Lee Dipper Set Inconsistent Weights

I am sorry I cannot help you. My O.C.D. Will only allow me to scale every load, beam scale only! my OCD says e-scales unless extreamly expensive, all suck and generally drift or are inconsistent and generally only accurate to .3 + or -. My OCD says not good enough. My OCD says if if not dead on dump and remeasure the charge until it is dead on.

Now you know that having OCD and being a reloader sucks.... so having OCD and useing a scoop that is just fricken crazy talk brother.......Crazy Talk I say.
 
I have used Lee dippers for many years, to fill my scale pan and to trickle into it. Found them to be simple and quick for doing that. If I get going in a rhythm I can probably beat most electronic dispensers. I also have an older quick dampening scale, a Hornady-Pacific, far quicker than the RCBS 505. But they are labor intensive. Most powders throwers don't much like longer stick powders either, you wind up crunching and cutting grains with every throw, much prefer to use short grained powder or ball or flake with a thrower.
 
I use a RCBS Precision Powder Drop (validated with beam scale), is very consistent and I confirm every 5th drop when reloading. Also, if not into the habit, make sure to always check dropped powder in cases with a flashlight once loaded. You only make that mistake once..(no powder and squib load, cause the 50gr Vmax .223 to be pushed into barrel), did not sound right and thank goodness I stopped to check it out.
 
Here is a story some of you will find amusing.

Once upon a time I was involved with IMR as a consultant on the R &D side.

I visited their manufacturing facility in Valleyfield, Quebec. Everyone was either an accountant or a tech weenie. No shooters. (I guess that was my role.)

As you know, powder makers publish a loading manual based on their test results.

I visited with the fellow who did the load development.

He had a 2 x 4 piece of wood with holes drilled in it to hold the empty cases. He had a cereal bowl of the test powder, a teaspoon and a fancy scales.

He had never heard of a powder thrower or a trickler.

On the next visit I brought him a loading block, a powder thrower, a trickler, a champfer tool, a cleaning rod (he didn't have one of those, either) He was a happy camper.
 
Here is a story some of you will find amusing.

Once upon a time I was involved with IMR as a consultant on the R &D side.

I visited their manufacturing facility in Valleyfield, Quebec. Everyone was either an accountant or a tech weenie. No shooters. (I guess that was my role.)

As you know, powder makers publish a loading manual based on their test results.

I visited with the fellow who did the load development.

He had a 2 x 4 piece of wood with holes drilled in it to hold the empty cases. He had a cereal bowl of the test powder, a teaspoon and a fancy scales.

He had never heard of a powder thrower or a trickler.

On the next visit I brought him a loading block, a powder thrower, a trickler, a champfer tool, a cleaning rod (he didn't have one of those, either) He was a happy camper.

Man, that sounds like every engineer story. The guy that knows everything there is know about something, except how to use it.
 
Man, that sounds like every engineer story. The guy that knows everything there is know about something, except how to use it.

There is a bad assumption that engineers are truly smart with common sense
Having worked with them for over 40 years you do find they odd one with both and they are keepers
The best engineers I have seen were tradesmen first and then went back to school
Like I always said if we engineers are so smart why do we need tradesmen to go behind us to fix everything we design
Cheers
 
So , you mean to say, that all that trickling, weighing every charge on the balance beams , has been a waste of time?
All I had to do was fill a scoop and dump it in there?
 
So , you mean to say, that all that trickling, weighing every charge on the balance beams , has been a waste of time?

All I had to do was fill a scoop and dump it in there?

In a nutshell... Yes.

2.8 C.C - Lee Dipper & Varget

01. 38.54
02. 39.30 (very likely this was operator error but this will happen)
03. 38.56
04. 38.04
05. 38.28
06. 38.54
07. 38.48
08. 38.38
09. 38.64
10. 38.68
11. 38.04
12. 38.78
13. 38.40
14. 38.22
15. 38.70
16. 38.56
17. 38.06
18. 38.20
19. 38.22
20. 38.16

"Technique" I used was simple - overfill dipper and then use my pinky finger to lightly push and level. Medium speed and only one sweep.

A&D fx-120 was calibrated as per manufacturer instructions with 100g certificated stainless steel weight.

Second calibration was done between measurements 10 and 11.

You might try not scooping. Push the dipper into the powder, fill, lift & card. Practice doing it like this & you might surprise yourself how accurate dipping can be.

I think you are correct. Next time I have some free time I will test it with your method.
 
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IME, the lee perfect powder measure throws within 0.3grains with varget and H4350. So the scoops are delegated to adding or stripping off excess at the scale. In a 223 you will see the difference - in an 06 hmmm perhaps not. You may want to look into using that tool to help speed up your reloading process. My 2c
 
In a nutshell... Yes.

2.8 C.C - Lee Dipper & Varget

01. 38.54
02. 39.30 (very likely this was operator error but this will happen)
03. 38.56
04. 38.04
05. 38.28
06. 38.54
07. 38.48
08. 38.38
09. 38.64
10. 38.68
11. 38.04
12. 38.78
13. 38.40
14. 38.22
15. 38.70
16. 38.56
17. 38.06
18. 38.20
19. 38.22
20. 38.16

"Technique" I used was simple - overfill dipper and then use my pinky finger to lightly push and level. Medium speed and only one sweep.

A&D fx-120 was calibrated as per manufacturer instructions with 100g certificated stainless steel weight.

Second calibration was done between measurements 10 and 11.



