Problem with Lee Auto Drum Powder Measure

Sounds like you are turning the whole die in and out instead of adjusting the collar that controls the linkage to the drum.

The black ring below my finger has to be turned to adjust the linkage travel, which is above my finger. The little black square must travel to the top of that slot, but not hit the top, when you pull the press handle. You set this with a cartridge in place after you have the flare you want and the die locked with the big lock ring at the base.


The black ring and the knurled ring right under must be turned individually and then lock back together when you get the travel set.

Stefan A, I'm having trouble figuring this out, so I'm just going to throw this out there:
1. Is the brass trimmed to proper length?
2. Is your flaring/charging die a Lee?
3. Are you using a Lee shell holder?


I've never had to do this:

Hugger-4641 said:

black ring below my finger has to be turned to adjust the linkage travel

Click to expand...

I had that trouble with the auto drum and traced it to the overly stiff internal spring.
On larger (thin wall) cases (like 45 colt) the case would be expanded/flared before any upward movement (spring compression) of the expander to actuate the powder measure.

So the case would be expanded/flared without any powder measure actuation, like the OP described as the initial adjustment.
Lowering the die will cause excessive flaring until the spring is overcome and the measure cycles, also as described by the OP in post #1.

My fix was to go back to the tried and true auto DISC.
I use the wrap around spring arm on the auto DISC but with an extension spring for smoother operation.
No chain for me:

It's easy to unhook that spring and throw a charge by hand to weigh and verify.
Something you can't do with the Auto Drum without cycling the press.
jmo,
.
same setup/different press/2 risers:

I use that bicycle mirror to verify a powder charge is in every case before placing a bullet in it.

sparkyv said:

Stefan A, I'm having trouble figuring this out, so I'm just going to throw this out there:
1. Is the brass trimmed to proper length?
2. Is your flaring/charging die a Lee?
3. Are you using a Lee shell holder?


I've never had to do this:

Click to expand...

sparkyv said:

Stefan A, I'm having trouble figuring this out, so I'm just going to throw this out there:
1. Is the brass trimmed to proper length?
2. Is your flaring/charging die a Lee?
3. Are you using a Lee shell holder?


I've never had to do this:

Click to expand...

The lee shell holder shouldn't matter, I'm using a Hornady.
The manual gives instructions for setting the linkage travel. If you've never had to adjust it then then you've never changed calibers or you've been very lucky.
The brass length is a good question.
Weak brass or overly strong spring is a possibility.
But since the OP didn't know about the travel adjustment, I'm betting its set too high and he's lowering the die too far to compensate, which would cause the over flare.

I know this might require a different setup, but after using the Lee the OP is using and several other powder measures, including auto powder dispensers, this is the one I have settled on and never looked back. I do not know if you can use it with the turret however. Even throws powders like Varget right on.

Hugger-4641 said:

The black ring below my finger has to be turned to adjust the linkage travel, which is above my finger. The little black square must travel to the top of that slot, but not hit the top, when you pull the press handle. You set this with a cartridge in place after you have the flare you want and the die locked with the big lock ring at the base.

View attachment 1030551
The black ring and the knurled ring right under must be turned individually and then lock back together when you get the travel set.

Click to expand...

the operation/adjust you have described here is nothing I am familiar with but I have not had a lot of experience with the auto drum measure because I gave up on it early on.
I do remember buying this a Drum Molded Parts Kit to get that part you are pointing to because my "early Drum Measure didn't have it.
Drum Molded Parts - Lee Precision

So, I went back to Lee's site and watched all the vids for the auto drum and didn't see the adjustment you posted about.
vids here: Auto-Drum Powder Measure Help Videos - Lee Precision
The only mention of that was in reference to rifle powder drop dies that do not expand or bell a case, NOT adjusting down too far to bottom out the measure travel and potentially crushing the case.

Do you know of a vid that shows/explains this adjustment you have described here?
My pea brain is not understanding it.
thanks,

I"ll look, If I can't find a video I'll post a pic of that section of manual and make a video of my own.

