New Dillon 550

[riverman67]

My Brother and I purchased a new 550 ...finally that rock chucker just couldn't keep up with us anymore.
Are there any tips on setting one up the first time that we should know?
Any tricks or must have accessories?
I have never used a progressive and my brother is new to reloading any advice on making this as smooth as possible would be appreciated

Thanks in advance

 

[longbow]

its crap

I'll come take it off your hand before you blow up!

 

[OneBadV8]

Do they not come with the video anymore? Maybe try Youtube if not, or just wait I'm sure there will be plenty of advice coming.

 

[millsusaf]

Just youtube dillon 550 and you will find a wealth of info. It is pretty easy to setup actually. I'm not expert by any means but please feel free to PM/email me if you have any questions.

ETA: One tip I learned from the previous owners screw up is to make sure you loosen the set screw holding the shell plate bolt BEFORE you go loosening the shell plate bolt. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time, energy, and lots of cussing trying to fix it.

 

[PappyD]

Short List

Just youtube dillon 550 and you will find a wealth of info. It is pretty easy to setup actually. I'm not expert by any means but please feel free to PM/email me if you have any questions.

ETA: One tip I learned from the previous owners screw up is to make sure you loosen the set screw holding the shell plate bolt BEFORE you go loosening the shell plate bolt. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time, energy, and lots of cussing trying to fix it.

Ditto-what millsusaf said.
Also,
*if you haven't already, check out BrianEnos website for lots of Dillon discussion
* Its a slippery slope when adding "nice to have" vs "needed" stuff but if your going to reload more than one caliber, get extra toolheads. Swapping dies is a PIA. Toolhead + powder die for $30

Go Blue!

 

[kevinm]

Great reloader, just remember to check for powder .

 

[Coach]

I think the strong mount brackets are necessary, and the bullet tray if it did not come standard. Get in the habit of looking into you shell for powder is good advice.

 

[msquared]

ditto what coach said. Strong mount, bullet tray and when you recover from the inital purchase, DO GET THE CASE FEEDER!!! Its amazing!!!

I like the tool rack they now offer. one of each allen wrench and a bench wrench mounted right to the machine...

As for setup, i have always found their instructions easy to follow. Enos forum has lots of discussions on there AND dillon support via email has been great. Ive emailed pics, asked about should this do that etc and received good answers in a timely manner.

good luck and welcome to the blue press world. You are going to love their catalog!!! Yowsa on this months cover!!!

After that, aquire what you need to minimize change over. For example I one powder measure for major and one for minor. Just swap them out and im going again.

 

[Woodsman]

I've been looking at these also and would like to hear comments from those that use them. I'm new to reloading, but would rather buy quality gear than save a dime or two.

Is there any component to add that would make life easier or production faster/safer?

And yeah, their regular catalog is an eye full for sure! I wonder if the cover models provide phone support.

 

[bwframe]

I can't speak for the 550, but my 650 set up quick and easy. I followed the manual's details. I set up initially with the electronic case feeder, bullet tray and strong mount. I bought 4 extra primer fill tubes initially also.

Little glitches;
-Had to debur two primer fill tubes for proper feeding.
-Had to readjust the case feed when screw loosened early on.
-Fairly regularly, I still have to manually adjust the case at the priming station for proper alignment.

With the bench height and strong mount, I load standing up. This works very well for me, being new to the machine. I use a kind of cadence with each handle swing, first looking to the right at rounds completed (for obvious problems, primer issues, bullet issues.) I scan the primer overflow tray on my way to look into the left side. From the left, I look for proper case position at station 1, showing the primer was inserted on the return of the last stroke. I then look for powder in the case before placing the bullet.

If you have the luxury of waiting for IGW's next reloading class, I would recommend it. Quite helpful.

 

[riverman67]

Thanks everybody
I checked out the you tube videos and they were helpful
I puchased the strong mount with the machine and I also got the extra powder measure and die plate for caliber change ( right now just 9 and 40)
I am going to try and start setting it up tonite after work
I will also try to get some photos
thanks again

Coach I think that I have the bullet tray and tray brackets
thanks for the input

 

[IndyGunworks]

If you have the luxury of waiting for IGW's next reloading class, I would recommend it. Quite helpful.

THANKS!!!

riverman, if you want to make the drive tomorrow you can come over to my place and i will walk you through my dillon 550 from start to finish, talk about my experiences and let you get first hand on some of the accessories.... you can also set up and load 9mm and i can show you some of the tricks i use to load at a pretty fast pace.... tomorrow is the only day this week i have open and it would have to be the evening.... PM me if you are interested, i live on the far east side of marion county.

 

[mospeada]

Video? Mine came with an instruction book and this is very easy to set up. No offense to anyone, if you can't set this up from the instruction book, you probably should just buy ammo.

 

[OneBadV8]

Video? Mine came with an instruction book and this is very easy to set up. No offense to anyone, if you can't set this up from the instruction book, you probably should just buy ammo.

 

[riverman67]

THANKS!!!

riverman, if you want to make the drive tomorrow you can come over to my place and i will walk you through my dillon 550 from start to finish, talk about my experiences and let you get first hand on some of the accessories.... you can also set up and load 9mm and i can show you some of the tricks i use to load at a pretty fast pace.... tomorrow is the only day this week i have open and it would have to be the evening.... PM me if you are interested, i live on the far east side of Marion county.

Thanks for the offer IGW
I will take one of your classes soon but right now work is nuts. I'm in the middle of a 12 day stretch

I got it going last night . It wasn't that hard once I got past being so damn stupid

I set it up and loaded about 100 rounds in three hours
Thanks for all the suggestions

 

[BE Mike]

Thanks for the offer IGW
I will take one of your classes soon but right now work is nuts. I'm in the middle of a 12 day stretch

I got it going last night . It wasn't that hard once I got past being so damn stupid

I set it up and loaded about 100 rounds in three hours
Thanks for all the suggestions

Make sure you check all your dies to make certain that they are still in tight. Also check the set screw on the ram to make sure that it is tight, and the set screw on the primer bar. It sounds like you are off to a good start. It won't be long until you're loading around 300 rounds in an hour.