Tricks to make the Lee Auto Disc more consistent...or better powder measure?

[jamison55]

I recently upgraded from a hand press to a Lee Turret press. I love the ease of and speed of reloading with the turret, but have noticed that the auto disc powder measure isn't terribly consistent. For instance, I shot 16 rounds of 45 ACP today through my chrono and had a 199 fps spread. The load was 5.5 grains of Unique behind a 230gr plated bullet. While most of them were in the 700-750FPS range, in the group of 16 I had one dip as low as 615FPS and one jump as high as 814...for a std dev of 52.37! While I know these ranges are all safe, and function the gun reliably, I'd like to figure out how to get a little more consistency. And I'm guessing the powder is the culprit, since all of the samples I picked out were pretty consistently at a 1.255 COL. I manually weigh the powder charge every 10 rounds or so, and it seems to be throwing within .2-.3 grains. I try to be careful to cycle the handle fully for each stroke.

My .357 was a little better, but still all over the place. 15.5 grains of h110 behind a 158 grain plated bullet gave me an average of about 1100FPS. But they chrono'd from 1000 fps to 1140 for a std dev of approx 31.

For comparison, my buddy shot some federal factory 9mm, and the std dev was only 16 ish, and last time I shot factory .45, the std dev was only 12ish with WWB.

Any tips on making the Lee Auto Disc more consistent?

Or is there a better powder measure system?

 

[mac1911]

There are better powder measures for sure.
How old is your auto disc. Is the powder leaking or causing the powder bar to hang up.

The new pro 1000 I have has a completely new design vs the older pro 1000 I had.
The new auto disc for starters leaks only a tiny bit of powder vs the older unit with ball powder
W296 to be precise.
I got to run 20 30carbine over the crony and had a standard deviation of 17fps. At a average of 1897fps.
The auto disc I have doesn't seem to ever drop light charges but will have +.2 here and there.

Now for 223 I set my pro 1000 up with the lee auto drum which works very well for the money.
I have run H335 and varget through it with out issues.

Oh yeah do you have the baffle in the powder hopper?

 

[Nickle]

There's lots of much better powder systems that won't break the bank.

One I think worth looking at is a Lyman 55.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N8LHD8?keywords=Lyman%2055&qid=1452302037&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

 

[Whiskeyjim]

I also recently started with the Lee hand press then got the classic turret for xmas, but I got the Auto Drum instead of the Auto disk.
Unique doesn't meter as well in the Auto drum as the smaller grained powders do, but still I get about +- .1 grain throws with Unique using the Auto drum . With finer powders like titegroup or W231 it seems to throw more like +- .05 pretty consistently. No idea how this translates to velocities.
Nice thing about the auto drum is the thinner footprint, you don't need the riser to clear the safety prime, or other dies, and the volume adjustment is continuous unlike the disk.
So far I like it, but I've never tried anything else.

 

[jamison55]

There are better powder measures for sure.
How old is your auto disc. Is the powder leaking or causing the powder bar to hang up.

The new pro 1000 I have has a completely new design vs the older pro 1000 I had.
The new auto disc for starters leaks only a tiny bit of powder vs the older unit with ball powder
W296 to be precise.
I got to run 20 30carbine over the crony and had a standard deviation of 17fps. At a average of 1897fps.
The auto disc I have doesn't seem to ever drop light charges but will have +.2 here and there.

Now for 223 I set my pro 1000 up with the lee auto drum which works very well for the money.
I have run H335 and varget through it with out issues.

Oh yeah do you have the baffle in the powder hopper?

It's a month old, so I think it's the new one. I have the lee classic turret and everything that came with the kit. Not sure about the baffle. Is that the on/off feature? I don't think the powder is leaking. Seems pretty tight. The disc doesn't seem to drop the amount of powder listed on the chart...at least with Unique. According to my digital scale that is. I can't get the hang of the manual scale that came with the kit.

 

[eo1bart]

It's a month old, so I think it's the new one. I have the lee classic turret and everything that came with the kit. Not sure about the baffle. Is that the on/off feature? I don't think the powder is leaking. Seems pretty tight. The disc doesn't seem to drop the amount of powder listed on the chart...at least with Unique. According to my digital scale that is. I can't get the hang of the manual scale that came with the kit.

I also recently bought the lee turrett kit and have been using the pro autodisk that came with it. So far I like it and it works well, however I do not have a chrono to check the fps spread.
The only thing I don't like about the disks are that you are limited to a fixed drop. IE; with Bullseye powder I can drop 4.0 or 4.3, but nothing in between. That is why I ordered one of these the other day; http://www.midwayusa.com/product/150005/lee-auto-disk-adjustable-powder-charge-bar

It should be in the mailbox today, so we'll see if it helps. Maybe it would help with you situation too.

