Tips/Tricks for Hornady LNL AP

Status
Not open for further replies.
IMO the divot that appears from the primer punch is of no consequence, what made the biggest difference in about 5 different trouble areas on mine was shimming the shell plate mount spindle so that it has .007" clearance to the baseplate this keeps the shell plate closely mated to the baseplate and improves indexing, priming, sizing, everything. Buy 1" shim set on amazon.
 
Jwrowland
Good choice on getting an AP press. For the price its hard to beat.

I haven’t got all the bugs worked out of mine yet but it's still WAY better than a single stage. I have been splitting up the loading into two phases.
Phase one - decap, prime, bell, reseat primers by hand. Phase two – powder, seat bullet, crimp.
The weak link in the Hornady system seems to be priming. It's still a good press.

I agree with pretty much everyone on Bill Morgan's videos. They are very informative and very helpful.
 
WEAK LINK PRIMING on the NEWER Hornady LNL-AP presses is NONSENSE.

Take the time to watch the video series by 76highboy aka Bill Morgan referenced in previous posts.

He cover issues and THE PROPER SET-UP of the press and cures for some folks

that have issues that are self-induced.

76highboy goes through EACH PRESS SYSTEM in a video explaining things,

PRIMING SYSTEM, SHELLPLATE, POWDER MEASURE, CLEANING, MOUNTING.

Most PRIMING ISSUES are ALIGNMENT RELATED or caused by DE-PRIMING TRASH.

Canned Air is your friend and Hornady also CHANGED the design of the PRIMER PUNCHES.

They no longer have an UNDERCUT on the body where the trash could

accumulate and cause jams of the slide or even breakage due to FORCEFUL OPERATOR ACTIONS.
 
I definitely plan on watching videos. I know they'll be some learning curve to it, but I am glad I do have a few years under my belt as far as loading goes.

I've been contemplating whether to try and add it to my bench and have both presses attached at same time, or just take the single stage off and put the AP in it's place. I'll probably have both attached at same time, since I have my SS exactly the way I want it right now.
 
I should be able to knock out all the brass I have ready to load pretty quick. I have a bunch primed already and a bunch fully case prepped, it just needs primers.
 
JW,
For my handgun brass I go full progressive on the AP. I fill a primer tube, set my bin for brass, bullets and go. I find that for 9mm on the Hornady sizer die a slight spritz of Hornady spray lube (let it dry) helps with the sizing. I can load 100 rnds from start to finish in around 16-18 minutes. I then hit the primer area with the canned air, chip brush any flakes of powder (I always get some spillage with 9mm). Load another 100 primers in the tube and ready to go.
For rifle I do as many here do. I size/decap on my SS, prep as needed (swage primer crimp, trim, etc), tumble or wipe down. And then it's on to the AP. Station 1 is empty, prime, powder, powder cop, seat, and out comes goodness!

I am not using a case or bullet feeder. My operation "rhythm" is grab a case and bullet in left hand as I'm operating handle with right hand. I place the case in shell plate, push forward (away from me) on handle to seat primer, place bullet on/in case mouth, and hold (if needed) as I raise ram. Do remember to get the fingers out of the way.
 
JW,

A little Hornady ONE-SHOT CASE LUBE for your brass is a friend to YOU and your PRESS, CARBIDE DIES OR NOT.

It does NOT contaminate the powder or primers like some lube can, spray, let dry a few minutes, then GO LOAD.

Get a smooth flow going with your reloading rhythm.
 
Sweet. I can't wait. I keep checking the tracking. Lol. Everything should be here today. Looking forward to getting everything setup, dies readjusted and trying it out.
 
And yes, I have One Shot and do use it currently.

I was doing some research on shims last night. Do you order these from somewhere or can you use a washer of some sort?
 
JW,

One of the first things 76highboy will show you in the videos IS THAT YOU'LL NEED A 3/8" LOCKWASHER to add to the Flatwasher on the shellplate retaining bolt.

You are also going to need a small tube of Powered Graphite to help set up the Powder Measure.

One-Shot (CLEANER AND DRY LUBE) will also be needed.

Some ALCOHOL 90% or better not the common drug store 70%.

Some fine EMORY to de-burr any possible burrs.

You should have ALL THESE THINGS and WATCH THE VIDEOS "BEFORE" you

un-box the press.

You'll save time in the long run and thank me and 76highboy later for the info.

Don't Rush, that's what gets folks into issues with this press.

Follow the videos advise and you'll be singing along making ammo.
 
JW,

Over at thefirearmsforum under the Reloading Thread the Complete series of videos
by 76highboy (Bill Morgan AKA Jim)

is a STICKY and all of them are together, from the Hornady LNL-AP Press
Set-Up Hints and Tricks to his series on general reloading info.

His newest deal is called "COFFEE WITH HIGHBOY."
 
I load about 5,000 45ACPs a year. I have found it helps me keep my sanity to size, prime and bell in one pass then finish the reloading in a second pass. That way I can really inspect the brass prior to sizing and never miss installing a new primer. Takes a little longer, but not much, and I don't have the problem of spilling powder everywhere because of a missed primer. I can also concentrate on looking into EVERY case before bullet seating.

Another thing I do is at every primer tube refill, I check the shell plate nut for tightness, clean everything with canned air and put three squirts of Hornady dry lube under the shell plate and on the primer shuttle. Clean, clean, clean.

NEVER force anything. When there is a stoppage, lower the ram, take out all the cases and dump the powder in the hopper, and then figure out the problem. It's usually related to the priming system.

Take your time and you'll learn the press. I like mine very much.
 
