Lyman 55 accuracy

[GregLaROCHE]

The handle of my Lyman 55 that I’ve had for 35 years broke off. I bought a new Lyman 55 and was not paying much attention to the repeatability on the weights I was throwing, because I was dribbling more in to get to the exact weight.
I started using it for BP doses and noticed it wasn’t always giving the same weight. How close should a Lyman 55 be each time? Is it less accurate with BP? My old one seemed to have better repeatability as I remember. Do they need a break in period? Is there anything you can do to tweak them up?

[kungfustyle]

Try this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6CAg2VEeKc At 11:55 sec's he puts a funnel and fills the hopper, leaving the funnel filled with powder. That was the bee's knees for me. Works very well. Don't know about the black powder aspect of it.

[Green Frog]

Technique, technique, technique! The 55 is very sensitive to how consistently you move the lever, whether you use the knocker or not, etc ad nauseum. The use of some sort of baffle (funnel or whatever) will certainly aid consistency by keeping the same pressure head on the powder entering the measuring chamber... not a total solution, but it helps.

Froggie

[Wayne Smith]

Also consider that with BP you have a lighter weight powder and a larger cavity to fill. It should take a little more effort to make sure that cavity is full.

[Larry Gibson]

As mentioned; how consistently you operate the lever and the consistency of the "knocks" with the knocker tells the tale. Mostly it is simply the number of knocks as that is what settles the powder consistently in the cavity. The number of knocks needed depends on the type of powder granulation, the size of the granulation and the volume of the thrown charge. For example; one knock is sufficient for .223 charges of ball powder. Two knocks most often for larger .308W - '06 size cases. With finer grained extruded powders up through IMR4895 in size two knocks for larger charges (28 - - 42 gr) with 3 knocks used for over 42 gr. With larger grained extruded powders such as Varget, the SC type and the RL- 22 I use three knocks. I flip the knocker pretty good so it knocks at the top and the bottom of each flip.

I also knock it once after the powder is "thrown" which ensures there is no "bridged" part of the powder still in the #55.

I, at one time, used the funnel trick but found with consistent knocks it was no longer necessary if the powder level was kept above 1/3.

Also I adjust the slides to use all three if possible to create the deepest cavity with the lessor amount of "scrape" area for the drum to cut off.

Using those techniques with the Lyman #55 powder thrower (I currently have and use 3 of them) with 41.5 gr of 4895 and 50 gr charges of AA4250 I can throw consistent charges within 1/2 of one tenth of a grain of powder. Throwing charges of 26.5 gr of H335 they charges will be spot on with little if any measurable weight variation.

With the long grained extruded such as 3031, 4064 and 4831 I don't use the #55 but instead use the Lee powder thrower. I still tap the side of the lee measure after the handle is up in the fill position to settle the powder consistently in the cavity.

[Markopolo]

I also have the 55, and I just felt like I could never trust it so I weighed every charge.. when I got my Lyman Gen 5, and got used to it, the 55 has been sitting in mothballs. for the way I reload, the Gen 5 is deadly accurate, and removed all of my tedious checking and rechecking with every throw. it works by trickling powder and stops the throw on a dime. its like having a super fast trickler on steroids....

marko

[onelight]

As mentioned; how consistently you operate the lever and the consistency of the "knocks" with the knocker tells the tale. Mostly it is simply the number of knocks as that is what settles the powder consistently in the cavity. The number of knocks needed depends on the type of powder granulation, the size of the granulation and the volume of the thrown charge. For example; one knock is sufficient for .223 charges of ball powder. Two knocks most often for larger .308W - '06 size cases. With finer grained extruded powders up through IMR4895 in size two knocks for larger charges (28 - - 42 gr) with 3 knocks used for over 42 gr. With larger grained extruded powders such as Varget, the SC type and the RL- 22 I use three knocks. I flip the knocker pretty good so it knocks at the top and the bottom of each flip.

I also knock it once after the powder is "thrown" which ensures there is no "bridged" part of the powder still in the #55.

I, at one time, used the funnel trick but found with consistent knocks it was no longer necessary if the powder level was kept above 1/3.

Also I adjust the slides to use all three if possible to create the deepest cavity with the lessor amount of "scrape" area for the drum to cut off.

Using those techniques with the Lyman #55 powder thrower (I currently have and use 3 of them) with 41.5 gr of 4895 and 50 gr charges of AA4250 I can throw consistent charges within 1/2 of one tenth of a grain of powder. Throwing charges of 26.5 gr of H335 they charges will be spot on with little if any measurable weight variation.

With the long grained extruded such as 3031, 4064 and 4831 I don't use the #55 but instead use the Lee powder thrower. I still tap the side of the lee measure after the handle is up in the fill position to settle the powder consistently in the cavity.
That is exactly how I use mine /\
My favorite bench mounted measure .

