Roland Thunder
New member
I have a Dillon 550b and I am frequently having a problem with the operating rod slipping out of the hole in the operating rod bracket. Any suggestions how to prevent this?
550b Operating rod slipping
- Thread starter Roland Thunder
- Start date
I'm assuming you mean the rod that slides the primer feed back & forth?
You need to adjust the clamp on the primer feed tube. There should be a very slight (about 1/8 to m1/4") gap between the bottom of the bracket & the top of the body casting.
The rotational position is important too, the rod should drop vertically while just clearing the side of the body casting & the 2 nylon rollers should be pretty much centered with the ram down.
Try rotating the bracket with the clamp bolt slightly loose & a 3/8" thick "wedge" between the body casting & the bottom of the plate for best position then tighten it.
You can also slightly bend the rod so the angle between the short horizontal upper arm & the long vertical part is a true 90 degrees.
You need to adjust the clamp on the primer feed tube. There should be a very slight (about 1/8 to m1/4") gap between the bottom of the bracket & the top of the body casting.
The rotational position is important too, the rod should drop vertically while just clearing the side of the body casting & the 2 nylon rollers should be pretty much centered with the ram down.
Try rotating the bracket with the clamp bolt slightly loose & a 3/8" thick "wedge" between the body casting & the bottom of the plate for best position then tighten it.
You can also slightly bend the rod so the angle between the short horizontal upper arm & the long vertical part is a true 90 degrees.
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Roland Thunder
New member
It's called the operating rod, part 13869
Roland Thunder
New member
Actually, what I meant was that the operating rod, 13869 is slipping out of the groove in the roller, 13889
which is caused by the rod sliding back and forth in the bracket, 13887
which is caused by the rod sliding back and forth in the bracket, 13887
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I've never had that happen!
There should be tension on the roller, provided by the return spring for the primer feed bar. That should keep the rod firmly in the groove of the wheels.
I'm guessing the lower rod section is either torquing sideways riding over the rim of the roller, in which case a little gentle bending to make it more vertical is called for.
OR
the primer feed bar (13920) is sticking allowing the tension to stop holding the rod between the 2 wheels. In that case strip down the powder bar, clean both the bar & the track, dri lube & reassemble. You can check by raising the ram, unhooking the bar & sliding the primer manually if it binds, jerks & isn't free & smooth there is your problem.
Dillons are kind of infamous for trapping crud in the primer shuttle & its frame area.
There should be tension on the roller, provided by the return spring for the primer feed bar. That should keep the rod firmly in the groove of the wheels.
I'm guessing the lower rod section is either torquing sideways riding over the rim of the roller, in which case a little gentle bending to make it more vertical is called for.
OR
the primer feed bar (13920) is sticking allowing the tension to stop holding the rod between the 2 wheels. In that case strip down the powder bar, clean both the bar & the track, dri lube & reassemble. You can check by raising the ram, unhooking the bar & sliding the primer manually if it binds, jerks & isn't free & smooth there is your problem.
Dillons are kind of infamous for trapping crud in the primer shuttle & its frame area.
I had a similar issue and was tod to angle the top bracket in a bit, not horizontal. What I did was cut off a spent .22 case and put it over the primer cup pin, sticking out just a tad so the wheel would not catch on the primer cup housing. The wheel hang up was causing my problem.
Same here. The operating rod bracket set screw needed to be loosened so I could rotate the bracket slightly left and right until the rod naturally lay centered in the large roller's groove, and didn't tend to push against either side of that groove. If the roller itself is rubbing anything, as Jeff described, you need to shim or space it clear by some means.
I have the operating rod set so that the white Large Roller (#13889) on the primer slide is towards the outside of the pin (almost against the roller clip #13917) but I see the point of having something to stop the Large Roller moving too far to the left, hitting the casting & jamming up the primer feed bar.
Can you explain exactly where you put the cut down casing? I'm not quite getting your description where you say
Are you putting it on the #13919 "roller pin" as a spacer between the Large Roller & the #13920 "primer slide"?
expendable
New member
Here is some info on adjusting the operating rod that may help, it's either from Dillon or Brian Enos, I'm note sure which.
Operating Rod and Bracket
Adjust the Operating Rod Bracket (13887) to be between 1/8” and 1/4” from the top of press frame. This can be a critical adjustment to primer feeding reliability. Use a steel ruler to verify this alignment.
Align Operating Rod (13869) to be parallel to the vertical Primer Housing Shield (20263). To verify this alignment, stand on a stool and look down, or release the rod from the rollers and swivel it 180º so it's pointing straight up. Adjust to be parallel if necessary – the bottom of the rod must not point inward toward the Shield tube.
Adjust the Operating Rod (by bending slightly ONLY if necessary) and the Operating Rod Bracket (by adjusting it very slightly it up or down on the Primer Housing Shield as described above) so that the Primer Slide is fully extended when the press handle is fully in the downward position.
During normal press operation, periodically verify that the operating rod had not worked itself out from the Bracket, which can change the parallel alignment of the Rod to the Shield tube. If the Rod has worked itself out, push it back into the bracket, and re-adjust the Rod to be parallel with the Shield if necessary.
Koz
Operating Rod and Bracket
Adjust the Operating Rod Bracket (13887) to be between 1/8” and 1/4” from the top of press frame. This can be a critical adjustment to primer feeding reliability. Use a steel ruler to verify this alignment.
Align Operating Rod (13869) to be parallel to the vertical Primer Housing Shield (20263). To verify this alignment, stand on a stool and look down, or release the rod from the rollers and swivel it 180º so it's pointing straight up. Adjust to be parallel if necessary – the bottom of the rod must not point inward toward the Shield tube.
Adjust the Operating Rod (by bending slightly ONLY if necessary) and the Operating Rod Bracket (by adjusting it very slightly it up or down on the Primer Housing Shield as described above) so that the Primer Slide is fully extended when the press handle is fully in the downward position.
During normal press operation, periodically verify that the operating rod had not worked itself out from the Bracket, which can change the parallel alignment of the Rod to the Shield tube. If the Rod has worked itself out, push it back into the bracket, and re-adjust the Rod to be parallel with the Shield if necessary.
Koz
Roland Thunder
New member
I cleaned the primer slide and roughed it up with steel wool and put some powdered graphite on it, problem solved. The operating rod does not slip out of the roller now.
