Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

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NoHarmNoFAL
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by NoHarmNoFAL »

Be aware that Dillon has stated on several occasions that:
*They are fully aware of this product
*They are fully aware of the failures and damage caused to the press by this product
*They do not endorse the use of this product on their presses
*The use of this product will void your no BS waranty

Just so you know.
WalterGA
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by WalterGA »

I know I'm jumping into an old thread, but just wanted to make a few comments about the GS Custom swager. I was just testing mine this afternoon, using clean and polished 5.56 mil brass. Bearing in mind that I've only run ten-or-so pcs of brass through the setup, it seems to work as advertised.

I had no trouble at all priming the cases, using my RCBS hand-priming tool, which, of course, was a necessity, back when I loaded with a Toadmaster. 8)

IF the swager will continue to work, then I'll be a really satisfied customer. I currently have 15k cases to swage and trim. I'll be trimming and sizing with the Dillon power trim setup.

I'm using the GS Custom shellplate, which is much more robust than the standard Dillon shellplate. I can't imagine what damage could be done to the press, using this setup.

I don't think Dillon is real fond of the Vibra-Prime, either, which does a quicker, better job, @ $25 (Midway, right now), than does the $200+ primer tube loader that Dillon makes. Come-to-think of it, I think Dillon generally recommends their dies over everybody else's also. :shock:
RDA
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by RDA »

WalterGA wrote:I don't think Dillon is real fond of the Vibra-Prime, either, which does a quicker, better job, @ $25 (Midway, right now), than does the $200+ primer tube loader that Dillon makes. Come-to-think of it, I think Dillon generally recommends their dies over everybody else's also. :shock:
I don't believe I have seen where Dillon has come out and said that the Vibra Prime or another manufacturer's dies will potentially cause mechnical issues with their press and that they will void your warranty like they will with the GS custom swager.

I use a Vibra Prime and I use Redding and Forster dies on my 650, I don't use a GS custom swage system.
WalterGA
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by WalterGA »

RDA wrote:
WalterGA wrote:I don't think Dillon is real fond of the Vibra-Prime, either, which does a quicker, better job, @ $25 (Midway, right now), than does the $200+ primer tube loader that Dillon makes. Come-to-think of it, I think Dillon generally recommends their dies over everybody else's also. :shock:
I don't believe I have seen where Dillon has come out and said that the Vibra Prime or another manufacturer's dies will potentially cause mechnical issues with their press and that they will void your warranty like they will with the GS custom swager.

I use a Vibra Prime and I use Redding and Forster dies on my 650, I don't use a GS custom swage system.
I know that Dillon won't do any warranty-voiding due to the use of other dies and/or the Vibra-Prime. I can't imagine what part would be damaged by my use of the GS Swage. What parts did you damage when you were using the GS swage? Seems-to-me, the most likely part to be damaged would be the shellplate, and I'm not using a Dillon shellplate. If the GS swage works for a long time, it'd be worth it to me, if I had to buy a brand-new 650 every 6 monhs. :P
RDA
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by RDA »

WalterGA wrote:
RDA wrote:
WalterGA wrote:I don't think Dillon is real fond of the Vibra-Prime, either, which does a quicker, better job, @ $25 (Midway, right now), than does the $200+ primer tube loader that Dillon makes. Come-to-think of it, I think Dillon generally recommends their dies over everybody else's also. :shock:
I don't believe I have seen where Dillon has come out and said that the Vibra Prime or another manufacturer's dies will potentially cause mechnical issues with their press and that they will void your warranty like they will with the GS custom swager.

I use a Vibra Prime and I use Redding and Forster dies on my 650, I don't use a GS custom swage system.
I know that Dillon won't do any warranty-voiding due to the use of other dies and/or the Vibra-Prime. I can't imagine what part would be damaged by my use of the GS Swage. What parts did you damage when you were using the GS swage? Seems-to-me, the most likely part to be damaged would be the shellplate, and I'm not using a Dillon shellplate. If the GS swage works for a long time, it'd be worth it to me, if I had to buy a brand-new 650 every 6 monhs. :P
Are you asking me? If so, not sure why, I don't use the GS custom swage system as I clearly stated previously. I can only afford one 650 and hope to get many years of service out of it, I have a 600 Super Swager for that task.

