[Brian1911]

anyone have to bend the metal rod connecting the bell crank to the fail safe bracket?

I notice that my powder drop wants to settle right up against the primer tube or it is necessary to bend this metal rod. It almost even works better to turn it around so that the Z bend enters the bell crank from the right side but then the forward bend is going the wrong way.

So far I have bent the rod a bit more and it helped but not perfect. I also polished the Z bend so it would be more smooth since it started out pretty rough.

So do I need to tweak this rod some more?

[Brian1911]

NVM I think I got it. I guess I am being too picky. I watched some youtube videos and it appears as if I have it set pretty good. My concern was that the metal rod where it Z bends doesnt pull the bell crank all the way to the bottom each time, it sometimes stops in the middle. I am talking about that long cut out on the bell crank and as you cycle the press the rod moves from one end to the other but at the bottom of the stroke it hangs up in the middle.

It doesnt seem to matter from what I can tell and the powder bar returns nearly 100% back to the start up against the metal tab that is sticking up from the end. I would say there is about a credit card width left that the bar could move more reward but it never seems to do this unless you push it by hand.

This is all normal, right?

[Macca]

is the powder thrower throwing consistent charges? if so leave well enough alone.

[Brian1911]

I am sure it will but I havent set it yet.

My 550 cycles the bell crank smoothly compared to the 650 and when you just slightly move the handle up and down that bar moves with ease through the bell crank notch. On the 650 it sort of binds a bit but still seems to work fine.

The youtube videos I watched all seem to do the same thing so I guess its just the way it is. I was hoping that at the bottom of the stroke and the handle at rest I could feel no pressure on that rod but I do and it wants to push to the left.

[Brian1911]

Ok I got it.

Turns out my OCD allows me to notice these small details to where others just call it good enough. The Z bend in the fail safe rod needed more of a bend or it was angled upward in the bell crank slot. Now it rides along that slot smoothly to where I can cycle the handle a few inches back and forth at the bottom of the stroke and the fail safe rod moves along smoothly. This was important to me since I noticed when the rod hung up in the middle of that slot it would pull the powder station to the right as you pushed the handle all the way forward. Now that the bell crank can move freely it moves instead of the whole station.

So all I did is add a bit more Z part and tweaked the rod a bit by hand then polished the rough marks out. Some may not care to do this but I like things perfect, lol.

[dillon]

Be sure the rod is installed correctly on the bellcranks. The rod goes into the slotted hole in the back plate, comes out the small round hole in the front plate. Installing it backward can cause binding. Once the rod is installed, push the operating handle forward as if seating a primer, and hold it there. Now tighten the blue wing nut at the bottom of the rod until the coil spring above it is partially compresed.

[Brian1911]

Thanks Dillon.

I knew all that and confirmed it with tech support this AM but I am OCD enough to notice that it could be more perfect. I ended up getting it dialed in perfectly now and the powder measure clears the primer buzzer housing by about 1/4 inch. I am now able to make the safety rod cycle through that bell crank slot with ease and no binding. It just took some tweaking of the rod to get there but I seemed to make it even better with some time.

[LPatterson]

Something I noticed when swapping the powder measure between tool heads was to let the fail safe rod settle into the rod slot before tightening the allen screws in the powder measure. The white plastic square in the powder bar should just kiss (to a business card clearance) the back of the measure on a full stroke belling a case.

[Brian1911]

Yeah I get that but no mater what position I put it all in there was binding. Not much and not enough to affect anything but like I said I want it perfect so it took some tweaking.

I even loosened the fail safe bracket so that I could adjust everything together and find the sweet spot. I just didnt like how at the bottom stroke of the handle while seating a primer the powder drop would be yanked to the right by the fail safe bar hanging up mid way in the bell crank slot. If allowed to move freely in that slot when you seat a primer the powder drop dont move much at all.

[gm iprod]

Try slipping the old powder bar return spring back on. See of that slicks up the return a little. It might be a bit noisy for some.