Dillon Precision AT 500 Instruction Manual
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illon recision Products, Inc. AT 500 Instruction Manual Version 3.3
2 Table of Contents Subject Page # AT 500 Parts List 2 AT 500 Machine Schematic 3 Minimum Equipment to Begin Reloading 4 Reloading Safety 4 Parts List 4 Mounting the AT 500 to Your Bench 5 Configuring the AT 500 5 Changing Shellplate Position 5 Caliber Conversion Chart 6 Changing Primer Size 7 The Toolhead 7 Setting Up to Load Rifle Ammunition 8 Setting Up to Load Pistol Ammunition 11 The Reloading Process 13 AT 500 Upgrades and Accessories 15 Dillon Precision Products, Inc. 8009 E. Dillon’s Way Scottsdale, AZ 85260 (480) 948-8009 (480) 998-2786 FAX For Technical Assistance or to place an order call: (800) 223-4570 For an issue of the Blue Press: call: (800) 762-3844 For additional product information, see our web site at: www.dillonprecision.com #16618 Spot Manuals AT500 Folder AT500 Manual. V 3.3 9/01 WJC AT 500 Parts List Part # Description 13409 Crank 13435 1/4” Hex Wrench 13583 Link Arm, Left 13593 5/32” Hex Wrench 13650 Spent Primer Cup 13700 Link Arm Pin 13728 1/8” Hex Wrench 13738 Rod Washer, #10 13747 Link Arm w/ Hook, Right 13757 Seating Punch, Small 13775 Main Shaft 13781 Platform 13789 Main Shaft Pin Set Screw 13794 Shellplate Bolt 13817 10-32 Kep Nut 13824 Primer Cup, Large 13825 Primer Cup, Small 13830 Main Shaft Pivot Pin 13834 Solid Link Arm Pin, Left 13841 Nylock Nut 13881 Hollow Link Arm Pin, Right 13886 3/32” Hex Wrench 13890 Spring Washer 13891 Index Ball 13904 Bellcrank Bolt 13909 Toolhead 13923 Brass Tip Set Screw 13966 Platform Mount Bolt 13967 Seating Punch, Large 13996 10-32 x 3/16 Set Screw 13997 Index Ball Spring 14008 Toolhead Pin 14013 Roller Bracket Screw 14033 Primer Cup Spring 14280 Roller Bracket Assembly 13719 Cartridge Spring Screw 13926 Cartridge Spring 16609 Conversion Kit 16610 Universal Shellplate 16611 Shellplate Cover 16612 Primer Punch Holder 16617 Plastic Funnel 16629 Powder Die 20094 Frame 20636 Handle, Knob & Nut Assembly Not all items are shown in schematic illustration. 2
13794 16611 16610 13966 1378114033 1661213996 13757 (Small) 13967 (Large) 13825 (Small) 13824 (Large) 14280 assembly 14013 13881 2009413891 13997 Locator Buttons 14008 16617 16629 13996 1390913904 13738 See box above for more detail. 1383413817 1392313747 13650 20636 Assembly 13775 1389013841 13409 13789 13830 13700 13890 1384113583 AT 500 Schematic 3
Suggested Minimum Equipment to Begin Reloading (Figure 1) 1) Powder scale 2) Dies 3) Loading manual 4) Case lubricant (for bottlenecked cases) 5) Safety glasses 6) Primer flip tray* 7) Dial calipers* (*Not absolutely essential, but pretty handy.) Figure 1– Minimum equipment needed to begin reloading. Reloading Safety At this point you’re anxious to finish your assembly and start cranking out rounds. But for your own safety, stop now and read the following: Reloading small arms ammunition involves the use of highly explosive primers and powder. Handling these materials is inherently dangerous. You should recognize this danger and take certain minimum precautions to lessen your exposure to injury. Never operate the machine without ear and eye protec- tion on. Call our customer service department at (800) 223- 4570 for information on the wide variety of shooting/safe- ty glasses and hearing protection that Dillon has to offer. • PAY ATTENTION: Load only when you can give your complete attention to the loading process. Don’t watch television or try to carry on a conversation and load at the same time. Watch the automatic systems operate and make sure they are functioning properly. If you are interrupted or must leave and come back to your loading, always inspect the cases at every station to insure that the proper operations have been accomplished. • SMOKING: Do not smoke while reloading or allow any- one else to smoke in your reloading area. Do not allow open flames in reloading area. • SAFETY DEVICES: Do not remove any safety devices from your machine or modify your machine in any way.• LEAD WARNING: Be sure to have proper ventilation while handling lead components or when shooting lead bullets. Lead is known to cause birth defects, other repro- ductive harm and cancer. