My Dillion 55

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ra407

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Can someone tell me why my reloader sometimes hangs up on the return stroke? It runs smooth for a few times then it seems to get stuck and I have to push the handle back hard. It only does it when there is shells in the machine.

Thanks.
 
I'm no expert but if it is a Dillon 550B it coud be from pulling a sized case out of the die on station 1. This could be a case lube problem. What caliber/cartridge is in question? More likely to happen when running mixed headstamps than all the same on .223 for example.

At the very end of that stoke you are setting a new primer on station 1. Doubt that is it though the prime plunger has to align with a hole.

Later,
WNTFW
 
If you're loading for handgun, try cleaning/polishing the expander. A tiny bit of sizing wax there might help too.

If this is happening with bottleneck rifle cases the decapping rod may have moved up in your die. The expading button on the decapper needs to be below the neck sizing area on the die or it will be very tight.
 
I'd take apart the primer system and clean that out really good. I had one where the primer ram had gotten bent slightly and what would happen was that it would catch (occasionally) on the edge of the spring loaded doohickie and bind it up. (sorry for the highly technical jargon)

:)
 
Is it only hard to push while the cases are still in the dies?? I do know the pivot pins on the linkage will sometimes start to gall up and jam up the action of the press, but usually that won't be an intermittent problem. When that happens it doesn't go away without either a ton of lube and working the galled link back and forth a lot, or getting the freebie replacement parts from Dillon and actually replacing the galled part.
 
Crimped Primer Pockets?

I had the same issue on my Dillion when I first started reloading. The catch was intermittent and would occur at the end of the stroke when the primer was being seated. In this case, it was range brass and some of it was crimped.

Scott
 
On some machines a spent primer will get stuck between the cotter pin and the primer chute. This makes the chute door bind against the primer slide. If you continue to force it you will bend the spent primer chute and could move the primer slide assy and cause problems with the priming ram lining up with the shell plate. Slow down and never force the machine. Look and find out what the problem is. The machine is normally very smooth in operation.
 
Run a single case through all the stations. It is probably hanging up pulling the case off the expander funnel. This is common with new brass, still happens to a lesser extent with once fired brass, and goes away completely after a couple of firings. It helps to periodically wipe off the powder funnel using steel wool or a green scotchbrite pad, to prevent brass buildup
 
Thanks guys, but I figured out what it was. I was not sizing the shell enough in the first station. It was getting stuck in the second die.
Thanks again for your help.
 
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