When I change powders I normally take a moment to pull the drum out and make sure that there is no powder remaining anywhere in the measure. No real big deal - only takes a few minutes and I don't use that many powders. Last time I pulled it out I noticed that the drum was "sticky", so I hit it with some carb-cleaner and a rag to really clean it up.
Fast forward to last night, I'm reloading with 2400 and the measure is super sticky and slow, requiring a fair amount of effort to push it back into place. This certainly isn't right, so I pulled apart the measure and noticed a long stain on the drum.
Mind you, this measure is a solid 18 years old and dates back to when I was noob reloader. I recall that I had left powder in the measure for stupid lengths of time (a full year). The powder had pitted the drum and stained it.
So last night it finally hit me that the drum needed a better cleaning than just some carb cleaner. Using a bit of 0000 steel wool, I polished the drum surface until I had removed some of the staining and smoothed over some of the pitting. Reassembled, I threw my first couple charges.
Danged if that powder measure wasn't moving like it was brand spanking new! Quick powder throws and the first 10 passes of 2400 measured exactly 12.0 gr. each time!
The moral of the story: if your powder measure is getting "slow", try a bit of steel wool polishing to bring it back to life!
Fast forward to last night, I'm reloading with 2400 and the measure is super sticky and slow, requiring a fair amount of effort to push it back into place. This certainly isn't right, so I pulled apart the measure and noticed a long stain on the drum.
Mind you, this measure is a solid 18 years old and dates back to when I was noob reloader. I recall that I had left powder in the measure for stupid lengths of time (a full year). The powder had pitted the drum and stained it.
So last night it finally hit me that the drum needed a better cleaning than just some carb cleaner. Using a bit of 0000 steel wool, I polished the drum surface until I had removed some of the staining and smoothed over some of the pitting. Reassembled, I threw my first couple charges.
Danged if that powder measure wasn't moving like it was brand spanking new! Quick powder throws and the first 10 passes of 2400 measured exactly 12.0 gr. each time!
The moral of the story: if your powder measure is getting "slow", try a bit of steel wool polishing to bring it back to life!