So I finally, last year, got a couple of progressive loaders. A Square Deal B.and a 650 to be exact. But in the interim, I built a proper reloading room and had farm work all summer.
This weekend, I finally set up the Square Deal (which I bought used) for .40 cal. And am a bit frustrated!
First, I did a lot of cleaning and adjusting. I think this machine was pretty knackered when I bought it. And I may need to send back to Dillon for some tune-up. But maybe you guys can help me with some thoughts.
The setup was pretty straightforward. Took about an hour, partly because I was being really careful to adjust each 'stage.' and get it working before moving on to the next. Impressed with the design.
The issues I have in running it are basically all related to primers. First, I am getting a number of primers upside-down. This is not from my pickup tubes. I've been really careful to get them right.
What seems to be happening is that the finger that rotates the shellholder plate is not getting the plate all the way into its indexing hole on two of the four positions on the shellholder. And when it 'snaps' in place, the primer can turn sideways or over. I got the problem to go away by keeping my fingers on the shell plate as it rotates and making sure I 'ease' it into its detent position where the ball engages on the bottom of the shellplate. But this seems like a band-aid... and that Dillon's design should not require me to do this.
Ultimately, I got to the point where I was reloading pretty smoothly by the end of the day. But I've heard numbers like 400 rounds an hour on a Square Deal... and I have a hard time seeing how this press can do that. Mainly, it's a lot of stopping to un-FUBAR primers.... which end up sideways. And inspecting every round after to find about 1/20 are upside down. Which is a PITA.
So questions are... do you guys have similar issues with Square Deal?
Should I strip it to parts and clean/rebuild or send to Dillon? Or get a new finger for the pall that moves the shell plate? I 'think' that may be my problem. Wear there...
Or is the performance what I should expect (maybe my expectations are too high?)
How many rounds are you guys in the real world getting from your Square Deal?
Are the primer drops/seaters, etc. extra-sensitive or am I doing something wrong?
BTW, my brass is mixed commercial. No crimps. All pin-tumbled and spotlessly clean. No issues with sizing/depriming or with bullet seating or with powder drops. It's all priming. Tests of some random loaded rounds show that if primer is not upside-down or sideways... works beautifully. Random tests of powder drop weight... right on. Very consistent. My only problem is the damn priming stage.
Thanks for all the help, guys!
Cheers,
Sirhr
P.S. Thanks to 1J04 who helped me a lot in starting down the road of a progressive. If I can get this sorted out... I'll really be happy with my investments in progressive presses.
This weekend, I finally set up the Square Deal (which I bought used) for .40 cal. And am a bit frustrated!
First, I did a lot of cleaning and adjusting. I think this machine was pretty knackered when I bought it. And I may need to send back to Dillon for some tune-up. But maybe you guys can help me with some thoughts.
The setup was pretty straightforward. Took about an hour, partly because I was being really careful to adjust each 'stage.' and get it working before moving on to the next. Impressed with the design.
The issues I have in running it are basically all related to primers. First, I am getting a number of primers upside-down. This is not from my pickup tubes. I've been really careful to get them right.
What seems to be happening is that the finger that rotates the shellholder plate is not getting the plate all the way into its indexing hole on two of the four positions on the shellholder. And when it 'snaps' in place, the primer can turn sideways or over. I got the problem to go away by keeping my fingers on the shell plate as it rotates and making sure I 'ease' it into its detent position where the ball engages on the bottom of the shellplate. But this seems like a band-aid... and that Dillon's design should not require me to do this.
Ultimately, I got to the point where I was reloading pretty smoothly by the end of the day. But I've heard numbers like 400 rounds an hour on a Square Deal... and I have a hard time seeing how this press can do that. Mainly, it's a lot of stopping to un-FUBAR primers.... which end up sideways. And inspecting every round after to find about 1/20 are upside down. Which is a PITA.
So questions are... do you guys have similar issues with Square Deal?
Should I strip it to parts and clean/rebuild or send to Dillon? Or get a new finger for the pall that moves the shell plate? I 'think' that may be my problem. Wear there...
Or is the performance what I should expect (maybe my expectations are too high?)
How many rounds are you guys in the real world getting from your Square Deal?
Are the primer drops/seaters, etc. extra-sensitive or am I doing something wrong?
BTW, my brass is mixed commercial. No crimps. All pin-tumbled and spotlessly clean. No issues with sizing/depriming or with bullet seating or with powder drops. It's all priming. Tests of some random loaded rounds show that if primer is not upside-down or sideways... works beautifully. Random tests of powder drop weight... right on. Very consistent. My only problem is the damn priming stage.
Thanks for all the help, guys!
Cheers,
Sirhr
P.S. Thanks to 1J04 who helped me a lot in starting down the road of a progressive. If I can get this sorted out... I'll really be happy with my investments in progressive presses.
