So Dillon sent me an alignment tool and that seems to have resolved the alignment issue I had. Gotta admit- that design and using the powder funnel die to run the alignment tool is dang smart from an engineering perspective.

I listened to jeffbird and got some one shot case lube and it makes sizing a breeze. Everything else about this 550 from setting up the powder thrower to the primers to running it is sooooo much easier than loading pistols on my Rock Chucker. I loaded 100 rounds last night in a fraction of the time it would have taken before with way less stress and work.

That said I'm getting shavings of either bullet jacket or case material out of the seating die in station 3...any thoughts on what that could be? My initial thought was not enough flare on station 2 and the edge of the brass just nipping the bullet as it gets seated, but after some investigation I don't think that's it...but I also can't figure out what it may be...any thoughts? They're extremely thin - I'll try to post a pic here in a bit.

Also I'm using Frontier CMJ 200 grain bullets....wondering if their jacket material is just soft? After looking again I'm pretty confident it's bullet material and not case material.

Are you crimping? Roll crimp? I have had the small shavings loading 45 colt when crimping.

Taper crimp

Could the seater be causing the shavings?

Try running the case with a bullet up halfway and then down without fully seating it to see more easily if the shaving is caused by the case or the seating die.

Work only one case through the cycle so there are no glitches on the other stations while working on this issue.

Either way, the seating die may need to be cleaned to remove shavings caught up in the die.

Glad the tip helped.

Sounds like you are close.

Gotcha

I have the Hornady die set, so I think they have different seaters? Not sure which one to use for these particular bullets?

I am not familiar with the Hornady pistol dies, so cannot help with that.

Hopefully someone that uses Hornady dies will weigh in.

If there are 2 seaters, one is for a round nose and the other for a flat tip. Pull the seater out of the die and you should see the difference. I have Dillon dies and you use one end of the seater stem (for lack of a better word) for round or reverse it for a flatter tip. In case you haven't seen it, Hornady has a video for setting up their seating die.

Are you seating and crimping in the same station? If so that is likely the cause. Seat with the standard die with the crimp backed off. Crimp in a separate station with your taper crimp die with the seater backed off. If that does not resolve it you need a smidge more flare.

On the alignment tool, I wonder if its the same one you use for the 650. I still have mine, I asked if I needed to return it with the damaged platform and was told to keep it.

Shavings: Yes sometimes you need a little more bell on the case. I have also run into cases that had a sharp inside edge. Sort of semi defeats the purpose of a progressive press, but I setup a spare tool head with just the sizing die and ran all my cases through and went back and added a little chamfer with a simple twist using the chamfer tool. Only have to do it once and it solved my problem.

The alignment tool answer is yes, assuming it looks like this one: https://www.dillonprecision.com/13713

Yes it's the same tool. You move the powder funnel die to station 1 and replace the flaring insert with the alignment tool and it lines up with the primer hole in the platform. Pretty simple really.

I've had a 550 since they first came out and I'm trying to picture the situation in this thread. How does a piece of cast aluminum allow it to change alignment?

The platform is held to the ram by 2 allen screws. It can be rotated slightly. Essentially you remove the shell plate and the detent ball etc, loosen the two screws, put the alignment tool in station one (through an empty powder die in a tool head) raise the ram and align it so that it goes into the hole that the primers feed up through. Tighten the two screws tightly, remove the alignment tool and put the press back together.

I looked at Youtube after my last post and figured it out. Maybe I should get in the habit of Youtube first.

On that bullet shaving part, FWIW, on FMJ bullets, etc. I use slightly less bell before seating, figuring the brass might last longer before a split. The bullet is hard enough to slide right on in without any issue. On coated or regular lead bullets I can shave them if I don't bell it enough.

Thanks for the tip.

I'm going to try some different bullets and see if I still get shavings. I'm barely belling the case at all, but I can try to see if I can reduce a little.

Yeah, looks like it's just a really soft CMJ from Frontier. I got some hornady round nose bullets and they loaded with no shavings.

Thanks again for the help everyone!

A little more flare required for the soft lead.

Copy, thanks!

How do you measure flare if I wanted to compare online what I'm doing with what another loader is doing?

Measure the bullet shank. Then measure the case wall thickness at the mouth. (You may want to measure multiple places and average). Bullet shank diameter + (case wall thickness x 2) + .004 = case mouth O.D. With .004 flare.

Amount of flare divided by 2 = amount of clearance on all sides. (.004 is pretty tight). I would not worry what anyone else is doing. Use the least amount that works and you will be doing it right. Case wall thickness will vary by headstamp.

Edit to add: be particularly careful removing the flare on soft lead bullets. Your brass will have a little spring back. Your lead bullet not so much. If you try to straighten all the flare out of the case you will swage the bullet which can degrade accuracy at best or cause key holing at worst, unless it is soft enough to slug up to groove diameter when the cartridge is fired. Take only enough flare out for the bullet to pass the plunk test. Some headstamps of cases will prove to be “thick” and may not work well with soft lead in cartridges that headspace on the mouth.

I agree with that ^^^ for auto pistol rounds but for straight wall, you'll need more than just removing flare.

Yes but flare would most likely be removed with a roll crimp crimp die into a cannelure, lube groove, or just above the last driving band. I think Patriot is loading 45acp.