Hornady AP, L-N-L will not index correctly

[rajb123]

I have been reloading on a SS press for 40 years and I have had this progressive press for 12 days and I have not been able to get it to run.

The press has been installed on an optional $70 steel mounting stand and is secure on a steady wood bench that does not move or rock when in use.

Last week the press froze and I broke an indexing pawl which was replaced by Hornady Customer Service 7 days later.

While I was waiting for the parts to arrive, I removed both pawls from the press and loaded a few (50) cases using manual indexing. About 20% of the cases were being torn up at Station #1- decapping/sizing. In addition, in order to prime the cases, I needed to move the shell pate back and forth a tad to set the primers in the cases. On occasion, the shell plate refused to align properly with the dies.

Today I received the replacement pawl from Customer Service and I was told to screw the indexing pawl bolts into the press fully and back them out 1.5 turns. Any further adjustments to indexing the press should be made by turning the indexing pawl bolts 1/16th turn in or out as needed.

I removed all dies from the press except the resizing/decapping die and ran some cases through Staion #1 and the priming station. After 20 or 30 adjustments to the two indexing pawls, I got the press to deprime/resize and prime.

The problem is that the pawl adjustment only works about 80% of the time. The remaining time, the shell plate hits the sizing/depriming die tearing up cases and the priming station needs to have the ram arm moved back and forth to seat the primer.

The press refuses to consistently index.

I'm about ready to unbolt the press and throw it in the corner of the basement and buy a Dillon.

 

[mitchz]

Hope I can help. First I love mine it is an awsome machine but no press is perfect. The alinement is actually done with the shell plate, there are two spring loaded balls that seat into divots under the plate. You should be able to feel this happen if not you need to clean and lube everything. Try moving it up halfway and turning the shell plate if you cant feel it index or if it's hard to turn it's either a shell plate issue or a clean and lube problem. One other thing if the spring under the plate is not right it can drag. I got in the habit of wiggling the plate when I put a shell in.
And if you really can't get it to work and want to off it let me know what for it. I would rather put it to use than leave it rot in your basement.

 

[clocker]

I know it can be frustrating, but keep with it. My first suggestion is that you leave out all dies until it indexes reliably. This will prevent any damages to the die or shellplate.

The right side pawl should be backed out just far enough that when you slowly raise the ram that the shellplate snaps into the deprime position. The left side pawl should be backed out just far enough that when you slowly lower the ram that the shellplate snaps into the primer position.

If the shellplate does not snap into place when raising or lowering, then check the detents or check for any extra friction on the shellplate rotation.

 

[RNG]

Post #5 will describe how to adjust indexing for the LNL. You can always call Hornady tech support and they will assist with the adjustment.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=356132

 

[BYJO4]

I would call Hornady tech support while sitting in front of your press for help. They are great people. If they can't walk you step by step through the adjustments needed, ask them to have the press shipped to them for repair. I did this on 1 of my 2 APs the second day I had it as they could not resolve the problem by phone. They had UPS pick it up the following day and had it back to me in 7 days. I've since loaded a little over 30,000 rounds on this press without a problem or adjustment.

 

[wardor]

How tight are you tightening your shellplate down? If its too tight, then you can get into all kinds of problems. Also, make sure you put lube (grease) and the bearings on the bottom of the shellplate move freely.

 

[wardor]

Also, when I had my LnL (sold it due to shooting less) I always kept a can of compressed air (well actually I got a power duster eventually) nearby to keep dirt and powder dust away from the subplate.

 

[Blue68f100]

A shell plate over traveling can cause more trouble than short. It can be hard to hear the click at time. But you really need to watch how the shell plate is moving too. Some times light pressure on the shell plate will help you figure out whats going on. You will be able able to fell the movement, jumps then reverses if off. If your going ultra slow on the ram movement you will be off just a tad if your going normal speed. Make sure the detent holes are clean. I've had to use a pick to clean mine out over time. If you have powder flakes in the holes it will cause problem. The only lube I use between the shell plate and base is the OneShot dry lube. I use no grease as this will collect the powder/residue and cause more problems.

As far as tightening the shell plate it should be tight. I use one of their wrenches to hold the shell plate while I torque it to ~30ftlbs. A loose shell plate will cause a lot of problems, seating primers, mouths not aligning with the dies to name a few. But if your is binding when tight it tells me your at less than 0.003" clearance or you have a warped shell plate.

Hornady CS can walk you through the process. But chipping/breaking a paw can only happen when they are too far out. If too far out they can actually interfere with each other on the settings.

 

[bandook]

I have been reloading on a SS press for 40 years and I have had this progressive press for 12 days and I have not been able to get it to run.

The press has been installed on an optional $70 steel mounting stand and is secure on a steady wood bench that does not move or rock when in use.

Last week the press froze and I broke an indexing pawl which was replaced by Hornady Customer Service 7 days later.

While I was waiting for the parts to arrive, I removed both pawls from the press and loaded a few (50) cases using manual indexing. About 20% of the cases were being torn up at Station #1- decapping/sizing. In addition, in order to prime the cases, I needed to move the shell pate back and forth a tad to set the primers in the cases. On occasion, the shell plate refused to align properly with the dies.

Today I received the replacement pawl from Customer Service and I was told to screw the indexing pawl bolts into the press fully and back them out 1.5 turns. Any further adjustments to indexing the press should be made by turning the indexing pawl bolts 1/16th turn in or out as needed.

I removed all dies from the press except the resizing/decapping die and ran some cases through Staion #1 and the priming station. After 20 or 30 adjustments to the two indexing pawls, I got the press to deprime/resize and prime.

The problem is that the pawl adjustment only works about 80% of the time. The remaining time, the shell plate hits the sizing/depriming die tearing up cases and the priming station needs to have the ram arm moved back and forth to seat the primer.

The press refuses to consistently index.

I'm about ready to unbolt the press and throw it in the corner of the basement and buy a Dillon.

Adjust the right pawl if the shell is getting chewed up at decapping/sizing, the left pawl if you are unable to seat a primer.
(My press needed adjustment to both pawls).

If the pawls/indexing is not adjusted properly, after decapping, the primer will be held in place between the drop tube and the shellplate causing the press to bind about 2/3rds of the way down when lowering the ram. It will remain stuck until the shellplate is jiggled and the primer drops free.

 

[smith627]

Once you had your left and right adjustment pawls correctly lining up your shell plate for primer decapping and then primer seating, did they remain correctly adjusted after you worked through a lot of press strokes ? I was having a problem with the pawl adjustment screws slowing backing out as I used the press which caused me many interruptions to correct the problem. I solved the problem by applying blue locktite to the adjustment screws and they haven't moved out of line yet after a couple thousand more rounds.
Good Luck and Hornady CS is very good.

 

[dbarnhart]

Clocker is right. Get the indexing working with no dies and no shells. Keep in mind however that once you load up the shelplate with shalls, you'll need to readjust the pawls abit due to the extra drag of all the shells.