New XL650 owner

J

jojo4711

New member
Just pulled the trigger on a Dillon XL650 with casefeeder. I got the powder checker, roller handle and 4 extra small primer tubes. Thought about the strong mount, but my bench is about 30" and I use a small stool while reloading, so the height should be similar to my turret press. Figured I would start with 9mm then buy the conversion things necessary to do .223 rifle eventually. I came across some money unexpectedly and was told to buy myself something that will always remind of someone special, so I got a Dillon. Figured I would never be able to justify this type of purchase with a family and everything else that life throws at you.

Anything I should know during initial setup? I have used a Lee turret press for about 2 years now, so setup should be similar. There's just a lot more going on with this press and a lot more attachments.
 
Suprisingly, there will be a little fine tuning when it arrives.
Tried the 'Strong Mount', it's around here somewhere...
All it did was magnify the wobble of the bench, so it's hold up in some box now.

Don't know your situation, but if you can consider insetting the press, back away from the edge of the bench about the dept of the press frame.
Keeps it from being a hip/elbow buster.

A 'Tall' table works better than the stand...

There are a TON of 'YouTube' videos on the Dillon reloaders, good watching when you are in the 'Reading Room'.

Short cases and full cases will want to slop powder.
Two things helped mine a bunch (I tried several),
One was de-tempering the index spring and switching to a 'Low Mass' index ball.
Keeps the spring/ball detent from slamming home when it indexes, and if you don't like it, Dillon will send you another spring for free.

The second that helped,
When you get yours, you will see a metal rod with pointed end facing down, that rod contacts a plastic ramp to move the case feed cradle.

EBay has a rod with roller bearing so you don't have metal on plastic wear contact (roller bearing makes it 'No Wear'),
And the bearing smooths out the cycling.

Some like it, some don't, the aftermarket stuff is cheap so you won't lose a ton of money if you don't like it...

One aftermarket thing I can recommend 100% is a knob/screw replacment for the powder bar adjustment if you are going to make weight changes, the Dillon bolt head is a pain to adjust.

You will find the Dillon charge bar powder dropper doesn't like long stick powder.
Short stick works OK...
The usual flake/ball works fine.

There are several different aftermarket kits to divert spent primers out there, some work, some don't.
If you are going to go to town, that little bin catcher gets full fast.
I have a hose on mine that drops them directly in the recycle bin under the bench.
The one I use is no longer available... But it works perfect, if interested I'll take pictures.

Extra parts never hurts, primer tubes, small parts, ect.
Get a box and keep all the 'Extras' together, and seperated from caliber change kits so you don't have 'Extra Parts' when changing calibers!
I spent a day trying to figure out where a 'Spare' part went, when I didn't need it at all... ;)
Some days you eat bear, other days turn to bear crap!

I have three different progressives, other than tuning, I've had ZERO issues with my XL650.
I was butt hurt about the price, that went away quickly since it WORKED out of the box, doesn't wear out or break parts, and with a few aftermarket parts is super smooth & reliable, cranking out rounds at a tremendous rate, nearly as fast as you can load primers...

The frame is plenty solid, but I've seen more than one broken when people buy/use an aftermarket primer pocket swager.
I have the exact same swager, makes me cringe when I use it,
You will have to make your own mind up about using one, but it does make primer pocket rehab about 100 times faster than using a hand swager.
As I understand, Dillon will replace a broken frame exactly ONCE, even if it has the gouge from the swager.... Don't want to test that information.

Getting my dies fine tuned, powder thrower set was about all there was to it getting started, and solving little problems as they crop up is pretty easy,
I haven't run into anything everyone else hasn't, and most times there is a cheap fix on the market...

The Dillon is about 4,000 times the press the Lee 'Load Master is,
Next revamp of the bench the Load Master is up for sale or going into a box,
I have ZERO need for it, and I will never go back to the constant replacing parts & tuning it takes...

I've pulled the handle on about all the progressives, the Dillon is the best so far...

On word of warning,
When you get into deep cleaning, like taking the aluminum head off the ram,
Be aware you WILL need a timing/alignment pin from Dillon to get it timed correctly again.
Dillon sends you one for free, Dillon doesn't ship one with the press because most people will never take the press that far down.
I use mine quite a bit, so I deep cleaned it and found out the hard way about the alignment pin... Just something you may need in the future depending on how many rounds you crank out, and how much powder you sling around...
 
Wow the jyou for that reply. I will get it all setup and if I run into issues I will some of ur suggestions. I wanted as much of a plug and play kit as I could get. I don't want to fiddle with things too much, just want to make ammo. Dillon seemed like the way to go over the LnL.
 
