The finicky Lee Auto Drum and over expanding

Tex S · November 4, 2017, 06:26 PM

I am embarrassed to admit that I have spent the better part of a Saturday jacking with my new Lee Auto Drum.

It is currently working reliably, but it took quite a bit of tinkering.

The main issue I am having now is that the expander die must be screwed in almost all the way to properly actuate the measure. It is expanding 10mm case mouths by about .010" over the FL sized diameter, which I find to be excessive and unnessasary.

The drum is sticky if you over tighten the screw/knob that holds it in. This creates an issue where the drum doesn't fully actuate inside the body of the measure and that action results in very erratic charges.

The knurled locknut on the unit is also too small in my opinion. This allows the "ears" on the bottom of the measure body to come over the lock ring and makes the measure not actuate properly and wobble all over the place. I have "fixed" this problem by squeezing the ears together with channelocks and then putting a zip tie on them to pinch them together so they will not slip over the locknut.

Anybody else have these issues?

snakeye · November 4, 2017, 07:47 PM

Nope never have had any of those problems except maybe the inconsistent powder drops, when this starts happening I just tear is down and clean it and go on.

The other problems you describe sounds like you are not using a powder drum riser. I have always used a riser so my powder drum does not sit directly on top of the die so I would have never experienced that.

kmw1954 · November 4, 2017, 08:19 PM

Have an auto drum and like it for small light pistol charges and I use it right into the dies on both 9mm and 380acp, no riser.

I like it but still like the auto disk with very fine pistol powders as I find it leaks less.

Sounds like you went thru a lot of trouble. The problem I've had is with it locking up and jumping the gear inside.

Tex S · November 4, 2017, 08:22 PM

Quote:

The other problems you describe sounds like you are not using a powder drum riser.

I am using a riser. Maybe I have a lemon?

TJB101 · November 5, 2017, 06:31 AM

I ran close to a pound thru the unit to season it... was loading 3.9 grains of 700x for some 9mm and checked every tenth round and it was dead on. Check the wiper on the inside of the drum. Clear of obstructions and seated

Russell P · November 5, 2017, 09:27 AM

I have had real good luck with my Auto Drum. 99% of the time I am within .1 grain either way. I also use the riser.

You shouldn't overtighten the knob. It will stick sometimes. I would rather leak a little powder sometimes than get inconsistent loads.

I usually check every 10 rounds when setting up for the day. After 3 or 4 checks I run 'em.

Russ P

Tex S · November 5, 2017, 09:14 PM

A web search revealed that I am not the only one having this issue. I will call Lee tomorrow and post back.

Tex S · November 6, 2017, 10:22 AM

Lee has confirmed this unit is defective, and they were familiar with the issue. I will be sending it back.

kmw1954 · November 6, 2017, 12:23 PM

The design and concept are terrific. If they would build one not out of cast pot metal and plastic I would pay more for it.

I do support Lee products and use many of them partly because they are also a company within my state but at the same time this measure has been disappointing.

Nitro Viking · November 7, 2017, 12:56 AM

I had the same problem loading 9mm, I spent hours messing with the thing...

If I adjusted the powder thru die high enough to not over flare the case, I'd get too little flare and or not enough travel to rotate the drum completely.

When I adjusted it down far enough to get full rotation, I would get way too much flare. First I tried taking the expander out and turning down the O.D a few thousandths, it helped some, but I could tell it still wasn't right.

The spring in that thing is a beast, It's like a V8 valve spring, way stouter than it needs to be. I found on mine the spring was so stiff it would start flaring the case while still compressing the spring long before it reached full travel.

I took it all apart, put the spring over a steel rod and ran it back and forth across the grinding wheel while allowing the spring to spin on the rod as it was grinding for a good while, until I had taken quite a bit of material off the O.D of the spring, This reduced the spring force considerably.

I didn't want to shorten the spring and risk altering the amount of return travel.

It's MUCH easier to operate now, and doesn't over flare.

The housing was also really sloppy and loose and moved all around, I removed the steel washer that just seemed to bind up the nut, carefully squeezed the ears in until they just barely cleared the nut... Nice and tight now.

I also never ran that safety button, and the way that linkage and foot worked was a big pain. I'm more worried about forgetting to reset it after every round and winding up with a squib than I am about a double charge.

So I ground the foot off the linkage rod, drilled it and put a roll pin thru and ground off the big chunk of plastic that wasnt needed anymore. Works much smoother and has much more room around the dies now.

