Gearhead Jim
Member
UPDATE:
After months of back and forth discussions, more parts being sent to me that might or might not fit, more adjustments that couldn't be done properly, etc; I sent the machine back to Dillon in early February. I agreed to pay them for a complete rebuild, and also paid them to supply and install a complete .380 setup, adjusted and ready to load. I supplied them with some once-fired cleaned cases, and bullets that I will use. Also, I wrote in CAPITAL LETTERS that we would be out of town on vacation for a while, don't send the machine back to me without verifying that we were home.
Two weeks later, I received a cellphone call that the machine was ready. I said we were still out of town, the rep looked at my letter and he agreed they would hold the machine for about another month until I returned home and called them first. Five days later, I got an email from a neighbor who had noticed a large box marked "Dillon" sitting outside on our porch, did I know what it was? Damned right I did. But he took into his house and I picked it up when we got home.
It's been sitting in my shop waiting for enough time to work on it, today I started. The unpacking and mounting were easy, Dillon included some of the "dummy" rounds they had loaded, but the bullets were seated backwards and looked like full wadcutters. Oh, well...
Here we go again:
The automatic casefeeder works perfectly, just like before (I kept it at home).
The empty cases get inserted into station 1 by the slide, but there's something wrong: about 50% of the cases went "clang" and got a bent lip when they banged into the bottom of the sizing die instead of funneling in properly. So much for "adjusted and ready to load." The cases are visibly off-center as the platform rises, the ones that go in smoothly still need to do a noticeable tilt as they enter the sizing die. I've adjusted the cam and slide as per the manual (so the cases aren't forced to far into the shellplate), but just can't get the cases to go and stay far enough into the shellplate at station one. Whether they are forced in as far as possible, or left with some looseness as the manual specifies, the only thing that changes is the percentage of cases that get damaged. I've got it down to about 10%, but that's still way too high and I never had this problem before.
Suggestions?
After months of back and forth discussions, more parts being sent to me that might or might not fit, more adjustments that couldn't be done properly, etc; I sent the machine back to Dillon in early February. I agreed to pay them for a complete rebuild, and also paid them to supply and install a complete .380 setup, adjusted and ready to load. I supplied them with some once-fired cleaned cases, and bullets that I will use. Also, I wrote in CAPITAL LETTERS that we would be out of town on vacation for a while, don't send the machine back to me without verifying that we were home.
Two weeks later, I received a cellphone call that the machine was ready. I said we were still out of town, the rep looked at my letter and he agreed they would hold the machine for about another month until I returned home and called them first. Five days later, I got an email from a neighbor who had noticed a large box marked "Dillon" sitting outside on our porch, did I know what it was? Damned right I did. But he took into his house and I picked it up when we got home.
It's been sitting in my shop waiting for enough time to work on it, today I started. The unpacking and mounting were easy, Dillon included some of the "dummy" rounds they had loaded, but the bullets were seated backwards and looked like full wadcutters. Oh, well...
Here we go again:
The automatic casefeeder works perfectly, just like before (I kept it at home).
The empty cases get inserted into station 1 by the slide, but there's something wrong: about 50% of the cases went "clang" and got a bent lip when they banged into the bottom of the sizing die instead of funneling in properly. So much for "adjusted and ready to load." The cases are visibly off-center as the platform rises, the ones that go in smoothly still need to do a noticeable tilt as they enter the sizing die. I've adjusted the cam and slide as per the manual (so the cases aren't forced to far into the shellplate), but just can't get the cases to go and stay far enough into the shellplate at station one. Whether they are forced in as far as possible, or left with some looseness as the manual specifies, the only thing that changes is the percentage of cases that get damaged. I've got it down to about 10%, but that's still way too high and I never had this problem before.
Suggestions?