Its as close to plug & play as I've seen...
Your brass will vary, so slight adjustment required,
Seating will need a little adjustment for YOUR bullets,
The usual stuff with dies then its off to the races!

I suggest you DO NOT put primers or powder until you make a few test slugs (inert),
Get case sizing, bullet seating, ect,
Then take the powder rod loose, throw a few charges and get the weight right,
Then you are ready for primers to make live rounds.
Cycle without brass until you start getting primers in the live primer 'Ski Ramp', start feeding cases and spitting out live rounds.

Test the first few right away so you know what you have, the crank out production!
 
While I love my LCT, when it comes to just bulk reloading nothing beats Dillon's XL650, especially if you reload several calibers. Once you are setup you can really crank through the rounds, as long as your primer tubes are setup. It's what it will slow you up. (I'm sure the 1050 crowd loves theirs, but the caliber change kits are very expensive and not as broad as the XL650 kits)

I do use the strong mount and reload on it in a standing position. Yes, you do need a strong and well mounted bench. If it wobbles or flexes it can cause problems with the casefeeder. But at 500 to 600 rounds an hour, you'll be done pretty quick. My setup has 8 toolheads, but that's with 24 years of use. I just sent it in for a tuneup to Dillon. I basically got a new press, the frame was original but everything else as far as I can tell was replaced. This included matching up my small and large primer assemblies to the latest revision. My oldest primer measure, they swapped out no questions asked. Since my Powder measures where the older style with a different bellcrank, they were smart enough to send me the new failsafe rod without me asking. Needless to say their Customer service has always taken care of me, even when it's because of my stupidity. LOL

Good luck, make sure you read the instructions and videos many times over. Once you get a good routine going, the setup will be easy. Dummy rounds are a must and make sure you count things out. Like how many cranks it takes for your first live primer to arrive! and how many are left in the tube when the alarm sounds! makes life easier!

I've added goodies like a replacement for the used primers (tube feeds a water bottle on the floor)... and the ski ramp is history, got a nice little tube to catch them and I'm not chasing them on the bench/floor!
 
Some guys with low/wide benches love the strong mount,
I have a tall 24" deep bench, all the strong mount did was add leverage to rock the bench.

Insetting the press gave the bench leverage since the press wasn't hanging over the edge anymore giving the press leverage.
Rock solid now, and high enough I can sit comfortably...

Actually, I thought it through from soup to nuts when I built the bench,
Found a comfortable chair I can sit in for hours,
Worked it from there!
Bench top high enough, tall back to screw to the wall, comfortable chair...
I was spending $1,000 minimum on press/accessories, another $175 on bench materials is no big deal...
Make it fit when you can!
 
Dillon treats 650 owners better than 1050 owners.

Because of the 650 lifetime warranty, if the 650 needs parts, Dillon will always ship the parts for free. If you want a tune up, you can even call up customer service and complain the press isn't working right, insist on sendinging it back, and they'll tune it for free.

On the 1050, if the press is older than a year, they charge for any replacement parts. And the parts are expensive, too. I just paid $240 for three upgraded 1050 primer slides. The only thing they'll send for free are the primer tube tips (they don't want people blowing up the primer tube).

Congrats on getting a 650. That was my first ever press 20+ years ago. You'll love it.
 
Living in Phoenix is a godsend when your press needs service.

I recently had my 650 go south. One part for auto indexing broke, the casefeeder wasn't feeding the last 1/16th of an inch and was sticking the brass. The primers were getting turned around. All this because I had one jam. I then pulled the handle too hard. Next time I know to STOP, empty all the stations and try to work out the problem.

I brought it to Dillon and explained the problems. They took it and said it would be fixed in a day.

I can't always get someone to drive me so I asked if they would ship it back to me. NO PROBLEM.

When I asked how much it would cost the rep said... It's all in the guarantee. No charge.

You can't beat that.
 
All great advice. I've had mine about 2yrs now. Was 2nd hand, but almost unused. I've been loading 9mm, and 22tcm. Have the 223 conversion, but load on my single only.
(just volume not high enough yet)
So I've added the roller handle from inline recently, I like it much better, but your choice. Find a 38special case, and drill it out. It fits in slot where the blue spent primer container is. Add a short hose and you don't spill used primers. Added ball under plate, and also the roller bearing. With 9mm you will shake out powder. Cheap easy to use just don't tighten down the center bolt too much. You will have to bent ejector wire if you change to roller brg. Other than that, have fun,..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top