After reading this thread, it makes me wonder about the charge bars being unlevel. So, I took a metal flat edge and checked. They are right. I can see light between the flat edge and the charge bar...... But these guys are taking their charge bars and (one guy is) filing them down with a file and the other is grinding them down with sandpaper. I looked at mine and there is already play in my MEC charge bars when I jiggle it up and down. So, wouldn't this grinding and filing cause MORE of a gap between the charge bar and the machine and cause even MORE powder to seep out between the two.
My first shotshell reloader, many years ago, was a used Texan single stage. I loaded so much more with it that I began to get a lot of powder migration and spillage from around the charge bar. I made a shim from a piece of thin brass sheet that I fitted beneath the shot bar. I put an appropriate size hole in it directly above the drop tube, and bent the (short) ends down at a 90 degree angle to hold it in place. It worked perfectly with my old charge bar(s). When I bought an adjustable charge bar for it I found the shim was no longer needed. I've since scrapped that old loader, in favor of dedicated MECs, but it served me well for many years.
