Lee Auto Drum Powder Measure Problem - Short or No Dumps

[spur0701]

I've got two of the new Lee Auto drum powder measures........one is on a set of .38 dies and seems to be working fine.

The second is on a set of 44 mag dies, installed on a 4 hole Lee Classic Cast turret press. I installed it after setting up the dies and removed the disconnector since I didn't want to use the down stroke verification device. I loaded up 50 rounds and double checked the charges on a scale every 5 rounds, everything was fine, it was dropping 10g almost right on every time. I took the first 50 rounds to the range and shot two dozen rounds, they were right on, accuracy was great and everything was fine. Came home and loaded another hundred rounds and then changed to another die set, but left the Auto drum installed and simply pulled the turret out.....this was two weeks ago.

This weekend I reinstalled the 44 mag turret into the press to load another couple hundred, nothing had been touched or changed. When I go to double check the weight of the first drop there's nothing in the case.....at first I thought that I had just left the hopper closed but that wasn't the problem. After examining what was happening I wasn't getting complete rotation of the drum, hence the powder wasn't dropping at all or just a little was trickling through. The clamp knob and o-ring were both in place and didn't seem to be too tight or too lose. I did a google to see if anyone was having a similar problem and I found this thread over at the castboolit forums from a couple of months ago:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?303759-Possible-issue-with-Lee-Auto-drum

However, after reading it would seem my issue is totally different. My problem seems to be that the connecting rod that actuates and rotates the drum isn't fully rotating the drum because it's disconnected or there's some slop where it connects to the slider. When I go to charge the case the slider moves up but the disconnection or slop between the slider and the connecting rod let's the connecting rod move out of the way enough to not rotate the drum. I compared it to the other one installed on the .38 die set and the connector rod and slider on it seems to be more solidly connected.

Anyone else seen or heard of this problem or have any idea what could have caused it?

I can't remember if this was the first auto drum I bought or the second.....I think it might be the first and that means it's got about a thousand rounds of 9mm on it.

At this point I don't trust the 100 rounds of .44 mag I did.....tried to pull some down to check it but my crimp is too much for my Frankford inertial puller so I may have to just trash it all.......or just shoot it and see if I get a squib so I can save the brass.

I'm going to call Lee tomorrow and see what they say. I was so excited about these as compared to the auto disk after I bought the first one I bought three more, two are still in the boxes but I may have to re-evaluate using these.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[kcofohio]

I'm not able to look at mine at this moment, but I know the engagement link has a definite click/snap to it. Does anything around the link look chipped or cracked?

As for the inertia puller, RCBS brand does much better than the FA sample I have.

Let us know how Lee solves your issue for you.

 

[Blue68f100]

Did you leave your powder in the dispenser when you finished last time? Not a good idea due to the solvents in the powder. They always should be returned to their original container.

 

[al123]

I've found any number of things can cause lack of full rotation. With the Auto drum, I've made marks on all my drums and the body to check for a consistent full 120 Deg swing. It's the first thing I do before any powder goes thru.

These things I've found can prevent full rotation:

1. Setup for belling the cases: I've had to follow instructions exactly given by Lee. There's not a lot of leeway since I like to do minimum belling on my cases, but if you do less (belling) than what Lee instructs, the auto drum might not fully actuate.

2. Tighten down the riser fully to the powder drop die. I've found when it's loose it might lessen full activation. Same with tightening the auto drum to the riser. I check to be sure both connections are tight.

3. When attaching the drum itself to the actuator, when tightening the knob, I screw in only one direction until it shows firmness in place, but not more. This is for consistency. I don't touch the attachment knob while there is powder thru the device. If you play with the knob, some powder may get trapped between the drum and the holder and interfere with smooth operation and cause leakage.

4. When changing to a new drum, I make sure that both the drum and the inner body are lubricated with powdered graphite. Make sure all previous debris/smokeless powder is gone.

5. Cases that have been 'belled' many times may not cause full actuation. I've found freshly resized cases to be the most consistent.

If your auto drum is damaged or any inadvertent disassembly, let us know how Lee fixes the problem for you.

 

[Load Master]

spur0701, with all do respect I could not decipher your issue from your write-up. I got that something isn't working with your Lee Auto Drum. Maybe it is just me.

A photo is worth a thousand words. That said, have you removed the disconnector? If you have, make sure the screw is in this position. Not doing so will allow the linkage to pop out of the proper position and the powder drop will not function properly.

 

[Mr. Farknocker]

Drum Alignment with Chute

I recently experienced a similar problem or at least a perceived problem with my auto drum. It started right after I pulled the replaceable quick change powder drum. After reinstalling the quick change drum, a substantial amount of powder leaked from the drum itself and poured onto my table and floor below. I pulled the drum and attempted to reinstall the drum thinking I did not insert the drum properly but it was to no avail. Powder kept pouring out of the rotating assembly. I then took the drum apart and carefully examined its components to see if I could determine the cause of the problem. I could not so I reinstalled the drum, removed the hopper and actuated the powder drop several times while looking down into the opening where the powder enters the drum. It appeared as though I wasn't getting a full rotation of the drum and that the reservoir in the quick change drum was not being fully exposed when the drum returned to its starting position. In other words, the hole in the drum was not perfectly aligned with the chute through which the powder from the hopper dropped. I was also experiencing binding when actuating the powder drop. I took the drum off again and examined the gears that actuate the rotation of the drum and determined that powder hand wedged itself between the gears and was causing the gears to bind. I cleaned out the gears with a fine dentist pick and proceeded to reassemble the drum into housing making sure that the drum was fully seated. The gears that actuate the drum are designed to be mated in one way only. Failure to align the gears properly will result in binding and will limit the rotation of the drum. Even after I aligned the gears properly, I was still experiencing the problem (or at least perceived problem) of a misaligned drum and powder chute. I wanted to see if this was indeed a problem so I reassembled the autodrum, replaced the hopper and filled it with H4895. The leaking had stopped and the drum rotated freely. I then measured the drops and found them to be consistent. I'm still not sure whether the alignment of the drum and chute is a problem or if the alignment is as designed. I will have to do more testing in the weeks to come to determine whether the powder drop is working properly and dropping consistent charges.

 

[spur0701]

I did remove the disconnector and I did reinstall the screw in the correct place after removing the disconnector.

Here are three pics, one showing the drum in the up position, one showing how far the drum rotates when the case is fully inserted into the charging die (I rechecked and reset that.....as I think you can see in the pic it only rotates about 90 degrees, not the 120 it should), plus a third pic from the other side showing the screw in the correct place.

Here is a 5 sec video of of the drum showing how far the drum rotates, I left the hex key so it's easier to see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huo5PwNQXzE&feature=youtu.be

I called Lee tech support and they essentially said that sometimes stuff breaks and sometimes there's manufacturing defects and to send it back in and they'll fix it.......I think I'll do that even though it'll probably cost 30% or 40% of what I paid for it to ship it back to them.

 

[sugarmaker]

Do you have the ptx die screwed down far enough?

 

[spur0701]

Do you have the ptx die screwed down far enough?

Yup, I did it according to the Lee die setting directions and it worked to start with and I screwed it in farther after I noticed the short stroking.........