Mounting new Dillon 550B ??

[gordonm1]

I just got a Dillon 550B with strong mount. I have one bench, the Rockchucker now sits near the right end of it. How should I mount things with new Dillon? How much space left and right of Dillon is needed? I am right handed. My Rockchucker really only needs room left of it for bullet/brass trays. Right hand moves the crank.

I have not opened the box yet so answers may be in paperwork I have not seen.

Thanks,

Gordon

[Old Sarge]

Gordon
Congrats. Look into the Strong mount that Dillon offers. If it dosn't set the press to high on your bench. You can put it on and get a feel for how much room you need on either side of it. I don't think I have much more then the lenth of the cartridge bin on the right hand side. The only thing in the way is a tool box and I can push that out of the way as needed. Now the other side is wide open.

Old Sarge

[bykerhd]

I'm shy on bench space. I have a Dillon 550 bolted directly to the bench, no strong mount, and a Rockchucker bolted to a plywood base which is C-clamped to the bench to the right of it. There is another Rockchucker C-clamped to the left, but that wasn't what you asked about. There is 14" from the edge of the Dillon's base to the edge of the Rockchucker's. It is adequate, but not spacious. Especially when you are loading and have cartridge boxes, bullets, tools, etc. cluttering up what little bench space is left. I need a bigger bench.

[shootist87122]

I have a single stage (turent) press on the right side of of my loading bench (to the right of my 650). I have good surface area to the right of the single stage since that is where my cleaning station is.

What works well for me with 4 loading machines set up at once (I'm right handed):

The base of the Dillon 650 (it's not on a stand) is 9"" to the left of the single stage. This is about the minimum needed to work at the single stage press.

14" left of the 650's base is a series of mounting holes for either a Dillon 1050 or 3 different Mec loaders - mounted one at a time as needs dictate.

14" Left of the 1050/Mec station is a Hornady/Pacific shotshell loader that I leave in place. I have another 17" or so of work space on the far left side of the bench. My bench is 8' wide.

Short answer: 14" between machines (edge to edge of the bases) will work very well. Anything under about 12" starts to get crowded, but if not working bulky shotgun stuff 12" would be OK, but bigger is better. When I get about a 1,000 rounds ahead, I usually pull the wing nuts on Mec station and store it in a cabinet.

Scuse he mess, but I'm in Snow-Day mode with several loading projects going right now. :)

[TerryN]

I just did this yesterday, so Dillon's recommendations are fresh in my mind. They recommend 12" on either side. I have more on the right, for now, but that will be occupied eventually.

I currently have the luxury of having TWO reloading benches - one for the Rock Chucker and one for the Dillon. Not sure how long that will last, but it's nice while it does.

[gordonm1]

Thanks for the comments. The manual talks about equal space on each side, I think 18". My bench is 6-foot wide, Rockhchucker uses up the right 18" to left edge of press mount so I have 4-1/2 feet to use. I'd prefer making 18" clear to press from the left and leave the Rockchucker alone. That would give a couple feet between presses. It should not be a problem.

[TerryN]

Don't forget that you'll need space to mount powder measures, a case trimmer, etc. also. Don't know what you have there now, but space is precious on a reloading bench! :beer: