Getting the hang of my new lnl ap press

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hornadylnl

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I've started getting the hang of my new hornady lnl ap press. I'm currently loading federal 223 brass on it with different head stamps. I'm getting used to the feel of the primer seating. I ran all of it through my single stage with the rcbs primer pocket swager. That thing is about useless as several of the primers still seat hard. I've picked up on the feel of primer seating hard, seating normal, not at all(out of primers), and the primer slide is not returning all the way (varget powder getting in the primer slide area). I'm getting more comfortable with it. Now, I'm not pulling out so many cases to check and see if the primers are getting put in.

I think case volumes are varying quite a bit on the federal brass. There are at least 3 different federal headstamps in it. I can easily see the powder in the case before I put a bullet in it. I have a powder cop die but it doesn't seem to want to go into the neck of the case reliably. I did turn the rod to the small caliber side. I didn't put the plastic insert in it because the rod would go up and not go back inside the insert. Every now and then I will get one that seems low on powder so I'll pull it and check it on my scale. It is right where I have the measure adjusted to.

From now on, I will only buy remington 223 brass. I'd gladly pay an extra $10 a thousand not to have to deal with crimped primer pockets.

Overall, there are a few hiccups with this press and the case feeder. I have to help about every 3rd case into the shell plate. I'm thinking as I use it more, the shell plate will break in a little and loosen up some. Still beats having to pick up each case and slide it in by hand every time.
 
I have a new one also. I have only loaded about 300 .45 acp and about 300 9mm through it. So far I am very pleased with this press!! I need to make some mods for it. I am going to made a homemade powder and primer low alarm. I am also thinking about some type of stand for brass and bullets, to eliminate movement of my left hand. If any one has any homemade modifications I would love to see pictures....
 
hornadylnl I think Dave is correct you don't have it adjusted quite right yet, either you're cam wire height is off or your V-block is aligned. However, there is a slight possibility that your brass could be culprit. On 9mm but never .223 certain military brass will not feed into my shell plate. I have noticed on those casings that the web is at a steeper angle making the space between the rim and the web too narrow for the shell plate. I just toss those when I encounter them. My recommendation is remove all your dies and just work on getting all the setting fine tuned. I think I cycled about 500 casing through my press while I setup the case feeder (plate clutch and window), the pivot, cam wire and V-block; but once I got it all adjusted it has never needed any readjustment in now almost 5,000 rounds through it since the end of October. Once you get it setup correctly the only thing I have discovered is that the ejector wire can throw off the timing if a case fits tightly in the shell plate on the 5th station and stops the shell plate from full engaging the detents as it is being ejected.


jms92,
Get the Dillon or RCBS Low Primer alarm and I think you will decide you won't need the low powder alarm because your primers run out before your powder. I got a Dillon Low Powder alarm and was going to modify it to fit my Uniflow but have decided I really don't need it. if you want it I'll be glad to sell it to you for what I paid. One nice mod I enjoy is the digital case counter, it comes in real handy for counting my brass when I deprime and resize before cleaning the primer pockets. By the way a quick way to clean primer pockets is chuck the primer pocket tool in a drill press. I can clean 100 primer pockets in under 5 minutes. Here are links to pictures of the RCBS Low Primer Alarm and digital counter:
RCBS Low Primer Alarm - http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=49214&d=1165948201
Digital Counter - http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=49211&d=1165948150
I used a reed switch mounted to the base of the press with 3M auto body double sided tape and a magnet attached to the bottom of the sub plate.
Reed Switch - http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=49212&d=1165948173
Magnet - http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=49212&d=1165948173

Here is a picture of my setup:
attachment.php
 
Idano,

Here's a couple things to try to fix that hanging up on the ejector wire.

1. Loosen the screw on the bottom of the subplate and move the ejector wire in and out in order to change the angle of the wire so it engages the case at a different "time" in the rotation of the shellplate. You'll want the angle it engages to be conducive to the brass slipping out easily. Do not bend the wire, just move it in and out to change the angle it sets at.

2. Polish the shellplate at the corners of the mouth of where the cases are held. I've found some machining roughness in one or two I've had, causing cases to hang up. I've also found the factory angles to be a bit tight at times, so opening them up a bit allowed for much easier ejection. You don't lose anything opening them up, because the retainer spring holds your brass in place while going around the press.

Hope this helps,

Dave
 
I'm thinking I'm having more of a problem with my index wheel on the drive shaft than anything. When you raise your press up half stroke, wiggle the index wheel and watch your shell plate. How much slop do you have on the index wheel without your shell plate moving? I have more slop than I think there should be. Also, it seems to be the same 1 or 2 stations on the shell plate that I have the most trouble feeding and there is one spot that sometimes the shellplate doesn't advance quite far enough. That leads me to believe that one of the tangs on the index wheel might be out a few degrees. I pulled it off and it looks like someone machined it with a 4 1/2" angle grinder. With the fit and finish of the entire press, I was a little shocked to see how poorly machined that piece was. You'd think they would make that on a cnc to give it that extra degree of accuracy. I'm thinking about calling Hornady and seeing if they will ship me another one. Midway no longer carries it. Their website says discontinued by manufacturer.
 
If you're having problems with your shellplate not advancing properly, you probably need to adjust the right and left feed pawls. This is covered under adjusting the auto advance mechanism of your press. One pawl covers half the advancement and the other pawl covers the other half. Read that section over and I think if you're patient, you'll get your press running smoothly.

Once you get it adjusted, the spring ball detents in the shellplate will lock up with the subplate indentions and you'll not see the movement you're talking about. Right now, they're offset a bit and you're able to rotate the shellplate as you're describing because they're not in indentions like they should be.
 
Dave;

Thanks, I'll give both of those a try. If I can resolve the ejector wire issue then I can say the Hornady is absolutely flawless. The ejector wire is the only thing that has given me any problems with the press that have not been easily resolved permanently. :D
 
Dave,

I'm talking about slop in the index wheel with the shell plate detents in place. I can move the index wheel about a 1/16 of an inch at the outside radius without the shell plate moving at all. If I wiggle the index wheel too much, I can see the shell plate start to move a little.
 
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