I have used Lee dippers with Varget extensively. I wasn’t able to obtain anywhere near that level of consistency.
 
I can usually get it within half a grain with any powder using Lee dippers, if you’re off by two or three grains you’re not using the right technique. Put powder in an open bowl like a margarine tub and push it down, don’t scoop, just shake it off or scrape it even with a business card or credit card, you should be within .4-.2 grains.
 
I have used Lee dippers with Varget extensively. I wasn’t able to obtain anywhere near that level of consistency.

What scale are you using to confirm your consistency?

I started with Lee Classic Loader system many many many years ago but have not loaded ammo that way in who knows how long. This was my second time playing witt Lee Dipper Set.

Less then 10 minutes total use. You must be doing something wrong.
 
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What scale are you using to confirm your consistency?

I started with Lee Classic Loader system many many many years ago but have not loaded ammo that way in who knows how long. This was my second time playing witt Lee Dipper Set.

Less then 10 minutes total use. You must be doing something wrong.

Frankfurt Arsenal cheap scale. Only has .1gn resolution. I was getting an extreme spread of more than a couple grains. I’ve played with the dippers every way possible and they do not yield that kind of consistency. This is especially with Varget.
 
^This^ 👍

I use the dippers too, it's a cheap alternative to using a powder measure since I know my OCD won't let me NOT scale every charge anyway.
I simply use the dipper that gets me just below the desired charge weight and then trickle up, it may be slightly heaped or not quite full to do that.
Most powder measures don't work well with cylindrical powder, it wants to jam and then tries to shear the sticks of powder.
I'd sooner have the simplicity of dipping a scoop of powder, dump it in the scale pan, then trickle up to the charge weight I want. That is usually arrived at within a single kernel of stick powder.
It takes a few seconds longer, but time isn't a big deal for me. I reload to relax and spend time in my chosen hobby, not dash through the process.
On the flip side, I load shotgun using a MEC 600 with volumetric powder and shot bushings. My powder charges vary about 0.3-0.4 gr from drop to drop. That doesn't amount to a hill of beans in a shotgun load, the clays really can't tell the difference.
Loading rifle ammo for long range shooting is a totally different ball of wax, obviously.
Each to their own.

The Lee Dipper helps with my OCD as well. Good enough is good enough with the dippers for my plinking needs!
 
Redone.

2.8 C.C - Lee Dipper & Varget

01. 38.58
02. 38.58
03. 38.68
04. 38.64
05. 38.84
06. 38.40
07. 38.36
08. 38.78
09. 38.06
10. 38.38
11. 38.46
12. 38.44
13. 38.58
14. 38.90
15. 38.30
16. 38.28
17. 38.98
18. 38.58
19. 38.68
20. 38.58

Two differences - I didn't do the second calibration between measurements 10 and 11. My speed also felt slower this time around. Without going down the rabbit hole I believe I subconsciously slowdown. Beside that, my technique didn't change, only one pinky leveling sweep.

A&D fx-120 was calibrated as per manufacturer instructions with 100g certificated stainless steel weight, etc, etc...
 
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OP, how did you determine that your scale is truly accurate and repeatable? That would be the first challenge to overcome.

For my own amusement a few years ago I compared Lee dipper loads with the powder heaping compared to charges with the powder carded off. I had expected the heaped charges to be more uniform, since the height of the heap is a function of gravity and the carded charges could conceivably compress the charges, making them less uniform. As it turned out the carded charges were more uniform. I used the 2.8cc scoop and 3031 powder, 10 carded charges were weighed, then 10 heaping. The heaping charges ranged between 37.6 grs and 38.5 for a difference of .9 grs. The carded charges ran from 34.5 to 35.2 grs for a difference of .7 grs. Had I done the test with ball powder, or a short extruded powder like Varget, I'm confident the consistency would improve. Had I conducted the test with a courser grain extruded powder like original H-4831, I'm confident consistency would have suffered. I always weigh extruded powder, and I always throw ball powder, keeping the height of the powder column in the powder measure fairly constant.
 
Hey guys,

In an effort to speed up reloading on the cheap I got some lee powder dippers. I was hoping that I could overfill the dipper, swipe it with a credit card and end up with a reasonably consistent measure. With the 3.1cc and H4895 powder (powder is a few years old at least), I get anywhere from 44.1 to 41.7gr on a scale that I know to be reliable, which obviously just doesn't make sense with me doing everything very consistently. I'm kind of wondering if my powder has differing amounts of water absorption from the atmosphere, which is throwing off each scoop I do, but other than that, I can't seem to think of anything that could be causing this large of a discrepancy. Any thoughts? According to the chart it should be measuring around 42.6gr.

I've been doing precision shooting using this same powder and getting good results just using the scale as well... Very confusing.

Any help is appreciated!

Apparently, when your employees are scooping ice cream from the ice cream containers, you want them to scoop up (rather than down), to maximize your profit margin. (Or so I was told by an ice cream baron.) And in Richard Lee's book, Modern Reloading, he discusses the same sort of phenomenon with gun powder. Apparently, according to him, the way you get the powder into the scoop matters greatly, if you desire consistency.

<https://leeprecision.com/modern-reloading-2nd-ed.html>

<https://www.cabelas.ca/product/4622/modern-reloading-second-edition-by-richard-lee>

<https://www.amazon.ca/Lee-Precision-Modern-Reloading-Format/dp/B000N8OKAU>
 
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