Ohaus Dou-Measure reservoir

po18guy · May 31, 2018

I, like many budding curmudgeon reloaders, have one of the excellent but flawed Ohaus Dou-Measures. The problem was always the reservoir, which was fragile where it slipped into the measure body. They chipped, cracked and broke at the two screw holes. Ohaus supported the measure for a few years, but replacement are decades gone.

I have thought of writing Lee to see if they could make an adapter to use their reservoirs. Although they would sell no measures, they would sell adapters and reservoirs.The Ohaus body measures 0.980" at the insertion point. Does anyone know of another measure's reservoir which is compatible?

Thanks in advance.

Letus · May 31, 2018

post some pictures and measurements and we will try to help

M_59 · May 31, 2018

I believe RCBS had one under their label as well. They are very good on supplying broken/missing parts. maybe they will send you one.

Certaindeaf · May 31, 2018

I'd call these guys and see if they have something usable.. they have a couple a stores in the Portland area..

TAP Plastics : TAP Plastics

Certaindeaf · May 31, 2018

Hmm, I thought it was like a straight sided tube like a Lyman 55.. if it's like this, I'd try to jigger a plastic OJ bottle or something?.

RVTECH · May 31, 2018

Ironic as I am dealing with this same problem myself with both an old RCBS measure and a Redding measure which I really like.
The Redding has a straight sided tube which I have removed the set screws and am going to drill the body and tube holes and find (or turn) a brass shaft that will slide through the holes and through the holes in the plastic tube to secure it. This way it can be removed quickly for cleaning without dealing with small set screws.
The RCBS is a different story. Over the years it has worn to the point the plastic tube now mounts loose in the opening. It was originally glued in but eventually broke free and I cleaned the glue off and now just slid it in and friction holds it BUT because it has a 'shoulder' on it I am thinking of turning a section of aluminum tube to replace it - While I will loose the ability to see the powder level I dont think it will be a big deal as it will be easy to simply pop the cap and look inside.

po18guy · May 31, 2018

Thanks, guys! I have heard the MEC shotgun bottles work, but they are white and have threads, IIRC. To start, I have emailed Lee to see if there is any interest. Who knows, since they already make the reservoirs and the adapter would not be a major project? Here are some pics. Will report back.

Letus · May 31, 2018

po18guy said:
Thanks, guys! I have heard the MEC shotgun bottles work, but they are white and have threads, IIRC. To start, I have emailed Lee to see if there is any interest. Who knows, since they already make the reservoirs and the adapter would not be a major project? Here are some pics. Will report back.

View attachment 464899 View attachment 464900 View attachment 464902

It looks very easy to make. Can you measure inside the opening of that metal part?

po18guy · May 31, 2018

Letus said:
It looks very easy to make. Can you measure inside the opening of that metal part?

The opening in the measure body is 0.980" diameter and nominally 0.375" deep. The trick will be to see which reservoirs can be made to work with such an adapter.

Letus · Jun 1, 2018

If you live close to my house, I can make that adapter for you, will only take 10 minutes

po18guy · Jun 1, 2018

Letus said:
If you live close to my house, I can make that adapter for you, will only take 10 minutes

Thank you for the very kind offer! Someone at the Colt Forum sent me this link - a couple of common household items that can be re-purposed, but an adapter also sounds interesting. Will advise!

Edit: Found a perfect bottle and removed the threads for a perfect fit. The problem is that the bottle flares out too early and the lever hits it. I need a riser/adapter to lift the bottle and inch or so. Will look into PVC/ABS plumbing connectors, but if I draw a blank, I will make a dimensioned drawing and get it to you.

po18guy · Jun 14, 2018

OK. I found a super-secret European source (which I cannot divulge) for Ohaus Powder measure reservoirs. The measure opening is 0.890" which struck me as an odd dimension. However, the typical 2 liter soda bottle (and many smaller plastic bottles) measures the same around its neck once the threads are removed. So I found a mandrel over which the bottle neck would fit. Clamped the mandrel in a vise and, using a couple different coarse files, I worked my way around the neck, making sure I didn't cut into the neck itself, but just removed the threads. Finished up with a flat mill file and it turned out pretty well.

I had the measure body handy and tried fit several times. Once it was a snug, no-rattle slip fit, I stopped and cleaned the plastic "curls" up with a small wire brush. There was still a trace of the threads left, so trial fitting as you go is the best. As to trimming the thin plastic bottom of the bottle off, I puzzled over that until it hit me that I could simply freeze some water in the bottle and use a utility knife to cut the bottom off. I held the bottle in the corner of a counter top so that I could simply rotate it using the neck and hold the knife steady. A little file work and some wet-or-dry on the cut edge and it was good to go.

Now, the Ohaus measures have dual opposing screws which engaged oversized holes in the OEM reservoir. Convenient, but this allowed the reservoir to rock slightly - which it did from the lever banging against the stop at both ends of the stroke. Eventually, the plastic cracked and the reservoir was on its way out. And, those threads were a comparatively small 8-32 thread.

I drilled the holes out slightly and tapped them 10-32, which is a substantially larger thread. I then drilled pilot holes through the bottle neck, tapping them 10-32 as well. I ran the tap through the measure body and into the bottle neck, so that the threads would be "timed." Thus, the reservoir screws (and the friction fit) keep the reservoir tightly snugged into the measure body. A perusal of my bottle cap collection (don't ask) turned up an old mayo or salad dressing lid that was a perfect slip fit over the bottle bottom (top?). A little creative de-burring of the 10-31 threads in the measure body and bottle neck and all was well.

A spritz of Hornady One-Shot Case Lube (dry, non-contaminating lube) on the drum and its cavity in the measure body and it is running as smooth as ever and we are back in business. Also, I went to a plastics engineering blog and found that soda bottle plastic (PET or PETE) is one of the lowest static plastics of those commonly available, so it should not cause the powder to cling or bunch up. A win-win.