Powder bar accuracy upgrade tricks?

[Frankmako]

i got three hoppers from the early 80's.  only one has turned a little yellow.  had one pop off because the older ones did not have screws holding them in.   super glue fix that problem.   what i use is a egg vibrator and two rubber bands.  fill hopper with powder, turn on vibrator and watch the powder drop down.   

[jim m]

Agree with Joe 4D---  Leave powder in my hoppers and have never had a problem. 

Jim

[78Staff]

Seems like a clever idea IF it prevents static issues?  But geez, $45?

[Yondering]

20 hours ago, Frankmako said:

  what i use is a egg vibrator and two rubber bands.  

 

What is that? I honestly don't want to google search for it, kinda afraid of the results I'd get in my search history.  

[Frankmako]

i got the egg vibrator off ebay.  around 9 dollars.  the one they sent was pink.  yes you know what they are used for. but it also works for what i need it to do on the dillon hopper.  

[78Staff]

I run a thick rubber band around my MBF tube and the hopper, so it gets a little jiggle every few rounds.  I also use one of those UniqueTek baffles, and tap the bowl a few times every once in a while with a die wrench.  I would imagine a buzzing vribrating egg would get annoying... do you leave it running the entire time, or just after filling?

 

 

 

Oh I also have a "liner" cut out of this clear static free divider material, one of the "tricks" I read about either here or one one of the reloading forums... greatly reduces static.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006ICF3

Edited November 21, 2019 by 78Staff

[Frankmako]

what i do is turn it on and run it until the powder compress down.   you can see the powder moving down.  it does not take long.  i run it while i am filling the primer pickup tube then i turn it off.  i will turn it on again later to repack the powder.  but it is hard to tell if it needs it or not.  but i do it.  i have a after market powder cap weight system that has a weighted powder follower.  this system worked well and now even better with the vibrator.   when i first tried the vibrator i kept it on the whole time, but found that it was not needed. so now at the first and around half way or a little more for a second time.  my egg vibrator is not loud.  

[RePete]

Nor is my aquarium pump.

 

[DIYguy]

On 10/8/2019 at 12:15 PM, DIYguy said:

"Several people have mentioned that the Hornady plastic melts so bad they have fallen out and spilled powder everywhere."

 

I don't know about plastic melting and causing it to fall out but I also have the Hornady LnL which is currently packed in a box.  What I found with the Hornady hopper is there is no mechanical fastener to anchor the hopper to the meter body. The body has ridges and the plastic is just forced into the body opening. I've had the hopper worked it's way up during a reload session and the hopper fall off the body and yah.... MAJOR f@@@!ng mess. I had to wrap duct tape around the hopper and body to hold it in place. And yah, plastic discolored so bad became dark, almost semi opaque. (slightly off topic)

As I posted earlier, I don't think melting plastic has anything to do with the Hornaday hoppers falling off and more about how they are mounted. Friction fit with no mechanical fastener.

 

Regarding the Dram Worx hoppers, I've been using mine for a few load sessions and like it. For the Thanksgiving relative gathering yesterday I was able to run away and hide in my shop and get some reloads done. While the Brother-in-Law and his wife were in the kitchen I managed to crank out 300+ 223 loads with the new hopper. Pulled charged cases of the line multiple times during the process and weighed the charge and they all came out at the weight they were supposed to. Impressed! Just ordered another one, going to try the one with the powder alarm.

[Bmans45]

14 hours ago, DIYguy said:

As I posted earlier, I don't think melting plastic has anything to do with the Hornaday hoppers falling off and more about how they are mounted. Friction fit with no mechanical fastener.

 

Regarding the Dram Worx hoppers, I've been using mine for a few load sessions and like it. For the Thanksgiving relative gathering yesterday I was able to run away and hide in my shop and get some reloads done. While the Brother-in-Law and his wife were in the kitchen I managed to crank out 300+ 223 loads with the new hopper. Pulled charged cases of the line multiple times during the process and weighed the charge and they all came out at the weight they were supposed to. Impressed! Just ordered another one, going to try the one with the powder alarm.

 

Just got my Dram Work hopper. Going to install it and give it a shot in a little bit later today.

[Pinecone]

On 10/8/2019 at 11:05 AM, trickg said:

From the Immortobot website, apparently the stock powder hoppers can corrode so badly that they have actually fallen apart for some people.  Do you know anyone that has happened to?

 

Nope.

 

And I stopped shooting for almost 15 years and had left WW231 in the hopper for that entire time.

[Joedirt199]

http://uniquetek.com/free_tips_files

 

Download the tips on powder measure improvements. If you polish up the insides and moving parts it will run smoother. I unhooked the powder safety that causes the "clunk" when lowering the shell plate, just unhook the top part of the spring that connects to the pin sticking out. Powder par safety will fall out of way and not catch anymore. I did put 2 of the wife's elastic hair ties between the hopper and rear of bar to close the bar. Much smoother powder drops. I can get very consistant drops with my dillon. I would say .1 gr variance. No need for vibrators, fish pumps, voodoo hexes, or holy water.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Joedirt199

[RePete]

That's not altogether true.  I had tried many things, except the polishing,  and the aquarium pump did the trick.

[Joedirt199]

Grab some fine diamond knife sharpening stones and rub all the powder bar surfaces on it. Will show you all the rough edges. The smoother the powder measure runs the better. I also started running my pistol brass lubed to ease the down stroke when coming off the mouth bell. Spray some lube in a freezer bag, add the brass and roll it around in the bag. 

