Lee auto disk not throwing consistent rifle charge

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  • 7hatGuy

    Marksman
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    2   0   0
    Apr 12, 2020
    177
    28
    Fairland
    Hey guys so my auto disk on my lee pro 1000 works great for 9mm and 45 but i tried to do some 223 last night. I am using h335 powder and 1.36cc disk. The only way i can get it to throw a consistent charge is the tap the measure between every throw. If I do not then the throw is light .3-.5 grain or so. This is frustrating..... is there anyway to fix this? I have double checked everything to make sure i have it setup correctly

    I had this thing running great making 9mm the other night had no issues whatsoever. Figured all good things must come to an end.....
     

    7hatGuy

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    2   0   0
    Apr 12, 2020
    177
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    Fairland
    Had some issues in past so i taped a electric toothbrush to the hopper and started being consistent

    lmao thats hilarious. I just cant do it. Im gonna return the autodisk and get the auto drum. I have the lee perfect powder measure which is basically the auto drum just a stand alone measure and it is super accurate. So i am assuming the auto drum will be the same.

    Something i do not understand about progressive reloading. I figure i need to clean after sizing and decapping. Do people not clean after that step? Do they do the initial cleaning then reload and do everything at once?
     

    sugarcreekbrass

    Expert
    Industry Partner
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    26   0   0
    Mar 29, 2015
    938
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    West central
    I use the Auto Drum and have good luck with TiteGroup and CFE223.
    For pistol, I clean beforehand and do everything at once on my LCT. Size, prime, flare and powder dump, seat, crimp. For 223, clean the brass then resize on my Rock Chucker. I trim and swage then tumble the brass again to get the lube off. I prime with the RCBS hand primer. I then charge, seat, and crimp on my LCT. I know this takes a lot longer than a progressive, but I works for me. If I shot a lot more. I would reconsider my process
     

    7hatGuy

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    2   0   0
    Apr 12, 2020
    177
    28
    Fairland
    I use the Auto Drum and have good luck with TiteGroup and CFE223.
    For pistol, I clean beforehand and do everything at once on my LCT. Size, prime, flare and powder dump, seat, crimp. For 223, clean the brass then resize on my Rock Chucker. I trim and swage then tumble the brass again to get the lube off. I prime with the RCBS hand primer. I then charge, seat, and crimp on my LCT. I know this takes a lot longer than a progressive, but I works for me. If I shot a lot more. I would reconsider my process

    I feel like i should have a single stage press. Might make things easier for me. I am going to look into buy one.

    i've never used the auto disk, but I think you'll like the auto drum. I've got 4 of them and have only had a slight leaking issue with 1 of them.

    This little guy helps with consistency too....https://www.titanreloading.com/titan-round-powder-baffle

    yes i saw that thing last night as i was searching. Everyplace seems to be out of stock on the auto drum. If you happen to find one holla at a guy please!
     

    russc2542

    Master
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    24   0   0
    Oct 24, 2015
    2,111
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    Columbus
    yep, my autodrum had about a half grain range on pistol loads from the start. Not fun when that's the min-max range for Titegroup.

    I fixed it by getting an auto drum.
     

    parson

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    5   0   0
    Nov 1, 2008
    457
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    New Castle
    I used to get light loads with my auto disc, especially with 231. I used a small round file to mod my measure, as shown in pic. This was several years ago, and drops have been consistent then.
     

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    Floivanus

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    Dec 6, 2016
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    La crosse
    I used to get light loads with my auto disc, especially with 231. I used a small round file to mod my measure, as shown in pic. This was several years ago, and drops have been consistent then.
    Agreed that this mod would probably be a great idea for OP, but I’ve had great luck forgoing the larger disc sizes and using two discs with the riser
     

    clelaj

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    7   0   0
    Feb 2, 2009
    373
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    Indy - North
    Another option is internet search for powder baffle to get templates to cut and bend from thin aluminum. Keeps a more consistent weight of powder over the disk.

    And be consistent with how forceful you cycle the press. Each turret advance shakes the AutoDisk to slightly settle the powder.
     

    VERT

    Grandmaster
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    23   0   0
    Jan 4, 2009
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    Seymour
    I have used the autodisk with H335. Very inconsistent with the double disks inserted. A single disk was much better. I don’t remember which setting I used but it was one of the two largest to drop somewhere around 24.5 gr. There was a couple .1s difference either way. I had much better luck with the autodisk measure on turret presses. I think the extra strokes between operations help settle the powder.
     

    7hatGuy

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    Apr 12, 2020
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    Fairland
    See i am not comfortable using a product that does not give repeatable consistent results everytime. If i have to wonder if i am getting a drop .5 grain light im not gonna use it. The perfect powder measure gives me a consistent drop every time without having to shake it attach something to it to make it consistent. I am surprised people would choose yo use something like that.
     

    VERT

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    Jan 4, 2009
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    Seymour
    See i am not comfortable using a product that does not give repeatable consistent results everytime. If i have to wonder if i am getting a drop .5 grain light im not gonna use it. The perfect powder measure gives me a consistent drop every time without having to shake it attach something to it to make it consistent. I am surprised people would choose yo use something like that.

    I haven’t found the auto disc system to be that inconsistent. For pistol powders it works quite well. I have loaded a lot of pistol cartridges using an auto disc. I think the larger holes for the rifle powders create a ledge and some powder gets hung up. Even then it won’t be .5 grain light.

    People want to compare the weights thrown to the chart. You can’t do that, always check the weights for the lot of powder you are using.
     

    russc2542

    Master
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    24   0   0
    Oct 24, 2015
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    Columbus
    I haven’t found the auto disc system to be that inconsistent. For pistol powders it works quite well. I have loaded a lot of pistol cartridges using an auto disc. I think the larger holes for the rifle powders create a ledge and some powder gets hung up. Even then it won’t be .5 grain light.

    People want to compare the weights thrown to the chart. You can’t do that, always check the weights for the lot of powder you are using.

    To be clear, weighing each charge using titegroup for 9mm, if I was hoping for 4.3gr the actual range was 4-4.5gr. (numbers for example, this was a couple years ago so I don't remember the exact target, just the deviation)
     

    VERT

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    Jan 4, 2009
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    Seymour
    To be clear, weighing each charge using titegroup for 9mm, if I was hoping for 4.3gr the actual range was 4-4.5gr. (numbers for example, this was a couple years ago so I don't remember the exact target, just the deviation)

    Mine throw Bullseye and Win231 spit on. In fact Win231 match the chart exactly. Bullseye throws about .2 lighter then what the chart says. But both are very consistent.
     

    Fixer

    Expert
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    26   1   0
    Nov 22, 2009
    1,157
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    Fort Wayne Area
    I haven't seen more than .1-.2 grains deviation on my auto disc with any powder I have used. I do stay away from stick powder as it does not meter well in it. I get a little leakage with H110 as it is a really fine ball, but still no real variation when checked with my RCBS beam scale.
    I do use it in a turret press so it rides around the press from one bullet to another.
     
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