I've had a 650-xl for 9yrs and I love it. The setup isn't that bad, I have a VCR tape around here I can send out if you guys want to watch it.
1) Swapping calibers is a 5-10minute job if they share the same primer size. If you are swapping primer sizes as well, add another 5 minutes or so.
2) Dillon customer service is awesome. I had a little mishap with mine (let the arm drop on it's own from full stroke and it set off all the primers in the primer system) Actually my 10 year old daughter did it after asking "Can I try it?" Customer service had all the parts delivered free of charge 3 days later!
3) I use carbide dies and the auto case feeder. I always clean my brass (Dillon vibratory cleaner) before I load them. I use a plastic tray (12"x9"x6") that I place the brass in and give a light spray of case lube (Lyman I think), then I stir them around and give another light spray. This way some of the brass is lightly lubed. Even though I'm using carbide dies, it REALLY makes the resizing much easier. When you're reloading a couple thousand rounds, making the stroke a little easier means a lot.
4) I have a tool head set-up for each cartridge I reload (with it's own powder measure). That way, I can change cartridges without needing to fiddle with a powder measure, which would add another 5-10 minutes of set-up time. I still verify 4-5 powder drops when I change tool-heads.
5) I've heard from MANY guys that the roller handle is an absolute must, I want to get one someday, but haven't got around to it. After 8-10k reloads in a day, the ball on the end of the handle isn't nearly as comfortable as it should be
. With a roller handle, my daughter probably wouldn't have let the handle slip out of her hand. With the round end, you have to let the ball slide in your hand as you move the handle up and down. With the roller handle, the sleeve on the handle rotates over the handle.
6) I use Mobil One synthetic motor oil to lubricate the ram when I start a reloading session. I keep a small amount of silicon grease on the mating surfaces of the case feeder (the part that actually pushes the case into the tool head). I had one of those break and Dillon sent me a replacement free of charge.
The press is absolutely awesome, you guys will love it.
Let me know if you want the VHS tape, I'll send it out for the cost of postage and you can share it around and send it back when your finished with it, or maybe it's cheap enough to just buy one. They probably don't even sell it on VHS any more, probably DVD
.
Later,
AJ
