Lee Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure ??

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Northof49

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I am just setting up my Lee Turret Press and have what seems to be an issued with both the Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure and the Auto Disk Powder Measure. I have tried both 231 and Unique powder but find that what the Lee chart says for a given disk does not come close to what actually gets thrown.

I am trying to load 45 ACP with Winchester 230 gr MC bullets. The Lee book calls for Min 4.8 and Max of 5.2 and suggests using the .43 auto-disk for this load. All thrown loads using this disk weight out at around 4.0 or less.

I tried using a larger auto-disk but they are not very consistent when weighed. Anyone got any solutions for this set up? Does this recipe seem right since the powder is only half filling the case.

Thanks
 
I am using the .49 disk for approx 5.3 grains of Win 231 with vaious 230 gr plated and cast bullets (.45ACP, 1.25" OAL approx) and am happy with the charge it is throwing. This is the first disk I tried and it is close enough to the load I was manually weighing before to use in my 1911.
 
the lee book is full of pussy loads anyway- get yourself a decent reloading book( my speer says 5.1 for a bottom and 6.2 for a top using 231- ) and an adjustable charger and USE A SCALE- the first thing i did was throw those wheels in the bottom of my junk box
 
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Most powders cast about .2 grains light of the charge stated on the chart.

**** Check that you have the canister turned to "on." ****

Check that the flow is not restricted by something unexpected - like a hair etc...

After much use - including 10K .45 acp - I have come to trust my Autodisk - after a little tinkering.

I changed the machine screws for much longer ones so I can change discs without disassembling it - just loosen the nuts a lot, and slip a different disc in.

I wish the discs were marked for size around the outside of the disc.
 
I tried the .49 disk but it still was not throwing enough powder. Does the disk have to be cleaned prior to use?

Low loads - I agree my Lyman manual calls for min of 5.2 and max of 5.8 with TMJ. Is there a difference between MC and TMJ?
 
they used to say to wash them in warm, soapy water and let thoroughly dry BEFORE useage- however, i haven't looked in quite a while- same deal for the dippers- mc should mean metal cased( ie jacketed) whereas tmj- fully encased metal jacket- basically, the difference is the nose- at least that's how i take it- as far as the loads are concerned, there is NO DIFFERENCE- now if you want to make these wheels read right, i have heard( and this is only speculation)that you can take a drill bit and clean up the hole a bit- there may be a bit of flash left in yours-just match the diameter, insert it and turn it ONCE BY HAND- that should do it
 
Oh - on further thought - if the disc is not sliding all the way to the drop hole, you will get an incomplete drop - or if it is not returning properly to the filling position, you will not get a complete fill of the cavity. Also, you will get inconsistent loads.
 
anchor3593 said:
Oh - on further thought - if the disc is not sliding all the way to the drop hole, you will get an incomplete drop - or if it is not returning properly to the filling position, you will not get a complete fill of the cavity. Also, you will get inconsistent loads.
Click to expand...

Been there, done that, had to pull 200 cartridges, tinkered with the thing, tried some more, tinkered some more, couldn't get it straightened out, it started to jam up, I couldn't trust it, sold the damed thing, I'm glad I did, and I will never even consider buying another one........I'm just sayin'........;)
 
I like the disk and there is a chart in the back of the Lee book that gives a fairly accurate throw weight. keep in mind powder can vary by up to 10%. It pays to check the throw on a scale before using or when you change the setup. It also helps to keep notes for your favorite load. the Lee loads are on the light side, which is fine by me.
 
The ajustable charge bar works better than the "wagon wheels". It can be easily tweaked to your specifications and is more consistant in throwing charges.
 
All the wheel's are made to throw 10% less for safety's sake.
I came across a site that a guy had the same problem. His fix was to go bigger in cavity size the fill it in a little. He used hot glue but I've heard about drilling a hole and putting a set screw into it and thus making an adjustable cavity.
I had the same problem with mine but found to be on the lower side of pressure/velocity wasn't a bad thing, and I load for an M1 Carbine that's been redone by Lemag to .45 win mag so the barrel is credit card thin.
 
The instruction manual does say that washing with soap and water will possible get rid of any static electricity that is preventing a proper measure but I'm still not too happy that the throws are inconsistent and considerably lower that what the Lee guide is saying. I will probably see if I can pick up the adjustable unit and give it a try.
 
how much variance are we talking about?- even the best powder measures vary about about one notch either way on a scale- ie you get one light, one zero, and one below on the pointer
 
Just try the next size up! How low are we talking here. Realistically this thing is meant for reloading pistol rounds, and in my opinion does not have to be that accurate. If you want accurate you need to buy a different powder measure that is the fact of the matter. I have started using the perfect powder measure for rifle rounds.
 
