RL 550B noob...measuring powder drop without using a .223 case

[timbo]

Hey all,

I just got a Dillon 550B and I'm probably missing something obvious here. I want to be able to cycle the powder bar without having to have a shell in the holder. I want the powder to drop into the little dish that goes onto my beam scale as I hold it under the powder die to make it easier to calibrate the weight of the powder.

Is this possible? Am I missing the obvious here? Reloading is nothing new to me...a progressive press is...

Thanks

 

[fishhawk357]

I usually just drop into the case and pour that into my measure. Pretty simple for me that way.

 

[eisenhow]

I usually just drop into the case and pour that into my measure. Pretty simple for me that way.

This. And throw a couple charges after adjusting and before weighing.

 

[timbo]

OK, thanks. That's the only way I could see to do it too.

 

[thormx538]

You can just push the powder bar with your hand, but it's easier to just use a case. When I empty my hopper after a session, I remove it from the drop die, turn it over and dump the powder back into the bottle, then manually cycle the powder bar a few times while holding it over the bottle to make sure it's all cleared out.

 

[badshot101]

I just drop into a case like others have said. also make sure your shellplate is adjusted so that the cases reliably go up the powder bell. If you are sloppy the lip of the case will catch the lip of the bell which will run the powder measure full stroke long before the full press stroke causing either a mess or inconsistent charges.

OK, thanks. That's the only way I could see to do it too.

 

[josh2600]

I just drop into a case like others have said. also make sure your shellplate is adjusted so that the cases reliably go up the powder bell. If you are sloppy the lip of the case will catch the lip of the bell which will run the powder measure full stroke long before the full press stroke causing either a mess or inconsistent charges.

Yea, I'd be especially wary of this if you're pushing it load wise, I've found it tends to overcharge by a bit when you're having this problem. I've even seen it overcharge the next case in line. Why? I dunno.

 

[73BLow]

I remember the first time I set up my 550 I didn't pay attention to the position of the powder drop adjustment bolt. The very first charge dropped about 15 grains. As most of you know, a 9mm case won't hold that much powder, so I had powder all over the shell plate. Had to take it apart and clean it all out. Luckily, that was the only mistake I made.

 

[houdini]

drop in the case, then pour into scale.

 

[1919FAN]

You can also take the powder drop off the press and hold it over your powder pan and cycle the drop by hand and adjust to your spec then reinsall it on the press and have at it ,

 

[timbo]

thanks for all your help folks...as it turns out, it wasn't that big of a deal to just drop the powder into the case and then dump the powder from the case into the powder pan. I was envisioning powder overflowing the case. All I did was set the powder bar to minimum and then worked my way up to the correct weight...only took me a half dozen or so adjustments.

 

[Smokewagon]

I usually just drop into the case and pour that into my measure. Pretty simple for me that way.

This. And throw a couple charges after adjusting and before weighing.

Theses. Make sure you give the case a tap or two after pouring into your measure dish, a few grains generally like to try and stay behind.

 

[timbo]

Theses. Make sure you give the case a tap or two after pouring into your measure dish, a few grains generally like to try and stay behind.

This was really the original reason I had for dumping the charges into the pan, so I knew that every bit of the powder dropped was being measured. I was concerned that some may stay in the case when I dumped it into the pan to be weighed but seems that this is not a problem...like you said, tap the case a bit to make sure it's all out. Even with tapping it, I didn't notice any stray flakes dropping out.

 

[dcmdon]

thanks for all your help folks...as it turns out, it wasn't that big of a deal to just drop the powder into the case and then dump the powder from the case into the powder pan. I was envisioning powder overflowing the case. All I did was set the powder bar to minimum and then worked my way up to the correct weight...only took me a half dozen or so adjustments.

I was about to respond to your OP with a question of "why". You were looking for a solution to a non-problem.

I'm glad to see you figured that out yourself.

I just posted a new thread looking for case lubrication tips. If you have any advice, I'd appreciate if you could share your experiences with how you are lubing the .223s.

Don

 

[noylj]

ALWAYS be sure to completely clean out the measure before use (clean plastic parts with soap and water and let air dry without rinsing and clean all metal parts with something like Hornady's One Shot Cleaner and Dry Lube). Residual soap will eliminate a LOT of static cling.
ALWAYS be sure the correct charge bar is inserted for the charge weight you want.
ALWAYS be sure to run a full hopper of graphitized powder or even just powdered graphite through the measure before using for the first time.
ALWAYS give the measure a few light shakes to settle the powder before you start throwing any charges.
ALWAYS throw and discard at least 10 throws before starting to weigh charges.
ALWAYS be sure that at least three throws are consistent before assuming your charge is set correct.
ALWAYS throw and discard at least 3 throws before starting to weigh charges after making any adjustment to the charge bar setting.
ANY means of charging that does not EXACTLY match a case going into the measure on the press and dropping the charge will give you false information. You HAVE to let the press/measure work together with a case to be consistent. Any variation will not give you the same drop.