Be honest: How often do you clean your 550?

Early on, not much. I learned the hard way - bad ammo. Now, a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a handful of Q-Tips is used after each reloading session, usually 400-800 rounds. The cotter pins are pulled for the seating & crimping dies. You would not believe the amount of gunk up there! About every other session requires extra attention to the primer bar, first alcohol cleaning, then a very thin coat of lubricant - no lube on the cup, though, just alcohol clean.

Only when it quits (not often), and only enough to get it running. I load about 50'000 rds a year with it, it's my only press.

I give it a cursory cleaning whenever I change calibers (q-tip the primer cup, shellplate, swipe the crap out where the ram goes through the press body, clean primer arm). It probably adds 5 minutes to my caliber changeover.

Beyond that pretty much never except when it starts looking grubby or acting strange.

Interesting comments. I'm ordering a 650XL next week - moving up from a RCBS Junior single stage which I've had for more than twenty(?) years. Other than wiping off the crud from spent primers and a very occasional light lube on the ram I don't think I've done anything to it. Dies are another thing.

Got to tell you I am looking forwar to the Dillion - it takes me a day to load up enough for a session at the range now.

I'm loading on a 650 and always give it a cleaning when I change calibers. I also keep a vacuum cleaner with a micro nozzle by my bench and when I spill powder, (which seems to be everyday), I vacuum it up before it gets worked into the machine. My alcohol source is electric pre-shave lotion. It has enough alcohol in it to clean and it drys with a slight "oily" surface finish.

I give it a quick cleaning every time I change calibers (about 300 - 500 rounds). I load lead bullets mostly, so I clean the seating and crimping inserts quite often, every 250 rounds or so. Keeping this gunk out allows me to get a +/- .002" OAL variation with lead bullets.
With jacketed bullets I clean less often, every 1000 rounds or so. I always watch for debris, powder and dust on the primer station and the rotating star and clean while reloading.

[This message has been edited by TiroFijo (edited 07-31-2001).]

Have both a 550 abd a650..Clean them when they start to feel sluggish..Have no idea hoe many rounds they've run bu it's a BUNCH

I clean the primer feed every time I switch calibers, or every 500 - 1000 rounds. Otherwise, I leave it alone. Wait, I put some oil on the main shaft back when the First Onanist was just starting his run. (I think that was just a coincidence.)

like never because i use a piece of c**p lee turret press to deprime everything, thus little dirt accumulates in or on the dillon - use the hornaday one shot lube to spray occasionally - loaded 500,000 rounds before rebuild in 1999, now about 40k rounds on rebuild

Get a can of compressed air to blow off any debris before it gums up the works Shoot Safe

I hose it down with Hornady One-Shot dry lube every thousand rounds and clean out the seating and crimp dies with a brush.
Other than that the 550B gets well cleaned during changover to another caliber twice a year after loading 10,000 rounds.

I hose it down with Hornady One-Shot dry lube every thousand rounds and clean out the seating and crimp dies with a brush.
Other than that the 550B gets well cleaned during changover to another caliber twice a year after loading 10,000 rounds.

Just a word of caution on cleaning the 550B.
I was cleaning up around my bench and floor with a vacuum cleaner when I carelessly passed the hose over the shell plate. The brass locator pins disappeared down the hose into an 8 gallon shop vac. Found them, but it sure wasn't a pleasant experience. From now on will use brush and compressed air like I always had before. Experience is a great teacher.

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John