The instructions say you shouldnt let the plastic stop dog bottom out on the housing, but good luck getting it adjusted to get full travel without the dog bottoming out as well as getting full travel and a good flare. I ground the stop dog off also and it allows more travel and greater adjustability.

Sounds like a lot of work, but its actually pretty easy, the hard part was figuring out how to make it work. The actual modifications can be done in about an hour.

Works like a champ now, I use it on 9mm, .357 / .38, .40 S&W, .45 and even .223. I have all the powder thru dies adjusted properly in all my different turrets so I can just swap the Auto Drum from one to another without having to readjust the dies.

I picked up a few extra drums too, they're cheap and I can leave 'em set for my different charges.

Tex S · November 7, 2017, 09:21 PM

Cool mod, Viking. I like the idea of pinning the linkage... mine is sloppy, and just like you I am more concerned about a squib than I am a double charge so I don't use the safety disconnector.

Im anxious to see what the replacement measure will look like. The one I currently have is not very good.

One of the ears on the bottom is slipping over the nut. A hose clamp fixed it, but its not ideal.

jetinteriorguy · November 8, 2017, 05:31 PM

I bought my first one right when they first came out and it's been great. It worked so well I bought a second one about a year or so later, and it was not so great. I really had to play with the second one to get it to work good, but once I got it straightened out its been great ever since. I wished I could tell ya'll what I did to the second one but it's been a while and I don't remember exactly what I did.

Tex S · November 14, 2017, 12:31 AM

I am convinced that the Auto Drum requires tinkering to get it to work effectively.

When speaking with Lee, they told me I could send my measure back. Since I had already spent some time getting it working, I was reluctant to part with it.

So, I bought another from Amazon thinking that if it worked good I would send the original one back.

The second measure I received was worse than the first. I guess Ill just hang on to the original measure that is sporting my original mods.

Lee is a good company, and I don't mean to bash, but they could do a better job of QC, even if it meant at the cost of a higher price point.

TruthTellers · November 14, 2017, 01:17 AM

When I first mounted mine I was having issues with the drum not picking up powder and dispensing it. I had been "diddling" with the drum trying to make it return to a certain spot where it fully stopped, but that seemed to be causing the issue. Since then, I just let the drum do its thing and I haven't had any issues since.

Whenever I dial in a new setting, I'll cycle it through to make sure it's settled, then I'll measure the next 3 or 5 throws. So far it seems to hold +/- .1 grains about 90% of the time. The rest of the time it's more than that, but it always seems to be a low throw; I don't think I've ever seen a throw significantly higher than what my target was.

Still doesn't mean it can't happen and is why I don't go to max loads with it, unless I'm loading .45 Colt and shooting it from my Redhawk.

For large powder charges, I think the Auto Drum is a good measure, but when you get down to .32 pistol calibers, I pretty much have to keep it near the starting load in the event I get one of those high throws.

If I want max loads in those small charges, I'll use a powder trickler. I don't seek to do max loads in .32 much really, in fact I keep the loads as light as possible because that's my goal of a very low power small bore centerfire cartridge.

I think for the money it's a good measure. I don't expect any measure on the press to be accurate to .05 grains every single throw.

kmw1954 · November 14, 2017, 08:58 AM

Two Lee Presses, a turret and a Pro1000, four sets of Lee dies, two auto disk measures and one auto drum. The Drum has been back to Lee twice now and I just don't have any confidence in it any longer.

Real Gun · November 14, 2017, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Two Lee Presses, a turret and a Pro1000, four sets of Lee dies, two auto disk measures and one auto drum. The Drum has been back to Lee twice now and I just don't have any confidence in it any longer.

If you read the instructions, what did you think about the option of removing the safety feature parts? I did remove mine and have had no issues except with very fine powders leaking or binding, probably a gravity thing not found in the other measures Lee offers.

kmw1954 · November 14, 2017, 01:20 PM

Real Gun, I had removed it from mine before I even installed it. When it works it works pretty well. I've had it lock up twice to where it wouldn't move.

With Hodgdon HP-38 it will leak a small amount, with Ramshot Silhouette it leaks pretty bad. With both of those it has been very consistent within 0.1gr

The leaking isn't so much of a problem on the turret press but on the Pro1000 it is a problem because I do also prime on the press and the loose powder plays havoc with it. Which is also why I keep a Auto Disk, because I've polished it up to where I have basically no leakage with either of those powders. The only problem comes from the restriction to what each cavity will throw.

Again if Lee would make this all metal and eliminate the leaking plastic drum and the tendency to lock up and jump gears I would pay 3X as much for one. But as it is now I have lost confidence in it that it won't break again.

