Lee Auto Drum - fixing inconsistent powder drops

Are you wiping out the tapered area periodically?

After I'm sure the mating surfaces are clear of leftover bits. I over-tighten the assembly screw slightly. Then, while running the ram up and down, I back the screw off til the spring can take the drum back to home position.

Also check to be sure the rubber piece that serves as a wiper is in good order and in place.

I have run a bunch of AA#2 through both my RCBS Uniflows and Hornady LNL powder measures and both are very accurate and do not leak at all. Having never seen or used H110 but I cannot imagine it is finer than AA#2. If your auto drum pro isn't leaking and is producing accurate loads with HP-38 but not H110 after putting several pounds through it then the problem is obvious I would think.

No talking or Hi, You Tubers! Just jazzy music!!

Be sure it is adjusted correctly

Noirfan,

Have you tried running graphite through the system? I found that using graphite allows me to really get the drum tight, but it will still move freely. I have not had the opportunity to use it with very fine powders though. Pete

I have no experience with H110, but am using a fairly fine-grained ball powder (CFE Pistol) in the Auto Drum. When I first started using it I tried to tighten the nut as tightly as I could, and had leakage and inconsistent drops. I found it worked best to tighten the nut as little as practicable, along with taking the drum out and meticulously cleaning the wiper and the rim where it seats in the edge of the casting, as well as the seating surface in the casting. Once assembled with the nut just a bit tighter than required to seat the works resulted in no leakage and much more consistent drops due to the spring being able to reliably drive the action through its full travel as it didn't have to overcome additional friction produced by tightening the nut what proved to be excessively.

NoirFan said:

Hi all, I have just hit the 3000-round mark with my new Lee turret. So far I am mostly happy with the setup, but I have noticed a problem when using the Auto Drum with finer powders. With coarse powder like HP38 loading 38 special, it's very consistent and works every time. With fine powder like H110, it will drop a light load or even no powder at all about 10% of the time. I don't really trust it with H110 and as such I've been hand-weighing all my 357 mag charges.

It also leaks a lot with H110, not sure if there is a fix for that.

I would appreciate any troubleshooting advice!

Click to expand...

NoirFan, could you supply a little more detail. My main concern is the "no powder at all" statement. What press are you running? Are you using the Lee Auto Drum as it originally came or have you made any changes, like the disconnector? If you can answer these few questions I believe I can help you with making it would properly.

I use H110/W296 in my auto drum with no leakage. Very consistent drops.
I would suggest: disassemble, wipe clean, check the inside of the metal drum receptacle for loose grains--wipe it clean. Reassemble, tighten til the drum will not return after a drop, and loosen til it does consistently.
Good luck.

Stuff a little piece of soft paper (like a spit ball) In the slot behind the disconnector bar. If you accidentally push that rod it will stop the powder flow.

There is no need to put graphite or anything in the unit. There is enough in the powder. I have never wiped the seal and have several rotors set for different powders,

NoirFan said:

Hi everyone, thanks for the tips and videos. I will try all these things and see if it helps the next time I am using H110. It may be that I overtightened the drum to prevent leaks and that is causing issues. I'll try a more thorough cleaning of the drum and gasket.


Hi, I'm using the Lee Classic Turret press. I took the disconnector off the auto drum but have not made any other changes.

Click to expand...

NoirFan, in removing the disconnector, be sure the screw is moved from its original hole to the one shown in this photo. This keeps the link from being able to move to the disconnect spot.