GioaJack
10-17-2010, 20:19
Finally managed to get the 1050 set up without another visit by the paramedics or volunteer fire department. After last week's episode it was suggested that I program 911 into the speed dial of my phone but I forgot their number.
Anyway, got everything set up, the powder measure dialed in for 4 grains of Clays, the seating die adjusted for 200 grain SWC's and the and the powder check die operable. My observations to that point... the manuals for the press itself, the case feeder assembly and assembly of the powder check die have one thing in common with most other loading equipment, they leave a lot to be desired.
Although thorough the press manual is written in a disjointed manner and can be very confusing at times. Even though I read the manual completely, (on-line) before the press arrived it was still a bit perplexing with the machine sitting in front of me. It is detailed, to a certain degree, and comprehensive but at times seems to contradict itself. If you were not familiar with Dillon presses it would be rather daunting... if this happened to be your first press you'd be looking for a gas pipe to suck on. IT IS NOT A PRESS FOR A FIRST TIME LOADER .
Friday was the big day for a trial run. I'm still not up to my chipper old self and lacking in energy so I figured I'd just run a hundred rounds through it and take my time correcting problems as they arose.
Filled a primer tube, no problem, then tried to fill the magazine tube. About half of them entered the tube then everything quit. Huh... not supposed to do that. Tapping on the side did nothing. Trying to tap them down with the primer follower rod produced the same result. Ended up removing the primer pick up tube with the remaining primers still in it, removing the low primer warning system, removing the knurled knob and turning the primer magazine. Have no idea what I did but it worked, the primers fell to the bottom of the tune. I replaced everything and dropped in the rest of the primers. I was ready to load... almost.
Took a hundred or so of my freshly tumbled military .45 brass and dumped them in the case feeder. Unlike the LNL case feeders the Dillon has a two speed motor, fast and slow. I pressed the slow side, I was in no rush. The motor whirred, the shell plate turned and cases started sliding down the clear plastic tube. When the tube filled the microswitch automatically killed the motor... just like the LNL's.
It was time to commence loading with the wonder machine from Dillon. Took a deep pull on my oxygen hose and gave it a go. First pull of the handle slid a case into the shell plate and moved it counterclockwise under the sizing die... worked slick. Second pull, sized the case, slid another case into the shell plate. No problems at all, everything was very smooth. Next pull moved the case into the automatic primer pocket swaging station. No real way to tell if it worked until you get to the next station... priming. Pulled the handle then raised it and pushed forward to prime the case. I'm too used to other machines... the 1050 primes on the downstroke, it will take a while to get use to that I'm sure.
Really wasn't sure if the case had been primed, hadn't felt a thing. Pulled the case... there was a shiny brass colored Wolf primer safely tucked away in the primer pocket. Apparently the swager station works pretty good. Saves the trouble of swaging them by hand.
Finished loading five rounds and decided on a function test. (There was no reason they wouldn't work had the dies adjusted to produce exactly the same round as on my LNL's and 550. Loaded a mag, grabbed the Kimber and went out back. Perfect, no problems. Time to start to slowly increase the production rate.
Got back to the machine, noticed the case feeder tube was half empty, forgotten I had switched off the motor switch. Reached up to turn it on... I hadn't switched it off. Uh-oh. Played with it for a while, unplugged it, played with it some more, banged on it, banged some more. Emptied the bowl, took out the shell plate looking for a jammed case underneath it. Nothing. Put it back together, switched on the motor, banged on it again then added the finishing touch... I swore at it. Just like my ex-wives, it ignored me.
There is one very nice thing about the Dillon manual, they provide you with their 800 number. I availed myself of it. Explained my problem to the very nice gentleman who answered. He assumed that the problem is one of two things... bad motor or bad microswitch. He suggested we start with the microswitch and will be putting one in the mail. Okay, these things happen, nothing to be upset about, I could simply load the tube by hand every couple of minutes... not the end of the world.
As I was starting to fill the tube I decided to mess with the microswitch and figured out a way to bypass it. I'll install the new one when it gets here.
Started loading again without problems until my son-in-law walked in. He stood there looking at me like someone who lost their puppy. I got off my stool and showed him how the machine worked then held my breath. (That's not good for me... I believe I mentioned that I'm on oxygen.)
He went through the rest of the hundred rounds in about 2 minutes with out a problem. One note, the operating handle is adjustable for length to increase or decrease the leverage but the hex nut that secures the handle really needs to be torqued down or the handle will turn while you're sizing.
All in all the first hundred rounds went pretty smoothly with less problems than I expected.
