I'm lazy about some things. One of those things is disassembly of my Dillon presses. I usually wait until the problem is too big to ignore. Lately I have been having primer feed issues with both the Dillon 550 and 650 presses. Like a lot of things, the problems started small and were just a little aggravating once in a while, but the problems get growing. First off, I decided that I'd try to fix the problem with the Dillon 550. I've had this press since the mid '80's and it has seen a lot of use. The problem with the 550 was that it wouldn't pick up a new primer reliably without me pulling back on the primer slide. After disassembling the primer system, I cleaned everything off. I cleaned the inside of the magazine tube with a small clean patch and used the Dillon "primer follower rod" to push the patch through. I looked over the primer slide and after seeing how worn it was, I decided that I would install a new (unused) one. I put a new plastic "magazine orifice" on the end of the "magazine tube". I made certain that the primer cup on the primer slide was fully seated before I tightened down the set screw and made sure that the primer cup was centered in the hole where it enters the primer pocket in the case. I loaded 500 rounds of 9mm last evening and I had forgotten how great it was to have a Dillon 550 run smoothly without one glitch. I just installed a light kit for the 550 and it made a huge difference. It allowed me to see the powder charge without effort and I actually was able to identify a .380 case that had slipped into my 9mm cases before I pulled the handle!
The 650 had been causing me problems, as well and the problems (like the 550) were growing. After using my pen cap case cut off (sorry for the fuzzy photo). I removed the 650 carousel type primer system. I cleaned everything off and looked over the parts. I cleaned the "primer magazine tube" the same way as above. My primer wheel was a little scarred up on one side, so I decided to flip it over and see if that would help things. Having read a tip from a Dillon rep. I lubricated the primer center pin with a light grease. I had previously cut the spring for the detent ball to see if it would smooth down the turning operation of the press. It seems like the cleaning and lubing of that pin were the ticket. The primer system runs better ever.
I'm very late to the game as far as Dillon after-market accessories. I just added an after market spent primer catcher and live primer catcher for the 650 and lighting systems for both presses. I got the lighting systems from https://inlinefabrication.com and the primer catchers from Dillon Upgrades
The 650 had been causing me problems, as well and the problems (like the 550) were growing. After using my pen cap case cut off (sorry for the fuzzy photo). I removed the 650 carousel type primer system. I cleaned everything off and looked over the parts. I cleaned the "primer magazine tube" the same way as above. My primer wheel was a little scarred up on one side, so I decided to flip it over and see if that would help things. Having read a tip from a Dillon rep. I lubricated the primer center pin with a light grease. I had previously cut the spring for the detent ball to see if it would smooth down the turning operation of the press. It seems like the cleaning and lubing of that pin were the ticket. The primer system runs better ever.
I'm very late to the game as far as Dillon after-market accessories. I just added an after market spent primer catcher and live primer catcher for the 650 and lighting systems for both presses. I got the lighting systems from https://inlinefabrication.com and the primer catchers from Dillon Upgrades
