Starting to get into reloading...

[ToysRUs]

Spend the money once, buy a 650. You will never look back.

I have one and am glad I didn't buy the 550. Now running a bullet feeder and making 9mm, 40 & ,223. Pistol ammo comes out at an easy 6-700 rounds per hour

Treat it as a single stage press as you learn.

Check out Tennessee Reloaders Group on Facebook. a buddy of mine who teaches classes (which are hard to find fyi)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1414892662063633/

Edited August 31, 2014 by ToysRUs

[Luke E.]

Please explain what you mean by "flex" in a strong mount.

Bill

I guess I could have elaborated. I'm not talking about enough flex to cause problems with loading. We have a laundry/utility room that I turned the utility part into a loading room or as my wife calls it "the bullet lair". This room isn't far down the hall from our living room and as it stands, when there is brass in the casefeed hopper, it can be a little noisy. It wouldn't be nearly so load if casefeed hopper didn't get whipped around due to the pipe it's mounted on flexing. The strong mounts I have been around have worked great but they have had a small but noticeably to me amount of flex. I'm almost certain that extra flex would really make that casefeed hopper howl I my small area. My wife has never complained about anything I do back there and I value that so I try to keep things tolerable.
Bottom line is, there is nothing functionally wrong with the strong mount.

[jriv9]

I have a 550 and love it. The only Dillon die it requires is the powder/flare die.

It's not a good press imo for load development (small 5-10 loads in varying oal, charge,etc). For that you can get a cheap Lee single stage or something. I bought a Lyman turret press for load development and once I get the load where I like it, use the Dillon to crank them out.

[Jonnin]

speaking of flex ... my first table was not sturdy enough and flexed until it actually broke.  To be fair I put some excessive forces on it reforming rifle brass*.   I made a new one from double thickness of plywood on some 4x4s for legs and it does not flex anymore :)

 

* that is, making one case into another by brute force.

Edited September 17, 2014 by Jonnin