Last edited:
moonman16 said:
JW,



Over at thefirearmsforum under the Reloading Thread the Complete series of videos

by 76highboy (Bill Morgan AKA Jim)



is a STICKY and all of them are together, from the Hornady LNL-AP Press

Set-Up Hints and Tricks to his series on general reloading info.



His newest deal is called "COFFEE WITH HIGHBOY."
Click to expand...


Watching all of them right now. Lol. We weren't home when they tried to deliver my press, so I have to wait for Tuesday to come along before I get it. Figure it best anyway so I don't get antsy and break open the box too early. :D
 
Moonman16 said:
WEAK LINK PRIMING on the NEWER Hornady LNL-AP presses is NONSENSE.
Click to expand...

I am sorry you think that my issues with my AP press are nonsense.

Moonman16 said:
Take the time to watch the video series by 76highboy aka Bill Morgan referenced in previous posts.
Click to expand...

I have. I also have gone through Hornady tech support including replacing the priming punches and later on sending it back for repair. At this point I think I am on my own.

Moonman16 said:
Most PRIMING ISSUES are ALIGNMENT RELATED or caused by DE-PRIMING TRASH.
Click to expand...

And yet, some are not.

rskent said:
Moonman16, have a nice day. :)
 
OP I bought a LnL AP about a year and a half ago. I had/have a Lee Classic Turret, which I still think is the best value of any press.
However, I got the LnL because of 100 pulls of the lever for 100 rounds instead of 400. My shoulder really appreciates it.
I am a 77 year old mechanical midget but I have loaded 12/15K of 45 ACP and 38 Super on mine with virtually no problems.
The primer system took a few hundred rounds to wear in. Some work with crocus cloth or something might have shortened that time. For thousands of rounds I have had no problems with it. I do try to remember to brush out the slide area when changing primer sizes, but don't always. I marked the primer follower rod at 75, 50, 25, and empty and colored the area for the last 25.
It was slightly out of time for quite a while in that the shellplate would not always click over to the correct position to set the primer without a nudge. I hated to get into adjusting the pawls (see mechanical midget above) but finally did. Reading the instructions and a post on one of the forums and about ten minutes time adjusted it correctly.
You DO need a lockwasher on the shellplate screw. Otherwise it will loosen after a short time and the primers will not seat completely.
You DO need to tie a piece of dental floss or fishing line through the eye of the primer shuttle return spring. Saves lots of time in changing primer sizes and hunting the spring down.
I did break the plastic piece that holds the piece that moves the shuttle back and forth. Don't know how. I reinforced it with half a wooden clothespin until I received a new one (free) from Hornady.
After loading my first 50 rounds I quit until I ordered and received an RCBS Lock-out die. In addition to the lock-out die I make sure my scale is set to the desired weight and my powder drop balances it and I look at the powder in EVERY case as I set the bullet. Everything that can go wrong with a reloaded cartridge goes back to the powder charge.
I actually moved all my Lee dies and my Lee Pro Auto Disk powder measure to my LnL. They work very nicely.
I load and shoot in multiples of 100 so I usually shoot three or four hundred of one caliber then reload those. When I have three or four hundred of the other caliber I change dies and primer tools and load those.
I have never tried for speed, or even timed myself, however, like any repetitive production the key to maximum output is not how fast you pull the lever, but how little lost motion you have. I have just recently realized that if I pick up my bullet and place it om the first joint of my middle finger then pick up the case and slide it into the shellholder, the bullet is readily accessible to set on the case over the powder. That simple procedure has significantly reduced my reloading time. Fumbling with bullets the biggest time waster in operating the press.
You should really like yours. Good luck.
 
Question......

I watched all the Bill Morgan videos and did what he suggested. Got everything all setup ready to go.

1) Every so often, the brass is just a tad off from going into resizing die. Do I need to tweak the pawl to make it go just a tad further? Make it longer? Which would be counterclockwise?

2) I didn't have any plastic tubing for spent primers. What is the OD is the brass tubing coming down? That way I can just buy a piece and run it to a bucket.
 
JW,
The O.D. of the hose i used is 7/16 with a I.D. of 5/16 and it's just a clear vinyl hose from Ace hardware or any home improvement store should have it .
I have adjusted my pawls just do it very small adjustment's

The hose that came with press was to short so had to get a longer one to go it to my bucket,it all depends how your bench is set up.

Hope this helps and I'm sure you will love the press but their is a learning curve.
 
jwrowland77 said:
Question......

I watched all the Bill Morgan videos and did what he suggested. Got everything all setup ready to go.

1) Every so often, the brass is just a tad off from going into resizing die. Do I need to tweak the pawl to make it go just a tad further? Make it longer? Which would be counterclockwise?

2) I didn't have any plastic tubing for spent primers. What is the OD is the brass tubing coming down? That way I can just buy a piece and run it to a bucket.
Click to expand...
Regarding question number 1, Bill Morgan's YouTube channel has a 7 or 8 part series about setting up the Hornady LNL AP press, but he also has a 60 + video series about beginning reloading, which also contains information about setting up a Hornady LNL AP. Video 44 in that series, linked below, tells you everything you need to fix question number 1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXms1-ZsPnU
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
Will Dillon 550 Case Feeder RUN on a HORNADY LNL AP???
Replies
1
Views
480
1911user
1
S
  • Locked
How precise is LNL AP?
Replies
17
Views
994
showmebob
S
A
  • Locked
Another Hornady LNL AP owner
Replies
15
Views
981
ARGarrison
A
C
  • Locked
Hornady LnL AP w/o PTX
Replies
9
Views
820
noylj
N
tightgroup tiger
  • Locked
Running a Hornady LNL AP out of primers
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
Bowfishrp
B
Back
Top