Adapting Lyman Powder Measure to Lee Powder Through Die
Posted: 29 Nov 2018 11:18
</Repost from the other wrong forum...sorry>
I have a bit of a mechanical conundrum; hopefully this is the correct forum.
First, a bit of history.
As stated in previous posts, I have fond memories of summers sitting in dad's garage reloading hundreds of rounds of various rifle and pistol calibers; powders 40 years ago emitted an aroma that doesn't seem to exist in modern powders and I looked forward to those sessions just for that smell. I distinctly remember the orange enameled press dad had, and the powder measure had a little hammer attached to the side which I used to ensure all the powder dropped after I rotated the handle. After some research, I discovered it was an old Lyman (I genuinely wish I had that setup now, but my little brother literally stole all of it when dad died...needless to say my brother is persona non grata).
Now, I have the Lee Precision Auto Drum Powder Measure (came as a set with the Lee Precision Turret Press). The Auto Drum Powder Measure seems fine, although I have yet to put it through a full reloading session. Some of the finnicky plastic bits give me some concern with regards to their durability and longevity, such as the connecting rod, latch lever, disconnector, and slider. As such, and in part due to nostalgia, I went ahead and purchased a new Lyman Powder Measure (Amazon ASIN: B000N8LHD8) and the Perfect Adapter (so I could utilize the Lee Precision Powder Through Die). It's just me, but I liked the surety of the little hammer tapping the powder measure to get all the powder in the cartridge. If I'm being overly OCD, I am wide open to being corrected.
Allegedly, and based on all the reviews, all of this should have fit together; Lee Precision Powder Through Die (with the female slip adapter) threaded into a Lee Precision Turret, then the male end of the Perfect Adapter inserted into the female slip socket on the Powder Through Die, then the threaded male end of the Lyman Powder Measure inserted into the Perfect Adapter...simple right?
Not so much...at least for me.
The Lyman Adapter (ASIN #B001GXFIT8) is threaded on to the Lyman Powder Measure (comes with it). The male threads are advertised as 7/8 x 14, while the female threads are 5/8 x 30 (irrelevant for this question).
Lee Turrets have 7/8 x 14 female threads.
The Perfect Adapter has 7/8 x 14 female threads.
I can fully insert any Lee 7/8 x 14 male threaded die into the female socket of a Lee Precision turret. That's expected.
I can fully insert the same die into the female 7/8 x 14 female socket of the Perfect Adapter. OK, that's good...same threads.
I can fully insert the 7/8 x 14 male threaded end of Lyman Powder Measure adapter into the 7/8 x 14 threaded female socket of the Lee Turret. Looking good, so far.
I CANNOT insert the 7/8 x 14 male threaded end of Lyman adapter into the 7/8 x 14 female socket Perfect Adapter. WTH?!?
To summarize, I can get any 7/8 x 14 male die to thread into 2 different 7/8 x 14 female sockets (both the Lee Turret and the Perfect Adapter), but I can get the 7/8 x 14 Lyman adapter/bushing to thread into ONLY the Lee Precision Turret Press, not the Perfect Adapter, despite them all having the same 7/8 x 14 threads.
Everything is threaded 7/8 x 14, but I cannot even thread a single thread from the Lyman Powder Measure adapter into the Perfect Adapter (which was the entire point, I thought).
I bought 2 Perfect Adapters, and neither accept the Lyman Adapter. This question has nothing to do with the slip fitting of the Perfect Adapter into the Lee Precision Powder Through Die; that works great. This question only relates to threading the 7/8 x 14 male end of the Lyman Powder Measure Adapter into the 7/8 x 14 female socket of the Perfect Adapter.
Why is there a discrepancy between two seemingly identically threaded parts?
I can set a Lee male die next to the Lyman male adapter, and the threads appear to perfectly interleave. I suppose the next thing I can do is measure the major diameter of the male and female threads on all of the pieces and see if there is a discrepancy.
