LNL "real world" hourly production?

[Shrinkmd]

How many rounds to people actually complete per session/per hour, including minor setup and clean up times? Door to door travel time, as it were.

The other day I was loading up a bunch of 45acp. I needed to reset the seater and powder measure. I jammed the press a few times with a primer not completely being pushed out, and I tried to advance the press. I had one or two rounds made without primers in them (powder mess). Overall I spent about 4 hours from beginning to a pretty thorough clean up of the loading area.

I completed 400 rounds. I use a Hornady Powder cop, and I also checked many of the rounds through a case gauge or measured OAL to check. I am not as anal about the powder measure anymore, as it is usually spot on, and the powder cop picks up any variation.

Am I taking "too long"? I am definitely getting faster, but it still seems like there are enough minor mishaps along the way to slow me down. I will have to time myself next time, since everything is set up nicely now, and I just need to reconfirm my powder charge before I start loading.

I can also see why people want the extra powder measure bracket, so once you have your powder through expander set up you don't need to redo it each time you do a caliber change. Gotta get some of those!

 

[Walkalong]

You will get faster, but it is not about speed, it is about making good safe reloads. You are doing just fine. Go at your pace, whatever that is. Safety first. Speed last.

I probably average a round every 5 to 10 seconds taking my time with no bullet or case feeder, but I have sized/deprimed/hand primed in advance as well.

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

How many rounds to people actually complete per session/per hour, including minor setup and clean up times? Door to door travel time, as it were.

Am I taking "too long"? I am definitely getting faster, but it still seems like there are enough minor mishaps along the way to slow me down. I will have to time myself next time, since everything is set up nicely now, and I just need to reconfirm my powder charge before I start loading.

As Walkalong said, don't get in a hurry - that could cause you to make a really serious mistake and injure yourself or someone around you at the range, even with the safeties you have installed.

I teach the NRA Basic Metallic Cartridge Reloading course in the Wichita, KS area and the first thing I try to instill in my students is SAFETY FIRST! Don't get in a hurry and make sure there are as few distractions as possible while you are working at your reloading bench. Your best bet is to develop consistency in each and every step. Do it as close to exactly the same way each time and you'll be happy with the results. You'll get faster without compromising safety but there is no set "rounds per hour" factor that you should try to meet or exceed. Work at your own pace, verifying each step for accuracy and safety. Even the professionals do it this way or they eventually get into trouble. Their speed comes from doing everything in a consistent and methodical manner.

 

[Lonely Raven]

I had a Jeet Kun Do Instructor say to me: slow is smooth, smooth is fast. It works for me in everything from motorcycling to playing guitar to shooting.

I know you asked about the LnL, but I figured I'd chime in on my Pro2000 since they are about the same catagory of press.

Mine is the manual index with manual feed of bullets and shells. If I'm rushing (which I don't do really, just a test to see what I can do), I can drop a new round every 5 seconds. Typically though, like you, I'm printing a new round every 5-10 seconds moving smoothly and surely.

I feel that setup and planning makes everything run more smoothly and faster.

 

[mongoose33]

Are you taking too long? What's a "kaboom" worth to you?

I've had "throughput" of 10 rounds a minute on my LnL, which translates (if you could keep it up) to 600 rounds an hour. But I can't keep that up, and simply the act of having to reload primers, get more bullets, more brass, makes the effective rate significantly less.

When I first got my LnLAP, I was focused on speed; that is not a good thing. The focus must be on quality. Speed kills, as they say.

But, there are ways to organize your workspace, and your approach, to speed things up without hurrying (which is the real issue--hurrying).

For instance, I use a clamp to attach a small cardboard box--a tray--to the front upright support of the press, in which I put bullets. They're right there, no excess hand movements to "go get them" from the benchtop.

Further, I developed a "style" of doing this where, as I pull the handle down with my right hand, my left hand grabs a bullet from that tray, then I go to the benchtop to grab a case, then as I bring the handle back up, I am ready to place the case in the appropriate slot, then insert the bullet in the case to be ready to be seated.

Some of this is just developing the knack of doing it. Think of it this way--every time you get a different car, how long does it take to get used to the new seatbelt buckle? You simply have to develop a new set of motions and ingrain them, then you buckle-up with no thought at all.

I'll take a pic of my setup to show you how I do it (others will have similar setups which they've created to reduce excess movement or motion). But in the end, how you set things up matters more than you might guess.

So what's my throughput? I'm not in a race, but when I do .45, if I have everything ready, I'm going to do 250-350 rounds per hour. That's including getting more bullets ready, adding brass to my brass tray, doing more primers.

I can go faster, but I've since decided I like that pace. And I'm all about making sure things work well. Early on I had a couple of squibs which I attribute to trying to make ammo as fast as possible, instead of trying to make ammo as good as possible.

