Hornady LNL powder issues

[HK SD9 Tactical]

That powder through die under the Powder Drop with the PTX insert looks like it is screwed down too much - as seen in picture 11-2. Can't say for sure as I have only loaded 9mm on my LnL but with that much thread showing, its got to be hitting the shell plate.

 

[mckey]

Unfortunately I don't.......but believe me I tried two other powder drops and extra hornady and a RCBS with the same results and as my load data I posted shows it throws a consistent charge with a single cartridge.The problems start when theirs more then one cartridge in the shell plate........

 

[HK SD9 Tactical]

Gremlins - has to be!

 

[wild willy]

Was your powder measure insert going the whole way to the top in the slot on your powder measure

 

[mckey]

Yea that's the depth of the powder measure that is screwed down in order for the metering dial
to fully rotate to the top of the slot in the powder measure body.

 

[Crunchy Frog]

When I ordered my press the factory was out of powder measure stops. There was a slip in the box telling me to call customer service if I needed one.

At first I used an expansion die. Later when I purchased shellplates and PTX inserts for 9mm and .45 ACP I called and got one.

The instructions say to set up the powder measure normally. Then install the powder stop bracket and tighten it as needed until you get the desired amount of flare. I am mainly loading lead bullets so I give it several turns. When I do this it throws my adjustment off as the measure does not cycle all the way to the top.

Anyone else have this issue?

 

[Master Blaster]

My experience over 5 years of use:

When I first got my LNL I tried the pistol rotor and found the hole is too small. I suffered bridging with the powders I use for handgun (including 231 and tightgroup although they sufferred bridging less frequently than unique or trailboss), and that resulted in squibb loads, which is unacceptable and dangerous. I use the rifle rotor for all my powders. I also found that to come within .2 on each throw (most are .1 with the baffle) I needed to use a baffle in the powder resevoir tube. The rifle rotor with micrometer insert works OK for charges as small as 5.2 grains of W231. It sounds to me like you are either sufferring bridging on each throw, or some of the powder is sticking in the drop tube (unlikely). You could try tapping the measure with a dowel a few times on the downward (handle in down position) stroke of the handle, and if you get a large throw each time its bridging, if not I would suspect the drop tube and insert bushing have a misalignment.

Since I could never get the belling to work right for .45 acp and I switch between lead and JSWC I use a belling die in station 3, its easier to get correct belling that way. Since I TAPER crimp seperately I use a crimp die in 5, so that means no powder check die, I visually inspect each case with a strong light before I place a bullet.

I am tempted to put a dillon slide measure install a .45 powder funnel belling insert and safety return spring on my LNL for .45 acp pistol. I also have a 550B in addition to my LNL, and the slide style measure has never thrown a squibb in 11 years of use, and also is more consistent at throwing small powder charges.

JMHO YMMV

 

[Master Blaster]

I had inconsistent powder drops with mine, until I realized I didnt have a pistol rotor, and was trying to load 9mm with the standard rotor insert.

Here is a pic of the pistol rotor, yours should look like this.

BTW that was picture is the Insert not the ROTOR, the Rotor is the big drum thing that rotates inside the powder measure body, it has the linkage screwed to it. If you are using the Pistol metering insert with the Rifle rotor, that could cause a big problem as the insert for pistol is designed for the pistol rotor which has a much smaller cavity /hole than the rifle rotor, and is hence smaller, and would not fully block the larger cavity in the rifle rotor!!!!!

Here is a picture of the rotor with the insert in it!!!

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=164839

Here is the insert alone:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=615914

Using the handgun insert with the larger rifle rotor would cause the problem you are describing.

 

[Blue68f100]

I mentioned that in post 23 about the rotor's. I had a friend having the same problem and he had the Rifle Rotor installed (this is the factory default) with the pistol micrometer head. The best he could do was 0.2gr swing. Once he installed the correct rotor (Pistol for < 15gr charges) every thing was dead on.

 

[nofishbob]

The more I think about this, the more it seems like the problem has to be AFTER the rotor.

Here's why: if all of the drops were either accurate or light, there could be a problem with bridging in the hopper, incomplete filling of the rotor, or incomplete dumping of the rotor.

This is not the case, as there are heavier than desired drops, usually right after light drops. The powder is hanging up in the PTX or the drop tube.

I do not see how too much powder (nearly a double charge in some examples) could ever drop into the rotor cavity!

All this talk about pistol rotors and micrometer inserts does not answer the question of how the OP sees 8.00 grains when the rotor was set to deliver 4.2 grains. 8.00 grains will not fit in a rotor cavity set for 4.2 grains no matter what combination of inserts there are!

Bob

As a check of the above, the average charge from the OP' 20 drops is 4.017 grains, slightly less overall than desired, but indicative, I think, that the light charges have some powder hanging up downstream of the rotor that then drops out on later cycles.

 

[Master Blaster]

If you had the rifle rotor installed and the pistol micrometer/ insert.The insert only partially fills the part of the hole it should cover.The powder would bridge over the top of the insert sometimes, other times powder will get stuck behind the insert, and varrying amounts will fall out on each drop sometimes. So now you have a cavity that has 10 grains of powder in it and drops 2,4,8 grains depending on how much gets caught behind the insert, and how much falls out. When there are no other cases in the press its consistant because there is not enough vibration to dislodge the powder in the cavity.

 

[dbarnhart]

>>I needed to use a baffle in the powder resevoir tube <<

My new LnL AP arrived today and it included a baffle. Since the instructions for it were printed on a separate sheet, my guess is that inclusion of the baffle is a recent change.

 

[wild willy]

mckey hear anything from Hornady yet?

 

[mckey]

Well I got the press back from hornady last friday and finally got some free time to set the press back up and throw some charges.The fellow that worked on the press left a note saying that he tried the powder measure a few times and it threw a consistent charge for him.......

They did change the primer guide rod that I had bent and the primer shuttle seems smoother now.I seem to have a problem with static electricty my reloading room is a spare bedroom that's carpeted as well as the rest of the house.I noticed as soon as I poured the powder into the plastic powder hopper I had powder sticking to the sides immediately.I set the press up to load .45 ACP using 4.0 grains of bulleye throwing 4 charges into the pan I get just under 16 grains.

I loaded about 100 rounds without the use of the case feeder and rechecked again @ 60 rounds and still throwing 4.0 grains. On thing I noticed I seem to get a more accurate powder reading when I use the lyman gold plated powder pan on my digital scales rather than just using an empty primed cartridge........

Hopefully this winter I'll rip out the carpet in my reloading room and install either a cork floor or maybe the interlocking rubber tile from lowes I haven't decided between the two yet.Until then think a rubber mat or maybe a ground rod and wire to ground the press would help ?

I found a cool flexible LED light @ the local harbor frieght store I think I only paid $ 7.99 it works great.... I've got it strapped to the press with a zip tie and it cast a good beam of light directly into the shell case @ station # 3 so I can clearly see the powder level now.

[/IMG]

[/IMG][/IMG][/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[BYJO4]

Always use your scale pan to weigh powder. Dump the powder from the case into the pan and once weighed, pour back into the case. Cases will vary slightly in weight and give you misleading readings. Also, get some anti static laundry sheets and completely wipe down the powder measure to eliminate the static clinging of powder in the measure. Do this whenever you start to see powder sticking to the measure.

 

[mikeadams]

mckey,

I did the same thing with the same light - works great.

Mike

 

[bfoosh006]

Plus 1 on the dryer sheets.