New here, I have been lurking for awhile but I feel that this really important to let everyone know to keep an eye of this possible problem for those who have the Lee Auto Drum powder measure. (See Picture).
There have been report that the Auto drum wobbles as the press reaches its full stroke. Mine is not different. The accuracy and consistency was not affected.
However earlier today, I started have less powder thrown. I thought that my expander/ powder through die got loose and started to back out but it was not. I checked everything else and were in correct working order.
As I check everything and cycling the powder measure, I saw that the drum was not fully cycling (about half way). After close look I saw that one of tab was slipping off from the knurl nut causing the drum not to fully cycle. Also, the square block was not fully reaching the top of the slot at full stroke. Luckily I found this issue as I was trying to set a charge and not reloading.
The reason, loose tolerances and soft metal that the drum is made of. The tabs start to flex and stretch; hence the powder measure’s wobble when it cycle. I took a plier and squeeze back the tabs. That alone restored Auto Drum range of movement.
The wobble still there and I knew that eventually will make tabs spread again. So I put a piece of 1/8” zip tie in the opposite tab. Now I don’t have the wobble issue and apparently all the forces are inline with the die.
I am not sure if the zip tie will fix it long term. My next option would be a worm gear hose clamp to permanently hold the tabs in place.
I hope this help if you are having issues.
Thanks.