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Posted: 3/11/2016 9:59:42 PM EDT
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I'm getting ready to load rifle on a 550 and have a couple thoughts on workflow I could use some opinions on. As it stands I have 2 different rifle calibers to load for and 1 spare toolhead. I will be dry tumbling and I have a Giraud on order for trimming. I'm specifically wondering about the case prep stage.
I figure my options are the following: 1. Buy a cheap single stage to use for sizing, then trim and load on the 550. 2. Size on the 550, using the spare toolhead and just changing sizing dies as necessary. 3. Have my die set on one toolhead, size in one pass, trim, then leave lube on, running through the sizing die again then tumbling the loaded rounds. The way I see it is 1 costs money, but may be worth it to not have to change toolheads. 2 would work with what I have no but would not maintain die adjustments (with Dillon lock rings anyway). 3 sounds like the best for consolidation but I'm not sure how running a case through a size die twice would affect things. |
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Quoted: I'm getting ready to load rifle on a 550 and have a couple thoughts on workflow I could use some opinions on. As it stands I have 2 different rifle calibers to load for and 1 spare toolhead. I will be dry tumbling and I have a Giraud on order for trimming. I'm specifically wondering about the case prep stage. I figure my options are the following: 1. Buy a cheap single stage to use for sizing, then trim and load on the 550. 2. Size on the 550, using the spare toolhead and just changing sizing dies as necessary. 3. Have my die set on one toolhead, size in one pass, trim, then leave lube on, running through the sizing die again then tumbling the loaded rounds. The way I see it is 1 costs money, but may be worth it to not have to change toolheads. 2 would work with what I have no but would not maintain die adjustments (with Dillon lock rings anyway). 3 sounds like the best for consolidation but I'm not sure how running a case through a size die twice would affect things.  7.62x39 in pic.
What I do after case cleaning and lubing is size on a single stage (Rockchucker) tumble in plain corn cob to remove the lube. Do case prep with clean cases, trim with a Giraud, then on to crimp removal if needed, then uniform primer pockets. Fully prepped cases are then loaded on 550. Station 1 can be empty. I happen to use a Lee universal decapper on station 1 just in case there is a piece of corn cob left in the flashole. Then load using the 550. |
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Quoted: Since you mention tumbling to remove lube as an intermediate step, I presume you advocate option 2. Quoted: Quoted: Size cases on Dillon. Trim Re-tumble to remove lube Prime , charge and seat on Dillon Since you mention tumbling to remove lube as an intermediate step, I presume you advocate option 2. Some do it like your option 2, others like me already had a single stage press, and do their sizing on that, six of one, half dozen of another. If you don't have a single stage press, an empty tool head is cheaper than a single stage press. |
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Quoted: I'm getting ready to load rifle on a 550 and have a couple thoughts on workflow I could use some opinions on. As it stands I have 2 different rifle calibers to load for and 1 spare toolhead. I will be dry tumbling and I have a Giraud on order for trimming. I'm specifically wondering about the case prep stage. I figure my options are the following: 1. Buy a cheap single stage to use for sizing, then trim and load on the 550. 2. Size on the 550, using the spare toolhead and just changing sizing dies as necessary. 3. Have my die set on one toolhead, size in one pass, trim, then leave lube on, running through the sizing die again then tumbling the loaded rounds. The way I see it is 1 costs money, but may be worth it to not have to change toolheads. 2 would work with what I have no but would not maintain die adjustments (with Dillon lock rings anyway). 3 sounds like the best for consolidation but I'm not sure how running a case through a size die twice would affect things.  What I do, clean cases and lube. Size on Rockchucker. Remove lube with plain corn cob. Why do case prep on lubed cases? Trim on Giraud, remove crimp if necessary, then uniform primer pockets. Then load on 550. Station 1 can be empty. I use a Lee universal decapper to ensure no corn cob is stuck in the flashole. |
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yep, ordinarily you install a case at 1 and a bullet at 3 and cycle.
you can simply size at 1 and remove and replace and then do what ever off press operation needs to be done then come back to the progressive. No need to resize the brass needlessly again. adjusted operation for me with 5.56 is to put a bullet on at 3, cycle the handle watching the powder drop, insert a casing at 1, prime and then rotate. Repeat. |
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I have adopted the dryflash processes with only a few minor differences in techniques and equipment. I also run the Lee decapper in station one to make sure the flash hole is clear before priming.
This past winter was the first time I'd tried running rifle on the 550 (always single stage before) and it was a very rewarding experience I say. |
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If you REALLY want to be awesome, do this:
1. Set up 1 Dillon press (550 or 650) with a swage-it, a case feeder, and a Dillon trimmer. You would clean your brass first, then lube it and run through this press to size, swage, and trim. 2. Set up another Dillon press (550 or 650) to do the rest. Or - just get a 1050 and do everything on one press in one pass - drop in lubed brass, loaded ammo falls out the other end. I have a pair of 550s but not set up in the way I describe above. |
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This is how I process .223.
