- Thread starter Shanerbanner10
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Do you see any differences between old fashioned dry tumbling media vs the 20-40 grit corn cob blast media when it comes to dust? Or is there anything you do to cut down on dust production?
cut a dryer sheet into strips or use the Dillon polish or Nu-Finish car polish
I have two 650's, one set up for 9mm, the other set up for .45 ACP. The 9 setup has an Autodrive (highly recommend) and a second Autodrive is in transit for the .45 rig. Both rigs have casefeeders and Mr. Bulletfeeders (again, highly recommend). The Autodrives and Mr. Bulletfeeders don't cost any more for the larger presses. Mark 7/Lyman just announced a $250.00 rebate on all Autodrives
.If I had it to do all over again, I would have bought into 1050/1100's instead of the 650/750's. The working space around the 650/750's toolheads is really tight and can be a PITA at times. Plus, you have more die holes to work with on the larger press, probably negating the need for prep/loading toolhead swapouts. Which means the brass will only go through the press once in order to achieve a finished product.
Watch out for the powder being stuck inside the Dillon powder funnel due to sticky lube capturing kernels. I don't load this way for this reason, looking down the tube you could look and see powder stuck inside the powder die. Makes no sense to weigh out powder down the the kernel for precision rounds only to have the powder sticking randomly inside the powder die.
Gustav's comment about the feel of sizing vs the feel of seating is a very good point as well.
Dust can be an issue with the 20-40 grit, but not terrible. My tumbler has a sealed lid which helps, then when I use the Dillon rotary sifter I take it outside of the garage. I add car polish to the media which keeps the dust down a bit.
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I use a DL550 with two tool heads.
Before I begin my process I anneal the brass.
Apply Hornady one shot to brass.
First time through the Dillon, Station 1 is set up to decap. Station 2 resizes and I have replaced the decapping/neck expander with a borebrush to clean the inside of the neck. Station 3 is empty and station 4 is a neck expander to set .0025" of neck tension.
The brass then goes into the vibratory cleaner for 30 minutes.
Second time through the Dillon with the second tool head. Station 1 is lee decapping die just to guarantee nothing is in the flash hole and the case gets primed (PRO TIP- walnut media has never gotten stuck in the flash hole like corn cob can). Station 2 is a Dillon powder die with area419 funnel, station 3 is where I add the bullet by hand and station 4 is the seating die.
Before I begin my process I anneal the brass.
Apply Hornady one shot to brass.
First time through the Dillon, Station 1 is set up to decap. Station 2 resizes and I have replaced the decapping/neck expander with a borebrush to clean the inside of the neck. Station 3 is empty and station 4 is a neck expander to set .0025" of neck tension.
The brass then goes into the vibratory cleaner for 30 minutes.
Second time through the Dillon with the second tool head. Station 1 is lee decapping die just to guarantee nothing is in the flash hole and the case gets primed (PRO TIP- walnut media has never gotten stuck in the flash hole like corn cob can). Station 2 is a Dillon powder die with area419 funnel, station 3 is where I add the bullet by hand and station 4 is the seating die.
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The Autodrive allows for that, at either end of the stroke. Specifically for trimming and powder dropping, but it can be used for stuff like what you describe.
I'm telling you, the Autodrive is just some very cool tech that opens up a lot of options.
The thing that has impressed me the most with the Autodrive is that it just plain works.
And for everything that is going on in it's brain, it's still relatively simple to operate.
Oh wow, I assumed you could slow it down but didn’t know you could program pauses into the operation. That would be pretty legit for sizing and mandrel as well.
Is autodrive really worth it on a 750 though?
I mean, $2400 for the auto drive and another $400+ for the Mr bullet feeder. Phewwww that’s a lot of damn 9mm to even come close to covering the cost of all that lol
It really depends. Reloading is almost never about saving money; it's about control of your ammo's quality, and being able to have it on demand (like during this ammo shortage).
Add to that, I have a shoulder that is now partially paralyzed, and limits range of motion and strength (neuro damage). So for me, it was totally worth it.
On a 750? If that's what you have, and you're not going to upgrade to another machine, yeah, I'd say it's worth it. But only if you're processing large batches because of matches, or if your time is limited, and you still need a decent volume of ammo for whatever.
Autodrives can be had for under $2k (well, at least before this January they could; they may be just over $2k now). Also remember, there is a cost for all of the sensors. How many, and which ones really depends on what you're trying to do. For case prep you don't really need any, but full on loading, yeah, they really are worth the safe guard in not loading squib loads, running out of primers at high speed processing, and insuring bullets get fed and seated properly (otherwise you'll be ejecting a case full of powder across the room).
Just like normal reloading, most people slowly add sensors as they can, to take advantage of all the capabilities that an Autodrive allows.
As far as that being a lot of 9mm to justify the cost. Well, walking out to the garage and cranking out a few thousand, with just having to keep all the hoppers full, within a few hours, justifies it in my mind.
ETA: Lyman/Mk7 used to state that Autodrives could be converted to another model Dillon if needed, but I haven't really investigated if that is still true. It would seem a new base plate and a few couplers would suffice in being able to do it, but I haven't done it first hand.
Never thought of the leed decapping die on the "loading" rifle head - great idea!
I'd recommend the Mighty Armory "flicker" decapping die as well. It's a spring loaded (think: set punch) decapping pin, so there's no potential for draw back. It really launches the spent primers out of the case. Dillon has even copied it. It's commented on in their manual, but not listed on their website, so I don't know if Dillon has gotten around to actually offering them. Regardless, I figured Wayne came up with the design, so went with one from him at MA. (MA also makes a "smart" version for an Autodrive, to prevent breaking the decapping pin on an inverted case, or a nested case like a 22LR sitting in a 9mm case. @Threadcutter308 turned me on to MA, so he gets the credit)
