Dillon XL650 Strong Mount

[xHEADSHOTx]

I'm taking a shot in the dark here...

I would like to fabricate my own strong mount. Can anyone provide me with some dimensions? I think the most important being thickness, angle and height of the risers, depth and width of the circled area in the picture below. Are they two separate pieces? Or does some type of bracket bridge the two legs together?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[xHEADSHOTx]

Please, lol.

It would only take a minute or two...

 

[GT1]

There is no bracket connenting the two pieces.

Mine is bolted down to my bench, I have no way to measure the angles. :/

 

[xHEADSHOTx]

Thanks, at least I know it isn't a single piece. So it's two brackets with what looks to be a 15 degree bend (or thereabouts). Unfortunately, I can't mock something up without the depth and width of the encircled area.

 

[morrow]

It's only like an inch or so wide, same as the bottom of the mount

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

Some times it's better to bite the bullet and just buy the @%# things. They are well engineered and you will waste way too much time reengineering them. This is coming from an engineer with a lathe, mill, mig, tig and plasma cutting machine.

 

[xHEADSHOTx]

Thanks morrow. I guess I could measure the press to get the depth.

To oldforty: If you're truly an engineer then why can't you see that it's only bent steel plate. This isn't rocket science. I won't be "re-engineering" anything! I'll simply be making the exact same brackets but for $0 dollars. I hope your employer doesn't pay you much, lol.

 

[cfullgraf]

This is coming from an engineer with a lathe, mill, mig, tig and plasma cutting machine.

That could describe me.

If i wanted to just duplicate the strong mount, I agree, buy Dillon's and be done with it.

But, if I had some ideas to improve on it for my purposes, I would want to build my own. I would probably want one with a single column instead of the wide spread of the Dillon unit. It would take up less bench space.

xHEADSHOTx, I'd measure one if I had one. I built my own floor stands for my Dillon SDBs and that is not quite the same.

GT1, measure the width of the base, the width of the top and the vertical height. Angles can be calculated from those numbers since the mount is symmetrical.

 

[GT1]

The area circled measures 4-5/8" x 1-1/4" and my '650-only' mount is made of 1/8" steel sheet.
Seems tempered/anodized and is not likely plain old soft steel, but I know nothing of such things.


RE: risers
If you take away the spread you no longer are spreading the load(d'oh!) and it becomes a riser, not a strong mount.

Going too high that way concentrates the load in a small area, making it a lever essentially, and depending on the bench can tear the top right off. It will also likely add wobble to your press.

That is the reason it is designed the way it is and why we see very few risers for sale.

 

[X hunter]

I welded up a few plates that I had laying around, I wasn't trying to duplicate their product, just steal their concept. I will take some pictures tomorrow. It wasn't difficult and I wasn't worried about space. I used 1/4 inch plates because thats what I had. I made the top plate big enough to hold the press and the catch bin. It took about an hour to weld and then drill the holes the most time consuming part was waiting for the paint to dry.

 

[45_auto]

To oldforty: If you're truly an engineer then why can't you see that it's only bent steel plate. This isn't rocket science. I won't be "re-engineering" anything! I'll simply be making the exact same brackets but for $0 dollars. I hope your employer doesn't pay you much, lol.

Well, I'm truly an engineer (whose employer pays him VERY well !) who also has his own machine shop and I can give you my take on it. As an engineer, oldfortyfiveauto probably considers his time much more valuable than the measly $50 Dillon wants for their strong mounts. I'm the same way, I have LOTS more interesting projects and hobbies to work on than spending an hour or so cutting, bending, drilling, and painting a couple of plates. Your view on it will depend on your financial resources and how much you value your time.

 

[Otto]

IMO, the primary reason to fabricate your own strong mount would be make one that's more robust or perhaps more versatile.
On the other hand, some people simply enjoy making their own tools...nothing wrong with that.
Here's a few homemade strong mounts to give you an idea.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/284491_Dillon_Strong_Mount_Substitute_for_a_Rock_Chucker_.html

 

[rfwobbly]

It's 11ga steel. The height is to clear the swing of the op mechanism by 1/2 inch or so. This allows the press to be set back, OVER the work bench, rather than hanging off the front edge. That's where the strength comes from. It's drilled to allow mounting of the various optional bullet and case trays.

While you can easily make the "legs", the 550 version comes with all the fasteners and a new finished cartridge chute that's rather complex.

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

Thanks morrow. I guess I could measure the press to get the depth.

To oldforty:]If you're truly an engineer then why can't you see that it's only bent steel plate. This isn't rocket science. I won't be "re-engineering" anything! I'll simply be making the exact same brackets but for $0 dollars. I hope your employer doesn't pay you much, lol.

45_auto, thank you for you understanding comments.

To xHEADSHOTx: my employer also pays me very well and for good reasons. Through the years I've acquired 10 patents and three nominations for patent excellence. Those nominations were based on the patent's impact on the business unit. One of them won because it added $25 million in new business to the company and was even mentioned on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. I am very much aware of the time value of money, manufacturing efficiencies and good design. So what have you been up to?

When all is said and done Dillon has done a fine job in the design of the strong mount, bullet tray and box brackets. Yes it's on the high side, but it's still a hard design to beat for function.

 

[cfullgraf]

Well, there are at least two schools of thought.

One is the "not invented here" syndrome. It does not matter how good something is, somebody always thinks his design is better.

The other is "why bother, some one already done it" syndrome.

While I do not have any patents to my credit, I am a professionally licensed engineer in several states and have a PhD in engineering. It is not beneath me to design and build tools and equipment that suit my use better than commercially available units.

When I purchased my Dillon SDBs, I did not buy a Dillon strong mount. While the Dillon unit is well designed and built, it did not suit my needs. I built a stand for my SDBs that fit my needs. Like reloading, it was an enjoyable past time.

I agree, it is not worth the effort to just duplicate the Dillon strong mount. Lots of work for not gain.