Dillon 550 help wanted

[glbtrottr]

Guys,

Through various ways, I have purchased a couple of 550 reloaders.

They have moved with me a couple of times, and they need to be assembled.

I have never reloaded.

I would like someone with great experience on Dillon to help me assemble, find parts, ideally end up with at least one up and running, and if parts are missing, lending a hand on placing an order with Dillon for what's needed.

I know they have wonderful customer service and they'll set it up for you if you send it in and sell you the parts, but before that I'd like to have someone local take a look.

I'll buy beer, share ammo, and god knows what. Help appreciated.

PM please.

[Munny$hot]

Download the 550 and accessories manuals here:

http://www.dillonprecision.com/manuals.html

The manuals are easy to understand so setting it up will not be difficult. Make sure your loader is securely mounted to a rigid table/mount The way I load is to use a universal de-capper to pop out the primers (if you want to clean out your primer pockets when tumbling) lube brass, resize, case gauge my brass, don't jerk or slam the actuation handle, if primers seat to easy re check by banging the case at an angle to see if you can unseat the primer, don't force primers in (if this occurs regularly check the tension arm of the crimp station), every time you make adjustment to the powder bar dump the first 1-2 loads and measure the 3-4th to get a good reading, get a decent powder scale that measures in grains, check every 20-25 for consistent charge, over all length, primer seating. After loading check each round for properly seated primers (should be slightly lower than the head) or stand it on a flat surface to see if it wobbles, check for cracks/creases, dents that are not sharp are ok. Remember a hot load doesn't mean the most accurate and it wears out brass faster. Make 10-20 batches of the lowest charge and work your way up every .5 grains to max load. See which groups are the most accurate. Examine your spent cases to see for pressure signs (flat primers, cracked cases, bulging, etc). I usually stick with the powder manufactures minimum and maximum loads for the correct grain/type of projectile used since there is usually a +- buffer built in.

[glbtrottr]

Never reloaded before.