Deprime and resize on single stage-this allows me a moment to inspect each case and sort by headstamp, I then tumble to remove lube Trim on Giraud trimmer Processed brass is fed to the 550 for priming, powder, bullet seating and crimp. Works for me |
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Does not make sense to leave lube on
Clean brass and make sure no debris etc look for obvious defects Lube Size on SS or progressive Tumble to remove lube. Off press case prep like trimmer, flash hole deburring etc. is attracted to case lube left on the case and then is transferred to any other tools they touch? No sense to me at all. I then take bulk loading brass to press. 550 Universal decapping die in #1 to remove any debris from case prep chores, and then seat primer on press Powder dispense in #2 Seat bullet in #3 Crimp bullet in #4 |
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Quoted:
If you REALLY want to be awesome, do this: 1. Set up 1 Dillon press (550 or 650) with a swage-it, a case feeder, and a Dillon trimmer. You would clean your brass first, then lube it and run through this press to size, swage, and trim. 2. Set up another Dillon press (550 or 650) to do the rest. Or - just get a 1050 and do everything on one press in one pass - drop in lubed brass, loaded ammo falls out the other end. I have a pair of 550s but not set up in the way I describe above. even with the 1050,...you gotta process/trim, ....then clean, ....then load ...also, pretty sure the 550b casefeeder doesn't work for rifle |
| When it comes time to trim, not sure why you need a spare toolhead to size? I just pull them in and out of the sizing station. Then I wipe them off with a rag/rubbing alcohol, and trim. I will usually prime with a handprimer in this case and put up a large bucket full of trimmed and primed brass. |
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Quoted:
When it comes time to trim, not sure why you need a spare toolhead to size? .... Dillon XL650 first toolhead is LEE universal de-capper RT1200 electric trimmer ( also a resizer die ) Redding Neck sizer 
spray lube 500 cases drop all 500 into 650's case feeder start pulling the handle bin fills with decapped, resized, trimmed brass. ( note your hands are still clean and not tired from the pencil sharpener method ) tumble for 25mins change toolhead to powder die, and bullet seater load up 500 rounds |
| They sell extra toolheads... when I had a 550, i had two toolheads for the rifle calibers i loaded most often, one with just the size/deprime die. The other with the rest. Tumble clean once, lube, size/deprime, tumble a second time, do any trimming/flash hole prep/etc, then swap toolheads and load. |
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Quoted:
I'm getting ready to load rifle on a 550 and have a couple thoughts on workflow I could use some opinions on. As it stands I have 2 different rifle calibers to load for and 1 spare toolhead. I will be dry tumbling and I have a Giraud on order for trimming. I'm specifically wondering about the case prep stage. I figure my options are the following: 1. Buy a cheap single stage to use for sizing, then trim and load on the 550. 2. Size on the 550, using the spare toolhead and just changing sizing dies as necessary. 3. Have my die set on one toolhead, size in one pass, trim, then leave lube on, running through the sizing die again then tumbling the loaded rounds. The way I see it is 1 costs money, but may be worth it to not have to change toolheads. 2 would work with what I have no but would not maintain die adjustments (with Dillon lock rings anyway). 3 sounds like the best for consolidation but I'm not sure how running a case through a size die twice would affect things. Sir, perhaps I can contribute something here, after all opinions are cheap. I've been using a Dillon 550 from the days before there was a 550, ie: 450. I bought the conversion kit when they introduced the 550 in the late '80s. Obviously, the Dillon 550 was not intended to include the often necessary step of the resized case needing to be trimmed. After many years using a Dillon trimmer mounted on a single stage press that I've had since before the 450 I bought a Giraud some years ago and sold the Dillon trimmer in the EE. While the Dillon trimmer is a fine machine I really do appreciate the one step operation of the Giraud that includes the case mouth deburring feature. I do all my case prep independent of the 550. I use that same rockchucker press that formerly had a Dillon trimmer mounted on it. I resize, deprime, and trim before swaging the primer pockets of once fired GI brass. I then tumble with corn cob media to remove the lube. I also deburr the primer flash holes inside and out as well as uniform the primer pocket depth. Lastly I seat all primers by hand with a Sinclair tool. The tactile sensation with the Sinclair tool is much better than the Dillon primer seating mechanism in my humble opinion. I use a case neck expander mandrel in station one of the Dillon 550. The expander mandrel ensure greater case neck ID consistency therefore neck tension. Station two has a Redding 3BR powder measure that I manually operate. The Redding PM is simply much more consistent than the Dillon PMs that I have. Lastly seating is done on station three with a Redding Competition seating die. Obviously the choice of how you use your press is yours to make. I just thought you might like another opinion on how to extract more consistency from the process and ultimately more consistent ammo. FYI, I do have other options of how to reload the various cartridges I use, including a Dillon XL650. However my choice for precision ammo that I use in high power rifle competition is as I have described above. 7zero1, out. |
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Good insight and options from everyone in this thread.
As I only have one spare tool head and if I use it as prep toolhead and switch dies between it, who makes the best lock rings to make those swaps as painless as possible? Hornady comes to mind immediately but I'm not familiar with all the options. The second option could be to purchase a cheap single stage for sizing and depriming. What's my best option here? Lee and RCBS come to mind, although I am aware of others (I wish to avoid Hornady, had one of those and they rust too easily). Obviously the best of the best is the Co-ax but I'm not sure I wish to spend $300 on a press that is purely for sizing rifle cases. |
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Quoted:
Good insight and options from everyone in this thread. As I only have one spare tool head and if I use it as prep toolhead and switch dies between it, who makes the best lock rings to ..... Toolheads are cheap and available... http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/3024 even if you're just resizing, and decapping, a toolhead is cheaper than buying a single stage |
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