A series of unfortunate events ( WARNING : GRAPHIC, VERY )

[GW Staar]

I'm done with that business, the boom tube. Its a finicky system at the best of times anyway- and I know im not alone in that lamentation. This just kinda ices the cake.

Someone replied to you that they find it hard to fault the design itself! Why, because it's a deified blue Dillon? If it makes you all feel any better, RCBS primer tubes blew up before Dillon was a company. When I quit "boom tubes" they were on my Rock Chucker and people were getting badly hurt 40 years ago! Dillon added a sleeve to the system.... it didn't stop the explosions but the bandaid did direct most of the energy away from the loader part of the time. Trouble is, kabooms can happen before they even get sleeved, don't they.

Blarby, you have every right to be angry with the design. Those primer systems are DESIGNED for perfect people who never make mistakes......know any?

What angers me, is that RCBS & CCI designed a great, safe primer system, using boxes of primers safely preloaded in strips, and together they actually made priming faster as well as much safer than tubes ........so now ...... RCBS offers us their brand new progressive models this year......and they've gone back to pipe bombs! Why? Because the majority of progressive reloaders are stilled convinced that they don't need a safe primer system, absolutely certain a kaboom won't ever happen to them.

Heres another kaboom posted on YouTube....at least this guy wasn't hurt......as usual Dillon got accolades for designing a great bomb diverter that shoots holes in your ceiling and ruins your ears!

 

[kcofohio]

blarby, as others have said, thanks for having the courage of sharing your mishap! Your hand is a real eye opener of the potential dangers in reloading and a reminder to us for the need of safety.

May those of us that see this thread give reloading the respect that it demands.

Hope you have a full recovery.

 

[jmorris]

Someone replied to you that they find it hard to fault the design itself

I think it was from an angle like blaming a press for a squib, a fast car for a speeding ticket.

The last paragraph in post #3 is indicative of my frustration level right before I do something I shouldn't do or walk away for awhile and "regroup". The older I get the more often I pick the latter.

 

[rcmodel]

I hope this opens a few peoples eyes that primers are really not something you want to hit with a hammer on your workbench, or shoot at with a BB gun and try to set off as I sometimes see suggested on THR!

Even one (1) primer has enough energy & velocity to bury itself in your soft body parts ER Surgeon deep if you get on the receiving end of the anvil or cup.

They develop around 10,000 -12,000 PSI in the primer pocket of a case when they are fired.

Without being contained, the shrapnel from one primer can bury itself in your body.

And Blarby is lucky living proof of that.

Get well soon man!
And thanks for proving what I have been preaching here for a while!

Primers are the most dangerous thing you handle during any reloading operation.

More dangerous then powder, lead poisoning, or power tools by far!!!

rc

 

[blarby]

I got a decent pic of the primer shuttle return stem.


Bent.

Powerful.

And thanks for proving what I have been preaching here for a while!

I never doubted you, and i'm all for "taking one for the team", but next time.... I think i'd prefer to not be the pudding the proof anvils rest in.

 

[ljnowell]

Glad you are going to be ok and didn't lose any fingers or eyes blarby. Take care buddy and watch for infection.

 

[blue32]

Get well Blarby. I wore shooting glasses when I first started reloading but haven't in a couple years after never experiencing anything. Its back to eye protection for me.

This thread should be a sticky.

 

[hamp sandwich]

"Its back to eye protection for me.

This thread should be a sticky."

Amen to that!

 

[03fatboy]

Get well soon.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[JohnMc]

The teacher of a safety class I took many moons ago told us a rule he learned in the Navy:
Safety rules are written in blood.
In other words, and to reiterate what others have said, thanks for sharing so we can all learn to be safe and there shouldn't be any blasting of someone who shares their stories to help their community.

 

[GaryL]

blarby, thanks for being humble enough to post up your 'lessons learned' (the hard way). Hope you have a speedy recovery with no after effects.

A very good reminder that we have to be careful around machinery. I had the end of my left thumb chewed up by table saw many moons ago. That was unpleasant and changed my comfort level considerably - I do some things differently now.

Unfortunately work has been keeping me away from the board and my hobbies - I'd like to spend more time hanging out here - but not reading about unfortunate experiences. Damn. My thumb throbs a little seeing your pics (its funny that way).

 

[koz4guns]

I've been loading on a Dillon (SDB and 550) for 23 years now and never had to change the primer tube fingers on either one and I load atleast once a week.

I here about them getting torn up and worn out but have never experienced it, I wonder if I'm just lucky?

I have never had a problem and I'm careful when changing out tube sizes not to force it, I will need to look closely at mine to see if there is any wear on them that I'm not noticing.

