Here's how I set dies...
? Sizing: I use a piece of paper as a feeler gauge between the shell holder and the die. At the top of the stroke (
without a cartridge brass in place) I can withdraw the paper without tearing it. On a 550, the die holder normally has about 0.008" free play up/down. With 0.003" clearance
you'll see the die holder rise at the top of the stroke, but the die holder will
still wiggle freely.
This adjustment sizes the maximum amount of case, without injury to the super hard (and brittle) carbide.
? Seating: 1) The stem: You want to make sure the seating stem is not contacting the case mouth and thereby crushing the case.
2) The body: In Dillon dies I don't think any crimp is possible, but on other die brands you need to insure that the die body imparts zero crimp. This is a "screw down until touching and then back-off" adjustment.
? Taper Crimp: Read the article on Taper Crimp in the stickies. Press a sample bullet into a sample brass that has NOT been belled.
Get that dimension so that you have a number to aim at. (Having a number to aim at is EXTREMELY important !) Then during
production (with actual bullets in place), slowly move the TC die down until you achieve that number. It is usually in the 0.376 to 0.378" range, with lead you might see more,
but it MUST be 0.379" or less.
Adding any kind of case lube REALLY helps. When I used a 550, I rolled every third case on a Lube Pad. Now with my 650 I lay several hundred cases on their side and spray them twice with
Dillon Case Lube. The lube moves around in the dies and smooths out sizing and crimping in ways you can't imagine.
The amount of lube is tiny, and the time it takes won't slow you down. 