There have been instances noted on another forum of broken shell plates with the GS custom swage and Dillon has stated that the 550 and 650 simply weren't designed for the the kind of pressure needed to swage on the upstroke on those machines.
Shep
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by Shep »

I figured out a quick little trick on the Vibra Prime. I was getting fed up transferring primers from the VibraPrime tube to the Dillon tubes, so I pulled the black plastic top off the original VibraPrime tube (the tube is knurled at that end and the plastic end comes off with just a little arm torque). I reinserted just the black plastic part into the VibraPrime. I took the yellow plastic pick-up end off the Dillon tube and stuck it in the hole with the blue end with it's stainless clip at the bottom. The Dillon is a couple of thousands smaller diameter so I have to hold it in place, but it works fine. Probably one or two wraps with electrical tape would snug it up, but it works fine like it is.
Now I just fill my Dillon tubes directly and replace the yellow pick-up end as a cap to keep the primers from falling out as I stack them up for a long loading session. A couple of the tubes would hang up with a primer every now and then, but sticking those tubes in a portable drill and stuffing some steel wool in the end while spinning polished the openings and immediately fixed that problem. I've learned that tapping the VibraPrime against my single stage press while it's feeding keeps them flowing in smoothly.
Filling priming tubes now takes 1/10 of the time it did picking them up one at a time, and that little clear plastic transfer piece of tubing that came with the VibraPrime has been lost for the last time.
WalterGA
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by WalterGA »

[QUOTE]Are you asking me? If so, not sure why, I don't use the GS custom swage system as I clearly stated previously. I can only afford one 650 and hope to get many years of service out of it, I have a 600 Super Swager for that [quote]

Yes, I was asking you. I was assuming, considering the advice you were giving about the use of the GS Custom swage, that you'd used one and found it to be unsatisfactory. I appreciate your input, anyhow.

The fly in the ointment has nothing to do with the GS swage; it's the Lee universal decapping die I'm using on station 1. I've had alignment trouble before @ station 1, using various Lee sizing dies, but usually with small-primer brass, e.g., .223s, 9mm, etc. I broke two of Lee's "unbreakable" decapping pins today, so won't be doing any brass processing until I can acquire some more decapping rods/pins.

I just don't perceive a great deal of upward pressure being put on the press by the swaging operation. I'm confident that the only thing I have to worry about is keeping decapping pins in stock.

I'm decapping on station 1, swaging, of course, on station 2, and sizing/trimming, using the Dillon RT1200, on station 4. The system works great. Sized cases fit perfectly in my Wilson case gage, and the primer pockets are plenty swaged for easy priming. Can't wait to et this thing humming!

I have a Dillon Super Swage, and it works as advertised. Fine, if I'm not swaging 15,000 cases in a batch!!! :mrgreen:
BallisticTools
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by BallisticTools »

Since this thread has been revived, I should point out that Geoff has sent me a new swage pin, and I have gotten a GS shell plate, and his system actually works pretty well now.

I'm not going to use it for my high volume production because it bounces the press around too much at a motorized 2700 cycles per hour, but that's a severe corner case. I think with his revised design it's a viable system for a low to moderate volume loader.

I have modified the review on my web site accordingly.
ballistictools.com/store
Blackout brass, gauges, and more
WalterGA
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Re: Review of the GS Custom Dillon 650 Swage system

Post by WalterGA »

I'm ecstatic! I'm running brass through at the rate of about one piece every three seconds. I'm hesitating for two seconds for the trimmer to work. I'm double-bumping the swaging process, and it seems to me that I'm putting little, if any, more pressure on the shellplate than with some of the priming that I've done.

I have my press mounted on a solid bench, and it's not moving during the process.

Only problem now, is that the case locator in the last station jumped out and I can't find it. Local friend of mine has a bunch and will let me have a few. BTW, the locator jumping out isn't unique to the swaging operation. I've had that happen several times, just doing regular .223 reloading on the 650.

If the swager will just prove to be durable, over the long haul, then I'd have to opine that it's way better, for my purposes, than ANYBODY's manual, bench-mounted swager.

I had planned to leave home/business this weekend, but will hang around and finish processing the 15k of brass. Pretty sure that my profit on 15k will more than pay for a few 650s. 8)

The concern about Dillon's voiding the warranty is, in my opinion, a red herring. I'd be amazed if Dillon refused to honor their warranty, if a failure occurred that had nothing to do with the swaging operation. As I said before, what's to break, except the shellplate, which is not a Dillon shellplate, anyhow!!???
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