Anyone else like using Lee Dippers?

Do you like using Lee Dippers?

  • Yes

  • No

  • Don't know; haven't tried them.


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Smaug

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I guess I'm strange, but to me, it's just so satisfying to use them. They're an engineering delight: no moving parts, almost impossible to break, reliable.

Compared to using a traditional powder measure in a single stage setup, it allows the loader to combine flaring and charging with the powder-through-expander dies.

Only weakness I see is lack of intermediate volumes. On my RoundTuit List is to make a couple more with 0.4 cc and 0.6 cc capacities out of used cases.

I just wrote to Lee asking them to make intermediate volumes. I don't have high hopes, but who knows? It's really in the spirit of what Richard Lee was doing when he started the company.
 
I started reloading using Lee dippers and along the way have made several "custom" dippers. I still will occasionally grab a dipper if I have my powder measure(s) set up for a favorite charge or just for grins. With practice one can get very consistent charges. I have been able to dip charges with about a full grain difference, depending on method, but when on a roll I have kept some powder charges to within +/-.1 gr.
I have "adjusted" a few of Lee dippers by a drop or two of epoxy in the cavity, cutting down the sides for lighter charges, and drilling/honing the cavity a bit for larger charges...
 
I used them when I first started loading in the 80s, 'cause I was a poor GI and couldn't afford a scale. Later on I got custom scoops made by an old crotchety retired dude at the Ft Ord sportsman's club...he cut down brass cases to hold a specific charge of a specific powder in all the common stuff, and soldered handles to them. You'd get the 38 one for example, and fill it with whatever powder it was (I can't remember), scrape the top with a straight edge, and dump it in your case. I had one for each of the calibers I loaded, and used those for years until I could buy an actual scale.
 
Yes.

Good for making small numbers of test rounds.

I've customized a few of them, too, by shaving them down.

I actually "heap" with them. In other words I set them up so i get the absolute most amount I possibly can on it. (not on the neck) I found that pretty repeatable and I can't possibly go over too much.

They are very inexpensive and useful.
 
I like to use dippers because they can be extremely accurate and extremely safe ...
I get a little OCD about getting 1 charge in each case and dippers let me watch the powder going in and it gives me a chance to triple check the powder level with my eyeballs ... not some electrical / mechanical device that can mess up .
Also powder can't hang up in a dipper ... if it does , you see it !
I load a lot of handgun and wish Lee made a set of smaller sized dippers for measuring pistol powder . I have to make a lot of my dippers for handgun loads , the two smallest Lee dippers are
0.3 cc and 0.5 cc ... with say Titegroup 0.3 cc = 4.0 grs and 0.5 cc = 6.4 grs ...if you need something between 4.0 grs and 6.4 grs you have to make one . I made a dipper with a 25 ACP case and it dips 4.6 grs. Titegroup . They need to market a set of small dippers to handgun loaders
If Lee would make a set of small dippers ... I would buy at least two !
Gary
 
I've never used them but have considered getting a set in case of power failure. I have seen people sand down the cup to the volume they want or make new ones with pistol cases and wire in the extractor grove.
 
I actually "heap" with them. In other words I set them up so i get the absolute most amount I possibly can on it. (not on the neck) I found that pretty repeatable and I can't possibly go over too much.

Looking at the instructions, we're supposed to dip a level scoop. But when I level-scoop them, they're always light. Makes me think a heaping scoop is The Correct Way. Either that, or they need to update their charge table. (or instructions!)

Next time I find one dipper too light and the next one too heavy, I'm going to try The Heaping Scoop Method.
 
Yes. I use the chart to pick the one just under my charge, then dump a full scoop, fill another and trickle it in until the 505 zeros. When I was younger, my Dad had an RCBS measure, and it wasn't precise enough for me. I used small spoons then, I didn't have the dipper set until l set up my own reloading area.
 
