Hornady LNL Primer Feed

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9mmepiphany

9mmepiphany

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I'm trying to set up my primer feed for my LNL and I must be missing something.

I have the primer slide and feed all set up, but I can't get the slide to travel back far enough to line up with the primer drop tube.

I got the loader used and he had removed the primer slide and the return spring for it. I had to call Hornady for a replacement spring and it came today. I assembled everything and it runs alike glass (watched the Hornady and Bill Morgan Youtube videos). The thing is that the priming wire, that pushes the slide back to pick up the primer, doesn't push it far enough (about an inch short). The only way I can get it to push far enough is to detach the plastic retaining piece from the frame.

I've looked on Youtube for a video that addresses this...can't believe that I'm the only one who has ever had this problem...but can't find anything.

Called Hornady Tech Support, but they are gone for the weekend.

I would think the priming wire can be bent. I noticed the priming wire goes through a hole in the frame and there is a nut threaded to it, but loosening the nut doesn't release the wire to allow bending. I didn't really want to unbolt the press from the bench until I had a better idea of what needs to be done.

Thanks for any help with this
 
I had the same problem with mine, although not to the same extent.
I had to take the rod out of the top plastic retaining bracket, and carefully bend it out more with some vise grips padded with leather, then back in, giving the rod more of a bow at the upper bend before the shuttle would reliably pick up both large and small primers. It went fine though, with the rod still in the press. Don't bend it too far, or the shuttle will travel too far and start doing funky things like flipping primers and jamming.

If you had two vise grips, one to support the rod and another to do the bending, it might work.
If the rod is as far off as you say, there might be something funny going on...I only had to get my shuttle to travel a few mm's more.

An inch short, that's about half the total travel of the shuttle!
 
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Thanks, I took another look and actually measured.

It is off by about 1cm (8-10mm). When I take the plastic retaining bracket off, it is almost perfect...but then the lower portion of the wire kicks the spring off the primer shuttle
 
Do you have the new style or old style?

The setup should be the same but it's hard to believe that it can be that far off with the plastic retainer all the way out.

Thinks to check and to be aware of. The top portion of the rod need to be true vertical when properly aligned. This is where the dwell time comes, which allows the primer to drop into the sled.

How I would adj it is to run the ram all the way to the top. Now adj the plastic holder to get it the tube align with the sled hole. Now see as you move the ram up/down the last 1/2" that it stays centered. If not you may need to bend the rod so it does. This should be all the adj that is needed.

When you lower the ram the sled comes forward and will not be contacting the roller. This is normal and you want the sled to go fully forward. If it's not keeping align with the rod you have it twisted some.

Tip: Use a thread or fishing line to attach to the spring hook for easy removal when changing primer size. Then to change sleds, run ram all the way up. Pull back on the thread to unhook the spring. Swap sleds while still holding back then reattach the spring. Takes about 5 sec to do it this way. The change the seating punch assembly.
 
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It has the EZ Ject stud, so I'm assuming it is a newer press.

It is pretty amazing that it is almost 1cm out. It will be interesting to see what Hornady Tech Support has to say on Monday
 
Don't know if it will help, but here are a few pictures of the modification to the primer shuttle guide rod.

here is the bend

primerrod.jpg

and you have a little bit of room to play with the top plastic bracket, I moved mine a little bit out to help.

primerrodtop.jpg

hope that helps

I'm thinking something is misaligned on your press, if I'm understanding the problems you are having...by kicking off the spring, do you mean it kicks it off where it hooks to the press chassis, or where it hooks to the shuttle? Does the shuttle have the removable revolving wheel, or is it attached to the shuttle? Does it happen with both the small and large primer shuttle, if you have them both? There isn't a lot of clearance between the shuttle spring and the guide rod, so if its misaligned I could see it kicking the spring off the shuttle, or pulling the wheel off.

My press was sent with the small and large primer shuttles, and both had removable plastic wheels not attached to their shafts, that were engaged by the guide rod. My small pistol primer shuttle wheel snapped off the shuttle at the shaft, leaving the shaft stub lodged in the shuttle. The replacement shuttle Hornady sent me (for free) was an aluminum wheel revolving on a permanently attached shaft. Much better, imo as I hated dealing with the removable wheel and small shaft coming apart from the shuttle.