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling anything made of lead. • LOADS AND LENGTHS: Avoid maximum loads and pressures at all times. Use only recommended loads from manuals and information supplied by reliable component manufacturers and suppliers. Since Dillon Precision has no control over the components which may be used on their equipment, no responsibility is implied or assumed for results obtained through the use of any such components. Seat bullets as close to maximum cartridge length as possible. Under some conditions, seating bullets excessive- ly deep can raise pressures to unsafe levels. Refer to a reli- able loading manual for overall length (OAL). • QUALITY CHECKS: Every 50-100 rounds, perform peri- odic quality control checks on the ammunition being pro- duced. Check the amount of powder being dropped and primer supply. • RELOADING AREA: Keep your components safely stored. Clear your work area of loose powder, primers and other flammables before loading. • COMPONENTS: Never have more than one type of powder in your reloading area at a time. The risk of a mix- up is too great. Keep powder containers closed. Be sure to inspect brass prior to reloading for flaws, cracks, splits or defects. Throw these cases away. Keep components and ammunition out of reach of children. • BLACK POWDER: Do not use black powder or black powder substitutes in any Dillon powder measure. Loading black powder cartridges requires specialized load- ing equipment and techniques. Failure to do so can result in severe injury or death. • PRIMERS: Never force primers. If they get stuck in the operation of the machine, disassemble it and gently remove the obstruction. Never attempt to clear primers that are stuck in either the primer pickup tube or the primer magazine tube. Never, under any circumstances, insert any type of rod to attempt to force stuck primers out of these tubes. Trying to force primers out of the tube will cause the primers to explode causing serious injury or even death. If primers get stuck in a primer magazine or pickup tube flood the tube with a penetrating oil (WD-40), throw the tube in the garbage and call us for a free replacement. Never attempt to deprime live primers – eventually one will go off. When it does it will detonate the others in the spent primer cup. Depriming live primers is the single most dangerous thing you can do in reloading and can cause grave injury or death. • LOADED AMMUNITION: Properly label all of your loaded ammunition (Date, Type of Bullet, Primer, Powder, Powder Charge, etc.). 4
5 • BE PATIENT: Our loading equipment is conservatively rated and you should have no trouble achieving the pub- lished rates with a smooth, steady hand. If something doesn’t seem right, stop, look and listen. If the problem or the solution isn’t obvious, call us. The reloading bench is no place to get into a hurry. We have done everything we know how to make your machine as safe as possible. We cannot, however, guaran- tee your complete safety. To minimize your risk, use com- mon sense when reloading and follow these basic rules. • REMEMBER: If your machine does not perform to your expectations, or if you are having technical difficulties, give us a call. Technical Support (800) 223-4570 All electrical/electronic components in Dillon equip- ment are covered by a one-year warranty. Your AT 500 comes complete with: • AT 500 Machine • Operating Handle Assembly including: Handle Shaft Handle Knob Nylock Nut and Washer • Accessory Bag including: (Figure 2) Small Primer Cup and Pin Note: The Large Primer Assembly comes installed in the machine. Plastic Funnel Spent Primer Cup Hex Wrenches: 1/8”, 1/4”, 5/32” and 3/32” Powder Die with Lock Ring • Conversion Kit including: (Figure 2) Powder Funnels: A, B and K for Rifle – W, E, D and F for Pistol calibers Locator Pins: #1, #2 and #3 Double-check now to make sure all the parts needed are present. (Figure 2) Figure 2– A) Spent Primer Cup B) Plastic Funnel C) Hex Wrenches D) Powder Die with Lock Ring E) Powder Funnels F) Small Primer Cup and Pin G) Locator Buttons MOUNTING THE AT 500 TO YOUR BENCH Place your AT 500 on the edge of a sturdy bench or table where you plan to mount it. Give yourself about 12 inches of work space on each side of the machine to allow room for components. Using the machine itself as a template, mark and drill four 1/4” holes in your bench and bolt your AT 500 securely to it. (Figure 3) Figure 3 – Using the reloader as a template to mark your bench. Avoid using wood or lag screws to mount your reloader to the bench. These types of screws can loosen over time. CONFIGURING THE AT 500 Install the handle and spent primer cup. (Figure 4) Figure 4 – Installation of the handle and spent primer cup. AB CD EFG Spent Primer Cup Use hole in handle for leverage while tightening nut.