November 4, 2017, 06:26 PM	#1
Tex S Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, TEXAS Posts: 909	The finicky Lee Auto Drum and over expanding I am embarrassed to admit that I have spent the better part of a Saturday jacking with my new Lee Auto Drum. It is currently working reliably, but it took quite a bit of tinkering. The main issue I am having now is that the expander die must be screwed in almost all the way to properly actuate the measure. It is expanding 10mm case mouths by about .010" over the FL sized diameter, which I find to be excessive and unnessasary. The drum is sticky if you over tighten the screw/knob that holds it in. This creates an issue where the drum doesn't fully actuate inside the body of the measure and that action results in very erratic charges. The knurled locknut on the unit is also too small in my opinion. This allows the "ears" on the bottom of the measure body to come over the lock ring and makes the measure not actuate properly and wobble all over the place. I have "fixed" this problem by squeezing the ears together with channelocks and then putting a zip tie on them to pinch them together so they will not slip over the locknut. Anybody else have these issues? Last edited by Tex S; November 4, 2017 at 06:33 PM.

November 7, 2017, 12:56 AM	#10
Nitro Viking Junior Member Join Date: December 11, 2011 Posts: 4	Finicky Auto Drum I had the same problem loading 9mm, I spent hours messing with the thing... If I adjusted the powder thru die high enough to not over flare the case, I'd get too little flare and or not enough travel to rotate the drum completely. When I adjusted it down far enough to get full rotation, I would get way too much flare. First I tried taking the expander out and turning down the O.D a few thousandths, it helped some, but I could tell it still wasn't right. The spring in that thing is a beast, It's like a V8 valve spring, way stouter than it needs to be. I found on mine the spring was so stiff it would start flaring the case while still compressing the spring long before it reached full travel. I took it all apart, put the spring over a steel rod and ran it back and forth across the grinding wheel while allowing the spring to spin on the rod as it was grinding for a good while, until I had taken quite a bit of material off the O.D of the spring, This reduced the spring force considerably. I didn't want to shorten the spring and risk altering the amount of return travel. It's MUCH easier to operate now, and doesn't over flare. The housing was also really sloppy and loose and moved all around, I removed the steel washer that just seemed to bind up the nut, carefully squeezed the ears in until they just barely cleared the nut... Nice and tight now. I also never ran that safety button, and the way that linkage and foot worked was a big pain. I'm more worried about forgetting to reset it after every round and winding up with a squib than I am about a double charge. So I ground the foot off the linkage rod, drilled it and put a roll pin thru and ground off the big chunk of plastic that wasnt needed anymore. Works much smoother and has much more room around the dies now. The instructions say you shouldnt let the plastic stop dog bottom out on the housing, but good luck getting it adjusted to get full travel without the dog bottoming out as well as getting full travel and a good flare. I ground the stop dog off also and it allows more travel and greater adjustability. Sounds like a lot of work, but its actually pretty easy, the hard part was figuring out how to make it work. The actual modifications can be done in about an hour. Works like a champ now, I use it on 9mm, .357 / .38, .40 S&W, .45 and even .223. I have all the powder thru dies adjusted properly in all my different turrets so I can just swap the Auto Drum from one to another without having to readjust the dies. I picked up a few extra drums too, they're cheap and I can leave 'em set for my different charges.

November 14, 2017, 01:17 AM	#14
TruthTellers Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2016 Posts: 3,888	When I first mounted mine I was having issues with the drum not picking up powder and dispensing it. I had been "diddling" with the drum trying to make it return to a certain spot where it fully stopped, but that seemed to be causing the issue. Since then, I just let the drum do its thing and I haven't had any issues since. Whenever I dial in a new setting, I'll cycle it through to make sure it's settled, then I'll measure the next 3 or 5 throws. So far it seems to hold +/- .1 grains about 90% of the time. The rest of the time it's more than that, but it always seems to be a low throw; I don't think I've ever seen a throw significantly higher than what my target was. Still doesn't mean it can't happen and is why I don't go to max loads with it, unless I'm loading .45 Colt and shooting it from my Redhawk. For large powder charges, I think the Auto Drum is a good measure, but when you get down to .32 pistol calibers, I pretty much have to keep it near the starting load in the event I get one of those high throws. If I want max loads in those small charges, I'll use a powder trickler. I don't seek to do max loads in .32 much really, in fact I keep the loads as light as possible because that's my goal of a very low power small bore centerfire cartridge. I think for the money it's a good measure. I don't expect any measure on the press to be accurate to .05 grains every single throw. __________________ "We always think there's gonna be more time... then it runs out."