As mentioned earlier it may be the disc is not traveling far enough fwd to dump a full load. Very common. U need to make sure the casing is traveling up enough in the charging die to allow the disc to travel fully forward dumping the entire charge and when the ram is raised to the resting position, the charging dies is not hanging up. If it doesnt return to its full resting position you will not get consistent charges. Those things are notorious for sticking and either not coming forward enough or back far enough to get full charges. Check your tension screw on the side of the mechanism where the small spring steel disc resides. I even found that it matters which way the disc is inserted which seemed silly but worked. With cavity .53 I get a consistent 5.2g of W231 which is xlnt with a 230g jacketed, and proof again that every disc will vary in capacity from factory and between users. Yes, MC is Metal Cased or FMJ. TMJ is Tru Metal Jacket or EMJ which are in fact a plated bullet NOT a true metal jacket.
Every gun will be different so u will need to try a few once u get your measure problem remedied.
dB
 
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Thanks everyone for all the great advice. I ended up washing the disks in soap and water and let them dry. I first tried the .53 disk and it was throwing 4.5 - 4.7 grains. I stepped up to the .57 disk and saw consistent throws of 5.1 - 5.2.

Loaded a few but may have taper crimped a tat too much. Will try out at the range later today and see how they fire.
 
On taper crimping - Keep it to the absolute minimum, and your cases will stay cleaner. If you are not taper crimping, set the bullet seating die so that it does not squeeze the case any tighter than necessary to chamber the bullet in your gun.

If there is a powder smudge going up your case sides, the case mouths are not sealing the chamber as early in the bang as they should. Leave them as large as you can, and the cases will stay cleaner.

This smudge up the side of the case gets even worse with a hard crimped revolver bullet.

With a semi, the recoil pushes the bullets back, rather than pulling them back, so we really don't need much crimp.

If these are defense loads, ignore all the above and taper crimp tight.
 
anchor3593 said:
On taper crimping - Keep it to the absolute minimum, and your cases will stay cleaner. If you are not taper crimping, set the bullet seating die so that it does not squeeze the case any tighter than necessary to chamber the bullet in your gun.

If there is a powder smudge going up your case sides, the case mouths are not sealing the chamber as early in the bang as they should. Leave them as large as you can, and the cases will stay cleaner.

This smudge up the side of the case gets even worse with a hard crimped revolver bullet.

With a semi, the recoil pushes the bullets back, rather than pulling them back, so we really don't need much crimp.

If these are defense loads, ignore all the above and taper crimp tight.
Click to expand...

Thanks for explaining that. I could not figure out why I was getting a huge black smudge on the side of my cases through the 1911. I am using the Lee factory crimp die and looking for .471- .470 crimp on .45acp.

Going to try less crimp but hope I do not have feeding problems with 200gr swc.
 
Glenzo: That took me a long while to figure out.

Another cause of dirty cases is excess Tumble Lube. Tumble Lube is wonderful in ease of lubricating, but except for high speed bullets, very little is required.

The tip of the bullet rubs on the top of the chamber when chambering, depositing a smear of lube which will be hammered into all your cases upon firing. This gets carried into your dies and becomes a real social disease among cases. Q-tip your sizing die with something to prevent contagion.

Wiping the bullets clean of Tumble Lube after loading - using maybe a little WD on a rag would take time, but would fix that issue.

It is hard to say how little lube a guy can use really, but I'm guessing that one of those little 4 oz ? bottles would lube 10,000 .45 bullets.

I know this sounds very surprising, but I now lubricate so little that the bullets are still shiny silver - not even coloured. They feel only a tiny bit - um - unslippery. This is for a barrel which is well broken in.

It might have been something on Castboolits that freed me from worrying about a little lead in the barrel - it is acceptable as long as it is not continually building up. That is hard to get used to after running jacketed or Ranier bullets.

If it builds up and you notice it at the range, a jacketed bullet will scrape it out - according to the guy on Castboolits - I just run a brush with Choreboy strands wrapped on it - but it almost never happens.

I shoot everything over a chronograph, and I have lower SD ( standard deviation from average) when there is some lead streaking in the barrel. Also, accuracy has not suffered - as far as I can tell.

While I am babbling on here, I might as well mention what we all know, but might not bother setting properly. To extend case life, keep the bell to a minimum - don't shave the lead - or the copper from your Ranier bullets, but the belling of the case - in my experience anyways, is the life-limiting factor.

Woo - that got long - sorry - old guys do that.
 
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