Yesterday, Saturday, after the NASCAR race I decided to go in an try my hand with the 'terrible toy' again. Loaded up 400 rounds with no problems. Some of the brass if fairly difficult to size since I shot a good deal of it out of our department Thompsons and they are quite a bit oversized. Other than that things went pretty slick and with the exception of filling the primer tubes I was able to knockout each hundred rounds in 5 minutes or a bit under. (I use the time to load the tubes to give my back a rest.) When I get more comfortable with the machine I'm sure that I'll be able to do a hundred rounds around the 4 minute mark. Lots of folks can go faster but my arthritic hands cause me to fumble a bit while setting the bullet on the charged case.
My overall impression so far of the 1050? It's kinda like a really good looking, high maintenance girlfriend... a bundle of fun when everything is going well but you know that sooner or later both of them are going to give you problems.
The 1050 is a very complicated machine, probably more so than any other machine you've had the opportunity to use. If one were to follow exactly the lubrication recommendations in the manual it would require virtually the complete disassembly of the entire machine... not a pleasant thought by any means. (I am told by our very own Hozer, who owns a hundred and three 1050's, that one can keep the machine lubed quite adequately with considerably less effort. We'll see... he's probably lying to me.)
To give you an idea of how mechanically complicated the machine is the spare parts kit contains more parts than makes up a complete LNL. It's actually kind os scary but bear in mind that I have very,very limited experience with the machine. I'm sure that with more time with the press and more experience correcting problems a higher comfort level can be quickly attained. At least I hope so.
Should LNL/650 owners upgrade to a 1050? That's totally dependent on the individual loader. If you load commercially like Freakshow or shoot 3000 rounds a week well then, yes, it probably would be a worthwhile upgrade.
If you're just shooting 3 or 4 thousand a month then it's probably not worth it, especially if you're shooting multiple calibers. Caliber conversions are very expensive on the 1050 and fairly complicated. You're certainly not going to do it in 5 minutes like you can on a LNL or just a few minutes longer on a 650.
Is the faster production rate worth it... again, it depends. At my normally slow pace I load a hundred rounds in 10-12 minutes. If I have a serious jam or stoppage I can have the machine up and running again in a matter of a very few minutes. I imagine a serious stoppage with the 1050 would take considerably longer to correct. If that is indeed correct then the difference in production rate closes considerably.
Well, there ya have it, my limited observation on the new 'terrible toy'. Is it fun... yes. Does it look neat sitting on the bench... yes. Is it worth the cost? That's for you to decide. If one were inclined 3 LNL's with case feeders could be purchased for the same money. Why did I get one... I like toys. :supergrin:
Jack
Anyway, got everything set up, the powder measure dialed in for 4 grains of Clays, the seating die adjusted for 200 grain SWC's and the and the powder check die operable. My observations to that point... the manuals for the press itself, the case feeder assembly and assembly of the powder check die have one thing in common with most other loading equipment, they leave a lot to be desired.
Although thorough the press manual is written in a disjointed manner and can be very confusing at times. Even though I read the manual completely, (on-line) before the press arrived it was still a bit perplexing with the machine sitting in front of me. It is detailed, to a certain degree, and comprehensive but at times seems to contradict itself. If you were not familiar with Dillon presses it would be rather daunting... if this happened to be your first press you'd be looking for a gas pipe to suck on. IT IS NOT A PRESS FOR A FIRST TIME LOADER .
Friday was the big day for a trial run. I'm still not up to my chipper old self and lacking in energy so I figured I'd just run a hundred rounds through it and take my time correcting problems as they arose.
Filled a primer tube, no problem, then tried to fill the magazine tube. About half of them entered the tube then everything quit. Huh... not supposed to do that. Tapping on the side did nothing. Trying to tap them down with the primer follower rod produced the same result. Ended up removing the primer pick up tube with the remaining primers still in it, removing the low primer warning system, removing the knurled knob and turning the primer magazine. Have no idea what I did but it worked, the primers fell to the bottom of the tune. I replaced everything and dropped in the rest of the primers. I was ready to load... almost.
Took a hundred or so of my freshly tumbled military .45 brass and dumped them in the case feeder. Unlike the LNL case feeders the Dillon has a two speed motor, fast and slow. I pressed the slow side, I was in no rush. The motor whirred, the shell plate turned and cases started sliding down the clear plastic tube. When the tube filled the microswitch automatically killed the motor... just like the LNL's.
It was time to commence loading with the wonder machine from Dillon. Took a deep pull on my oxygen hose and gave it a go. First pull of the handle slid a case into the shell plate and moved it counterclockwise under the sizing die... worked slick. Second pull, sized the case, slid another case into the shell plate. No problems at all, everything was very smooth. Next pull moved the case into the automatic primer pocket swaging station. No real way to tell if it worked until you get to the next station... priming. Pulled the handle then raised it and pushed forward to prime the case. I'm too used to other machines... the 1050 primes on the downstroke, it will take a while to get use to that I'm sure.
