Stonecrusher
Active Member
This is just a little something I worked up a while back, mainly because I am thrifty(cheap). When you start accumulating a lot of toolheads for you Dillon 550, the powder measures start getting a little pricey, at least until I win the Powerball. As of now I have about nine toolheads for the 550 and only four Dillon powdermeasures. So I thought I would like to use my autodisk on the calibers I don't load all the time to avoid having to reset the measures constantly. This is because I am efficient(lazy).
Because I didn't want to buy any more Lee dies, etc, just to use their measure I needed an adapter that would allow me to put the Autodisk on the Dillon powder dies. What I drew up works with the measure and powder dies/funnels I have and doesn't require any adjustment of the powder die height when switching between the Dillon and Lee measure. Tolerances and other things may not allow this to be the case with every combination, but so far it works for me.
Pictures are better than words so here you go. I have also included a dimensioned drawing. The only thing missing off the drawing is the addition of some relief cuts at the bottom of the slot that allow fingers to pull the collar out so it can be removed from the powder die. My slick calloused fingers made this almost impossible before making this alteration.
Both pieces are made from 6061 T6 Aluminum. I made the locking collar a round piece and then milled it down below the halfway point by .015" to .030" to give a little clearance for it to lock onto the die. Also, I wanted to use the powder measure return rod on the 550 so I had to drill the hole on the Lee measure that is there for the toilet bowl chain. A 3/16" drill works well and allows the rod to be pushed in and secure.
Might be a useful project for you guys with a new lathe. Only thing else needed are two 10-24 x .75" SHCS.
If you don't have a mill you could take the notch all the way out the end using a saw and do the same with the collar.
Because I didn't want to buy any more Lee dies, etc, just to use their measure I needed an adapter that would allow me to put the Autodisk on the Dillon powder dies. What I drew up works with the measure and powder dies/funnels I have and doesn't require any adjustment of the powder die height when switching between the Dillon and Lee measure. Tolerances and other things may not allow this to be the case with every combination, but so far it works for me.
Pictures are better than words so here you go. I have also included a dimensioned drawing. The only thing missing off the drawing is the addition of some relief cuts at the bottom of the slot that allow fingers to pull the collar out so it can be removed from the powder die. My slick calloused fingers made this almost impossible before making this alteration.
Both pieces are made from 6061 T6 Aluminum. I made the locking collar a round piece and then milled it down below the halfway point by .015" to .030" to give a little clearance for it to lock onto the die. Also, I wanted to use the powder measure return rod on the 550 so I had to drill the hole on the Lee measure that is there for the toilet bowl chain. A 3/16" drill works well and allows the rod to be pushed in and secure.
Might be a useful project for you guys with a new lathe. Only thing else needed are two 10-24 x .75" SHCS.
If you don't have a mill you could take the notch all the way out the end using a saw and do the same with the collar.