I'll post that pic later in this thread, after I get home to do it.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I pre-prep my brass for loading on the LNL press, the same as Walkalong does. I've done it that way for years.

With that said, I average between 400 and 500 rounds per hour of loaded ammunition on the LNL. I maintain a constant rhythm, which translates to production of quality ammunition. Any time there is a stoppage, or interruption of concentration, I clear the whole line and start over again.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[rfwobbly]

My load rate works out to be about 100/hour, after mass tumbling and media separation is completed.

 

[UltimateReloader]

ShrinkMD- Does your press have EZ-Ject? Also- are you using shellplate #1 or shellplate #45? Do you have a case feeder?

Anyways- Once I get my LNL AP dialed in I'm always amazed at the great workflow. Here are some things I do to get maximum efficiency:
1. Lube cases with one-shot (press works smoother overall)
2. Pre load primer tubes (great to get extras for this purpose)
3. I created a bullet tray accessory that places the bullets in front of the machine
4. Make sure the press is clean (under shellplate, primer slider, etc)
5. Use medium velocity strokes, deliberate at the top and bottom
6. Listen and feel carefully while operating the press to avoid jams

Accounting for all that, I can usually hit about 500-600 rounds per hour including refilling primers and boxing up the ammo. I like to take my time to do things right. If you can't slow down and enjoy the process, it's time to re-think.

 

[pinkymingeo]

When I first got my LnL I had a operator-induced stoppage just about every hundred rounds. Seemed like I was always messing something up. Now that I have a lot of experience on the machine, the dies I want and the systems I need (plus EZject), I haven't had a glitch in a long time. Things just get better, smoother and faster with experience. I load 100 45acp in less than 10 minutes, then go do something else before I get antsy. A couple of hours later, maybe I'll load another 100. Works for me.

 

[Walkalong]

Does your press have EZ-Ject? Also- are you using shellplate #1 or shellplate #45?

I have an old #1 modified for the EZ-Ject by Hornady. It works like a champ for .45 ACP, but I have done some deburring and polishing on it.

 

[Shrinkmd]

I always focus on safety first.

My workflow (so far) is to pull the handle, verify that I heard a primer drop down into the bucket, see the powder cop washer sitting in the right spot, grab bullet from box, lower ram, place bullet on case mouth, grab next case and put in position one, then push forward to prime the next case (so I can be focus on feeling it seat and knowing it happened) Then pull handle and repeat.

I have been slowing down to obsessively check if the round was primed or not from time to time, and I have had one or two which got through the line without a primer (spilled powder everywhere) I also pull one from the line to check length, case gauge, although I am getting better at eyeballing. Besides, now that the taper crimp is adjusted correctly, they all gauge no problem. I did learn the trick of finalizing the seater adjustment once all five stations are in operation, to get the length right.

It is funny how many mistakes you need to make (and then correct) with "user induced errors" to really understand what is happening and why, and how to keep everything safe and running ok.

All that said, I really am looking forward to getting a bit more done during a loading session...

 

[qajaq59]

I seem to load the same way I shoot. Slowly. But I'm also retired and I no longer have to take the kids to hockey or shovel the driveway or........... Pick one!

 

[floydster]

Well, if I could get some production from my new LNL with EZ ject I would be happy.
The primer slider constantly hangs up using large pistol primers, I hate to think what it would do with small primers.
Hornady has been no help, I am pretty much disgusted with this press, I have cleaned and de- burred all the slider parts to no avail.
The primer seating stem has "dug" a nice divit in the press body, just ridiculous.
I have been loading for a long,long time, so I know what I am doing.

The bullet offer sucked me in.

 

[UltimateReloader]

Well, if I could get some production from my new LNL with EZ ject I would be happy.
The primer slider constantly hangs up using large pistol primers, I hate to think what it would do with small primers.
Hornady has been no help, I am pretty much disgusted with this press, I have cleaned and de- burred all the slider parts to no avail.
The primer seating stem has "dug" a nice divit in the press body, just ridiculous.
I have been loading for a long,long time, so I know what I am doing.

The bullet offer sucked me in.

flydster- Where does the primer slider hang up, all the way back, or all the way forward? I've not had that problem (converted my pre-EZ-Ject press with the upgrade kit).

 

[floydster]

UR,
Thanks for your reply, it hangs up mostly on the back and it will also hang up on the primer stem in the forward position, I have checked and rechecked all the things that it could possibly be, everything is aligned as it should be.
I prime and prep all my cases in one step, then charge and seat bullets.
This press is not capeable in my opinion to be used as a full progressive without many interruptions.
I am sure glad I have my Lee Classic turret to fall back on, it is great.

 

[WLE]

Thanks for your reply, it hangs up mostly on the back

floydster

My new lnl with ezject also hangs up in the for rear position, I took the slide etc. and honed all the parts thinking it was hanging on a burr. Still hangs up on the LPP. I think the binding might have something to do with the roller and arm timing but I haven't really had the time look into it.

