CGT80
10-23-2014, 8:52 PM
And, I have expensive taste!
The Dillon 1050 and Mr. Bulletfeeder have been sitting on my bench, not doing much. I went back to shooting 40 cal for competitions rather than 9mm. The 1050 is setup for 9mm and I used it to load for myself and both my parents. They stopped competing and only make it to the range once in a rare while to plink. I was running the 550 and casefeeder for everything but 9mm.
I just couldn't take letting a $2300 reloading press sit unused while I use the great, but less efficient 550 on the other end of the bench. My mouse and visa debit card found dillon's site and ordered a new toolhead and caliber conversion. I have two sets of 40 dies, but I just moved the dies and powder thrower from the 550 head to the 1050 head.
After who knows how many thousands of rounds loaded on the 1050, I figured it was time to clean and lube it. It needed the cat hair balls cleaned out, too. The cats like to lay on the bench and rub on the presses. It didn't take long to strip the machine down to a bare frame. The E clips are a bit of a pain to get the ram out of the machine, but I figured it out. The crank shaft, links, and bearings are a work of art. It took a while to clean all the gunk off, lube, and carefully reassemble all of it. It was my first time really working on the press. I adjusted the primer depth a bit when I first ran 9mm and I had to install the bullet feeder, but the only thing I have touched is the seating and crimp dies.
The 1050 is built like a tank. It isn't nearly as complicated as people make it out to be. It was easy to work on. It wasn't any harder than the 550 to work on. It took a few hours or so to read the manual, look up info on the internet, and strip, clean, lube, and reassemble it with the new toolhead. I was not in a hurry and I wanted to see how it all worked and I needed to make sure I didn't screw anything up by taking it apart. The only thing I got out of adjustment was the swage rod, but that is easy to adjust. The priming system is a piece of cake. I didn't have to convert it to big primers, but I did take it apart, including the lifter, tappet, and priming pin. Now that I know how the machine works, I could probably swap calibers in 15 minutes. Even at 30 minutes it wouldn't be bad.
The internet is full of stories about how complicated the 1050 is and some people claim it isn't the best dillon press or that caliber change overs are a total PITA. With plenty of experience wrenching on old school small block chevy engines, the dillon 1050 is no sweat. It is built with some parts that share names with engine parts, and the dillon parts are tough and well machined. It is built like a rock. It has three torrington main bearings that use small needle bearings inside. Allen screws and allen shoulder bolts are the most used fastener. It took three or 4 allen/hex wrenches and a 15/16" socket wrench to work on it, plus snap ring pliers and a couple screwdrivers. The ram gets 30 wt motor oil, just like my SBC engines, and everything else gets high quality bearing grease.
The 550 worked fine for loading 40 S&W ammo, but the 1050 is just so smooth and easy to use. It seems to take less force to churn out 40 ammo than it did when I ran 9mm in it. Somehow, I got the dies set or the quality of the machine is such, that the 40 ammo chambers in my case gauge and barrel better than when I ran it on the 550. I did clean out the dies as well, and had to adjust all of them when they went in the 1050.
Everything you read on the internet must be true, so if you are thinking of using a Dillon 1050 or switching calibers on one, just send it to me instead to save yourself the headache. I will make room on my bench for it.
If you are not at all mechanically inclined, then the press may be a challenge, but it beats the lee progressive that feels like any wrong move will break it. The dillon instruction manual has some good diagrams of the press, and of course they made more sense once I had the press apart vs. just staring at them when the machine was new and I had no reason to take it apart.
Yes, I already drank the blue kool-aid, but this tear down got me drunk on it. Now I just need to pony up the $150 for the conversion for the bullet feeder so it will feed 40 cal. The toolhead and conversion kit for the 1050 was about $330 with shipping. It certainly isn't cheap, but the quality and customer service are top notch.
I know............cool starry bra!
The 1050 will make it much faster to load these Dillon blue boolits. 9mm used to take me 3 minutes per 100 rounds of loaded ammo. I haven't timed myself with 40 cal and feeding boolits by hand (until I get a feeder conversion).
Oh yeah, I got a new NOE 5 cavity aluminum boolit mold as well.