Part of the "fun" for me with the LNL primer system was diagnosing the blasted thing and then fixing it to work reliably. It does seem to be the weak link in the system, from the seemingly inevitable "dimple" to misfeeds, to the kind of problems you are having.
 
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See how I did it and let me know what you think. It is working great so far. I was not having any issues but I have been reading so many priming issues, I wanted to try a permanent fix to hopefully help the community.

Hornady LNL AP Primer Fix
 
silicosys4 said:
I'm thinking something is misaligned on your press, if I'm understanding the problems you are having...by kicking off the spring, do you mean it kicks it off where it hooks to the press chassis, or where it hooks to the shuttle? Does the shuttle have the removable revolving wheel, or is it attached to the shuttle? Does it happen with both the small and large primer shuttle, if you have them both? There isn't a lot of clearance between the shuttle spring and the guide rod, so if its misaligned I could see it kicking the spring off the shuttle, or pulling the wheel off.
Click to expand...
The guide rod/wire is kicking the spring off the pin attached to the shuttle.

The wheel is plastic and is press onto a shaft which is cast with the shuttle.

I have both the small and large and have the same problem with booth...I need about 8mm more rearward movement.

The rod only interfers with the spring if I free it from the plastic bracket (to see how much the guide had to move back)

The replacement shuttle Hornady sent me (for free) was an aluminum wheel revolving on a permanently attached shaft. Much better, imo as I hated dealing with the removable wheel and small shaft coming apart from the shuttle.
Click to expand...
The shaft that the plastic wheel spins on is part of the shuttle...I haven't tried to remove it, but it looks like it is just pressed on

Part of the "fun" for me with the LNL primer system was diagnosing the blasted thing and then fixing it to work reliably. It does seem to be the weak link in the system, from the seemingly inevitable "dimple" to misfeeds, to the kind of problems you are having.
Click to expand...
I do have dimple in the frame but it does seem to be self-limiting...for the few times I've loaded a primer in the shuttle, it seems to prime fine.
 
Does anyone know what the nut at the base of the guide/wire is supposed to adjust/secure?

I've loosened it and the guide/wire can't be pulled out, so I'd think it would be for adjusting how high the guide/wire sits.

Still doesn't give me enough rearward movement
 
Your wire is bent way out of original shape and spec. I can see where some one has changed the bend at upper and lower. Get a new rod from Hornady and your problems will likely clear.

The nut on the bottom of the press just sets the final position. It's been over 6yr since I have seen mine. But the main thing is has it as low as it will go so you will have max dwell time for picking up primers.
 
Taking a look at what the cam wire looks like on other presses leads me to believe you guys are right. Someone really went to town bending this wire out of shape.

I gather it needs to be removed from the bottom of the press?
 
I'm Golden, I'm priming

Got through to Hornady Tech Suport this morning and after about an hour in the garage, the primer feed and shuttle are running smoothly.

Turns out I was bending the wrong section of the Cam Wire. I had been bending the lower section back (away from center) and I should have been bending the middle (2nd) section more toward the horizontal (shallower angle; from horizontal). Then the upper section is bent toward the vertical to allow enough dwell time for the shuttle.

The tech even had a good idea of how it was originally bent by the former owner. Apparently it isn't uncommon for folks to snag the Cam Wire on the shuttle and applying enough pressure to break bigger pieces (!!!). That is why they came up with the Breakaway Cam Wire assembly. I asked if it would be a good idea to replace what I had with the breakaway assembly and he didn't recommend it if my Cam Wire wasn't interfering with the shuttle.

The hard part was just isolating the different sections to get the correct section to bend...yes, a bigger (longer shank) screwdriver was very helpful

Thanks for all the help along the way
 
This is awesome to hear Hornady support stepped up.

Now get to loading as I see great days at the range in your future :)
 
I do too. First 100 rounds only took about 15 mins...and that included checking OAL length and charge weight every 3-4 rounds (just getting used to it)

I am in love with the powder measure mechanism, how easy charge weights are to set and how consistent it throws

The only downside of getting a LNL is I keep coming across more things I want to make it better
 
The only issue I had is the primers not sitting deep enough. I just put a penny under the primer seating button and it works like a champ now.
 
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