Bill

 

[mongoose33]

One way to do LNL AP setup

Here's how I do my LnL setup:

First is the bullet tray:

That "tray" is a cardboard box, w/ the bottom nested in the top, reinforced by masking tape. I suppose a small box such as you'd get from a jeweler would work as well, or a plastic one.


Second is how I set up the brass--it's in a short box, so I'm not having to reach into something to get at brass, but it has a lip on the front so the brass won't roll away:

Then, when I'm loading, as I pull the handle down to cycle the press and produce a round, at the same time I'll grab a bullet from the tray, then a case from the brass tray, so I'm prepared to reload the press as soon as the completed round pops off the shellplate:

Then I'll slide the brass into the slot on the way back:

And once that's done I'll take the bullet which remains in my left hand and insert it in the shell prior to bullet seating.

And that's it! It saves a lot of wasted motion--there's no reaching once for brass, once for a bullet--and after you get the rhythm and tempo down, you can do 10 rounds a minute. Of course, I can't keep that up, and I'm checking the powder drop from time to time, checking OAL from time to time, replacing primers, adding bullets and brass to the trays, so I'm really producing 250-350 rounds per hour at a leisurely, comfortable pace.

And that's enough for me. It works the same whether I do 9mm or .45.

 

[mallc]

Mine works great!

It's called a lemon. You should not have to fight or tweak a new press. Call Hornady and ask them to exchange it.

PS: I do about 250 to 300 rounds an hour with everything prepared and careful attention to the operation.

Scott

 

[Shrinkmd]

Thanks for the pics. That looks like a great way to do it, similar to what I've been working on, but smarter.

I will give it a try. I really look forward to getting a couple hundred done per hour.

 

[raz-0]

So many people say I do X hundred rounds per hour... if I load all my primer tubes ahead of time and this and that and the other thing. Like that all doesn't take time.

I'll give my real world results. I load a lot, and usually in batches of 200-300 to go to a match on the weekend.

When I was shooting 45, over the course of about 2 years, I made about 10,000 rounds of ammo, and by the end of it I could get right around 300 per hour. Process was basically load primer tubes. Check charge weight. Make about 10 rounds, check OAL and charge weight a second time. If all was good, get going.


I've been shooting .40 for a few years now, and at this point my process is basically fill tubes, check charge weight, load enough to get the shell plate full, and check OAL. Load, then chamber check each round. 200 rounds doing all that takes me about 40-50 minutes. Unless I drop the primers

I shot 9mm for about 18 months. I never got over about 120 rounds per hour. The small components just slowed me down too much.

 

[Walkalong]

I use pans for bullets and brass as well. Pick up a few bullets in my left hand, place a bullet over a charge, pick up a brass and put it in the shell plate, pull the handle, place another bullet over a charge, pick up a piece of brass and put it in the shell plate, pull the handle. When my hand runs out of bullets, I pick up a few more.

Brass in the left pan & bullets in the right pan.

 

[Shoney]

I've loaded extensively on a 550, a 650, and the LNL AP. When you include prep time on cases, time filling primer tubes, and getting bullets set, I can load around 200 per hr.

Whenever I see a loader bragging about a fantastic blah blah blah per hour, I always get a mental picture of a white chicken running around after getting bombed with flop from a diarrhetic cow.

 

[pinkymingeo]

The primer slide should be lubricated with powdered graphite, same as the powder measure. When that's done, it should run smoothly. When properly lubricated I know of two things that'll jam the slide: putting small primers in the large primer feed tube, and spilling a bunch of power into the primer ram which will make it stick in the partly open position. Since figuring all that out, I haven't had a primer issue in over 30K rounds.

 

[nofishbob]

Originally Posted by floydster View Post
Well, if I could get some production from my new LNL with EZ ject I would be happy.
The primer slider constantly hangs up using large pistol primers, I hate to think what it would do with small primers.
Hornady has been no help, I am pretty much disgusted with this press, I have cleaned and de- burred all the slider parts to no avail.
The primer seating stem has "dug" a nice divit in the press body, just ridiculous.
I have been loading for a long,long time, so I know what I am doing.

The bullet offer sucked me in.

Floydster-

I agree with the others that suggest contacting Hornady for a solution to your problem. I have had really excellent service every time I called them.

My experience with the primer slider sticking back was that it was the adjustment of the cam wire that the primer slider roller rides on.

After a minor adjustment of this cam wire, my LNL has been jam free for thousands of rounds.

The LNL is definitely capable of reliable operation. Don't settle for a malfunctioning press that you paid good money for.

Hope this helps!

Bob

 

[floydster]

Thanks guys for all the input, I will let you know how I make out.
Floyd