6 Changing Shellplate Position Your AT 500 is shipped with the “universal” shellplate installed. The “universal” shellplate has four shellholder slots: #1, #2, #3 and #5. This allows you to reload a wide variety of calibers. All AT 500 reloaders are shipped with the #1 slot visi- ble. If the caliber you wish to load requires one of the other slots on the shellplate (see the caliber conversion chart on page 3 to be sure), you may change this by first loosening the brass-tipped set screw (Figure 5) at the top left side of the shaft, just below the shellplate platform, with the supplied 1/8” hex wrench. Figure 5 – Location of the shellplate bolt set screw. Next, loosen the shellplate bolt with the 1/4” hex wrench. Then reposition the shellplate cover to display the slot you desire to use. The shellplate cover has two dim- ples (Figure 6) to help you align it with the shellplate. Figure 6 – Locator “dimples” on the AT 500 shellplate cover. Tighten the shellplate bolt with the hex wrench – then back the shellplate bolt out about 1/4 turn so that you can rotate the shellplate easily. There should be no looseness or “slop” at this point. When you rotate the shellplate, you should be able to feel and hear the shellplate “click” into place. Re-tighten the brass-tipped set screw under the shellplate platform to prevent the shellplate bolt from rotating as the shellplate is indexed. Caliber Conversion Chart Caliber Shellplate Powder Locator Slot Funnel Button Rifle Calibers .222 Rem. 3 A 3 .22-250 1 A 1 .223 Rem. 3 A 3 .240 Wby. Mag. 1 K 1 .243 Win. 1 K 1 .250 Savage 1 K 1 .25-06 1 K 1 .257 Roberts 1 K 1 .257 Ackley Imp. 1 K 1 .270 Win. 1 K 1 .284 Win. 1 K 1 .30-06 1 B 1 .308 1 B 1 .358 Win. 1 B 1 .35 Whelen 1 B 1 6mm Rem. 1 K 1 6.5-06 1 K 1 6.5x55 1 K 1 7mm-08 1 K 1 7.65x53 1 B 1 7x57 1 K 1 7.7 Arisaka 1 B 1 7mm B.R. 1 K 1 7mm Exp./280 Rem. 1 K 1 7mm Int’l Rim 1 K 1 7.5x55 Swiss 1 B 1 8x57 1 B 1 Handgun Calibers .22 Rem. Jet 2 A 2 .221 Rem. Fireball 3 A A .380 ACP 3 F 3 .38 Super 5 F 3 .38/.357 Mag./Max. 2 D 2 .357 SIG 5 F 2 .45 ACP 1 E 1 7 TCU 3 K 3 9mm 5 F 3 9x25 5 F 2 9x21 5 F 3 10mm/.40 S&W 5 W 2
7 Changing Primer Size Your AT 500 has been shipped to you with the large primer bar installed and correctly adjusted to feed large primers. If the caliber you have selected requires small primers, you must change to the small primer cup and pin. Do this by loosening the set screw and removing the large primer cup and pin from the primer bar. Install the small primer cup and pin. (Figure 7) Do not tighten the set screw yet. Figure 7 – To change the primer cup and pin, loosen this set screw. See arrow. This set screw needs to be loose in order to align the primer cup with the platform. Lower the platform onto the primer cup (Figure 8), then tighten the set screw while the cup is in the platform. (Figure 9) Figure 8 – Lowering the platform onto the primer cup.Figure 9 – The primer cup, showing through the platform. The Toolhead Your new AT 500 is equipped with a removable tool- head. Additional toolheads are available from the factory or your local Dillon dealer. The advantage of this system is simple. Once you have adjusted your dies just the way you want them, they can stay that way. Plus, changing to another caliber becomes a simple matter of pulling two pins and sliding the toolhead out. (Figure 10) Figure 10 – Removing the toolhead. Before you begin loading, make sure that the toolhead is secured by the toolhead pins. Platform Primer Cup