I am really hoping someone here has encountered a similar situation and can advise.
I have a bit of a mechanical conundrum; hopefully this is the correct forum.
First, a bit of history.
As stated in previous posts, I have fond memories of summers sitting in dad's garage reloading hundreds of rounds of various rifle and pistol calibers; powders 40 years ago emitted an aroma that doesn't seem to exist in modern powders and I looked forward to those sessions just for that smell. I distinctly remember the orange enameled press dad had, and the powder measure had a little hammer attached to the side which I used to ensure all the powder dropped after I rotated the handle. After some research, I discovered it was an old Lyman (I genuinely wish I had that setup now, but my little brother literally stole all of it when dad died...needless to say my brother is persona non grata).
Now, I have the Lee Precision Auto Drum Powder Measure (came as a set with the Lee Precision Turret Press). The Auto Drum Powder Measure seems fine, although I have yet to put it through a full reloading session. Some of the finnicky plastic bits give me some concern with regards to their durability and longevity, such as the connecting rod, latch lever, disconnector, and slider. As such, and in part due to nostalgia, I went ahead and purchased a new Lyman Powder Measure (Amazon ASIN: B000N8LHD8) and the Perfect Adapter (so I could utilize the Lee Precision Powder Through Die). It's just me, but I liked the surety of the little hammer tapping the powder measure to get all the powder in the cartridge. If I'm being overly OCD, I am wide open to being corrected.
Allegedly, and based on all the reviews, all of this should have fit together; Lee Precision Powder Through Die (with the female slip adapter) threaded into a Lee Precision Turret, then the male end of the Perfect Adapter inserted into the female slip socket on the Powder Through Die, then the threaded male end of the Lyman Powder Measure inserted into the Perfect Adapter...simple right?
Not so much...at least for me.
The Lyman Adapter (ASIN #B001GXFIT8) is threaded on to the Lyman Powder Measure (comes with it). The male threads are advertised as 7/8 x 14, while the female threads are 5/8 x 30 (irrelevant for this question).
Lee Turrets have 7/8 x 14 female threads.
The Perfect Adapter has 7/8 x 14 female threads.
I can fully insert any Lee 7/8 x 14 male threaded die into the female socket of a Lee Precision turret. That's expected.
I can fully insert the same die into the female 7/8 x 14 female socket of the Perfect Adapter. OK, that's good...same threads.
I can fully insert the 7/8 x 14 male threaded end of Lyman Powder Measure adapter into the 7/8 x 14 threaded female socket of the Lee Turret. Looking good, so far.
I CANNOT insert the 7/8 x 14 male threaded end of Lyman adapter into the 7/8 x 14 female socket Perfect Adapter. WTH?!?
To summarize, I can get any 7/8 x 14 male die to thread into 2 different 7/8 x 14 female sockets (both the Lee Turret and the Perfect Adapter), but I can get the 7/8 x 14 Lyman adapter/bushing to thread into ONLY the Lee Precision Turret Press, not the Perfect Adapter, despite them all having the same 7/8 x 14 threads.
Everything is threaded 7/8 x 14, but I cannot even thread a single thread from the Lyman Powder Measure adapter into the Perfect Adapter (which was the entire point, I thought).
I bought 2 Perfect Adapters, and neither accept the Lyman Adapter. This question has nothing to do with the slip fitting of the Perfect Adapter into the Lee Precision Powder Through Die; that works great. This question only relates to threading the 7/8 x 14 male end of the Lyman Powder Measure Adapter into the 7/8 x 14 female socket of the Perfect Adapter.
Why is there a discrepancy between two seemingly identically threaded parts?
I can set a Lee male die next to the Lyman male adapter, and the threads appear to perfectly interleave. I suppose the next thing I can do is measure the major diameter of the male and female threads on all of the pieces and see if there is a discrepancy.
I am really hoping someone here has encountered a similar situation and can advise.