[mvmojo]

Just ordered a Dram Worx medium pyrex powder tube for my RL1050.  Both my Dillon plastic tubes are discolored, but the reality is they would likely work for another 50 years so this is a luxury, not an absolute need!  I use WSF and the drops are pretty consistent,.  I typically throw 10 charges and average by moving the decimal point.  Doing that, I'm usually within 1/10th gr. over the 10 charges, i.e., if I'm shooting for 38.0 gr (10 throws = 3.8 gr per throw), I'll see 37.9, 38.0 or 38.1.  Close enough!  I just like the idea of a glass powder hopper and the 30% added volume is a plus.  

[RaylanGivens]

2 hours ago, mvmojo said:

Just ordered a Dram Worx medium pyrex powder tube for my RL1050.  Both my Dillon plastic tubes are discolored, but the reality is they would likely work for another 50 years so this is a luxury, not an absolute need!  I use WSF and the drops are pretty consistent,.  I typically throw 10 charges and average by moving the decimal point.  Doing that, I'm usually within 1/10th gr. over the 10 charges, i.e., if I'm shooting for 38.0 gr (10 throws = 3.8 gr per throw), I'll see 37.9, 38.0 or 38.1.  Close enough!  I just like the idea of a glass powder hopper and the 30% added volume is a plus.  

 

They have a better hopper baffle, too... 

 

[mvmojo]

22 minutes ago, RaylanGivens said:

 

They have a better hopper baffle, too... 

 

Cool.  An added bonus!

[cnote]

On 10/8/2019 at 8:46 PM, RePete said:

Just pick up an air pump from a tropical fish store, a cheap unit, and rubber band it to the powder hopper.

or duck tape the girlfriends purse vibrator to the hopper, its free and may grant you a future benefit until she figures it out out

Edited March 22, 2020 by cnote

[Nc1911]

I removed my Dillon powder measure on my 750 and using a Lee auto drum with no problems and excellent powder drop accuracy. 

[SnipTheDog]

11 hours ago, cnote said:

or duck tape the girlfriends purse vibrator to the hopper, its free and may grant you a future benefit until she figures it out out

 

Wouldn't that dwarf the hopper?

[GDIS46]

As an old engineer who likes to re-engineer everything I touch, I'll throw in my two cents here:

 

The problem is: Inconsistent Powder Drops.  Correct?

The theory is:  To vibrate the powder measure and pack the powder down.  Correct?

You probably don't need constant vibration on the powder measure when you are not loading.  Right or wrong? 

 

If you don't need constant vibration then how about a switch that turns on it a vibrating motor at some phase of the cycle?  Maybe the down stoke of the handle,  or something in between. or the vibrating motor runs anytime the handle is out of home position? 

 

I would not use an aquarium pump nor your wife or girlfriend's vibrator.  They sell small vibrating motors on eBay and Amazon that run on a wide array of voltages (3vdc to 24vdc) that could be permanently mounted to the powder measure.  The larger the motor, the more strongly they vibrate.  They also sell small battery packs that could be connected to the switch then to the motor.  Here are some samples along with a mounting bracket, and a battery pack. 

 

Once the motor is mounted to the powder measure, a switch is installed so it runs ever time the handle is pulled down and turns off when the handle id returned to home.  It would vibrate the powder measure each time you pulled the handle thereby packing the powder and giving more consistent powder drops.

 

If this is a big problem, then why hasn't Dillon come up with a solution?

 

Your thoughts?

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by GDIS46
Improved understanding

[GDIS46]

On 11/21/2019 at 12:21 PM, 78Staff said:

Not to get off topic, but please tell me about the video monitor here....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MemphisMechanic]

@GDIS46 he’s mounted an inexpensive backup camera on his press which is aimed into the case to verify the powder drop. On the 1050 it’s *really* hard to see into that case.

[mvmojo]

I mounted a $20 endoscope camera on my 1050.  It displays on my smart phone which I rest in the bullet bin.  It allows me to see powder levels in the case before the bullet drop.  Available at Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/DEPSTECH-Semi-rigid-Inspection-Waterproof-Adjustable/dp/B00STB0EW6/ref=zg_bs_8297406011_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9AGFSM4DSKAKB0FHR4HE.  It helps to have a "sky light" on the press as well.  I use the Inline Fabrication light, https://inlinefabrication.com/collections/lighting/products/skylight-for-the-dillon-1050.  This is over-priced in my opinion for an LED light but it does have a nice mount that allows you to mount it in the bullet seating position.  None-the-less, I feel much better knowing the level of powder in the case prior to bullet seating.

[78Staff]

On 3/22/2020 at 10:32 PM, GDIS46 said:

 

 

It's a Whistler Inspection Camera that I am using as a powder camera, as mentioned above..  The monitor separates from the grip and I have it mounted at eye level, while the grip and flexible scope I have mounted at the bottom of the case feeder upright,with the scope looped and pointing down into the case...  However, to be honest with Dillon's KaKlunk safety rod setup it's damn near impossible to double charge a case anymore, and I find I really don't look at it as much as I originally did.  I may even remove it to open up some space around the press.  There are several options, search for powder camera and you'll see a few options using endoscope, tables, auto backup cams, etc.  This was just a nice self-contained unit that I found worked really well.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087WRRPE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1