LEE "Perfect" powder measure. Can it be improved?

[jamo002]

I hate to criticize any LEE product and I will start out by saying I have two of these inexpensive measures (bought together) and mine DO THROW ACCURATE CHARGES. (I have the best accuracy when I DO NOT double/tripple tap the lever on the up OR down stroke).

I just wish LEE offered something these $25.00 measures and my $250.00 Harrell ball bearing bench rest measure!

These little LEE measures are ackward and clumsy to use and they FEEL bad when rotating the cylinder. I've tried dusting the rotor with powdered graphite and running several hoppers of nice dirty Bullseye powder through the measure. I also backed off the tension screw 1/8 turn (please mark your screw/cylinder BEFORE dissembling the measure. MAYBE I feel a 10% improvement.

HAS anyone found a way to get these to turn smoothly, with lighter pressure on the operating lever??

For me, five $25.00 measures pre-set for my 5 favorite loads would be a lot more useful than one $125 metal powder measure. HELP!

[DougGuy]

You can make a billet aluminum adjustable bar and fit it to the older Lee auto disk measure, this one beats every other powder measure I have used for consistent charges thrown and not a speck of powder spilled anywhere.. My son made this one for me from a drawing I gave him of a bar made by the E. A. Brown company back in the 1990s.

[kbstenberg]

I don't have any metal working skills like Doug. What I did was to take the black rotor out that turns in the frame. put a LITE coat of any polishing compound on the tapered rotor. Re-install it in the frame. Turn the rotor a few times in place. Take it apart again clean both the rotor and the housing. You should see where the polishing compound has taken away the highest spots.
I kept going through the process until both the rotor surface and the inner hosing surface looked smooth. I think it took me 4 attemts till everything was smooth.
Before this process it leaked BLC2 tear-ably. Now It doesn't leak and it is much smoother.

[Mike Hughes]

If you were to buy five of them, you might end up with a bucket that resembles this one

Here is how I fixed mine

[GoodOlBoy]

I am normally a big fan of Lee products this is the MOST complained about product that they make (at least that I know of) I have seen countless number of posts on sites with the exact same issues. My understanding is that there are a few powders that actually measure perfectly through them, but VERY few. I don't know which ones. Good Luck.

GoodOlBoy

[Wizwheel]

Well, you say it "throws accurate charges", Isn't that what a measure is suppose to do? ...so what is the problem?

[Petrol & Powder]

Talking about Lee products on this forum is almost like bringing up subjects that include the labels of Glock or 1911 . Proceed at your own risk

Lee products have their place in reloading. They fulfill the need for a supplier of inexpensive reloading equipment. There's a difference between Cheap & Inexpensive. I'm not saying Lee stuff is bad but I am saying that in order to hold prices down they must make compromises.
I have some Lee products but for most of my tools, I prefer a bit more quality than Lee provides. Sometimes spending more money buys you better quality and sometimes it just makes your wallet lighter. I think each person must decide for themselves what constitutes "adequate" and spend their money accordingly.
For some applications it just doesn't matter. For example, I still have an old Lee Auto prime that hasn't broken yet. It pushes primers into primer pockets just as good as any other tool. When it breaks (and it will break) I'll replace it with something better. In the meantime, there's no sense in spending more money for a tool I only occasionally use.
As for Lee "I guess...perfect"? powder measures........I'll leave that for someone else to bash. I purchased a Redding and never looked back.

[prs]

The OP is working with the Perfect PM and a couple above show Pro Auto PM, different animals. I have never used the Perfect, but if its reservoir case has no "butterfly" baffle as seen in the RCBS measure shown above, that would be a possible improvement for stubborn powders. Maybe the best "improvement" with any measure would be to use ball powders and consistent press action.

prs

[500MAG]

Like Petrol said, Lee is good but limited. I have worked with many Lee products but my PPM is still in the box. I am constantly amazed at the ingenuity of the members of this forum. Doug, that is one awesome aluminum bar your son helped you make. Thank God for Lee, if they didn't exist 30 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to start reloading and I curse Dillon fir making me have to switch. Lol.

[DougGuy]

I do have a Dillon 550 that uses their powder funnels, it mounts on a Lee press and works fine. Works like a PM -should- work that is.. When I got the 2 Lee PMs set up with the billet bars, the Dillon went on a shelf. You know how good a PM has to be for it to run a Dillon off the press???

Try a Dillon on your press and throw the Lee PMs in a bucket. You can thank me later. NIce pic Mike Hughes!

