Alternative to Lee powder drum

[Iron369]

I’ve never had any problems with the Lee powder auto drum until now. I can’t, for the life of me, get consistent powder drops so I’m considering replacing it. I’ll probably just get another one of these, but just curious what others like. What alternatives are there for on the press powder drops that are compatible with the rest of the Lee setup (press, dies, etc)? I don’t want to charge off the press and there’s no need to suggest that I change to your favorite blue press setup. Thanks.

[gwpercle]

Lyman #55 Powder Measure .
The brass drum has three adjustable slides .
It will accurately measure any powder (even flakey old Unique) if you adjust the slides on the drum correctly .
I bought my first in 1967 ... I now have and use three ... I wouldn't use three if they didn't give accurate drops of powder ... I shoot a lot of Unique too !
Gary

[DougGuy]

Dillon will work on the Lee press, there is a powder thru die you can use, they have a spring that will return the slide as you lower the ram.

Lee afaik owns the patents to the auto disc and also the adjustable charge bar that the Dillon powder measures use, Dillon pays Lee royalties to use the sliding adjustable charge bar design.

If you want consistent drops, get rid of the plastic as those parts attract static which throws charge weights all over the place.

[jetinteriorguy]

If you’re loading pistol only get the Pro Auto Disc. I have known loads I’ve previously worked up and I just find whichever cavity throws just short of the load I want to duplicate. Then I carefully use a tapered reamer from the top of the disc and slowly ream and test drop until it duplicates the load I’m after. I then mark this hole on the outside of the disc and keep it in the bin with these loads for future use. I also use the new powder through expanders from NOE in conjunction with the Pro Auto Disc and it’s absolutely the best setup I’ve ever used for pistol ammo.

[John Guedry]

I'm another fan of the Lyman 55. Find one, you won't regret it.

[C.F.Plinker]

I’ve never had any problems with the Lee powder auto drum until now. I can’t, for the life of me, get consistent powder drops so I’m considering replacing it. I’ll probably just get another one of these, but just curious what others like. What alternatives are there for on the press powder drops that are compatible with the rest of the Lee setup (press, dies, etc)? I don’t want to charge off the press and there’s no need to suggest that I change to your favorite blue press setup. Thanks.

Since it was working OK at one time something may have changed. Have you taken the drum insert out and cleaned it up? If you cleaned it using alcohol it may be necessary to run powder through it again to re-establish the graphite coating. Are you using a different powder, a much larger charge of the old powder, or a different drum insert? What powder are you using now. what is the charge supposed to be, and how much is it varying? Is the screw on the insert that varies the amount being dropped clean internally and is the O-ring holding it in place?

When I tested my Auto-Drum I found that it was very consistent if the powder (WW231) was in the upper 2/3s of the hopper. If it got below this the charges started dropping.

There are quite a few users on this Forum. They can probably help if you can give us a little bit more information.

[onelight]

If it is assembled correctly and the powder through die is properly adjusted as per the directions and returns freely to the dump position when the case is pulled from the die it's gotta work
Sometimes when I can't see a problem I leave it a while , when I come back I see it :idea:

[kungfustyle]

Funny that you said that. I've always gotten accurate drops from my Uniflow and Lee Auto Drum. This winter has been an exception. Both have been off. Actually all three have been off and that includes my Dillon. I don't know if it is the static, humidity or what, but all three have been off. If you get the Uniflow and the case activated powder drop from RCBS or Hornady, they work very well. The best way is to flare the case in a separate step or buy a bunch of powder through dies that you'll have to set up for each caliber. Lee offered the cheapest solution. My suggestion is try wiping the inside down with a dryer sheet and see if that helps on the static or wait till spring to see if your still getting the variance. We live in Tennessee and run a dehumidifier all year. Right now the static is very high, so that might be the culprit.