Lee Loader

I have been loading on a Lee Classic 4 hole turret since they first came out. Most of my loading has been semi-auto calibers, but I have loaded a lot of .357 Magnum ammo for my Rossi 92. I'm on a revolver kick after neglecting them for several years. My die setup for ,357 is a hodgepodge of different dies, but always worked well. The sizer is a Lyman, expander is a Lee powder thru, seater is an RCBS and I have a Lee carbide factory crimp die. I use the new version Auto Prime and have an extension on the expander to clear the primer holder.

I have several .38 special only revolvers I want to shoot. I didn't want to fool with my .357 setup so I bought a new Lee Deluxe Carbide 4 die set for .38/.357 and a new extension for the expander. I already had an extra turret. I installed the resizer - no problem. I installed the new powder thru expander and that's when the trouble started. I left the powder funnel on top of the expander and adjusted for just the right amount of flare. Then I removed the funnel and replaced it with the extension and an Auto drum measure. I filled the hopper, turned it to the on position and ran a case through. No powder in the case. I tried several times, but still had the same results. I replaced the Auto Drum with a Pro Auto Disk I have. Same results. It's like the floating extension piece is not moving up far enough to actuate the measure. What can I possibly be doing wrong?

Anybody?

Take it apart. Sometimes that sizer gets in the wrong position. I know, trust me. You will also have some powder to brush back into your holding tank.
I have done the same thing many times, loaded perfect rounds, a year later, come back and "hey" where's the powder, Come on man, where's the powder?

Safe travels and fun reloads brother,

2db

Thanks for your help. I'll give it a try today.

Couple other things to look for, make sure you have the hopper turned to "on" , I know, kinda silly suggestion, but still, also check and make sure you didn't leave the o ring from the funnel on there. The measure has it's own and you don't want two there. Again, basic, but easy to miss sometimes.

The hopper has definitely been turned on. Your suggestion about the O ring is a good one though. I think I may have an extra O ring all right. I'm going to check it now. Thanks for the tip. I'll let you know later if that was it.

horseman wrote: ↑07 Sep 2023 08:01 Couple other things to look for, make sure you have the hopper turned to "on" , I know, kinda silly suggestion, but still, also check and make sure you didn't leave the o ring from the funnel on there. The measure has it's own and you don't want two there. Again, basic, but easy to miss sometimes.

I guess I still don't have a definitive answer yet. I removed the extension. It had an O ring between the extension and the expander die. I put one of my Pro Auto Disc measures directly on the expander and it works perfectly. It's usable now, but I still can't use Auto Prime. Next step is to put the extension on with no O ring and use the same measure.
Again, thanks for your help.

It's a long, convoluted story, so I'll condense it. I got the new set of .38 Special dies to work by removing the extension and attaching a Pro Auto Disk measure directly to the expander die. I reset my dies on the .357 turret and tried them with the Auto Drum and the extension. It would not drop any powder. I took off the extension and attached the Auto Drum directly on top of the expander. Still no powder. I took it apart and found no crud or any reason why it shouldn't work. Replaced it with another Pro Auto Disk and it works fine. The Auto Drum will be a project for another day.

Maybe it's just a "bad one". I'd call Lee and tell them the issue. If that doesn't fix the problem then send it back to Lee Precision, they'll fix it or send you a new one. That's what I would do...........in fact I did do that with an Auto Drum that was giving me problems. They fixed it.

That will probably be the next step. Thanks for your help.