 

[mac1911]

I also recently bought the lee turrett kit and have been using the pro autodisk that came with it. So far I like it and it works well, however I do not have a chrono to check the fps spread.
The only thing I don't like about the disks are that you are limited to a fixed drop. IE; with Bullseye powder I can drop 4.0 or 4.3, but nothing in between. That is why I ordered one of these the other day; http://www.midwayusa.com/product/150005/lee-auto-disk-adjustable-powder-charge-bar

It should be in the mailbox today, so we'll see if it helps. Maybe it would help with you situation too.

Was going to recommend the same thing.
http://leeprecision.com/adj-charge-bar.html

The auto disc is not exact. It seems to just get you close. I liked out with my 30 carbine loads and hit 14.5 grains with W296. Although it took the next size up from the lee calculation.

Lee ain't perfect by any means and if you don't have a tinkering nature it can be down right frustrating.

 

[jamison55]

That's cheap enough to to try. I'll give it a shot. But my problem isn't that it is throwing too much or too little powder, it's that it's not throwing consistently.

 

[tomp]

I have a loadmaster I switched from the auto disk to a new system available from lee called the auto drum. it seems to be a little more consistant and you can adjust fine increments . $45.00 on ebay shipped free with a large drum and small. go to lee precision or youtube and check it out might work for you.

 

[mac1911]

That's cheap enough to to try. I'll give it a shot. But my problem isn't that it is throwing too much or too little powder, it's that it's not throwing consistently.

I have learned that a consistent charge comes with a consistent set up and function.
1. It took me a while to get very consistent drops with my hornady drop.
2. On my pro 1000 I really had to mount it solid so as the only wiggle was the wiggle in the press it self.
Only other thing I can recommend is try taking a,pencil and apply pencil to all the sliding surfaces of the powder discs and sliding area...graphite will help lube it.

Ohh and another note. If you did not clean your powder measure with warm soapy water from New. Start there. Lee gets packing oil on everything.!

 

[xtry51]

Get the adjustable charge bar. It will likely solve all your issues. I never had good luck using the disks. I get +/-0.1 with the adj bar.

 

[swampy]

Unique can be a SOB no matter what powder measure you use. I had issues with IMR 800X with the auto disks. 800X is a tough powder similar to Unique. I had powder bridging in the drop tube leaving some cases nearly empty and overfilling the next one. I tried polishing the drop tube. Polishing the plate that the Lee disks ride on with a small bunch of neverdull helps a little. (It helps the ejection chute too.) This sounds counter-intuitive but loosening the press a little so it shakes when you operating it helps the powder get settled into the disk...like the old mantra of tapping the handle of an RCBS powder measure 3 times before dropping each charge. You do need to be somewhat consistent in how you operate your press too as being rough with a stroke then taking it easy for a few etc can cause inconsistent powder charges.

For most of the calibers I run I use the Hornady LNL powder measures or the older version of it by Pacific which requires buying the contraption that operates the measure with the case...it ain't cheap but certainly improves the consistency with most powders...Unique still sucks to work with. I have several of the Hornady measures on my Loadmaster turrets and one on my Pro1000. I still use the auto disk for 38sp with Red Dot powder and it is consistent.

 

[TayNinh_66]

W231 for 9mm fills up the case to a level that I can see before seating. I keep thinking I should add an LED light to make it even easier to spot a half fill.
I wipe all parts of the measure, particularly the hopper with Bounce dryer sheets to minimize static cling.
I do frequent spot checks with digital scale but it does slow everything down.

 

[55_grain]

What powder and charge weight are you using for the .45's?
I use the auto-disc for fine "ball" type powders, but not anything chunky. You are right that the throw weight doesn't line up well with the Lee book.

 

[swampy]

W231 for 9mm fills up the case to a level that I can see before seating. I keep thinking I should add an LED light to make it even easier to spot a half fill.
I wipe all parts of the measure, particularly the hopper with Bounce dryer sheets to minimize static cling.
I do frequent spot checks with digital scale but it does slow everything down.

The Dollar Tree stores sell a book light with a spring clamp and a 5 inch+/- flexable arm with a light on the end. They clamp onto the dies and can flex well enough to shine into most ACP cases. They last quite a while too as long as you remember to shut it off when done.

 

[swampy]

What powder and charge weight are you using for the .45's?
I use the auto-disc for fine "ball" type powders, but not anything chunky. You are right that the throw weight doesn't line up well with the Lee book.