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CGT80/Shooting%20Reloading%20and%20Boolit%20Casting/IMG_20141019_194227_866.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CGT80/Shooting%20Reloading%20and%20Boolit%20Casting/IMG_20141019_203359_024.jpg
The Dillon 1050 and Mr. Bulletfeeder have been sitting on my bench, not doing much. I went back to shooting 40 cal for competitions rather than 9mm. The 1050 is setup for 9mm and I used it to load for myself and both my parents. They stopped competing and only make it to the range once in a rare while to plink. I was running the 550 and casefeeder for everything but 9mm.
I just couldn't take letting a $2300 reloading press sit unused while I use the great, but less efficient 550 on the other end of the bench. My mouse and visa debit card found dillon's site and ordered a new toolhead and caliber conversion. I have two sets of 40 dies, but I just moved the dies and powder thrower from the 550 head to the 1050 head.
After who knows how many thousands of rounds loaded on the 1050, I figured it was time to clean and lube it. It needed the cat hair balls cleaned out, too. The cats like to lay on the bench and rub on the presses. It didn't take long to strip the machine down to a bare frame. The E clips are a bit of a pain to get the ram out of the machine, but I figured it out. The crank shaft, links, and bearings are a work of art. It took a while to clean all the gunk off, lube, and carefully reassemble all of it. It was my first time really working on the press. I adjusted the primer depth a bit when I first ran 9mm and I had to install the bullet feeder, but the only thing I have touched is the seating and crimp dies.
The 1050 is built like a tank. It isn't nearly as complicated as people make it out to be. It was easy to work on. It wasn't any harder than the 550 to work on. It took a few hours or so to read the manual, look up info on the internet, and strip, clean, lube, and reassemble it with the new toolhead. I was not in a hurry and I wanted to see how it all worked and I needed to make sure I didn't screw anything up by taking it apart. The only thing I got out of adjustment was the swage rod, but that is easy to adjust. The priming system is a piece of cake. I didn't have to convert it to big primers, but I did take it apart, including the lifter, tappet, and priming pin. Now that I know how the machine works, I could probably swap calibers in 15 minutes. Even at 30 minutes it wouldn't be bad.
The internet is full of stories about how complicated the 1050 is and some people claim it isn't the best dillon press or that caliber change overs are a total PITA. With plenty of experience wrenching on old school small block chevy engines, the dillon 1050 is no sweat. It is built with some parts that share names with engine parts, and the dillon parts are tough and well machined. It is built like a rock. It has three torrington main bearings that use small needle bearings inside. Allen screws and allen shoulder bolts are the most used fastener. It took three or 4 allen/hex wrenches and a 15/16" socket wrench to work on it, plus snap ring pliers and a couple screwdrivers. The ram gets 30 wt motor oil, just like my SBC engines, and everything else gets high quality bearing grease.
The 550 worked fine for loading 40 S&W ammo, but the 1050 is just so smooth and easy to use. It seems to take less force to churn out 40 ammo than it did when I ran 9mm in it. Somehow, I got the dies set or the quality of the machine is such, that the 40 ammo chambers in my case gauge and barrel better than when I ran it on the 550. I did clean out the dies as well, and had to adjust all of them when they went in the 1050.
Everything you read on the internet must be true, so if you are thinking of using a Dillon 1050 or switching calibers on one, just send it to me instead to save yourself the headache. I will make room on my bench for it.
If you are not at all mechanically inclined, then the press may be a challenge, but it beats the lee progressive that feels like any wrong move will break it. The dillon instruction manual has some good diagrams of the press, and of course they made more sense once I had the press apart vs. just staring at them when the machine was new and I had no reason to take it apart.
Yes, I already drank the blue kool-aid, but this tear down got me drunk on it. Now I just need to pony up the $150 for the conversion for the bullet feeder so it will feed 40 cal. The toolhead and conversion kit for the 1050 was about $330 with shipping. It certainly isn't cheap, but the quality and customer service are top notch.
I know............cool starry bra!
The 1050 will make it much faster to load these Dillon blue boolits. 9mm used to take me 3 minutes per 100 rounds of loaded ammo. I haven't timed myself with 40 cal and feeding boolits by hand (until I get a feeder conversion).
Oh yeah, I got a new NOE 5 cavity aluminum boolit mold as well.
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CGT80/Shooting%20Reloading%20and%20Boolit%20Casting/IMG_20141019_194227_866.jpg
http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k484/CGT80/Shooting%20Reloading%20and%20Boolit%20Casting/IMG_20141019_203359_024.jpg