Yes. I use the chart to pick the one just under my charge, then dump a full scoop, fill another and trickle it in until the 505 zeros. When I was younger, my Dad had an RCBS measure, and it wasn't precise enough for me. I used small spoons then, I didn't have the dipper set until l set up my own reloading area.
Oh, measuring spoons is a good idea! I cheap set of plastic ones would be worth the price if just one or two of them threw a useful charge...
 
In my email to Lee, I also recommended that they make them out of a conductive plastic or metal (maybe recycled steel scrap from die machining?) so they don't hold pieces of propellant with static.
 
Do you like using Lee Dippers?

Do I like using Lee Dippers; not really. However, I find them to be very useful, and would not be without them. I use them when I want to load a few cartridges to get an idea how well a particular powder functions and I don't want to spend the time setting up the powder measure.

The slide table that comes with the set is also useful as a quick reference for the relative density of various powders.
 
About all I use. I have two in 0.4CC and 0.6CC made from 0.5/0.7 respectively, with 36 caliber card wads stacked in the bottoms and pressed into place to fill the excess volume, Calibration is easy: use a syringe and plain old alcohol. The alcohol is effervescent so you don’t have to worry about water in your dipper when done.
 
Looking at the instructions, we're supposed to dip a level scoop. But when I level-scoop them, they're always light. Makes me think a heaping scoop is The Correct Way. Either that, or they need to update their charge table. (or instructions!)

Next time I find one dipper too light and the next one too heavy, I'm going to try The Heaping Scoop Method.
Dip and weigh ten in a row and tell me how close they are.
 
I use them but only as a means to get the powder from the cannister to the powder scale. After a while of throwing the same charge with a specific powder it gets pretty easy to eye-ball how full whichever scoop I'm using should be and then either add or remove some from the pan according to the scale reading.

I did buy an RCBS quick change at one point and have used it a few times but when I'm only charging & seating blocks of 50 at a time it feels like more hassle than it's worth. Maybe I'll give another go when I move my work station indoors. Most of the powder I throw is IMR 4198 and 4227 so they don't work super well with the volumetric throws but I did get some 2400 and 11FS to try out soon, they might throw easier. I've only used it before with AA#5.

But the scoop serves all powders, if you know how to work them :thumbup:
 
Looking at the instructions, we're supposed to dip a level scoop. But when I level-scoop them, they're always light. Makes me think a heaping scoop is The Correct Way. Either that, or they need to update their charge table. (or instructions!)

Next time I find one dipper too light and the next one too heavy, I'm going to try The Heaping Scoop Method.
Update or make your own charge table. The VMD is CC/gr. Get a 1CC dipper and dip 10 throws of your powder using whatever method makes you most comfortable - which *should* be the one that’s most consistent for you - then divide the average grain weight of those throws into 1. There’s the VMD for your powder using your dipper and your method. Now you can calculate the dipper you need (CC) to get the charge (grains) for your powder.
 
I use them for load development and some non-development loads. I probably use the lee Autodrum for everything over 50 rounds.
 
I had to buy the entire set, though I only wanted one dipper...the baby one. I use a FA Intellidropper, and once in a while it just misses my target (generally pistol loads). I don't want to waste time so the baby dipper s perfect for picking up a few pieces of powder or adding a couple more. Other than that I have never used them for actually loading a case.
 
Practice, practice, practice. I only use the .5 but can come darn close every time to 3.8gr Bullseye for example if that’s what I’m after and I’m no magician. Practice, practice, practice.

You will develop an ability to look at the scoop and tell you’re close or on the nose.

And since every scoop is weighed on my digital scale I get to verify & impress myself.
 
I had to buy the entire set, though I only wanted one dipper...the baby one. I use a FA Intellidropper, and once in a while it just misses my target (generally pistol loads). I don't want to waste time so the baby dipper s perfect for picking up a few pieces of powder or adding a couple more. Other than that I have never used them for actually loading a case.
Yep. I never go directly into the case. Always into the scale.
 
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