The Gun Counter

I just had someone donate 2 Dillon Square B presses to me. They are old and have not been used in a while. I realize I need to clean and lube them. But this is not a press that I have ever done any research on. It looks like I have dies in them but they don't seem to be labeled. Admittedly I have not taken the dies apart yet to see if they are individually labeled.
My quick 20 minutes of research says they are good presses for straight wall pistol production work. So I am thinking of setting one up for 9mm and one for 40 or 45acp.

So the questions:

Are there any obvious fail points I need to check before putting them into use?
Are there any known issues with these presses?
Any reason not to mount them on the raised Dillon platform, then mount that to a 3/4" plywood plank so I can interchange the presses in my work place on the bench.

Looking for some basics help here or if I should refurbish them and sell them to get a 650 or 1050.
Current press is the Forster Co-ax which works GREAT for precision rifle etc but is a bit slow for bulk pistol.

Lucky you! Don't know abything about that model, but I don't think Dillon ever made junk. Any chance of a photo? Might help with the brainstorming...

Is it this one? https://youtu.be/pNC7hE_KuHI

Someone on here (I think it's NPR) has one in .45 Colt. I'm sure he can tell you what you need to know.

For someone who's going to load on pistol caliber round, they're a pretty good deal, but that falls down when you look into changing calibers. At that point, an RL-550 makes a lot more sense.

Give Dillon's tech support a call or e-mail and ask them those questions.

Dillon Tech Support page

They're the best tech support I've ever dealt with, going back to my first RL450 in '84. (Haven't had to call them recently, as I need to get a round tuit to clear the area around my reloading bench and get back into it)

The Square Deals were basically designed for someone doing lots of a single pistol caliber (such as competition shooters). They have proprietary dies and weren't designed with easy caliber changes in mind. Basically stripped down functionality from the 450/550 series at a lower price point for folks that didn't need rifle capability.

I plan on calling Dillon, but you guys are here on Sunday. They aren't.

I need to figure out those dies and prices, but seeing as I am planning on consolidating carry guns and practice ammo to 9mm and I am buying an AR in 45 acp, it might be good to have one set up in each for bulk production.

After I talk to them, I will have a better idea of getting them back in service too.

Precision wrote:I plan on calling Dillon, but you guys are here on Sunday. They aren't.

Be sure to ask if they'll send you a calendar! Just don't show it to yer missis...

Dillon is just around the corner from Mayo, so I get there too often. Not for problems, well spending problems.

The square deal is ideal for pistol calibers, doesn't work for most rifle calibers. It has an advantage over the 550 in it auto indexes. For production runs in 9mm or .45 auto it should really shine, short of going to a 1050.

Call Dillon, ask about sending them in for refurbishing. I think they consider that warranty work and probably would not cost much more than shipping. You can download a manual from their website. You can find somewhere near a gazzilion youtube videos about all about the presses. Most of them tell you the same thing over and over again. But you get to see that guy's perspective and might pick up something new and different.

The dies should have the caliber on them somewhere near the top.

The Dillon Strong Mount is definitely well worth the money.

This is really one time that Youtube is your friend.

I've had one since the mid 90s. Currently I have the conversions for 10mm/40, .38/.357, 9mm, .380, and .45 Colt. As mentioned, it isn't really set up for quick changes, but they do sell the extra toolheads so when changing most of your die adjustments will remain on or at least close. The main limitation is the number of caliber conversions available, and I wish I had bought one of their larger presses instead, but it's still a good press that makes decent ammo, and I would certainly take two of them for free! Nice score.

Precision wrote:Are there any obvious fail points I need to check before putting them into use?
Are there any known issues with these presses?

Mine typically sits unused for months at a time, and then I will do marathon loading for a while... I like to get my pistol loading done all at the same time. I had the big pivot pin at the bottom of the lever seize up in the press once, and I had to disassemble the press to get it out. I don't remember exactly what else I did, but I put it back together with a slight amount of grease where it had seized, and I also replaced the plastic corner bushings for the press ram (which had started to get sloppy), and I think some other minor parts while I was at it. The finished cartridge ejector wire can be a little finicky, and the allen head screw that holds the shell plate down can be easy to strip the head. Be careful not to lose the little ball bearing when you need to change shell plates. Dillon sells a kit that contains all of these small parts. It might be worth getting one for each machine, and then go through them one at a time.

Any reason not to mount them on the raised Dillon platform, then mount that to a 3/4" plywood plank so I can interchange the presses in my work place on the bench.

Yeah, the platform setup from Inline Fabrication (which I use) is better and ships for free:

http://inlinefabrication.com/collection ... are-deal-b

The cost of shipping is maybe less of an issue for you down there, but the Dillon mount was going to cost me well over $100 by the time I got it here. [Edit to add, they also make one for your Co-Ax]

I would suggest finding room to give them a dedicated small bench, with each on its own mount. Then set up one with the large primer system, and one with the small primer system. Get sufficient toolheads and caliber conversions to load what you need. The time saved is not so huge but the extra toolheads also keep more of the conversion parts together so you have fewer loose parts to get lost. I keep each conversion setup in its own plastic container to prevent the small parts from getting lost or mixed up.

I would consider getting the lighting system that Inline Fabrication offers. I use just a small lamp set on my bench, but when I get into the next shop and set my gear up again, I may go with the dedicated press light. The extra light is a big help. I also have their roller handle setup on my SDB and I like it a lot.

Thanks NPR. Just what I was looking for.