sugarmaker
Member
Got a new LNL AP w/ casefeeder a few weeks ago, here are some things I found interesting when loading .223:
1.) Out of the box the ram height varied .015" from empty to fully loaded / 5 stations full (dial gauge). OK - find a hard rubber hollow washer - I used an old washing machine foot cut in half. Place it over the center bolt. Fully loaded to unloaded ram height now varies by .005". I'm using a lee collet in station 1, redding body in station 2, forster BR seater in station 5.
2.) Not satisfied by (1), I adjusted the body die to touch the shellplate when the press is loaded. I then adjusted the BR seater way down, until the lock ring comes off the top of the threads. I used the screw down top half of the forster die as the 'new" lock ring - the old lock ring is now just a spacer. Adjust that to touch the shellplate at all 5 stations with the press fully loaded. Ram height variation not measurable with my dial gauge - maybe +/- .001 - ish. No measurable variations in seating depth or headspace - I have .005" headspace in my RRA NM-AR, so on the long side but still the gun shoots waaaay better than I do at a match.
3.) Hornady case feeder is a marvel of low cost engineering - the Vee block feed was giving me headaches with the retainer spring. I'm getting a new shellplate from Hornady (great customer service there) but...I machined a special #2 pusher out of 2024 on a vertical mill. Supports the case down to the sub plate, engages the extractor groove for 120 degrees at .332" diameter, , fits precisely (.378" dia gives .003" slop on fired case body) 180 degrees around the case to a .475" height. It never fails, period, no matter how fast I go - if there's a case, it goes into the shellholder. Even another case flying off the ez-ject won't dislodge it. This is with a shellplate that lets the spring hit the case ring. Hornady should push closer to case bottom, IMO. I call this the "Model 70 shellholder" because of the controlled feeding.
4.) Case feeder switch wasn't tripping on the necks of the shells - only the bases. Opened up the feeder and bent the paddle so it trips on the smaller neck of the .223 case. Found it did not like to pass .308 cases - too big - so filed the burr off of the end of the stamped paddle - now it works on everything I plan to load.
5.) Took the chamfer tool to the inside of the plastic case feed tube after a case hung up (I didn't have the tube all the way up) - now i can't make it hang no matter what i do.
6.) Wooden block inside of the top end of the case feed mount tube, adda an inch of height, takes the load off of the case feed tube which I didn't like.
7.) Bent the torsion spring on the case pivot so it returns properly - was driving me nuts until I figured this out. Case feeder is totally reliable at this point, functions very well.
At this point I'm very happy with the performance of the press - it's getting me very close to the goal of dumping 200 military cases from the polisher and having them all decrimped, trimmed, and loaded to +/- .001" tol on seat and headspace in 1 hour. It has, however, been a bit of a process but one which I expected.
1.) Out of the box the ram height varied .015" from empty to fully loaded / 5 stations full (dial gauge). OK - find a hard rubber hollow washer - I used an old washing machine foot cut in half. Place it over the center bolt. Fully loaded to unloaded ram height now varies by .005". I'm using a lee collet in station 1, redding body in station 2, forster BR seater in station 5.
2.) Not satisfied by (1), I adjusted the body die to touch the shellplate when the press is loaded. I then adjusted the BR seater way down, until the lock ring comes off the top of the threads. I used the screw down top half of the forster die as the 'new" lock ring - the old lock ring is now just a spacer. Adjust that to touch the shellplate at all 5 stations with the press fully loaded. Ram height variation not measurable with my dial gauge - maybe +/- .001 - ish. No measurable variations in seating depth or headspace - I have .005" headspace in my RRA NM-AR, so on the long side but still the gun shoots waaaay better than I do at a match.
3.) Hornady case feeder is a marvel of low cost engineering - the Vee block feed was giving me headaches with the retainer spring. I'm getting a new shellplate from Hornady (great customer service there) but...I machined a special #2 pusher out of 2024 on a vertical mill. Supports the case down to the sub plate, engages the extractor groove for 120 degrees at .332" diameter, , fits precisely (.378" dia gives .003" slop on fired case body) 180 degrees around the case to a .475" height. It never fails, period, no matter how fast I go - if there's a case, it goes into the shellholder. Even another case flying off the ez-ject won't dislodge it. This is with a shellplate that lets the spring hit the case ring. Hornady should push closer to case bottom, IMO. I call this the "Model 70 shellholder" because of the controlled feeding.
4.) Case feeder switch wasn't tripping on the necks of the shells - only the bases. Opened up the feeder and bent the paddle so it trips on the smaller neck of the .223 case. Found it did not like to pass .308 cases - too big - so filed the burr off of the end of the stamped paddle - now it works on everything I plan to load.
5.) Took the chamfer tool to the inside of the plastic case feed tube after a case hung up (I didn't have the tube all the way up) - now i can't make it hang no matter what i do.
6.) Wooden block inside of the top end of the case feed mount tube, adda an inch of height, takes the load off of the case feed tube which I didn't like.
7.) Bent the torsion spring on the case pivot so it returns properly - was driving me nuts until I figured this out. Case feeder is totally reliable at this point, functions very well.
At this point I'm very happy with the performance of the press - it's getting me very close to the goal of dumping 200 military cases from the polisher and having them all decrimped, trimmed, and loaded to +/- .001" tol on seat and headspace in 1 hour. It has, however, been a bit of a process but one which I expected.
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