2nd question setting up new LNL AP press

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egd

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OK, I now have question 2. I wasn't sure whether to post here or start a new thread, but...
As the case with powder moves around it jumps and spills powder as the shell plate goes into the detent holes. I googled and found two solutions. One guy beveled the entrance to the detent holes. Since I'm not good with a Dremel I don't want to try that. Another solution was to put shims under the sub plate. I wasn't real clear about what that did. I'm thinking it lessens the space between the sub plate and shell plate and that somehow makes the drop of the balls less violent. Is that right?
Also, since I don't yet want to tear apart my press after getting it all set up, how hard is it to get the sub plate off. How do you do that?
Lastly, have any of you done that and did it help?
 
I made it a separate thread to make searching for it easier at a later date

I've never personally had a problem with shellplate movement spilling powder out of the cases
 
I did it to mine. Worked great for one caliber. Locked the machine up solid on another. I took the shims out.

Raise your platen to full height and look under it. There are 2 screws right under the platen that hold it on the ram. They are TIGHT. One thing you can do to decide if it is worth pursuing is to take off the shell plate and thread the bolt back in. Now lift up on the bolt and you can see the core area lift up. Then feel the step between the core ring and the platen. It needs to be a positive step (core higher than the platen) or the shell plate will bind. Too much step and the shell plate can jump around. I think .004 to .009 maybe is reasonable. If you have much more than that, then you pull the platen and the core and shim to reduce that step. Or something like that anyway. Like I said, I took mine out. If you have a set of feeler gauges, lift the shell plate up and see how thick a feeler gauge you can get under the shell plate - more than the 0.009 could be a problem.

Powder jerk and throw is an issue if you have a high case fill - like 9mm for example.

You can tap the detent balls in and out on your shell plates, that will control how positive the indexing is. I've gone from very light indexing to a firmer index. A firmer index and the pawls adjusting properly will cure a lot of problems. If the pawls disengage too soon - or if you are creeping up on the cycle (i.e. going slow to watch everything) then the shell plate detents will jump into the holes in the platen - which makes the powder shake worse.
 
Yes, that's the one I found. I haven't read through ALL of it yet, but the more I read it's sounding do-able for even me. I like the fact that it's reversible if it doesn't work as expected.

Thanks 9mm for moving it.
 
All you need to do is ride your pinky finger on the shell plate while your moving the ram to dampen it. I do this while I'm setting the bullet in to seat. If your indexing is off it can cause excessive snap too. You will get more powder spill if your hearing a double click. Which can accour if your going past and it's snapping back. Be careful changing the shell plate height. Hornady spec is 0.003" to 0.010" max clearance. The close it is the better off you actually are. This will minimize flex during sizing. If I recall Hornady actually recommends putting a dab a wheel bearing grease on the detents to dampen them.
 
That's what I was going to reply. When new, my LnL shell plate was a tad clicky and I started using bearing grease, ever so lightly, on them. In a short time the plate was going from detent to detent without any clicking. Try it.

Stu
 
I believe the folks on ar15 that had the best luck with the shims had shell plate clearances well over the 0.010 max. Mine was .007 I think. I tried .002 shims to see if they would help. They did on the 9mm Iirc, caused problems on another plate.
 
Taper crimp dies need a little lube every now and then. Without it, they stick and jerk, which can spill powder. Work the press with a smooth motion, lube taper crimp dies, and you really shouldn't spill much.
 
EGD,
I tried the shim project and wasn't happy with it. As the poster mentioned above it bounded the press up for me. So, I removed it.
One thing that definitely helps is having the pawls adjusted correctly. You don't want the double click as they come into position.

A couple of my buddies did the dremel job on the detent holes. They report good success, but I haven't needed to do that -- yet.

I'll echo the above on cycling through at a normal pace instead of slow -- slower WILL spill powder.
 
For some reason, I've found that many folks are reluctant to adjust the Rotation Pawls. It might have something to do with the constant warning that "It doesn't take much" or folks forgetting which pawl adjusts rotation for which direction the ram is moving.

What I often hear is, "It's close enough." What that means is that you are forgoing one of the great features of the press; the ability to optimally line up the shellplate with each die station.

Something to bear in mind is that each pawl only affects the rotation of the shell plate relative to either the up or down movement of the ram. Also that each motion only rotates the plate half the distance between die stations.