[country gent]

The lyman 55 was the base for the old culiver conversions. A very accurate measure. A added baffle may help as will a "bump" start and finish of stroke. But the most help is consistent operation of the measure every time. Same speed same bump same number of bumps and maintaining a set level of powder in the hopper. ALl of this helps but may vary with different powders.

An interesting test is gill hopper gull and set a charge here an even charge like 25.0 grns works better. This way the .o show variance at a glance. Throw charges and write down in groups of 10. Watch as the hopper empties and you will see a point where the weights get better mark this with a piece of tape. then keep going till they start to vary again. mark with tape. this is the range your measure wants as to hipper pressure. A powder baffle may extend this some. Now keep going till measure is empty noting each charge as before. This gives you what to expect if the measure and your technique.

[gwpercle]

Technique and how good you are at consistent operation is critical. Haphazard operation results in haphazard weights . Keep the hopper at least halfway full of powder .
Another trick is to set the 3 slides to form one narrow deep cavity ... this goes a long way along with consistent operation of the handle .
Gary

[GregLaROCHE]

Technique and how good you are at consistent operation is critical. Haphazard operation results in haphazard weights . Keep the hopper at least halfway full of powder .
Another trick is to set the 3 slides to form one narrow deep cavity ... this goes a long way along with consistent operation of the handle .
Gary


That’s a good idea. I’ve tried most of the ideas, but not this one.

[HP9MM]

I found that filling the hopper then tapping it to settle the powder gives me very consistent amounts of powder. I have been surprised at how much the powder settles from tapping.

[megasupermagnum]

The Lyman 55 is the most overrated powder measure ever made. Just about anything else is more accurate, even my Lee. I'm not saying it can't be accurate, but if I have to count knocks, ever so carefully raise the lever, fiddle with baffles, etc. I would just rather use something else.

[John Boy]

At 11:55 sec's he puts a funnel and fills the hopper, leaving the funnel filled with powder.
And the first 11 minutes he is a complete bore

[John Boy]

How close should a Lyman 55 be each time? Is it less accurate with BP?
I charge 22 LR reloads with an Ideal No 5 (same as the Lyman 55) with 4.5grs of Swiss Null-B and loading 50 cases at a time - the weight never varies and once in awhile the weight will be 4.51
Steady rhythm and consistent times between cranks on the arm = consistent powder drops

[Dan Cash]

The Lyman 55 is the most overrated powder measure ever made. Just about anything else is more accurate, even my Lee. I'm not saying it can't be accurate, but if I have to count knocks, ever so carefully raise the lever, fiddle with baffles, etc. I would just rather use something else.

Among the many different measures that I own and use, (Redding, Herter, Rcbs, Dillon and Lyman) the Lyman is the most accurate and consistent measure across a broad spectrum of powder types. For me, without fiddling, the Lyman will deliver consistent 1.5 grain Bulls Eye charges and 52 grain +/- .25 grain of Reloader 19 or 4320. At the heavier charge levels, a .5 grain deviation does not effect any demonstrable change in performance unless you are at the ragged edge of disaster.

[country gent]

I have and use many measures, from upper end Harrels and Neil Jones to home made dippers. I have belding and mulls, herters reddings lyman rcbs and a couple home made ones. Discounting the Harrels and Neil jones (high end measures competing with std production measures isn't really fair comparison). The belding and mulls are very good with most powders including black powder. Hoppers may be on the small size for larger cartridge's, but very accurate. Its also 2 hand operation. The homemade ones are a cross between the B&M and rcbs little Dandy. They are a lever actuated slide with bushing to measure powder. They also do very well especially with smaller pistol charges. Haven't tried them with stick powders. The Lyman's one 55 and a BP model are accurate and food measures I find them a little harder to set. I try to set with large main slide with in 1-2 grns then second slide with in .5-1 and to weight with 3 rd slide. Like this they run very well. The worse is to have one slide over hang the others. I have added a baffle to the BP measure made very little difference. The redding and herters are side dial adjust and while accurate are touchy to set to exact tenths of a grain. The Redding br 30 with micrometer adjustment is good and easy to adjust, throws accurate charges with few problems it came with a nice baffle. The rcbss Lil Dandy and uniflow Ill take seperatly the Lil dandy first a good measure for small charges accurate and easy to use. The addition of a lever to the rotor helps me a lot. You do need a assortment of rotors 1 for each charge. rotors can be fine tuned with tape or epoxy easily. nice sized hopper. Once you have the rotor for a load resetting is easy. The uniflow (2) is my least used measure One is stock and has both large and small rotors. the other was a complete overhaul with clearances held to .001 or less. The new drum was hardened with a carbide cut ring fitted in. It also has end plates to set end play. Its better than the stock one but not the equal of the others. The stock one suffers from large clearances and end play I believe. The overhauled one with the larger drum does good with larger charges but small charges get iffy. It is very smooth and operates easily.

