Lee Auto Disk Modification

[DoctorThunder]

As much as I hate Facebook, someone on one of the reloading groups I'm a member of posted a few pictures of modifications they've done to their Lee Auto disks that seem like a good idea. I've tried using the adjustable charge bar, but haven't been too pleased with the results when throwing small loads. This idea seems to partially solve some of the issues with the charge bar (including being able to stack them for rifle loads) and gives the ability to dial in charges that are otherwise difficult to achieve with the limited configurations of the auto disks. It didn't sound like this idea was all that new, so I'm curious. Has anyone tried this and what, if any, problems did you encounter?

 

[Steve B]

I don't see how you could get a consistent load doing this. Powder would be left sitting on top of the screws thus throwing off the charge weight.

 

[Broom_jm]

I don't see how you could get a consistent load doing this. Powder would be left sitting on top of the screws thus throwing off the charge weight.

For the record, I doubt that would be the case, but it would certainly be easy enough to confirm by simply weighing 20-30 thrown charges. If ya stop and think about it, half a turn out on the screw would compensate for any small amount that may be left sitting on the threads. Since people are actually doing this, presumably with enough consistency to pursue it, my guess is it works just fine.

 

[Kisada]

I have done this with hex thumb screws and it works fine for the most part. When I raise the ram up & powder is dropped, I just give a quick flick or two to the face of the screw to knock any particles off before I bring the ram back down. It also kinda depends on cavity size/how far you feed the screw in.

 

[throttletony]

I don't know if I'd do it, but I don't think it sounds like that bad of an idea.
With their double disk kit, you can get pretty close to specific loads. However, since it's volumetric and not weight, there'll always be some gaps.
If I made any modifications, I would actually ream/expand a smaller hole by just a bit. (obviously weighing and verifying along the way) I think the disks have enough plastic on them to allow that, and it'd be WAY more consistent than the screw method. By the way, wouldn't the screws on the side of disk contact the assembly screws that hold the hopper on the base?

If it doesn't work well, you're only out a few bucks - OR - but a fancy trickler/scale combo (RCBS or Hornady).

For handgun loads, I wouldn't even bother with this, for *most* rifle loads, I wouldn't bother either.
Precision rifle loads would be worth the time to weigh out anyways.

that's my $.02

 

[warthog]

make sure you have a few sets of disks before doing this to your only set.

I can see this working but you can get pretty exact with the double disk set up for rifle loads already. As for handguns, I wish they would bring the old changeable set up. The new one doesn't work as well IMO.

 

[DoctorThunder]

Luckily I have 3 sets of disks that I've accumulated. I'm going to give this a try when time frees up and I'll post the results.

 

[throttletony]

Luckily I have 3 sets of disks that I've accumulated. I'm going to give this a try when time frees up and I'll post the results.

Cool, please keep us in the loop.

 

[Kisada]

By the way, wouldn't the screws on the side of disk contact the assembly screws that hold the hopper on the base?

You only need one screw installed, just leave the rest of the holes open as they are not in use. I only tapped 2 or 3 holes for the most common drop sizes I use for small min/max range powders (i.e. Titegroup). Take the hole with the max charge for your load and tap it, pop in a screw and you're good to go. I also used a grinder to smooth the first few threads of the thumb screw out (but I don't think it was necessary).