I adjust the alignment while rotating the plate at the slowest speed possible. When that alignment is correct, operating at normal speed is much smoother because you aren't dependent on inertia to bring your plate into alignment
 
I have the ar15,com shim fix (.004) but I did this to correct an occasional failure of the ez-ject feature. Mine works great but was a bit stiff at first.

When I load 9mm I get a bit of powder spillage. After 100 rounds I blow off with compressed air. With 38 special no problems. If it were a real problem I would try pushing in the detent balls as others have said.

If I remember correctly, it took a bit of time for the press to break in. You will get yours to function fine and will be glad you got it. I think we have to remember that our presses are made to load a wide variety of different calibers and ammo combinations and the manufacturers have no idea what we are doing with then so a little tinkering is to be expected. I would be upset if once I got it dialed in I had to make constant adjustments but this is not the case with my LnL.

ON EDIT, I agree with 9mmepiphany about adjusting the prowls. A small adjustment made a huge difference on mine and I check alignment of the shellplate before each reloading session. I never have to make changes although I did make a fine adjustment when I first set up the press. Just follow the instructions in the manual and you will be fine.

If you watch youtube vids of some of the other presses in action you will see that they index the entire distance from one station to the next in one motion instead of two on the LnL. A small case that is very full is going to spill some powder, a purest most likely would not appreciate that the RCBS locl out die (which I use) usually causes a few flakes of powder to fall in the shell plate. With small cartridges like 9mm a few pcs of powder are going to wind up on the shell plate no matter what. I have a small air compressor that don't use much that I keep at the bench to clean both the powder from the shell plate and the bench in general.
 
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One other thing that helped me was simply adding a lock washer under the shell plate bolt. I tighten the bolt until the lock washer just bottoms out. The plate never loosens up (which can give jumping and powder shake).
 
I fixed mine by using a punch and pushing the two ball bearings on the shell plate in a little and then adjusting the pawls with my finger lightly riding on it until it was super smooth. I had to adjust one of them quite a bit. The ball bearings on mine where really sticking out and they are spring loaded so when they popped out as the plate finished it's index they really made the plate jump. I also added a lock washer under the bolt as others have said. I've got mine running really really well now. I've just cleared 2400 rounds without a single issue.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I am going to try some of the advice about going at a normal-non slow pace and also just wait and use it a while before I make any changes. maybe I'll develop a rhythm or something to solve it.
Besides, it isn't real bad, but I still would prefer not to have spilled powder around.
I have measured and I can't get my .003 feeler gauge to go under the shell plate, so I don't think I'll mess with shims. I already put a lock washer on when I set up the press-as per the hiboy video. And I put some grease on the balls too. But maybe not enough, I may add some.
I think the stations line up pretty good with the dies, so I think the pawls are ok. But I'll check again after I use it some more. It's just when the balls click into the detents that the jump occurs. Maybe it will get better as it wears in, so to speak.
Even going at my slow "training" pace I can see that this is going to be so much better/faster than my LCT. I really like the press.
 
Yes, I've seen them. They are an excellent set of videos. Also some by HornadyLoader are good too.
 
Did your primer system work out of the box? Mine is great now but took some serious work to get it there.
 
No it didn't. But after watching the video from hiboy about how to adjust the rod it worked perfectly then. It was video #2 that shows how to adjust it.
 
Good one mate you should be a pro by the time you watch all the Highboy videos. My press runs like a charm. Take yours apart and put it back together so you understand it.. This goes for all presses my o2

Thewelshm
 
Thanks THEWELSHM for posting that video.

I thought my pawls were adjusted correctly, but after watching the video it got me thinking...especially adjusting the right (raising ram) one.

Went out in the garage and checked...oops, a bit out of adjustment. It took almost 3/4 turns (that's a lot) to get the case centered in the die mouth
 
There you go.... Watch all Highboy videos and setup accordingly.this press set up is great tuned up correctly

Thewelshm
 
There is a lot of good information in his videos, but his sound quality, speck pattern, and poor lighting almost puts me to sleep.

I much prefer the presentation of Ultimate Reloader Gavin Toobe. A better lit and paced video series, but he doesn't go into as much detail
 
He gets better at it in the later ones, but when I first started watching a Hiboy video I closed it down because I couldn't stand OK,OK,OK every fourth word.But he really does have good info.
I watched one of the Toobe videos, but there wasn't a ton of info in it. I'll watch some more.
 
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