Glad you solved it.



Some shell holders are taller/shorter than others.

Hugger-4641 said:

The lee shell holder shouldn't matter, I'm using a Hornady.

Click to expand...

Stefan A said:

Thanks for the details. But, as far as I can tell, the black ring is nothing but a way to tighten the measure to the die. Anyway, I think I solved the problem. In my testing process I was using once fired brass and I was testing the flare/powder measurement without first running it through the resizing die. Because I didn't want to loose the spent primer (so powder doesn't spill out as I am testing load measurements). Once I started with a resized piece of brass, the bullet didn't sink all the way down. I am pretty much a beginner at this having only done 9mm. And I still think the directions that Lee provides is garbage. But anyway, I think it's good now.

Click to expand...

Great, glad you solved it. I haven't had that happen, but I've not loaded 45colt yet. Never had that issue with 45acp or 9mm.
You are correct, the swivel ring pulls the drum assembly tight against the die, if it is not tightened back down, you can have a little powder that doesn't drop.
I agree, Lee's instructions are not the best. The part of the manual that mentions the swivel and travel is under rifle case instructions. What they fail to cover is that if you turn the die to try to get full travel of the drum, it changes the amount of flare. I did find some videos that mention this, but sounds like you got it solved.

I’m glad you solved the problem. I had a similar one, sent it back to Lee for fixing, came back and I just didn’t care for the whole gizmo so I replaced it with the disk powder dropper. Didn’t like it either. Just a personal preference.

Stefan A said:

Thanks for the details. But, as far as I can tell, the black ring is nothing but a way to tighten the measure to the die. Anyway, I think I solved the problem. In my testing process I was using once fired brass and I was testing the flare/powder measurement without first running it through the resizing die. Because I didn't want to loose the spent primer (so powder doesn't spill out as I am testing load measurements). Once I started with a resized piece of brass, the bullet didn't sink all the way down. I am pretty much a beginner at this having only done 9mm. And I still think the directions that Lee provides is garbage. But anyway, I think it's good now.

Click to expand...

So the over-flared case was not sized...that changes everything
Even with that, it's been a fun discussion,
Still not a fan of the auto drum measure
just me though
carry on,

Stefan A said:

I hope people see this. Rather than making a new thread I want to go over another problem. Now, the decapper keeps popping up. Should I really crank down the decapper clamp more than how it came? It's not pushing out the primers - just popping up.

Click to expand...

Crimped primers will do that more often because of the extra force needed to decap.
A new die comes "oiled" to combat corrosion so I remove the decapper and wipe off any lube on the stem and push a Q-tip thru the "clamp".
So yeh, really crank down on the decapper clamp, it's supposed to slip when it encounters a Berdan primed case.
whew, long answer to short question right there,
.

I use the Lee universal Decapping Die. Had the same issue of some tight primers pushing the pin up in the die. I tried cleaning the oil off and cranking the tension down and it improved but still had an occasional pop up.

The fix I found is glue. A dab of super glue or crazy glue on the pin shaft inside the collet. Tighten it down and let the glue dry for a few minutes. If you later break or bend the pin, you can still remove it. The glue will release with the shock of by tapped with a hammer or heated. I remove the collet from the die. Set it on slightly open jaws of a vise and tap the pin a couple times with a hammer. Replace with new pin and dab of glue and good to go.

CQB45ACP said:

I’m glad you solved the problem. I had a similar one, sent it back to Lee for fixing, came back and I just didn’t care for the whole gizmo so I replaced it with the disk powder dropper. Didn’t like it either. Just a personal preference.

Click to expand...

I had the same feelings about the Disk measure too, when I got it with a Pro1000 kit.
I didn't give up on Disc measure though, and came up with a different was to actuate it, using the included "spring" arm and a hardware store extension spring.
I described this, including pics in a prior post:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...uto-drum-powder-measure.896079/#post-12079777
Something you might want to try...
just sayin'