powder throwers

[jballs918]

hey guys i got mine set up tonight. its a lee, got it with my kit. im having a bit of a problem getting a even throw. i'm wondering if this is from the scale i have also. i have the lee one also. i was just wondering if you guys with a better scale have any luck with the lee powder thrower.

thanks
jason

[Four Fingers of Death]

You have a Lee with the kit you bought, but I'm not clear on what else you wrote, do you have a second thrower or am I misreading it?

Persist with it, I found that it took an enormous amount of time to become really comfortable with my first powder thrower which was and RCBS / Ohaus. They seem to have a mind of their own like shopping trolleys.

I currently use Lee auto disks for de steenking pistolas and an old Redding for rifles. The Lee auto disks have never missed a beat and virtually all of the slide type measures on the market pay royalties to Lee for the idea. The Redding is a joy to use. If you are going to buy another measure I would recommend one of these.

Don't spend money yet though, throw your powder into the cases, lay them out in trays of 50, look at the levels of each carefully (bright sunlight is best for this, but under the light is ok) hen take 5 rounds randomly from each tray and test weigh them. Persist and I am sure you will get good results from it.

Enjoy.

[rbstern]

Jason, how many different powders did you try?

Also, did you prep the powder measure by either washing it with dishwashing detergent or whiping down the interior with a Bounce sheet to remove the static electricity?

[MT Gianni]

I use mr Lee's number system to get close and no more. I find it to be off from thrown charges on 2 different scales. I get a consistent thrown charge and try it at least 5 times to make sure it is duplicating itself each time. then weighing every 10th charge shows me it is running right. Thin ball powders like ww296, H110 etc are a pain in the but as they leak but usually accurate. The IMR sticks get thrown to just under a grain and trickled in with a small Lee scoop until the balance beam comes up. Gianni.

[Maven]

Jason, Almost all powder measures work well with certain powders and if you operate it consistently. The Lee "Perfect" measure works quite well with ball powders, but as MT Gianni said, it will leak the finer ones, e.g., WC 820, H 110. WC 860, on the other hand, meters most consistently. Extruded or "stick" powders, e.g. IMR 4198, 3031, 4064 and 4350 meter OK, but the range of [charge weight] variation is greater with them: The coarser the powder, the more variation (and not just with the Lee). Strive to operate the handle with the same force at the beginning and end of the stroke and for the same amount of time in order to decrease that variation. Until you get the hang of it, it's probably a good idea to set the measure for a given charge of powder X and then throw, weigh, record 50 individual throws and then average them. (Use a calculator for this.) Although it's a major PITA, do this for each powder you use and you'll be able to quickly reestablish the setting you need. Btw, I also put a small slip of paper in the empty measure with the powder type and charge I last used. Although it's not as robust as other powder measures, the Lee, if not perfect, is certainly reliable and accurate enough if you use scale along with it.

[Junior1942]

It takes a delicate touch, but you can fine tune a Lee Auto Disk measure. Carefully file down the two potmetal rails upon which the black plastic hopper base sits. File until there's just a tad of clearance between the hopper base and a charge bar. DON'T file too much or a charge bar will bind!

Remove the heavy spring and polish all moving parts. Lube sliding mating surfaces with graphite. You'll be amazed at the difference in the smoothness of operation of the measure. But you'll be highly p----d if you make one too many passes on a rail with a file. . . .