Reloading bench, consistency problems. dillon 550

[em9sredbeam]

I have a dillon 550 press, and a cheap little bench that isnt too bad , but moves when im making a full throw, it was a temporary thing that i thought would be alright for awhile but//. I am new to reloading and had a friend help dial it in. problem is i am getting inconsisten bullet seating depth. If I repress the bullet again just the seating part it goes to the right length most of the time, but is still inconsistent. Is this because my bench isnt perfectly stable? or something else wrong? Also they say the oal should be 1.125" what are the tolerances that are safe like between 1.125 and 1.128? or do they have to be perfect?

[gau17]

You are perfectly fine with .003. If you look at factory rounds they will sometimes be off by more than that.

One suggestion I can give you is to make sure all your stations are loaded when setting the seating depth.

[Chief-7700]

You are perfectly fine with .003. If you look at factory rounds they will sometimes be off by more than that.

One suggestion I can give you is to make sure all your stations are loaded when setting the seating depth.

I agree with the above. The more movement you have in the bench the more problems you are going to have.

[Sheldon]

Your method of measuring the round overall length and the actual bullet length consistancy will make a big difference. Bullets vary in length and if you use a regular pair of calipers and measure from the tip of the bullet to the base of the cartridge you will see a lot of variation in length. If you use a tool called a comparator along with the calipers, you will be able to measure off the bullet's oglive surface which is a more dimensionally consistant surface to measure off.

Your overall length is still important and the rounds still need to be within SAAMI spec to ensure relable feeding and fit into magazines and such, but that measurement will vary unless the bullets you have are very consistant in the dimension from the tip to oglive.

[bootcamp]

With a 550, take off your powder measure, and load up your stations with brass. Set your seating depth with brass in ALL stations. When you repeat, make sure you put a fresh unsized brass in station 1 again.

[bootcamp]

Also, if you're looking for absolutely the same depth for all cases make sure ALL your brass is the same brand for that batch. Different brands have different case wall thicknesses and will seat deeper or shallower depending on case wall thickness. So you either accept you will have a "small" variance or you take the proper steps to keep them within your own personal "tolerance"

[problemchild]

You need to measure to the ogive not the miplat. Do you have that tool?

[Whiterabbit]

No comments on reloading, but for $30 at home depot in MDF and the cheapest 2x4's I can show you how to make a BEAUTIFUL work bench that is ridiculously stable and could hold up a car.

No reason not to have stable work surfaces!



(this one cost a bit more because it is trimmed with $5 worth of home depot birch and an $8 mahogany doorskin, also Home Depot )