Lee turret disk issue.

[45pro]

I'm loading with w231 and i'm following the paper for which disk size to use for w231. the .49 hole is suppose to measure 5.3g of powder. Which it does exactly. I decided to try something lower so i used the .46 hole which is suppose to be 4.9g and its consistantly (checked it like 2 dozen times) and its weighing only 4.6g. Why is it weighing .3g light? I know they may not be exactly right but why is it that one is weighing correctly and the next one down is weighing .3g light? The problem is that i was wanting to load at 4.9-5.0g. With the way it is right now i can only weigh 4.6g and then the next disk size up it jumps to 5.3g. This is getting frustrating....Does anyone have any advice for me?

 

[ghitch75]

did you try tappin' the measurer and see if you get 4.9?

 

[NWIeng]

The problem is that i was wanting to load at 4.9-5.0g. With the way it is right now i can only weigh 4.6g and then the next disk size up it jumps to 5.3g. This is getting frustrating....Does anyone have any advice for me?

Trust but verify, my friend.

I have the same setup. I believe the manual for the disk measures still say you confirm each disk is actually throwing the charge it says. Mine's been known to throw ~.2 grains light as well.

My suggestion: Jump up to the 5.3g disk and see what it's actually throwing via scale. If it's under-charging the same amount as your 4.9g disk, you should be right where you want to be.

Despite this issue, my disk system has loaded about 1500 through it so far, and I have no complaints. You've just gotta find a load that works with your chosen disk and not get too worked up that you dont' have to ability to go +/- .1 grains whenever you feel like it. It's just not how it was set up.

Good luck!

 

[hueycrew]

Couple things I tried on my lee powder measures that improved accuracy of powder drops:
- clean each piece comletely. no oil anywhere, even the plastic parts
- static cling on the plastic parts, rub outside of hopper with a dryer sheet
- I found that powder drops were more accurate/consistent when the hopper is 1/2 or more full.
- like Ghitch says: tap the side with a pencil(or sumpthin'), helps make sure the powder fills the disc ( do this sometimes)
- check the funnel portion of the plastic hopper. there may be some cutback or a burr where the powder flows through. Lightly sand to remove the burr.

When measuring by volume vs weight there are bound to be differences. Humidity, heat, cold all play a part.

NWIeng is right. Always check your powder drops and compare the drops between two similar hole sizes. You'll find a sweet spot.

 

[45pro]

Couple things I tried on my lee powder measures that improved accuracy of powder drops:
- clean each piece comletely. no oil anywhere, even the plastic parts
- static cling on the plastic parts, rub outside of hopper with a dryer sheet
- I found that powder drops were more accurate/consistent when the hopper is 1/2 or more full.
- like Ghitch says: tap the side with a pencil(or sumpthin'), helps make sure the powder fills the disc ( do this sometimes)
- check the funnel portion of the plastic hopper. there may be some cutback or a burr where the powder flows through. Lightly sand to remove the burr.

When measuring by volume vs weight there are bound to be differences. Humidity, heat, cold all play a part.

NWIeng is right. Always check your powder drops and compare the drops between two similar hole sizes. You'll find a sweet spot.

i have done all of the above with no success. Its been right on the money with every other hole i've tried, except this one. O well i guess. i loaded up 500 at 5.3 and wanted to load a little softer load at 5.0. I guess i will continue to load at 5.3. I dont want to go down to 4.6g because i know accuracy will suffer some. The only thing i havn't tried is taping the measure everytime before i pull the handle.

EDIT: I'm going to try to dump out the hopper and run a dryer sheet inside of it. The only thing i can think of is that some of the powder is clinging to the side of the hopper.

 

[firemedic140]

.45 I have a micro-meter adjustment bar. It allows you to add various points of additional powder to adjust your load. It has a screw adjustment.

Lee Micrometer Adjustable Charge Bar - eBay (item 350445883569 end time Mar-15-11 10:07:19 PDT)

This is just a quick one I found. I've never used mine so if you go that way, I'm not the one to ask!

 

[45pro]

I just installed the auto riser on mine so it will clear the dies when unscrewing. I've heard many bad reports about those charge bars dropping extremely light charges.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I have the adjustable charge bar as well and it works pretty well. Pretty much all the Auto-Disk holes meter short for me, using Clays...I've read a few places that they were calibrated for Bullseye and then left a bit short for liability reasons. I don't know if that's really true, but they do measure short on Clays. They measure very consistently though, so until I got the adjustable charge bar I just played around until I found a hole that throws a suitable charge and stuck with it. The manual says that if you want to pony up for the 2 disk risers you can adjust in increments of 0.1 grains. Without it, using Clays, the change in charge from hole to hole seems about .3 to .4 grains on the smallest disk (the "A" disk I think it is).

 

[45pro]

ok i've decided to just load up a few of them at 4.6 and see how much accuracy falls. Maybe with the reduced recoil they will shoot about the same for me. Hopefully i can test them out later today. The 5.3 is a max load which shoots very well. 4.3 is starting load, idk, we'll see how the 4.6 does...Too bad i didnt' keep a record of the rounds i shot when i worked up to the 5.3.. All i remember is the more i increased the better the groups got.

 

[parson]

I've used the adjustable charge bar for years. It always give me consistent charges. I like being able to set it for any desired grain weight.

As far as the discs, I'm sure that you could open it up a little if it drops light.

 

[straight-shooter]

You could also purchase the double disk upgrade kit and run two disks instead of one which will give you alot more combinations available for "inbetween" loads. I ran this setup on my turret and it's definitely worth the upgrade. Only thing you have to remember is to always have the larger hole disk under the smaller hole disk so powder doesn't accumulate.

Lee Auto-Disk Powder Measure Double Disk Kit - MidwayUSA