Koz

 

[otisrush]

Thanks for sharing this and I'm very sorry for what you've experienced.

You commented on let the "roasting" begin. It'll not come from me. Your willingness to post the whole story as well as your attitude in it conveys to me an immense amount of maturity and humbleness. I fault people (just in life - not necessarily unique to this hobby) when they get cocky and think they know everything. You have not done that at all. And in fact - you've put yourself out there so others can learn.

Thanks and heal well.

OR

 

[jmorris]

I've been loading on a Dillon (SDB and 550) for 23 years now and never had to change the primer tube fingers on either one and I load atleast once a week.

I here about them getting torn up and worn out but have never experienced it, I wonder if I'm just lucky?

You are mulitiple powerball winner level of lucky. The plastic tip used on the SD, 550 and 1050 is the weak link in all three priming systems and the first part I look at if there are problems.

I don't know how many I have changed over the last 30 years but it has been more than a few.

 

[koz4guns]

You are mulitiple powerball winner level of lucky.

Well that's a first for me

 

[Jim Watson]

Yes, that plastic tip is the weak point. I have replaced a few on my 550 without much trouble. I dread the day I have to change out the one on my S1050. That is a more complicated and tedious to adjust system.
I wish they were as simple and straightforward as my old CH Autochamp. (But its straight line case advance system makes up for it in aggravation.)

I have popped two primers in presses but it was at the seating point, not the feed itself.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

Blarby, no roasting from this side. Good, constructive post.

I respect your personal accountability, even if it disqualifies you from being a Democratic Party presidential candidate.

Thanks for taking the time to show others.

I hope you heal quickly, and get back on the horse.

 

[splattergun]

There is no point in lambasting anyone that not only has the wisdom to learn from his mistakes, but also has the humility and fortitude to share what he has learned.

As I see it, there is plenty of evidence that the feed design is faulty. Combine that with your (relatively minor, otherwise) error and the widely known sensitivity of Federal primers (even Lee recommends not using Feds in their primer feed system for just that reason), all came together at just the same point in time to go boom. It has served to make us all a bit wiser at your expense.

I hope the marks of this incident heal quickly. Meanwhile, your idea to practice weak hand shooting is perfect. All the best to you!

 

[savanahsdad]

could have been worse I did this at work in 1991 (crushed it ) , to keep full use of it (or what is left of it ) they had me tape it to my middle finger, so when I bent one the other would follow , you may want to do the same with your pinkie and tape it to your ring finger , so when you close your hand, your pinkie isn't sticking out and getting in the way , it's a real pain but you need to keep that finger bending as much as possible, , and keep it CLEAN!


oh and you DUMB ..... What was you Thinking , You idiot , You .... someone had to,, LOL

 

[Drop45]

joem, is there a reason (safety) why you don't use the auto prime? I have 2 650's and don't know if I missed something.

 

[edleit]

Thanks, Blarby. Hope you heal up quickly.

Makes me appreciate hand priming off the press, and reinforces the fact that these components of our hobby, though tiny in size, pose a very real hazard if mishandled (whether accidentally or intentionally).

Your experience will, hopefully, open others' eyes and cause them to reevaluate their own procedures and techniques.

 

[mikemyers]

I don't use the auto primer on my 650. Hand prime all cases first then into the case feeder.

I'll also thank you for posting this. I have a relative who has never reloaded before, and who purchased a Dillon 550. Together, we loaded three bullets, one at a time, using the press as a single station in effect. Everything seemed to work.

'joem1945', do you mean you deprime and re-prime the cases first (in a single station press??), and then run them through the Dillon, without having loaded any primers in the machine?



I don't have a Dillon - I've got a 30 year old RCBS Big Max, and the old RCBS device to insert primers manually. I already decided I won't use the loading tube with it, and will do primers one at a time. Thanks to this discussion, I'll use a pair of safety goggles over my (plastic, but not Polycarbonate) lenses.

 

[gamestalker]

Thank God it wasn't any worse, it certainly could have been. If one or more of those were to have pierced a vital, or taken out an eye, well I'm sure you've considered all the possible out comes.

Get well soon Brother!

GS

 

[SCC]

blarby, thanks for sharing and I hope your hand recovers quickly. You got lucky with the glasses and your face.

I'm new to reloading in the last year or so and had read about primer cascade explosions. Scarey stuff. One of the things I decided from the outset is to always wear a full face shield when reloading. Use them for other things I do, so it's no big deal wearing it when reloading. A dedicated one hangs next to the press.

---Scott.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

blarby, thanks for sharing and thanks for being a poster child for one of the reasons I don't reload. If not on the bench, then something would go wrong inside the gun for me. We should all know our limits.

So you think this will offset some of your savings for reloading?