Really wasn't sure if the case had been primed, hadn't felt a thing. Pulled the case... there was a shiny brass colored Wolf primer safely tucked away in the primer pocket. Apparently the swager station works pretty good. Saves the trouble of swaging them by hand.
Finished loading five rounds and decided on a function test. (There was no reason they wouldn't work had the dies adjusted to produce exactly the same round as on my LNL's and 550. Loaded a mag, grabbed the Kimber and went out back. Perfect, no problems. Time to start to slowly increase the production rate.
Got back to the machine, noticed the case feeder tube was half empty, forgotten I had switched off the motor switch. Reached up to turn it on... I hadn't switched it off. Uh-oh. Played with it for a while, unplugged it, played with it some more, banged on it, banged some more. Emptied the bowl, took out the shell plate looking for a jammed case underneath it. Nothing. Put it back together, switched on the motor, banged on it again then added the finishing touch... I swore at it. Just like my ex-wives, it ignored me.
There is one very nice thing about the Dillon manual, they provide you with their 800 number. I availed myself of it. Explained my problem to the very nice gentleman who answered. He assumed that the problem is one of two things... bad motor or bad microswitch. He suggested we start with the microswitch and will be putting one in the mail. Okay, these things happen, nothing to be upset about, I could simply load the tube by hand every couple of minutes... not the end of the world.
As I was starting to fill the tube I decided to mess with the microswitch and figured out a way to bypass it. I'll install the new one when it gets here.
Started loading again without problems until my son-in-law walked in. He stood there looking at me like someone who lost their puppy. I got off my stool and showed him how the machine worked then held my breath. (That's not good for me... I believe I mentioned that I'm on oxygen.)
He went through the rest of the hundred rounds in about 2 minutes with out a problem. One note, the operating handle is adjustable for length to increase or decrease the leverage but the hex nut that secures the handle really needs to be torqued down or the handle will turn while you're sizing.
All in all the first hundred rounds went pretty smoothly with less problems than I expected.
Yesterday, Saturday, after the NASCAR race I decided to go in an try my hand with the 'terrible toy' again. Loaded up 400 rounds with no problems. Some of the brass if fairly difficult to size since I shot a good deal of it out of our department Thompsons and they are quite a bit oversized. Other than that things went pretty slick and with the exception of filling the primer tubes I was able to knockout each hundred rounds in 5 minutes or a bit under. (I use the time to load the tubes to give my back a rest.) When I get more comfortable with the machine I'm sure that I'll be able to do a hundred rounds around the 4 minute mark. Lots of folks can go faster but my arthritic hands cause me to fumble a bit while setting the bullet on the charged case.
My overall impression so far of the 1050? It's kinda like a really good looking, high maintenance girlfriend... a bundle of fun when everything is going well but you know that sooner or later both of them are going to give you problems.
The 1050 is a very complicated machine, probably more so than any other machine you've had the opportunity to use. If one were to follow exactly the lubrication recommendations in the manual it would require virtually the complete disassembly of the entire machine... not a pleasant thought by any means. (I am told by our very own Hozer, who owns a hundred and three 1050's, that one can keep the machine lubed quite adequately with considerably less effort. We'll see... he's probably lying to me.)
To give you an idea of how mechanically complicated the machine is the spare parts kit contains more parts than makes up a complete LNL. It's actually kind os scary but bear in mind that I have very,very limited experience with the machine. I'm sure that with more time with the press and more experience correcting problems a higher comfort level can be quickly attained. At least I hope so.
Should LNL/650 owners upgrade to a 1050? That's totally dependent on the individual loader. If you load commercially like Freakshow or shoot 3000 rounds a week well then, yes, it probably would be a worthwhile upgrade.
If you're just shooting 3 or 4 thousand a month then it's probably not worth it, especially if you're shooting multiple calibers. Caliber conversions are very expensive on the 1050 and fairly complicated. You're certainly not going to do it in 5 minutes like you can on a LNL or just a few minutes longer on a 650.
Is the faster production rate worth it... again, it depends. At my normally slow pace I load a hundred rounds in 10-12 minutes. If I have a serious jam or stoppage I can have the machine up and running again in a matter of a very few minutes. I imagine a serious stoppage with the 1050 would take considerably longer to correct. If that is indeed correct then the difference in production rate closes considerably.
Well, there ya have it, my limited observation on the new 'terrible toy'. Is it fun... yes. Does it look neat sitting on the bench... yes. Is it worth the cost? That's for you to decide. If one were inclined 3 LNL's with case feeders could be purchased for the same money. Why did I get one... I like toys. :supergrin:
Jack