308 bell crank sticking like crazy (and weird depth issue)
Quote from Reloader on October 7, 2019, 11:30 pmMachine is a 550c. I loaded some 308 this weekend for the first time. I am not sure what I did wrong, but the smaller of the two bell cranks (that holds the white cube), did not want to easily return to its resting spot when the press ram comes down (to refill the powder bar with more powder).
It would stick for a second and then abruptly release. I was getting variations of grain weight as far as 0.8 grain.
Can any one help me? Why is it sticking so bad? Will the abrupt-ness of the bell crank returning to its home spot cause excessive deviations in the powder charge?
I'm going to see if I can adjust the hopper orientation to smooth the action out or possibly loosen the bell crank some more.
One thing I did notice was that the threaded die for station 2 for 308 had to be threaded in MUCH further than the 9mm and 223 powder dies. Why is this? You would think if the 308 case is longer than 9mm and 223, it wouldn't need to sit down so low.
Thank you in advance.
Machine is a 550c. I loaded some 308 this weekend for the first time. I am not sure what I did wrong, but the smaller of the two bell cranks (that holds the white cube), did not want to easily return to its resting spot when the press ram comes down (to refill the powder bar with more powder).
It would stick for a second and then abruptly release. I was getting variations of grain weight as far as 0.8 grain.
Can any one help me? Why is it sticking so bad? Will the abrupt-ness of the bell crank returning to its home spot cause excessive deviations in the powder charge?
I'm going to see if I can adjust the hopper orientation to smooth the action out or possibly loosen the bell crank some more.
One thing I did notice was that the threaded die for station 2 for 308 had to be threaded in MUCH further than the 9mm and 223 powder dies. Why is this? You would think if the 308 case is longer than 9mm and 223, it wouldn't need to sit down so low.
Thank you in advance.
Quote from Reloader on October 8, 2019, 12:41 pmA couple of things come to mind,
Make sure the connecting rod from the bell crank to the bracket at the top of the main shaft is straight.
The top of the rod should go through both plates of the bell crank from the back side.
The bell crank bolt shouldn't be too tight, but just snug enough so the white cube doesn't pop out of its slot.
Check the powder bar to make sure something isn't causing it to stick.
Not sure why the powder die is so low, it only needs to be low enough to push the powder bar back to drop the charge.
A couple of things come to mind,
Make sure the connecting rod from the bell crank to the bracket at the top of the main shaft is straight.
The top of the rod should go through both plates of the bell crank from the back side.
The bell crank bolt shouldn't be too tight, but just snug enough so the white cube doesn't pop out of its slot.
Check the powder bar to make sure something isn't causing it to stick.
Not sure why the powder die is so low, it only needs to be low enough to push the powder bar back to drop the charge.
Quote from Reloader on October 14, 2019, 11:36 pmThanks jf. Unfortunately keeping the rod straight up and down makes this issue worse. The powder hopper assembly is slightly cocked counter clockwise to help the bell crank function as smooth as possible. I have to do this with all of my calibers. So I know this isnt limited to just the 308 caliber. Here is the angle of the rod:
https://imgur.com/6fwC1MQOnce I realized that the rod trick wouldnt work. I then loosened the bellcrank a little. That helped some. But now I get this crazy clunk when the smaller one finally drops. Heres a video of it:
https://youtu.be/FqVwmhqVUrsI popped in my 9mm caliber change and while it's far more used than the 308 stuff, there is zero hangup where I'm getting the bad hangup on 308. I have atleast 5k rounds of reloads through 9mm, so I really don't want to have to load thousands of rounds of 308 where I'm not really sure if the powder charge can be as accurate as possible, just to get the bellcrank to loosen up. The clunk created by the smaller bellcrank is creating variances in powder charges (based off of me pulling charge samples and weighing them all).
Finally. Here is the issue with the depth:
https://imgur.com/nYcWocxI have no idea why this die sits so much lower than my 9mm and 223. For what it's worth, the 9mm and 223 have zero exposed threads under the tool head. Why does this sit lower when the case itself is much longer than 9mm or 223? Common sense would dictate that if the 308 is a longer case, the powder funnel shouldn't have to hang lower, it would be higher.
Is dillon no longer active on here?
