Anyone tried the Lee Classic Powder measure yet?

[Hondo64d]

The Lee Perfect Powder Measure has a very good reputation for being very consistent with extruded powders. The new Lee Classic Powder measure seems to be a heavier duty version of the Perfect so I am considering giving one a try. Has anyone tried one yet? If so, how well is it working for you? As good or better than the Perfect?

Thanks,

John

 

[Hondo64d]

I decided for $75 it was worth trying so went ahead and ordered one. I'll let you guys know how it works in the next week or so.

John

 

[flashhole]

I bought both the Classic Cast and the Auto Drum measures. I like both. You won't be disappointed if you buy one. The quality is there and it was very repeatable. If I had to select between the two it would be the Auto Drum. I'd like to see Lee make a drum with a graduated chamber for the Auto Drum like that found on the Perfect Powder Measure. No that drum will not work on the Auto Drum.

 

[flashhole]

If you do buy an Auto Drum but the riser with it.

 

[engineer40]

I bought both the Classic Cast and the Auto Drum measures. I like both. You won't be disappointed if you buy one. The quality is there and it was very repeatable. If I had to select between the two it would be the Auto Drum. I'd like to see Lee make a drum with a graduated chamber for the Auto Drum like that found on the Perfect Powder Measure. No that drum will not work on the Auto Drum.

If you do buy an Auto Drum but the riser with it.

I also got an Auto Drum (just this week). I haven't used it a ton yet, just some 45 ACP loads. Very consistent with with Blue Dot flake powder.

But mine wiggles more than expected when screwed into the top of the die. It will never fall off and it is secure. But it's just odd that it will move around so much. If you wanted, try putting a couple fingers on it and seeing if it moves a few mm's back and forth? I'm interested if yours does also. Thanks!

Why do you suggest the riser?

 

[flashhole]

The riser acts as an extended drop tube on a conventional measure. Makes a bit more densely packed load. It also gets the charge mechanism above the dies so you can screw it into a turret without having to remove adjacent dies.

I had a buddy of mine turn me a couple of bushings on his lathe that I put in the sliding sleeve actuator in the Powder Through Expander Dies. That made the Auto Drum/Die assembly rigid with no flop or play and I like it a lot better. I bought 2 Auto Drums and keep one dedicated to the large capacity drum and one dedicated to the small capacity drum.

Before my buddy turned the bushings I made one of the bushings out of a 1/4-20 hex nut. I drilled out the threads with a drill bit that matched the ID of the hollow ram on the measure then filed the facets round. It was just trial and error to get it filed to where it just dropped into the sliding sleeve in the powder die.

A #10 flat washer is the perfect diameter to fit in the sleeve if you can figure out how to make the hole bigger.

I took a picture that will make it easier to understand what I did. The bushing is the small ring sitting between the sliding sleeve and the riser. Here I have the Auto Drum affixed to the small rifle charge die. Oh yeah, I bought both small and large rifle charge dies. That's the other thing to buy if you don't have a Powder Through Expanding Die.

 

[Hondo64d]

I decided for $75 it was worth trying so went ahead and ordered one. I'll let you guys know how it works in the next week or so.

John

My Lee Classic Powder measure arrived today and I spent some time getting familiar with it and then evaluating it. Due to the rubber wiper, it feels different than any powder measure I have ever used. There is continuous friction throughout the throw process. It is smooth, but there is some resistance in the handle. It make sense when I think about it. With a metal on metal drum, there is still a little clearance, allowing them to cycle nearly friction free. With the Lee Classic, the rubber wiper is making firm contact with the drum, thus the friction. Lee is true to their word. It does not shear grains of extruded powder all, a feature that I really like. As a result there is never any jerkiness to the throwing cycle. A little friction, yes, but no jerkiness. But the big question is how consistently does it throw and how does it compare to other measures?

The best measure I have used to this point has been the Montana Vintage Arms powder measure, a refined, very high quality version of the Belding and Mull. So, I tested both the MVA and Lee Classic using the same protocol. I set each measure to throw 36r of H4350 by weighing ten charges and adjusting each measure until ten throws gave me as close to 360 grains as I could get. Then I threw 20 charges from each measure, threw the results in an excel spreadsheet and got the stats. I don't know if 20 charges is a big enough sample to give meaningful data or not. I'll leave that stuff to the statisticians. Anyway, here's the results:

Lee Classic
Extreme Spread - .7gr
Average Charge - 36.085gr
Standard Deviation - .169gr

MVA Powder Measure
Extreme Spread - .9gr
Average Charge - 35.785gr
Standard Deviation - .241gr

One thing that was interesting to me was that the Lee's average charge was a good bit closer to the ten charges I threw when setting it. The ten charge total was 360.8gr, very close to the average for the Lee. With the MVA, the ten charge total I threw while setting it was 360.1gr but the average it threw in the 20 round test was a bit lower at 35.79.

It remains to be seen if the $72 Lee will replace the $200 MVA on my loading bench. One area the MVA absolutely excels in is with ball powders, with literally zero charge to charge deviation. If the Lee ends up doing that, it will be the only measure on my bench. If it doesn't, I'll use the Lee for extruded powders and the MVA for ball and flake powders.

Either way, I think for $72, the Lee Classic is a heck of a bargain.

John