does anyone use a lee autodisk on a progressive press? i just got a progressive press and a lee powder measure. i am curious to know how accurate it is? i use unique powder. i know different powder meters differntly. i will be using the lee powder thru expander die with the measure on the die. looks like an easy setup. any comments helpful. thank you; scooter-2
lee auto disk powder measure;
- Thread starter scooter-2
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I have a Lee Turret press and use the Autodisk through the expander die, however I don't think that the Turret is considered a 'progressive' press. Nevertheless, it works great and I use Unique more than any other powder. Never more than a tenth off and once it's set, it is very rarely off at all. I check (weigh) every 5th round for 20, then every 10th thereafter.
What doesn't work is the Turret gismo! I have gotten tired of replacing the little nylon ratchets and just campaign batches of 20 to 50 rounds at a time through each step of the process. This method seems to actually be faster for me.
What doesn't work is the Turret gismo! I have gotten tired of replacing the little nylon ratchets and just campaign batches of 20 to 50 rounds at a time through each step of the process. This method seems to actually be faster for me.
617fan
US Veteran
I have found it very consistent with some powders and a little less with others. Overall it works fine unless you need a charge that measures "in-between" the disc sizes. Just remember to turn off the powder hopper and run a few cycles into an empty case BEFORE changing discs.
tbury
Member
I find that stick powders tend to hang up in the disk, even short sticks like Varget. This may be the die as well as the autodisk. For these powders I use a funnel and watch the powder go into the case.
Charles
Member
Scoot, I use it for pistol and find it to be reasonably accurate as others have said. Bubbajoe, I had the same issue with my turret (although the plastic ratchet has lasted tens of thousands of rounds in both my Lee Pro 1000's) so I just pulled the rod out and now I manually index it. I can get 180 or so rounds per hour this way.
I don't use a progressive but I love the Lee autodisk measures for pistol cartridge loading. Many people complain about metering Unique but i have not found it that problematical unless yuo are trying to do tiny charges. Unique seldom throws off more than half a tenth of a grain in a five grain charge for me.....and with Unique that small variation doesn't even show up in the velocity numbers. One thing that is important with any measure is conssitency. If yougently cycle the press and dump powder and then slam it through multiple cycles and dump powder again you will get variations in the drop- With bulky powders like Unique there can be fairly large variations. If the press operations are consistent between drops the drops tend to be pretty consistent also.
marlin.357
Member
Mine works great, but you can try taking the ratchet mechanism out and just turning the turret by hand.
Also, the turret might be dragging causing the ratchets to wear prematurely. Try unscrewing the nut on the shaft a bit to get more clearance and realigning the turret. I got about 4000 rounds out of my last ratchet.
marlin.357
Member
In my experience the discs always throw a little light according to the chart, but there may be an exception, ALWAYS weigh.
I also find it handy to make up my own chart for each powder I use, that way when working up a new load there is less trial and error.
I also find it handy to make up my own chart for each powder I use, that way when working up a new load there is less trial and error.
Yea, when it works, it works great! A few times I've gotten 600 or 700 rounds out it or so. Other times, it only lasts 100 or 200. But when it starts to go south, it takes longer to get anything done. I'll look into the dragging issue, but I kind of like completing each step independently. Also, I use an AutoPrime, rather than the press setup. When Turreting (new term I just made up), this complicates things as priming takes place outside of the press. once I tried the following: resize one set of cases while charging, expanding and seating another set (I decided this was not safe - I was very careful, but just too scarey). So, it was 1 crank to re-size, switch to a primed case and then 2 cranks toward a finished cartridge. I won't do this anymore.
I had a Lee pro 1000 years ago with the Auto Disk attached. It would hang up on a regular basis and throw partial charges. It also had a problem with consistant accuracy due to the excessive vibration from the Lee expander dies rough operation. I eventually threw it and the press in the trash can.
Since you already have it though, there is a double disk kit you can get to have more flexibility with your charge weights and a micro disk in case you want to throw small charges of powder. As others have noted their charts aren't reliable and you should use a good scale if you are going to work with higher to max charges of powder.
Since you already have it though, there is a double disk kit you can get to have more flexibility with your charge weights and a micro disk in case you want to throw small charges of powder. As others have noted their charts aren't reliable and you should use a good scale if you are going to work with higher to max charges of powder.
Dale53
Member
I have two Dillon 550B's with three Dillon measures and three Lee Measures. The Dillon's are blessed with a mechanical return - no hangups there, regardless.
My Lee's are the Pro Auto Discs. I restrict the Lee's to easy to measure pistol powders like 231 or Bullseye because they do NOT have a mechanical return but rely on spring pressure, only. They do a fine job with the proper powders. The Lee's are particularly good with very small amounts of powder (as an example, 2.0 grs.Bullseye in the .32 S&W Long target wadcutter load).
FWIW
Dale53
My Lee's are the Pro Auto Discs. I restrict the Lee's to easy to measure pistol powders like 231 or Bullseye because they do NOT have a mechanical return but rely on spring pressure, only. They do a fine job with the proper powders. The Lee's are particularly good with very small amounts of powder (as an example, 2.0 grs.Bullseye in the .32 S&W Long target wadcutter load).
FWIW
Dale53
reply; lee auto disk powder measure;
thanks to all for replies. you were very helpful (as always). to charles; i have an rcbs piggyback for my rockchucker. it was given to me by a friend, who passed on a few weeks ago. i have taken the auto indexing rod out of it also. i like using it in manual mode better than auto. i think it is easier to control. thanks to all again. scooter-2
thanks to all for replies. you were very helpful (as always). to charles; i have an rcbs piggyback for my rockchucker. it was given to me by a friend, who passed on a few weeks ago. i have taken the auto indexing rod out of it also. i like using it in manual mode better than auto. i think it is easier to control. thanks to all again. scooter-2
Wee Hooker
Member
I've used one on my turrent and latter 2 Pro 1000's. As others mentioned, it works well with most ball and flake powders. Stick powders can slow things downa bit though. The key is to keep the hopper at least 1/2 full and make sure the press gets a good shake with every handle pull.
BTW. 5000+ trouble free rounds before I replaced the ratchet on my Turrent. Both style Lee presses served me very well and are no more problem prone that the Dillon square deal that I (mistakenly ) replaced them with.
BTW. 5000+ trouble free rounds before I replaced the ratchet on my Turrent. Both style Lee presses served me very well and are no more problem prone that the Dillon square deal that I (mistakenly ) replaced them with.
