScotchBrite and solvent. Works great now but there is always that nagging worry that I've overlooked something that will come back to bite me.
I would suggest bolting it down in using all 4 holes. It looks like it’s only bolted in the front. Progressives work a lot better solidly bolted to a sturdy bench.
JW
yup .early 550B, missing the spent primer bucket, and the finished load bracket of the blue catch bucket. My advice.....bolt it down , and dissemble it , and then use elbow grease and scotch brite pads to polish those components . The shell holder plate will come back easily , the dies ...probably not , but ya gotta try and see ! cleaning it is the first order of business, doing so will also make you familiar with how it works ! I've got 4 550 B's and 2 square deals and in the last 5 decades ,have only had to return 1 unit to dillion for repairs ! That was one of the really early 450's and the mounting leg to the rear broke. after many thousands of rounds !!
I always recommend Evapo-Rust for removing rust from steel parts. It should be locally available at an auto parts store or big box home improvement stores. It is totally safe to use, and yet works very well. I would disassemble those dies and toss them into a container full of Evapo-Rust for 10-15 minutes. They may still have rust pits on them when finished, but they won't have any rust on them!