Hornady LnL AP case feeder - cases tipping

[Walkalong]

Excellent!

 

[metalax]

No problem. I thought for a minute there was some confusion about which station I was having issues with - probably has something to do with being on night shift last night and tonight...

One notch of the shell plate has a chip out of it on the leading edge - no idea how the heck I managed that, but oddly enough, the problem doesn't seem to follow that defect. It'll work flawlessly when I operate the press slooooowly... then I speed up, and as it starts to dick up, I slow down... and it keeps screwing up, then it'll stop and just work smoothly. I really can't pin down a definitive rhyme or reason to what is causing the problem. Whenever I have the video camera handy, it works fine. Maybe I just need to keep the camera on the tripod pointed at the press!

Hi , I received my case feeder today and have the same problem (on 9mm so far). It seem to me the cause is just as stated in this thread, the case catches the spring and tips the top of the case in towards the center of the plate and yes if you go real sloooow it is not so bad.
I was wondering if you or Hornady ever came up with a proper fix. Well at least one that did not involve JB Weld -O, or a full machine shop? It would seem to me when you buy a $400.00 press and add a equal costly case feeder there should be no need to resort to obscure repair methods for it to operate properly.
Tx mAx

 

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got two set up with case feeders and for the most part they both suffer from this weekness. Hornady needs to step up to the plate and address this and upgrade the units they have out in the field. I ran my buddys 650 the other day and loaded a 1000 rounds of 45acp without a burp. My hornadys are doing well if they tip a round in every 20 rounds and thats if im slow and perfectly smooth. Gets to be old hat. Sure does keep me from recomending one of these presses to someone else!!!

 

[metalax]

Well I made a temporary fix today, 500 rounds and 0 tilted cases. It is hokey as hell but will work until Hornady gets on the ball and fixes the V blocks. I'm going to order a couple of new blocks and make a land to attach to the bottom for a real fix.
If anyone's interested.
Vblock

 

[Walkalong]

Very cool. Neat little fix.

I don't use a case feeder myself, so I am not sure what is going on, but my spring lays down flat enough for what seems long enough for the case to enter without tipping. I wonder if the spring slot on some is a bit off picking the spring up too soon.

Just to add to my confirmations on the shellplate. I got the new one from Hornady on Wednesday. The lip on the bottom is larger and more square. Worked like a champ because it keeps the spring down fully and lets the brass slide across without tipping.

Glenn

Hornady was making shell plates as fast as they and all their subs could go. I believe they just let a bunch of poorly made ones out. I have numerous plates and it is obvious they were made by different places.

 

[Depdog]

metalax

Thanks for posting that. I switched to the number 6 v block a couple of weeks ago and it cured my tipping problems. My number 6 seems to catch the case at the bottom, if I have the issues again I will give the paperclip trick a shot.

Glenn

 

[Doubledown]

Read this topic a few weeks back. I also use the LNL and case feeder and was not having any case feeding issues until I began to use the #16 (.223) shellplate. Empty cases feeding from the v-block would tip every time it hit the retainer spring in the subplate groove. Called Hornady and they sent out a new #16 shellplate and this TOTALLY resolved the problem. Apparently some of the plates produced suffered from some type of warping. I have read about this problem on some other forums. All other caliber shellplates I use work perfect, as does the other stations on the press and casefeeder.
Thanks to Hornady for resolving this issue at no cost to me except a little time on the phone.

 

[Glock20]

I do think it's an issue that Hornady should address and send out replacement parts, whether it be shellplates or redesigned v-blocks.

380 acp are the worse for me as 50% or so will tip. It's to the point that it would be easier and faster to just feed the cases by hand.
Taller cases like 10mm, 357 and 38 Special tip much less frequently.
This leads me to think that a v-block upgrade that pushes from the bottom similar to "metalax" fix would be the better solution.

I'm going to contact them with their on-line form at http://www.hornady.com/contact_us
And if they don't reply, within a few days, give them a followup call. 1-800-338-3220

 

[deagle2008]

I just got #16 shell plate and the case feeder. When installed found out that with all the items adjusted properly the case doesn’t go all the way into the shell holder. After inspection I took off the shell holder and tried couple .223 cases and they hardly fitted. Some cases like Federal fit in the lip but some don’t like S&B. I thought I was doing something wrong but after reading the above posts I figure I was right about the shell plate but the worst part is I live in CANADA and I don’t know if HORNADY replaces the item. In the whole process I messed up the spring under the shell plate and my pawn has a small chip so the shell plate doesn’t index properly. I thought HORNADY was a press to start off with

 

[orthodoxy001]

As I indicated in your thread on CGN, Hornady ships to Canada just fine.

When you talk to Hornady ask for a few springs; they're cheap, and while I've been using the same one for years they can be damaged easily when someone is frustrated. Best to have a few spares - it's a wear part.

 

[Walkalong]

Hornady is good to deal with. They will fix you up. I keep spare springs. They are quite easy to bugger up .

 

[WV_Vizsla]

S & B brass is not cut the same in the 9mm and 45 I have inspected. I just recycle it. Think about it.. If the shell plate does not like it, the extractor may not either.

Polish the lips of the plate with buffing compound will make it run smoother and fast.

 

[gxsr-sarge]

Just came across this thread after doing some research. I was encountering the exact same issues w/ loading .223. I just put together my new LNL w/ the auto casefeeder over the weekend. About 1 in 3 cases were tilting and getting stuck. Screaming didn't help but it felt great! Changing out the v-block to the #6 worked tremendously. None got stuck due to tilting. Only one got stuck and that was because the round coming out didn't "EZ"-ject out of the way and hit the incoming case. I think someone nailed it on the head when they discovered that the cases needed to be pushed from the bottom.

Which leads me to a few other "issues":

1- My kit came with 2 large primer rammers. I need to call H an get the small. So I had to hand prime.

2- I had the same issue as the thread-hijacker above - i.e., the case in station 5 was tilting because of the spring and would not insert correctly into the seating die. I just moved the seating die to #4 which caused me to move my powder cop to #3 and the powder measure to #2 (which barely fits in that station). I'll try the "stretch the spring solution but should first get a spare or two. (By the way, thanks hijacker).

3- I wasn't able to twist any bushing in station #3. I tried all of the bushings AND all of the ones in the 10-pack I ordered. They all worked fine in the other stations. It was a machining issue as I had to file under each lug to shave off a bit. Now it works.

4- Lastly, as mentioned above, the EZ-ject system sometimes doesn't eject and the case falls towards the incoming one. I saw this on another thread and hopefully therein lies the solution.

I have to say, I'm not that thrilled so far with this press....

Thanks