Lee Auto Disk powder measure question

[Qnormous]

Hi I'm new to this forum and new to reloading. I have a question about the Lee pro auto disk powder measure I'm loading a lyman 9mm 125gr HP #356637 cast bullet and it calls for a start load of 4.5 of unique i looked at the Lee chart and it tells me that a .49 disk will give me 4.5gr of unique but after a test run i weighed the powder in 10 drops and it is giving me just 3.83gr is this just Lee being conservative and is it safe to under load this round by that much or should i go up a few on my powder measure and try to get closer to the 4.5 which the lyamn book says i need to start with? also the lyman Cast book gives a OAL of 1.010 (my lee book gives a Min OAL)not sure if this is a Minimum OAL or Max. Rite now my bullets are around 1.045 is it OK to be above the OAL in the Lyman Cast book?
Thanks for any help.

[dacaur]

Your drop will ALWAYS be light if you use the recommended disk.
Lee did this on purpose because there ARE people out there who will just look up the recommended cavity, install it, and start loading without weighing or anything .

You will notice in the instructions it says that if the recommended disk/cavity EVER drops an overcharge, they want to know about it. The only way they can guarantee that, is if it always drops a light charge.

So yes, you need to go up till you find the disk/cavity that gives the correct average weight.

As for OAL, you definitely want to shoot for the OAL stated with the load you are using. #1, you could have feeding problems if you dont, and #2, you are changing the dynamics of the load when you change the OAL.
Longer is usually ok, shorter is not, but without a darn good reason, I would never do either....

[rtpzwms]

Lee has special disks for lighter loads. I found that loads under 5 gr varied a great deal with Unique powder (or any flake powder). To make it work properly you'll have to vibrate the hopper a lot. I built a little box that would shake the hopper for about 10 bucks with parts from Radio Shack. I would recommend that you look into some other powders that will meter much better like 231.

[joshf128]

I also just started reloading using the Pro AutoDisk and it is VERY consistent even with supposedly difficult to meter powders like Unique. The only way to know for sure what charge weight a given "hole" will give you is to weigh them, but for whatever reason, the settings for Green Dot powder are much closer to what it actually drops for Unique than the actual Unique data that comes with the powder measure. That should get you within one hole either way.

I have found that if you drum your fingers on the powder tube after you fill it up (somewhere between 1/3-2/3 full works best) the powder will settle to a more consistent density, and as a result, more consistent charges. I also "dump" the first 10 charges back into the hopper, then verify a few before I start my normal reloading process of checking every 5 or 10 charges on my scale.

My final important tip is to tighten the screw that adjusts how hard it is to turn the hopper from "on" to "off". I had mine drift towards the closed position during normal operation because mine was too loose. Just take the hopper assembly off like you are going to change a disk and tighten up the only visible screw on the bottom side.

Using the above tips, I am able to get +/- .1gr powder charges EVERY time.

[bossman]

I agree on moving at least one disk over what they list. Find the disk thats the closest to what I want to drop, if it's within .1 +/- I go with it. If it's more than .1 less than what I want I will just trickle up to my load weight.

As for as the OAL that's just where they tested the load. If you go below the tested oal it will add pressure to the load and you may need to reduce the powder charge. Longer lowers the pressure. The number one thing on oal is if it will chamber and work in your gun.

The auto pro is very accurate once you know what the disk drops. When you find what they drop write it down for future reference. Do this for every powder that you use and soon you will have a handy reference to go by. Good luck.

[Vance]

Also using the Lee Auto disk powder measure ( Pro or otherwise), you will rarely find any cavity that gives you the exact charge you are looking for. So you have to go for the cavity that gives you the charge closest to what you are going for without going over the max charge weight. I doubt you will find a cavity that will measure 4.5 grains exactly. You will probably have to settle on a cavity that could give say, 4.7 grains.

When you are first starting out in reloading, never load less powder than is stated and never exceed the max. As long as you find a cavity that gives you close to what your looking for and it isn't less than minimum charge or more than maximum, you should be ok.

I saw in your other thread where you were discussing your mold is throwing bullets that weight 134 grains instead of 124 grains. Over on handloads.com, there is load data listed for 136 grain lead round nose for 4.1 grains of Unique, or 4.5 grains of W231. Either one of those loads would be acceptable for your bullet. Kind of hard to get exact charge loads with the auto disk measures. Lee does make an adjustable charge bar.
http://www.titanreloading.com/powder...le-charge-bar-

[Qnormous]

Thanks for all the help. I found a disk that seem to be droping 4.1gr im still going to weigh a few more to make sure it is consistent.I think im going to load 20 or so with that and taken them to the range and see how they work. The bullets im useing are 9MM HP's and are coming out at 134gr inseted of the 124 that the mold says they should but im sure it is because im useing WW insted of the Lyman #2. The Lyman Cast book says to start with 4.5gr of unique for the 124gr HP but since the bullet is 134gr HP it would make sence that 4.1 should be safe place to start?

[Lost Sheep]

Originally Posted by Vance

Kind of hard to get exact charge loads with the auto disk measures.

Not easy, but doable. Modify the disk.

First, mark the disk so no one ever gets confused.

Then find the hole that drops as close to, but below your desired weight and ream it out until it does deliver the desired weight.

Lost Sheep

[excelerater]

all I use now on my Dillion is a Lee Pro Auto Disc

For the simple reason is I need to go back to a recipe all I have to do is look
at my notes ,drop in a disc and start pulling the press.....Turning knobs are re weighing loads is for the birds....YEP its not possible to find the exact load
sometimes but I usually do fine reloading to the higher weights .

So if I am looking for 5.0g of Powerpistol and my load drops in at 5.2 thats what I rock and roll with.....I have 10000+ rounds though my Pro Disc and its still running great,that being said its about the only thing Lee makes I do like
is this product

[willr]

Be sure you read the warnings in the Lee Manual about charges of Unique. I have found that Unique doesn't meter very well, particularly in light loads. I have taken to weigh every charge of Unique to be sure it is correct.

willr

[markr]

Does anyone find with H110 that it spills a little powder every time?

[Gerry]

Or Lost Sheep, just jam in a bit of chewing gum to plug the role a little. Add more gum incrementally until the optimum load is achieved. It's also a reversible modification in that the chewing gum can be removed from the hole later.

(Kidding)

[Mac Sidewinder]

markr,

I use H110 quite a bit and my Auto Disk Pro leaks also. I find that as long as I don't try to go too fast (which causes the turret to turn fast) that it's not too bad. I still have to sweep up some powder at the end of my session no matter what I do.

Mac

[OkieGentleman]

There is a previous thread where I described what may be the answer to your problem. I totally forgot about it until I ran a search. My precious answer was totally off. Sorry about the bad piece of advice. Just getting old I guess.