[silence]
I am going to review the CNC machined toolhead for the Dillon 550B.
This is the standard Dillon toolhead.
And this is the CNC machined toolhead.
The first two things I noticed, is the CNC has a smoother, brighter, surface. And is lighter.
The CNC toolhead weighs 8 ounces. And the Dillon weighs 15 ounces.
However, the CNC toolhead is made from 6061 aluminum.
Which I am told is stronger than the cast toolhead.
Therefore, I do not think the weight of the toolhead will affect its performance.
The CNC toolhead is manufactured by Whidden Gunworks.
However, I purchased it through UniqueTek and got the clamped version of the toolhead.
This means the two openings .. used to secure the toolhead to the press, have been threaded.
So that the toolhead can be clamped to the press.
[silence]
The threading is actually stainless steel inserts installed by UniqueTek.
The toolhead also comes .. with the two screws and two washers needed for clamping.
Let's take a close look at the threaded inserts.
[silence]
Looking at the threaded inserts, you will see a metal tang in each hole.
This tang is used by the machine that places the inserts into the toolhead. The tangs do not have to be removed.
But be careful while inserting the toolhead into the press.
If there is resistance .. where the holes enter the press.
It may be because the tang is protruding outside the hole.
Just use a small metal punch, to gently push the tangs, back into the hole.
[silence]
When the toolhead is inserted into the press. You will notice that it is thinner.
And appears to sit much higher than the Dillion toolhead. The CNC toolhead is 0.953 inches thick.
And the Dillon .. is 1.070 inches thick.
I took four thickness measurements of each toolhead. And the Dillon varied more in thickness.
The smallest measurement was 1.069 inches. And the largest was 1.073 inches.
The smallest measurement for the CNC was 0.952 inches. And the largest was 0.953 inches.
So while the toolhead is slightly thinner. It is more consistent.
The reason I say the CNC toolhead appears to sit much higher.
Because while the Dillion toolhead, sits flush with the press.
[silence]
Each die hole has a raised rim around it.
The purpose of these rims is to prevent the dies lock ring from making contact with the press.
The CNC toolhead ... does not have raised rims.
But it sits only slightly higher, than the rims on the Dillon toolhead.
Therefore, they are close to the same height. And the dies lock rings,
will not contact the press with either toolhead.
One advantage of the rimless toolhead that I like.
Is the lock rings, will have more contact surface for the toolhead.
[silence]
On the CNC, a lock ring contacts the surface of the toolhead.
[silence]
And on the Dillon, the lock ring can only contact the rim.
So let's take a close look, at the difference between the lock ring on the Dillon. And the lock ring on the CNC.
In this image, you see the standard Dillon lock ring.
If you use Dillon lock rings, then the CNC toolhead only provides a small, incremental improvement.
[silence]
But if you use split rings, or other types of rings.
The contact area .. between the ring ..
and the rim .. is much smaller.
[silence]
Than the contact area .. between the ring and the toolhead of the CNC.
So how are dies installed on the CNC toolhead?
I will not show each die being installed in this video, because it is
no different, than installing on a Dillon toolhead.
But I will show, the beginning and end. Since those are different.
When you place the washers on the screws,
you want to be sure the rounded surface of the washer, is against the screw head.
Let's take a close look at the rounded and flat surfaces of the washer.
[silence]
You want to screw the screws in, until the screw head makes contact with the press.
Don't use the Allen key. Just do it gently.
[silence]
And then you want to back them out, two full terms.
One. Two.
It is important, that the toolhead not be clamped down when the dies are installed.
At this point, you'll install your dies.
If you're wondering how you can tell the difference between the top and the bottom of the CNC toolhead.
Well, if you insert it upside down, it'd be quite obvious.
Now that the dies are installed. You want to tighten the screws.
To do that, we want to place, two cases at the sizing and powder assembly station.
And use two of the rounds we made, while we were installing the dies.
Put them at the bullet seating and crimping stations. Then you raise the shellplate.
Then you use your hex key, and tighten the two screws in an alternating fashion.
Tighten this one a little, then this one, then this one, and this one. Until they're both hand tight.
They don't need to be tighter than hand tight.
So. How are calibers changed? First, remove the failsafe arm. And then in an alternating fashion.
Loosen each screw, until they both can come out.
And then remove the toolhead and dies. Place them on the toolhead stand.
Insert the new toolhead and dies. And then partially insert the two screws. Reattach the failsafe arm.
And then, in the sizing and powder assembly stations, place two cases.
What I do, is I take two rounds that I previously made.
Put them at the bullet seating station and the crimping station. And then I raise the shell plate.
Then like before, take your hex key.
And start alternating, tightening them down. To get them both hand tight.
I like the CNC toolhead with threaded inserts for three reasons.
First, it is uniformly made. There's very little variation in thickness.
Second, there is more surface area between lock ring and toolhead.
Third, the toolhead is clamped to the press.
I am sure you have heard many times that you want your reloading press
and workbench as rigid as possible.
This helps with making consistent ammunition.
The same philosophy applies to the toolhead. You want your dies firmly anchored to the toolhead.
And you want the toolhead firmly anchored to the press.
And I believe the threaded CNC machine toolhead helps accomplish this.
I hope this video was useful to you. And thank you for watching.