How Phil reloads on a Dillon:
 

OK so with all this talk about reloading I thought I would start a thread on my process of reloading. I was just going to do a video showing the operation of the Dillon 650 and still will but thought it would be better on the complete process.

Padre gave me the inspiration and thought I start a thread. It will probably take me a while to go through the complete process but will get there with a video.

***Disclaimer*** I am no expert. Not even close and if you see me say or doing something not quite right or you have a better idea of how it should go, speak up please. We all can use great advise from other perspective.

Here we go!

Step 1: Prepping the brass
 

Being I reload on a progressive I only touch my brass once. This is just after I clean it. I collect the brass at the range usually only my own but will pick up others if its what I do shoot. I put it in a mesh bag until I get home then in storage containers. Repeat with next trip to the range. I only reload in the winter so I save brass all year round.

Winter comes and I get to it. I hate this process the most because its very messy. I put media in my tumbler. I use the Lyman Turbo 1200 tumbler. I dump in my media and a cap full of Nufinish car wax. I use Hornaday media because it gives off less dust in my opinion. There are many makers and types of media but this is what I like. I store the media in a big tote and just put in and out as needed.

Then I take the brass from the containers and put in the tumbler with the media and the wax. I run my brass for about 2 hours. Seems good enough for me. I am not worried about getting it perfect but clean enough to be able to visually inspect the case.

After the two hours I use a separator pan and then one by one examine each piece of brass because this will be the last time I handle the brass. Then I place the media back in the tumbler and do another cycle. I don't pre-separate case size I do that after I tumble it.

Picture 1: Tumbler loaded
Picture 2: Tumbler working
Picture 3: Clean brass in separator pan
Picture 4: Media container and separator pan

Just a couple more thoughts: I never do this process while doing any loading or handling anything that might go boom. The tumbler creates static and don't want to risk shocking anything bad. Also I do this in a separate area then my press because the media gets all over. By all means I should really do this in the garage but its winter in South Dakota. So after I clean, inspect, separate the brass I then clean up all the brass prep stuff. I want it out of sight.

I only load pistol rounds so I don't worry about cleaning primer pockets and all that stuff. If I loaded rifle I would probably tumble, de-prime, then use a multi prep station that gets all the nook and crannies. But with pistol I don't believe that is necessary and have never had an issue that I am aware of. With less than 50 rounds per rifle that I shoot or less there is no savings for me to load rifle. Pistol well worth it because I shoot thousands of rounds per year.

Thoughts?

Next step for me is prepping the press area for reloading (hopefully soon)

Phil, good point concerning static electricity and things that can go boom. I'm looking forward to part two!

Michael

Great thread Phil. Thanks for taking the time to show us your process!

In the meantime I'm reading the reloading handbook from Lee, that our Padre very generously surprised me with. Thanks again Michael.

Oh yeah he is a hell of a guy. I too will copy what I have and email to you. Just need to get to an office with a scanner, hopefully in the next week.

Monday I have off! Kid will be at school, wife at work so that will be the day I attempt to film the press in action. Never done anything like this before.

Only hard decision I have right now is what color thong to wear :eek:

The Blue one . OBVIOUSLY!

Set bullet, pull handle, repeat.

Step 2: Prep work
 

So my prep work is getting everything laid out and ready to go. Get out primers needed and powder. Fill the powder dispenser, fill the primer tubes so you can fill the Dillon primer tube. I have my scale, caliper, have one of each a digital and dial, and I have a go no go bullet check. All the tools I might need for the press. I always have a can of compressed air its handy.

I get my bullets set out as well so I don't have to go digging for anything. I also plan out what load I am going to be doing. And also my stock pile of MTM plastic holders for the finished product.

Next step is to make coffee and get to it. I will post the video as soon as I get it viewable and on YouTube.

I have to admit I did purchase two things that were "aftermarket" for the press.

First a light, I had trouble with my aging eyes to check the powder in the case. I got it at inline fabrications because they use LED lights that don't create heat and you can add more light for other areas. The light is a great addition.

Second the only real modification was to add the live primer catch cup. The stock version was just a little chute, labeled the "ski jump" and it did just that jump the primers all over the darn place. If you removed a case or didn't prime a round the primer would drop out to the chute but it wasn't a great design. When I asked Dillon CS they said they did that because you should never store live primers with each other without separating them. Very true but very inconvenient when loading many rounds. There are many home made ways to fix this but you can buy one for about $15 and that is what I did. Off flea-bay and was a great addition. I never store primers there just catch them fyi.

Other than these two items everything is purchased form Dillon, case feeder, racks to hang loaded primer tubes. They make a great product. I did check to see if either of these things have warranty issues. I didn't want to mess up the no BS warranty. They said no issues with them.

GREAT thread Phil !! http://www.cotep.org/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif