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I'm looking to upgrade my separator, one question.
Will it pass 22 cal bullets? This is why I want to upgrade, my present one, the 22 cal bullets slip through the slots. |
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Just tried some 22LR and some .223 bullets. Neither fall through the slots on my Dillon separator which I bougth in 2018.
I doubt they changed the dimensions since then. Can't hurt to check with others' experiences. ETA: Great piece of equipment. Really handy for steel media separation when filled with water. |
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Quoted: Just tried some 22LR and some .223 bullets. Neither fall through the slots on my Dillon separator which I bougth in 2018. I doubt they changed the dimensions since then. Can't hurt to check with others' experiences. ETA: Great piece of equipment. Really handy for steel media separation when filled with water. View Quote The new Midway separator lets the .224 bullets pass right through, and why I want to upgrade. The new separator will be used for dry tumbling on the other side of the shop. Tired of shuttling separator back and forth. I tumble a lot of bullets, as I'm a bargain hunter, so always buying dingy bullets that need some bling. |
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Like you, I finally got a media separator after almost 20 yrs of sifting through an old colander into a bucket. However, even though the Dillon is better quality, I decided on a Graf Rotary Media Separator Model GR17 at $28.
The reason I went with the Graf over the Dillon wasn't the price. You see, cranking the walnut media creates a lot of fine dust, both from the walnut and the dirt on the brass. Even with dryer sheets, if you don't contain it it will get all over. I tried out a friend's Dillon and it spread dust all over his bench because it doesn't have a top. So, when you spin the brass the dust flies. I tried to go as slow as possible but it still got dust all over his bench so I decided that I needed one with a top. A friend had a Graf's Media Separator that seems to be a copy of the RCBS Model 87076 at $40 and when I tried his, the top kept the dust inside. The only caution is that you have to be careful rotating the top to take it on and off as the 1/2 hinges like to bind if you don't support it at the rear. |
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Quoted: Like you, I finally got a media separator after almost 20 yrs of sifting through an old colander into a bucket. However, even though the Dillon is better quality, I decided on a Graf Rotary Media Separator Model GR17 at $28. The reason I went with the Graf over the Dillon wasn't the price. You see, cranking the walnut media creates a lot of fine dust, both from the walnut and the dirt on the brass. Even with dryer sheets, if you don't contain it it will get all over. I tried out a friend's Dillon and it spread dust all over his bench because it doesn't have a top. So, when you spin the brass the dust flies. I tried to go as slow as possible but it still got dust all over his bench so I decided that I needed one with a top. A friend had a Graf's Media Separator that seems to be a copy of the RCBS Model 87076 at $40 and when I tried his, the top kept the dust inside. The only caution is that you have to be careful rotating the top to take it on and off as the 1/2 hinges like to bind if you don't support it at the rear. View Quote |
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Quoted: Like you, I finally got a media separator after almost 20 yrs of sifting through an old colander into a bucket. However, even though the Dillon is better quality, I decided on a Graf Rotary Media Separator Model GR17 at $28. The reason I went with the Graf over the Dillon wasn't the price. You see, cranking the walnut media creates a lot of fine dust, both from the walnut and the dirt on the brass. Even with dryer sheets, if you don't contain it it will get all over. I tried out a friend's Dillon and it spread dust all over his bench because it doesn't have a top. So, when you spin the brass the dust flies. I tried to go as slow as possible but it still got dust all over his bench so I decided that I needed one with a top. A friend had a Graf's Media Separator that seems to be a copy of the RCBS Model 87076 at $40 and when I tried his, the top kept the dust inside. The only caution is that you have to be careful rotating the top to take it on and off as the 1/2 hinges like to bind if you don't support it at the rear. View Quote I have that same separator the rcbs one that i bought for the same reasons you talk about. But the hinges ets are crap to put it politely. I also have a dillon separator from back in the early 90's when first got into reloading and bought my 550. The dillon is still going strong.... 30~yrs later I'm going to cut up a storage bin one day to make a lid for the dillon. https://www.doublealpha.biz/us/primafill This is one of my small things that i really like.... even when it's fiddly it beats filling primer tubes by hand. My other small thing is a cheap digital scale for doing fast powder adjustments then verify on the beam scales. |
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I've got one of the PAL primer fillers. It's incredibly well made, but not worth what I paid for it.
I wish I had known of the Double Alpha unit, it's less than 1/2 the price of the PAL. I can't STAND filling primer tubes by hand, so the PAL is appreciated every time I use it though! |
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Quoted: If you have some check weights, you don't need the beam scale. If it returns to tare weight zero every time, it is unlikely to be off. View Quote I do and it has worked perfect every time.......... but it's also a 18$ amazon scale lol ..... i'm just chicken of blowing my face off.. i have two ohaus beam scales It's lightning fast compared to weighting on a beam scale to settle when your changing/adjusting powder charges. |
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I’ve had this for many many years
it works well frankford arsenal vibra prime |
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I'm not dissing the Dillon separator, in fact, I'd love to be able to use it cause it's much better made. But as my handloading area is in a finished basement, I just can't tolerate the dust going all over so I'm tied to one with a top.
My Dillon D-terminator has been solid for 20 yrs. I use the check weight before I start each time to check the calibration and the farthest it's ever been off was .01 grn after sitting for a few months unused so I'm happy with that. (BTW, when you use a check weight to check your scale, be sure and pick it up with tweezers, not your hand, as you can transfer dirt or oil to it and increase it's weight over time.) This may sound weird but part of my 'getting in the relaxing zone' part of handloading is when I fill those 6 primer pickup tubes. It's mindless and helps me calm my mind from outside thoughts so I can really enjoy handloading. |
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I really need a media separator. I’m tired of fishing brass out the media by hand.
I’ll look into the Dillon. Thanks OP I also keep a cheap digital scale on hand just to verify all rounds have a charge in them. One evening I was reloading and my wife walked in a distracted me for all but maybe 5 seconds. In that time I lost my rhythm and seated a bullet into an empty case. And it didn’t click in my head until maybe 5 rounds later. Started putting them one by one on the scale and sure enough, one was 24gr lighter than the rest. Most I load is 100 at a time so it’s not all that time consuming to check them when I’m done. I typically weight them 2 at a time. |
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Grabbed a few overhead led fixtures from costco when they were closing them out. Light, lots of light is wonderful in a reloading room. I wish I could use the proximity switch on them, but they detect easily through walls so even movement in an adjacent room will switch them on.
I've forgotten to turn on the lights when reloading a few times and I was amazed how much darker it is without them. |
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I'm a poor so I use a $1 kitchen spatula/ladle thing, can empty all the brass out of my tumbler in just a few minutes with it
Second the lighting. Been looking for the right magnifying glass w/ built in lighting on a goose neck desk mount to set up.... I rescued a kids shoe storage cubby thing from a childcare place that was replacing it, someone made by hand with wood and nails, perfect size cubbies for a pair of kids shoes, which means perfect for storing die boxes, bullet boxes, etc in. Sits on top of my desk/reloading table (2x8 1" marine grade plywood on top of a couple of filing cabinets) and lets me store everything close to hand but out of the way/put away. |
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Micrometer dies and powder measures have made life so much easier. No more guess and check when making a new load and fast resetting when making another batch of a known load.
A few more items off the top of my head, Lanolin lube for fast lubing and easy sizing. A modified food dryer for quick brass drying after wet tumbling or washing lube off. Wet tumbling in big bulk batches. I can deprime, wash and dry 2000 223 cases in less time than one batch of brass can be cleaned in a dry media tumbler. Buying 1x rifle brass in bulk to eliminate tracking small batches of brass firings and having a few unfired rounds of a batch that are not enough for a match. Buying non-crimped 1x brass. Enough to say there. As far as media separators, I did not dry tumble or separate brass from media in my reload room. It was done outside where dust contamination does not matter. I ran my tumbler outside with the lid off to allow dust to dissipate and not build up in the media. |
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Use Akro bins to store dies and accessories. I bought large Forster die boxes for the micrometer dies, but they still weren't large enough to hold all the dies and accessories for each caliber. The bins have a clear plastic lid to see what's inside and keep dust out. Very convenient to grab the caliber needed with all the accessories in one box.
Attached File Adding a webcam to the beam scale helped immensely. I use the scale on the bench for better ergonomics and have a magnified image at eye level. Paid less than $10 for the webcam. Use a laptop stand so no bench space is needed. Attached File |
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Adding the Hornady LnL Bushings to my RCBS Rock Chucker made changing stages or calibers so quick and easy, no need to adjust and calibrate the dies each time i changed steps. Previously I had a Lee Turret Press and the Rock Chucker, but the quick change bushings made changing stages on the single stage so much faster that I sold the Turret Press.
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Quoted: Use Akro bins to store dies and accessories. I bought large Forster die boxes for the micrometer dies, but they still weren't large enough to hold all the dies and accessories for each caliber. The bins have a clear plastic lid to see what's inside and keep dust out. Very convenient to grab the caliber needed with all the accessories in one box. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/375214/Akro_bins_JPG-2837386.JPG Adding a webcam to the beam scale helped immensely. I use the scale on the bench for better ergonomics and have a magnified image at eye level. Paid less than $10 for the webcam. Use a laptop stand so no bench space is needed. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/375214/Balance_beam_jpg-2837389.JPG View Quote I print up Avery Ink Jet labels of what's inside and stick them to cut up pieces of business cards to keep everything organized. |
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Funny, I actually want my separator to pass .22 casings...I get a lot stuck in my range brass and it's annoying as all get out to pick .22s out of my (mostly) 9mm brass.
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Quoted: Funny, I actually want my separator to pass .22 casings...I get a lot stuck in my range brass and it's annoying as all get out to pick .22s out of my (mostly) 9mm brass. View Quote Me I'm tumbling 22 cal bullets and want to separate media from the tumbled bullets. For range brass I use the separator bin/baskets that fit on a 5 gallon bucket. |
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The one thing that comes to mind, was my Brass Case Tumbler.
I had a Midway brand, for about 15yrs.. it finally gave up the Ghost. Being the smart cookie I thought I was... I bought a "Better" tumbler.... it sucked. Cleaning the brass took twice as long. And I use NuFinish added to the walnut... so even that was a chore to get distributed through the media. Turned out the better "tub" wasn't as a vigorous movement, of the brass and media. I swapped on the older Midway Tub, and could instantly see better movement. So the tub contour's / ribs made all the difference. So not a big deal... but geez. Lol |
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Quoted: The one thing that comes to mind, was my Brass Case Tumbler. I had a Midway brand, for about 15yrs.. it finally gave up the Ghost. Being the smart cookie I thought I was... I bought a "Better" tumbler.... it sucked. Cleaning the brass took twice as long. And I use NuFinish added to the walnut... so even that was a chore to get distributed through the media. Turned out the better "tub" wasn't as a vigorous movement, of the brass and media. I swapped on the older Midway Tub, and could instantly see better movement. So the tub contour's / ribs made all the difference. So not a big deal... but geez. Lol View Quote I’ve had several tumblers. Some came in package deals. The best, by far, for quick cleaning is the big Dillon. |
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Question for the guys with the dillon vibratory tumbler.
I currently have a lyman. Decent tumbler that has served me well for years. I really like the drain plug on the bottom. It just seems small and I would like a larger bowl. Does the dillon have this drain feature? I couldn't see it in the picture. |
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Quoted: Question for the guys with the dillon vibratory tumbler. I currently have a lyman. Decent tumbler that has served me well for years. I really like the drain plug on the bottom. It just seems small and I would like a larger bowl. Does the dillon have this drain feature? I couldn't see it in the picture. View Quote No, the Dillon tumblers don't have a drain. I've never had an issue just pouring it out though. Pour it into a separator and then separate. |
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Extremely accurate scales
couldn't imagine the headaches if I doubted my scales accuracy |
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Quoted: No, the Dillon tumblers don't have a drain. I've never had an issue just pouring it out though. Pour it into a separator and then separate. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Question for the guys with the dillon vibratory tumbler. I currently have a lyman. Decent tumbler that has served me well for years. I really like the drain plug on the bottom. It just seems small and I would like a larger bowl. Does the dillon have this drain feature? I couldn't see it in the picture. No, the Dillon tumblers don't have a drain. I've never had an issue just pouring it out though. Pour it into a separator and then separate. Thanks. I would need to buy a case separator as well. I currently use a pan similar to a gold pan with slots in the bottom. |
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Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote You win!! Better stocked than any LGS around here... |
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Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote That's awesome! I'll add that not only having, but being able to locate what you need is a big plus too. Your organization is better than most! |
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I thought I had a powder and bullet hoarding problem until I saw this....
Attached File Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote |
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Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote It's not a physical thing (unless you're a troglodyte using an old ledger book), but an accurate inventory of all consumables is nice to have. Nothing more frustrating that sitting down to load and not having the required components. |
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Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote Wow... its the Bat Cave for reloading !!! |
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Quoted: Ya, just depends on what your separating goals are. Me I'm tumbling 22 cal bullets and want to separate media from the tumbled bullets. For range brass I use the separator bin/baskets that fit on a 5 gallon bucket. View Quote I've never tried tumbling bullets. I wonder what that will do to the American Reloading blem bullets I get that are dull. Now you've got me thinking.... |
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Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote Holy crap! I thought I hit paydirt when my dad started letting me raid his shop (which is incredibly well stocked with tools and supplies) but you take the gold medal! Don't show a full picture of the primer shelf or you're going to have more new friends than the guy that put a bourbon bar in his swimming pool. |
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Quoted: I've never tried tumbling bullets. I wonder what that will do to the American Reloading blem bullets I get that are dull. Now you've got me thinking.... View Quote I like the bling, so that is what I get. I would never tumble lead bullets, just jacketed. |
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Haha. Another photo that makes me look good - in my wife’s eyes!
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Quoted: I've never tried tumbling bullets. I wonder what that will do to the American Reloading blem bullets I get that are dull. Now you've got me thinking.... View Quote I'm also with Dryflash - I tumble dull/blemished bullets to get them clean. The bling is nice, too. I've successfully done this with American Reloading projos and I end up with excellent range/training bullets for unbeatable prices. |
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Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote That's Impressive! |
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I'll add another tool that makes life so much easier, is a Giraud Tri-way trimmer. If you shoot a 223 or 308, those things are the cat's meow!
-ZA |
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Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote wow, I never even knew there was a 9mm Winchester magnum |
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Quoted: Use Akro bins to store dies and accessories. I bought large Forster die boxes for the micrometer dies, but they still weren't large enough to hold all the dies and accessories for each caliber. The bins have a clear plastic lid to see what's inside and keep dust out. Very convenient to grab the caliber needed with all the accessories in one box. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/375214/Akro_bins_JPG-2837386.JPG Adding a webcam to the beam scale helped immensely. I use the scale on the bench for better ergonomics and have a magnified image at eye level. Paid less than $10 for the webcam. Use a laptop stand so no bench space is needed. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/375214/Balance_beam_jpg-2837389.JPG View Quote On your akro bins, did you affix french cleats to the wall to hang them from? |
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Quoted: What makes the biggest difference in your reloading room is actually having the primer/powder/bullet/brass that you actually need at the time. Even with all this shit, I never seem to have what I need. Tony Rumore Tromix https://i.imgur.com/1Rl1RVq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cARMctn.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YWrMSon.jpg View Quote Woof! That's like retirement savings. You could turn that into a store. |
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