8 Figure 11 – Toolhead/die station orientation. SETTING UP THE AT 500 TO LOAD RIFLE AMMUNITION We are using the .30-06 cartridge as an example in this section. The AT 500 machine comes to you with the shellplate (with the #1 slot ready for use) and large primer bar installed. Station #1 – Install the sizing/decapping die here. Figure 12 – Installing the sizing/decapping die in Station #1. Move the handle down (which will raise the platform) and thread the sizing/decapping die completely into the toolhead until the die comes in contact with the shellplate. Return the handle to its rest position (up). Wipe a small amount of case lube on the body and neck of an empty .30-06 cartridge case, then place the case into the #1 slot. (Figure 13) Figure 13 – Placing the cartridge case in the shellplate. Move the handle down to resize and deprime the case. Return the handle to its rest position. Examine the case you just resized and deprimed. If a case gage is available, insert the case into the gage to (Figure 14) assure yourself that the case has been resized properly. (The bottom of the case should be flush with the bottom of the gage.) Figure 14 – Inserting a case in a case gage. Rotate the sizing/decapping die in or out as needed to reach the proper case-to-gage fit. After the die is adjusted, tighten the die lock ring to hold it in place. Advance the case to Station #2. Station #2 – Install the powder die and powder fun- nel here (We are using powder funnel “B” for the .30-06 cartridge – See Figure 15) 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 23 3 3 3 4 4 4 4
9 Figure 15 –Installing rifle powder funnel into the powder die. Slide the funnel into the powder die and tighten the set screw, assuring yourself that it has entered the groove in the funnel. (Figure 16) Figure 16 – The groove in the rifle powder funnel. With the resized case in Station #2, move the handle down and thread the powder die into the toolhead until the funnel comes in contact with the case. Tighten the die lock ring. Advance the case to Station #3. Station #3 – Install the bullet seating die here. Place a bullet on the empty case and move the handle down. Thread the bullet seating die into the toolhead until it comes in contact with the case/bullet. (Figure 17) Figure 17 – Installing the bullet seating die in Station #3. In 1/4 turn increments, thread the bullet seating die clockwise while you move the handle up and down, until the proper loaded length is reached. (Always use a loading manual for loaded length information.) Tighten the die lock ring and the lock ring on the seating stem. (Figure 18) Figure 18 – Tightening the lock ring on the seating stem. Examine the cartridge you’ve just assembled, checking the overall length. Advance the cartridge to Station #4.
10 Station #4 – Install the taper crimp die (if you’re using a separate taper crimp die) here. Figure 19 – Installing a taper crimp die in Station #4. Move the handle down. Thread the taper crimp die into the toolhead until it comes in contact with the cartridge. In 1/4 turn increments, thread the taper crimp die clockwise while you move the handle up and down, until a crimp appears on the mouth of the case. An average crimp should be approximately .002 smaller than the case diame- ter. (Figure 20) Tighten the die lock ring. Figure 20 – A properly crimped rifle cartridge. Once you’ve installed all the dies in the toolhead, place the black plastic funnel onto the powder die. Install thethree #1 (.30-06) brass locator buttons, included in the parts bag, on the platform. (For other calibers, see caliber conversion chart on page 3.) (Figure 21) Figure 21 – Installing a brass locator button at Station #2. The above example used a Dillon three-die set for reloading the .30-06 rifle cartridges. Some die companies offer two die-sets for some rifle calibers. With these sets, the bullet seating die must be adjusted as follows: Place a resized rifle case in Station #3. Install your bullet seating die here. Remove the seating stem from the seating die. Move the handle down and thread the die into the toolhead until it comes in contact with the case. Tighten the die lock ring. Return the handle to its rest position. Reinstall the seating stem approximately five turns. Place a bullet on the empty case and move the handle down. In 1/4 turn increments, thread the bullet seating stem clockwise while you move the handle up and down until the proper loaded length is reached. (Figure 22 – Always use a loading manual for loaded length information.) Tighten the lock ring on the stem. Figure 22 – Using a dial caliper to check overall length. Measure crimp here.