I've always been perplexed that a non adjustable space like a Lee auto disk will throw a changable weight of smokeless powder from hour to hour, day to day, etc. We go for consistent powder weight but why does the powder weight change so much if the volume of the measure doesn't change? In theory once a volume is set the powder weight should remain consistent barring humidity and temperature changes. If you change the powder measure setting several times in a run of ammo...say 1000 rounds, are you really getting a consistent powder weight? What happens to the ammo you loaded before changing the powder measure setting? Did the powder already loaded change weight too? Is a few .cc of increased or decreased volume to maintain a tenth or 2 of a grain of powder weight the true way to stay consistent? If the volume of the powder isn't changed yet the weights differs day to day or hour to hour is it the environment that the scale measuring the powder is being more affected than the physical weight of the powder? I guess what I'm getting to is long winded approach to when the powder weight changes should we rezero the scale and check the weight again before we adjust the powder measure?

 

[Clumber32]

I have the Auto disk, and I recently bought the Auto drum. I like the Auto drum better.

 

[EddieZoom]

Sorry, but I have to say it....Blue.

;-)

 

[TrashcanDan]

Depends on the composition of the powder.
Back when I first got into reloading all I could afford at the time was lee stuff, and noticed certain powders worked well, and some did not.
What I used to do to "square things off" or get it more consistent was give the powder measure a flick with my finger when it was filling the cavity. Wasn't "match grade" consistent, but close enough for power factor.

There was an issue with everything being plastic and a static charge buildup.
Not enough to cause any kind of fire hazard, but enough to cause some powders to kind of stick or cling to the hopper.

 

[mac1911]

Sorry, but I have to say it....Blue.

;-)

screw blue

 

[NavelOfficer]

I've got to say that Shooter's World Clean Shot is a dream for non-stick metering, but that doesn't address your dispenser question at all.

 

[noylj]

Well, the Lee Pro Auto-Disk is one of my most reliable powder measures. The best is the Lee PPM bench-mounted. The third best is the Hornady.
For all measures:
1) completely clean it. Degrease the metal parts (I like the Hornady Dry Lube and Cleaner, but they seem to have replaced it). With the Hornady, it doesn't attack plastic and you just spray it on and let it air dry. Plastic parts are best cleaned with soapy water and also allowed to air dry. That will keep down static cling.
2) Run a hopper of graphitized powder or even powdered graphite through the measure to coat the works with some graphite dry lube. On my Auto-Disk, I use Frankforn Arsenal's Drop-Out Bullet Mold Release that is spray on graphite. I lightly coat all the disk tops and the base of the measure.
3) After you fill the hopper, shake it a few times to settle the powder and then 10 throws of powder to help it settle (pour the powder from the primed case back into the hopper after each throw). Now start to set the charge weight you want and, after getting the weight close to target, throw charges and weigh them. If they are almost all within 0.1gn, you are good to go. If not, you may need to resettle the powder and start over.
4) If you still have an issue, you can get an aquarium pump to keep the measure vibrating to always keep the powder settled. I have NOT found a baffle to be of much use, particularly in the auto-disk, but then I don't have issues with the auto-disk being very consistent.
From my loading, here are some real life VMDs:
231/HP38: 10.133
AA2: 11.735
AA5: 14.595
Clays: 6.571
Herco: 7.780
Power Pistol: 11.053
Red Dot: 6.337
Trail Boss: 4.348
Unique: 7.548
Silhouette: 13.228

 

[swampy]

That's cheap enough to to try. I'll give it a shot. But my problem isn't that it is throwing too much or too little powder, it's that it's not throwing consistently.

The issue with the disk measure can be had in nearly all measures. You need to be consistent with what you do from case to case. Every shake of the table, press, and even people walking around on the floor can create different vibrations that will pack the powder differently in the cavity of the disk. It is the same thing that makes a bag of potato chips seem half filled. If you load 10 cases only moving the case in, charging it, and putting back in a load tray you will typically get consistent charges. If you charge a case, pump a few pieces of brass through a press on the same table, charge a case, hammer the table with your fist a couple times when the ol lady tells you to take a shower, charge a case, get up to take the shower to keep the peace and bump the table when leaving and find your ol lady using your reloading table and a sneaker to adjust the cat's attitude when you return and you charge another case those cases aren't likely to be charged consistently. That pretty much goes for any powder measure. Before running to get a collection of powder measures make sure you're being consistent with your process.

 

[jamison55]

This thread got resurrected! Loaded thousands of .45s, 9mms and .357s since my first post, and found they are far more consistent when I exactly repeat every step like swampy mentioned. I'm now very happy with the Lee press and auto disc for everything bigger than .380. Rifle ammo is a little more of a pita, but I think that's news to no one, lol. Thanks for keeping your helpful hints pouring out though!