Dillon XL650 - Binding & Case Feeding Problem

[luky-dude]

Have you tried running some brass thought it with the powder fail-safe rod off?? I cracked a body once, it run ruff, last place I looked.

[beeser]

Those can be hard to pinpoint.



Occurring continually makes it much easier to pinpoint, address and eliminate. It’s easy to get blinded by frustration but a calm, methodical, process of elimination will over come most any mechanical problem.

If you think it has something to do with the machine itself and nothing to do with the new to you set up or components, you can go back to loading and see if the 45, 38 or 9mm, you have been loading for 5 years without any issues, is still a seamless operation. That, would be huge in eliminating a number of causes and guesses we make on this thread.

Think about it, in one step we could either focus on the press itself or eliminate it as the cause. That’s a pretty good leap from where we are.


Aside from that, I would single out this.



What happens at both ends of the stroke and what direction are you going? For clarity, are we talking about handle down, ram up being the top of the stroke? If so, does it bind going into the dies or when they are being removed from the dies or maybe a little later when the measure returns and the expander is being pulled from the case mouth at #2?

At what point do you feel the next resistance? When it contacts the indexer ring or when it tries to rotate the shell plate, perhaps all the way ram down/handle up and primer seating?

It’s entirely possible you could have more than one issue, why it’s important to locate, isolate and eliminate them one at a time.

Does the press have any non Dillon products on it or is it an as shipped, stock 650?

The first binding or catch happens when the platform is at its uppermost position or cases fully engaged with the dies and moving downward (handle moving upwards). This is obviously when the powder funnel is in its uppermost position and beginning to move downward. My focus at the moment is towards the powder dispenser assembly causing the problem. The only way I'm able now to duplicate the problem is by loading some more bullets and plan to do that today. As mentioned before the 650 is bone stock with the exception of using Redding Competition carbide dies. As for the second binding or catch while the platform is moving downwards I didn't pay as much attention to that but will do so the next time around. I thought of loading another caliber, i.e 45 ACP to see if the problem persists but that involves switching to another powder measure setup thereby eliminating what I think may be causing the problem. I may do that anyway if necessary to narrow things down.

[beeser]

Have you tried running some brass thought it with the powder fail-safe rod off?? I cracked a body once, it run ruff, last place I looked.

Actually I recall doing that and the binding/catch stopped. Unfortunately I don't remember what thoughts followed from that. Interesting about the cracked body. I'm assuming you're talking about the powder dispenser body. I'll have to give that a thorough look today.

[chumly2071]

I've had it happen a couple times, most recently today...
You might pull the aluminum case feeder slide out (it's the piece that conveys the brass to the shell plate when being pushed by the case slide.
I have had spent primers plug up the little cavity below it instead of dropping into the little hopper or the spent primer shoot adapter. When they have no place to go, and another primer gets pushed out of the next piece of brass, it wedges, and causes all kinds of havoc...
Just a possibility.

[beeser]

I've had it happen a couple times, most recently today...
You might pull the aluminum case feeder slide out (it's the piece that conveys the brass to the shell plate when being pushed by the case slide.
I have had spent primers plug up the little cavity below it instead of dropping into the little hopper or the spent primer shoot adapter. When they have no place to go, and another primer gets pushed out of the next piece of brass, it wedges, and causes all kinds of havoc...
Just a possibility.

I was loading with new brass so spent primers were not an issue.

I loaded about 50 more bullets today and didn't experience any of the previous binding issues. Everything was the same as before except a different projectile was loaded. I'll just have to wait for the problem to surface again before snooping for the cause.