Lee Drum measure

[dearslayer]

Hi all…. Well my excitement and enthusiasm to start to learn to reload has been an exercise in disappointment and frustration. This Lee drum measure that I recently purchased with the Lee Classic Turret press works only the odd time. I can throw 20 times in a row to ensure the powder is accurate on the scale before I start to reload and it will work and then when I actually start to load, all a sudden there will be no power or very little in the case. I can try it many times and still nothing in the case. The hopper is full. I removed the drum and made sure it was installed correctly with no blockages etc. I even polished the inside of the measure the where the drum goes to ensure everything is as smooth as possible. I’ve noticed that the hole in the drum where the powder goes doesn’t always line up ( on return ) with the hole in the measure where the powder is dropped from, but it’s not off by that much to prevent getting any powder in the case at all! I’m using HP 38 and I’ve read a bunch of threads on here that state that this powder throws pretty good. I’m at wits end on how to make this measure work. Anyone have the same issue that can offer up some suggestions?

I'm sure there are questions to be asked that I haven't provided so please ask away and I'll do my best to answer and explain.

 

[Standardvel]

The hopper can be turned left or right to open or close the bottom hole inlet to the drum, also by adjusting the powder through die up or down effects the amount the drum turns, when the press handle is completely down the hole in the drum should be more or less lined up with hopper outlet make sure the die is not so low to cause bottoming out of the drum linkage.
Also some stick type powders are tough to meter.

 

[Standardvel]

I see you are not using a stick powder. hp-38 does meter good another thing be sure not to short stroke the press handle at the powder station the casing pushing up against the expanding/flare die actuates the powder drum.

 

[dearslayer]

The hopper can be turned left or right to open or close the bottom hole inlet to the drum, also by adjusting the powder through die up or down effects the amount the drum turns, when the press handle is completely down the hole in the drum should be more or less lined up with hopper outlet make sure the die is not so low to cause bottoming out of the drum linkage.
Also some stick type powders are tough to meter.

I made sure that the hopper is turned proper, to the open position to allow powder drop. I've also adjusted the powder through die as per Lee die instructions ( turn die till it touches the case holder, and reverse one full turn ) to get the proper amount of flare ( fine adjustments thereafter ). If the die is too low I get to much flare and if I raise the die to get less flare I suppose that would affect the drum turning so how do I get both set proper without sacrificing one or the other. Also I'm not short stroking the lever at all... in fact I make sure to bottom out with maybe more force than should be required due to the fact that I thought maybe the little extra force / vibration would ensure powder shake up to dislodge any powder in case it was blocked/stuck. I will try tomorrow to screw the die down more then necessary just to see if it dispenses proper amount of powder if any at all.

I've watched lots of YouTube videos regarding this set up. One I watched says to tighten the drum all the way full stop then back it off 1/4 to 1/2 turn. I even tried this as well with no luck. I've also noticed powder leakage as well.
I hope to figure this out soon. I was hoping things would work better than this.

 

[dearslayer]

Well I removed the drum and used some 1000 wet dry paper on it to smooth it out and finished with 2000 to smooth it even more and it at least worked well enough to load 10 rounds of .45acp. I done about 10-15 throws before reloading to ensure it remained consistent. Fingers crossed that the it was only the roughness of the drum that prevented it from rotating freely to allow the holes to line up correctly between drum and housing. I'll be ordering new drums for it just in case.

GT