[mdi]

Lee is prolly the most innovative reloading tool manufacturer there is. Their "cheapness" isn't from inferior designs or materials, but like Ruger's first .22, manufacturing ease. Nuttin' wrong with a modern man made material for a powder measure drum. They are smooth operating and easier to manufacture. I believe the OP was talking about the "ergonomics" of the PPM ( not the disk type measure). With some powders (IMR 4064) the use of a PPM feels somewhat "gritty" when the drum cuts some of the "logs". But so does my C-H 502 powder measure. With other powders (W231. W748, and even my Unique) the charges run smooth as water and consistant, but like any measure will be more variation with extruded powders.

Jes my experiences with using some Lee products since 1969, got my first PPM IN 1986...

[Silverboolit]

Many of the problems that people have with LEE equipment is that they have to 'hammer ' on everything. My son-in-law has a saying "If it don't fit, hit it harder, If it breaks, it needs replacing anyway." Anything he owns is broken!!

I have used LEE equipment for over 30 years and have never had to use their warranty, or order parts to replace broken parts. Using equipment, weather from LEE or Harbor Freight , is a matter of judging the end results. I like to treat my equipment like it has to last 100 years.


Of course some of their parts could be made of better materials. Who's couldn't? Could they do a better job of fit and finish? They should.

[jmort]

My experience was to firmly move lever back and forth. It is very accurate. The "tests" I have seen comparing it to more expensive measures shows it is as accurate or more accurate than other brands. I just use dippers, no moving parts, static volume, the safest way to charge.

[500MAG]

My experience was to firmly move lever back and forth. It is very accurate. The "tests" I have seen comparing it to more expensive measures shows it is as accurate or more accurate than other brands. I just use dippers, no moving parts, static volume, the safest way to charge.

Other than on my Dillon progressives, I use the dippers too. That's how I started and they work great for me.

[r1kk1]

Lee is prolly the most innovative reloading tool manufacturer there is.

MDI I respectfully disagree. I've done some patent searches for awhile now and really am bummed that tools are rehashed, redone from older tools. For instance the Lee press mounted case trimmer is a very close copy to a Pacific tool version which is a close copy to an even older tool. The LNL bushing is very similar to another that was marketed in around 1970, and so on. The Summit press is a very close copy to the Wamadet, the list goes on.

i would love to see an original and truly innovative tool. It seems like reinventing the wheel after a patent expires with a tweak or two.

i didn't care for the PPM. It didn't last long on my bench. Hated it. Cheesy stand that I replaced and helped considerably with charges but very unfriendly ergonomics and not a smooth operating measure.

Take care

r1kk1

[Rory McCanuck]

My PPM works great with extruded powders, but leaked fine balls like H-335 or AA1680. Just made a mess.
I used some lapping compound on the rotor and knocked off the worst of the high spots, and now it is much better. It doesn't need to be cranked up right tight to not leak, and backing the screw off just a touch makes it turn nice and freely.

I tend to use other measures for balls and flakes, but the Lee is easily the best I have for extrudeds.
I have it mounted on a small board as a base for the stand.
Pushing down with my pinky to hold the case tight to the drop tube puts enough weight to hold it reasonably stable.
Nice, smooth strokes, consistency is key.
If I feel something crunch, I just throw it back into the hopper.
If it feels the same, it usually is, like within 0.1gr.

[Kilroy08]

The end result of my experience with Lee's Perfect Powder Measure was that I was a Pretty Peeved Man.

I will admit it was perfect in one regard, peeing powder all over my press.

[WALLNUTT]

My PPM does well with RL7 and 2400(about all I use it for). I use an autodisk for small pistol charges(flake) and does well for those. My old Lyman 55 gets called out for the logs.

[country gent]

WHile I have not used the lee ppm, Comparing it to a harrels is not really a fair comparison due to the way they are manufactured and cost. I have a couple Harrels and they are great measures a throw back to the culiver conversions with improvements. The Lee is an injection molded plastic unit with very little machining required. The Harrels is a lovely unit but alot of machining hand work required. Running on bearings and accuratly machined surfaces it is going to be smoother. Mine are smoother than my lymanns, RCBS uniflows, and several others. I spent a month of lunch hours at work rebuilding a Uniflow. Jig Ground and honed the housing to truely round, Made a new drum to fit the housing with sideplates limiting end play. A Carbide ring fit into drum for a hard surface cut edge. Cavity and insert ground true and smooth. A rcbs micrometer adjustment ground to fit the cavity with a cup. Smoother yes more accurate with some powders about the same as with others. Alot of work for little gain.Lap you Lee PPM drum to the housing and set it to work free. Maybe a little Molybednium powder worked into it and excess wiped off. The Lee tools do the job asked of them and are inexpensive. I wouldnt call them cheap as cheap dosnt work. You can sped alot of time modifying and improving things when better is there and ready to go.

[troyboy]

Well said country gent. Listen to what was just said.