For a "over the counter " measure The Lyman 55 is a good choice. out of the box. disassemble it and clean with alcohol good let dry, dry lube and reassemble. then Learn to use it.

For high end measure the Harrels, Neil Jones, B&M or a culiver conversion.

[44magLeo]

I like my 55's, I have 3 now.
I do use a baffle in them This helps keep the measure consistent no matter how much powder is in the hopper.
I used medicine bottles as baffles. Find one that is a slip fit in the hopper. Early versions have a different hopper than later versions. The early are thicker walled so a bit smaller inside. Cut the bottom off about an inch high. Drill a couple holes in the bottom. One on each side. A 1/4 inch holes seems to work well.
I set the measure so it throws the charge I want, then throw ten charges into the scale pan. This should be ten times a much as your single charge. Make adjustments with the smallest slide to get ten charges that are ten times the single charge.
I then fill a few cases and check the weights. If good I start charging cases. Check every tenth charge to be sure it's still right.
I get charges to within less than .1 grs. Been doing this for years.
I did some testing by weighing each and every charge. Then shot them. I could see no difference in accuracy.
I have tried several electronic scales. I found the repeatability wasn't as good as my measure.
Even on the most expensive scale I would set one bullet on the scale ten times and get 8 different readings. Not by a small amount, On cat a 265 gr bullet it could vary as much as two grs. On a 148 gr by over 1 gr. Jacketed were just as bad.
Went back to the beam scale for weighing my cast boolits.
Leo

[country gent]

A simple baffle can be made from a soda bottle pretty easily. You don't need a lot of fancy tools either.

Tools required: dividers / compass to mark circles, metal ruler or straight edge, calipers to measure the ones in the reloading room should be fine. house hold scissors, hole punch leather or paper. Masking tape. a pencil wont mark on the plastic.

Cut out the center of a soda bottle so you have a nice square piece. roll in reverse and et it as flat as possible. You can tape it to a board to work on also, this actually works good.
Measure the hoppers inner dia
Lay out a straight line 6" long along one edge half of dia + 1/4" and a center line of the 6" line
Set the dividers / compass to 1/2 the diameter of the hopper +.005 Use the calipers here.
measure 5/16" from each side of center line and mark a circle from each
with the straight edge mark the outside of the circles together
On each edge mark a circle centered on the centerline the dia of the punch. these are the openings for the powder to flow thru. start small and adjust as needed.
cut out out side of baffle with the scissors following the line as close as possible. punch the 2 holes 1 on each end.
remove tape and clean adhesive off
fold in half
sand to fit hopper
Install and test

This makes a Vee shaped baffle that feds from each end. You can open the end holes with the punch if desired

[Green Frog]

My only complaint about using the average #55 (assuming it’s in good shape, clean, and properly dry lubed) is how slow it is for me to adjust it “just right.” I’m a big fan of the measures using predrilled rotors... I have a couple each of RCBS Little Dandy, Lyman Accu-Measure, and Pacific Pistol Measures with a full assortment of rotors for all but the last ones. 8-)

For stick powders, I’ve never found any rotating drum to be but so accurate... the best I ever found for the old IMR4759 was an Ideal #5 Micrometer with its deep for volume cavity ratio. The B&M with its lever cutoff and deep cavity runs second, but I’ve never found any powder drop measure that really thrives on long stick powders. [smilie=b:

I’ve been collecting powder measures for about 30 years and none has ever struck me as perfect. The Harrell comes close, but even it has its limitations. JMHO, YMMV. :wink:

[robg]

got an orange one in 82 still throws +- a tenth of a grain with non flake powders.

[atr]

YES...technique !!!
do everything the same
One tip I can offer is to keep the cylinder filled to about the same level for each 10 to 15 rounds charged. The other thing I have found is that you need to use the correct slide pullout for the different powders.
atr

[1hole]

How accurate (consistent) the dropped weights from any volume measure/dispenser depends a lot on what the user considers accurate.

Consistantiancy with any measure demands not only good operating technique but the powder type itself comes into play. Coarse powders are worst; flake powders tend to get jammed in the rotor; sphericals measure very well but they have limited burn rates and are (sometimes) hard to ignite. And all powders, including the same type, tend to have slightly varying mass per volume.

Bottom line, anyone hoping to find a powder measure at any price that drops everything within a tenth grain each time he flips a lever is doomed to frustration. That's why there's a good market for powder tricklers.

IMHO, when used correctly the old Lyman/Ideal 55 still works as well or better than any measure, that's why it has lasted so long in the market. But, to achieve its potential it has three sliding cavity adjustments; that means there's a learning curve to adjusting it properly for each powder type and volume/weight.

[robg]

I use a Lee ppm for flake powders ,keep the 55 for fine powders.