November 4, 2017, 07:47 PM	#2
snakeye Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2013 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 127	Nope never have had any of those problems except maybe the inconsistent powder drops, when this starts happening I just tear is down and clean it and go on. The other problems you describe sounds like you are not using a powder drum riser. I have always used a riser so my powder drum does not sit directly on top of the die so I would have never experienced that.

November 4, 2017, 08:19 PM	#3
kmw1954 Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2016 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 1,524	Have an auto drum and like it for small light pistol charges and I use it right into the dies on both 9mm and 380acp, no riser. I like it but still like the auto disk with very fine pistol powders as I find it leaks less. Sounds like you went thru a lot of trouble. The problem I've had is with it locking up and jumping the gear inside.

November 5, 2017, 06:31 AM	#5
TJB101 Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2017 Posts: 498	I ran close to a pound thru the unit to season it... was loading 3.9 grains of 700x for some 9mm and checked every tenth round and it was dead on. Check the wiper on the inside of the drum. Clear of obstructions and seated

November 5, 2017, 09:27 AM	#6
Russell P Member Join Date: April 28, 2017 Posts: 56	I have had real good luck with my Auto Drum. 99% of the time I am within .1 grain either way. I also use the riser. You shouldn't overtighten the knob. It will stick sometimes. I would rather leak a little powder sometimes than get inconsistent loads. I usually check every 10 rounds when setting up for the day. After 3 or 4 checks I run 'em. Russ P

November 5, 2017, 09:14 PM	#7
Tex S Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, TEXAS Posts: 909	A web search revealed that I am not the only one having this issue. I will call Lee tomorrow and post back.

November 6, 2017, 10:22 AM	#8
Tex S Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, TEXAS Posts: 909	Lee has confirmed this unit is defective, and they were familiar with the issue. I will be sending it back.

November 6, 2017, 12:23 PM	#9
kmw1954 Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2016 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 1,524	The design and concept are terrific. If they would build one not out of cast pot metal and plastic I would pay more for it. I do support Lee products and use many of them partly because they are also a company within my state but at the same time this measure has been disappointing.

November 7, 2017, 09:21 PM	#11
Tex S Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, TEXAS Posts: 909	Cool mod, Viking. I like the idea of pinning the linkage... mine is sloppy, and just like you I am more concerned about a squib than I am a double charge so I don't use the safety disconnector. Im anxious to see what the replacement measure will look like. The one I currently have is not very good. One of the ears on the bottom is slipping over the nut. A hose clamp fixed it, but its not ideal.

November 8, 2017, 05:31 PM	#12
jetinteriorguy Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2013 Posts: 3,176	I bought my first one right when they first came out and it's been great. It worked so well I bought a second one about a year or so later, and it was not so great. I really had to play with the second one to get it to work good, but once I got it straightened out its been great ever since. I wished I could tell ya'll what I did to the second one but it's been a while and I don't remember exactly what I did.

November 14, 2017, 12:31 AM	#13
Tex S Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, TEXAS Posts: 909	I am convinced that the Auto Drum requires tinkering to get it to work effectively. When speaking with Lee, they told me I could send my measure back. Since I had already spent some time getting it working, I was reluctant to part with it. So, I bought another from Amazon thinking that if it worked good I would send the original one back. The second measure I received was worse than the first. I guess Ill just hang on to the original measure that is sporting my original mods. Lee is a good company, and I don't mean to bash, but they could do a better job of QC, even if it meant at the cost of a higher price point.

November 14, 2017, 08:58 AM	#15
kmw1954 Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2016 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 1,524	Two Lee Presses, a turret and a Pro1000, four sets of Lee dies, two auto disk measures and one auto drum. The Drum has been back to Lee twice now and I just don't have any confidence in it any longer.

November 14, 2017, 01:20 PM	#17
kmw1954 Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2016 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 1,524	Real Gun, I had removed it from mine before I even installed it. When it works it works pretty well. I've had it lock up twice to where it wouldn't move. With Hodgdon HP-38 it will leak a small amount, with Ramshot Silhouette it leaks pretty bad. With both of those it has been very consistent within 0.1gr The leaking isn't so much of a problem on the turret press but on the Pro1000 it is a problem because I do also prime on the press and the loose powder plays havoc with it. Which is also why I keep a Auto Disk, because I've polished it up to where I have basically no leakage with either of those powders. The only problem comes from the restriction to what each cavity will throw. Again if Lee would make this all metal and eliminate the leaking plastic drum and the tendency to lock up and jump gears I would pay 3X as much for one. But as it is now I have lost confidence in it that it won't break again.