Thanks jf. Unfortunately keeping the rod straight up and down makes this issue worse. The powder hopper assembly is slightly cocked counter clockwise to help the bell crank function as smooth as possible. I have to do this with all of my calibers. So I know this isnt limited to just the 308 caliber. Here is the angle of the rod:
Once I realized that the rod trick wouldnt work. I then loosened the bellcrank a little. That helped some. But now I get this crazy clunk when the smaller one finally drops. Heres a video of it:
https://youtu.be/FqVwmhqVUrs
I popped in my 9mm caliber change and while it's far more used than the 308 stuff, there is zero hangup where I'm getting the bad hangup on 308. I have atleast 5k rounds of reloads through 9mm, so I really don't want to have to load thousands of rounds of 308 where I'm not really sure if the powder charge can be as accurate as possible, just to get the bellcrank to loosen up. The clunk created by the smaller bellcrank is creating variances in powder charges (based off of me pulling charge samples and weighing them all).
Finally. Here is the issue with the depth:
I have no idea why this die sits so much lower than my 9mm and 223. For what it's worth, the 9mm and 223 have zero exposed threads under the tool head. Why does this sit lower when the case itself is much longer than 9mm or 223? Common sense would dictate that if the 308 is a longer case, the powder funnel shouldn't have to hang lower, it would be higher.
Is dillon no longer active on here?
Quote from Reloader on October 15, 2019, 4:00 amIf the brass is new or really clean (ss media in tumbler, ultrasonic cleaning, etc.) it can cause sticking issues.
If the brass is new or really clean (ss media in tumbler, ultrasonic cleaning, etc.) it can cause sticking issues.
Quote from Reloader on October 15, 2019, 5:09 pmI see two issues while watching the video. FIrst, the powder die needs to be adjusted down slightly further, so that the powder bar fully travels to the far side. The height difference between different caliber toolheads is not relevant. The funnels are of different lengths as well as the case lengths. The 9mm funnel is the longest, then the 223 funnel, and the 308 funnel is the shortest.
The "CLUNK" is the locking link being pulled down, and then the bellcrank being retracted. YOu cannot eliminate this, but you can reduce it by tightening the blue wing nut at the bottom of the failsafe return rod a bit more. Our recommendation is that you push forward on the handle, as if seating a primer, and hold it there. While the handle is pushed forward, tighten the blue wing nut until a business card just slips between the coils of the spring above the blue wing nut.
I see two issues while watching the video. FIrst, the powder die needs to be adjusted down slightly further, so that the powder bar fully travels to the far side. The height difference between different caliber toolheads is not relevant. The funnels are of different lengths as well as the case lengths. The 9mm funnel is the longest, then the 223 funnel, and the 308 funnel is the shortest.
The "CLUNK" is the locking link being pulled down, and then the bellcrank being retracted. YOu cannot eliminate this, but you can reduce it by tightening the blue wing nut at the bottom of the failsafe return rod a bit more. Our recommendation is that you push forward on the handle, as if seating a primer, and hold it there. While the handle is pushed forward, tighten the blue wing nut until a business card just slips between the coils of the spring above the blue wing nut.
Quote from Reloader on October 15, 2019, 11:18 pmCoder,
I use an ultrasonic cleaner, although my post is about a sticking bellcrank. How does the cleanliness of my brass affect a sticky bellcrank?
Dillon,
So you're saying that the powder bar isnt all the way back in the video? It looks like that's as far back as it can go. Although, you are the resident expert so I will give that a shot. I will also give the business card trick is a shot.
Thank you all.
Coder,
I use an ultrasonic cleaner, although my post is about a sticking bellcrank. How does the cleanliness of my brass affect a sticky bellcrank?
Dillon,
So you're saying that the powder bar isnt all the way back in the video? It looks like that's as far back as it can go. Although, you are the resident expert so I will give that a shot. I will also give the business card trick is a shot.
Thank you all.
Quote from Reloader on October 16, 2019, 6:45 pmWhat Coder is saying is that new brass sticks to the mouth of the powder funnel because you have metal on metal. Once brass is fired it has a carbon coating on it.
What Coder is saying is that new brass sticks to the mouth of the powder funnel because you have metal on metal. Once brass is fired it has a carbon coating on it.