Hornady Lock and Load AP, 45ACP loading problems, annoyed!

[bobotech]

I have a decked out Hornady Lock and Load AP with the casefeeder and all.

Its been driving me nuts. I can't get it to run smoothly for the life of me.

Recently, the primer system has been giving me fits and it turns out that my large primer slide was getting dinged up and worn. There were some other minor issues. So I went and ordered up all the parts that I could find that were worn on my press. Of course Hornady's lifetime warranty was pretty awesome. I ordererd the parts this past Tuesday and received them today.

Replaced my large primer punch, large primer slide, primer guide wire, eject wire, and a few other misc parts.

Adjusted the priming assembly and that appears to be working smoothly once again.

I then did some checking on the press and it appears that the upper and lower ratcheting pawls were out of adjustment. When I raised the ram up, the shell plate was ahead instead of being properly locked into place (skipped the detents). When I lowered the ram, the shell plate also was going too far forward (skipping the detents). I figured out how to properly adjust the pawls from the owners manaul and the shell plate appears to be locking up and down properly.

Now the 2 things that bug the heck out of me. 1- the shells don't slide into place with the case feeding assembly when shells are dropped all the time. They frequently will hang up or fall off instead of being slid forward and locked into the shell plate. I think that is just an adjustment but its bugging me.

Now the most annoying part of all. The shell plate doesn't seem to hold the 45acp brass perfectly stright up. What happens then is when the plate advances the brass to the sizing die, its cocked slightly and hits the bottom of the die (Lee dies) and either dings and stops the ram or just gets crushed.

What I have to do is to oh-so-slightly tap the shell so that its no longer cocked, then it feeds into the sizing die fine.

What the heck is wrong with this press and 45acp?

 

[Wilburt]

I have had all those issues. I have fixed most of them.

my large primer slide was getting dinged up and worn

Could be the system got dirt as mine did. It binds up easy if dirty. Also if the ram/shell sub plate gets loose via the hex head screws just under the sub-plate can mess things up. Mine came loose every 40 rounds!! I called hornady and the sugested removable locktight and problem solved.

the shells don't slide into place with the case feeding assembly

That is mostly adjustment. It probally is due to fine tune adj of the wire that the v-block thing (don't remember acual terms) works on. I played with that for a while and it works 98-99% of the time.

The shell plate doesn't seem to hold the 45acp brass perfectly stright up

I am still dealing with this one. Hornady said three things. Check the timing (mine was fine), buy a hornady die (i was using RCBS), and change the shell plate to a #45 instead of a #1. They said B/C of the loose tolerances with differant cases that the #45 would be better. I switched to hornady dies and it now runs alot better but not perfect. I still get that cocked shell every once in a while which could be due to the #1 vs #45. I don't want to spend the money on another shell plate so well see.

All of these things can effect the function of the press. When you start stacking slight problem here and there it makes it not run correctly. Hope this helps a bit. It definitly gets prettty annoying sometimes.

 

[bobotech]

Yeah, I have heard that the 45 shell plate helps but that really annoys me. I don't want to have to buy another shell plate just because the one I have is faulty.

And on top of that, no one has the 45 shell plate in stock that I see.

I am using Lee dies. I know a buddy of mine has a set of Hornady dies, I might bug him and see if his die works better in my press.

Subplate? I haven't looked at that at all. I shall take a gander and see if it is loose. Maybe that could be large part of my problem.

I did spend about an hour getting the timing perfect on the up and down stroke of the ram. Worked on the upstroke first, then after that was perfect, worked on the down stroke. Timing seems to be fine now. It was noticably bad before I adjusted it.

 

[pinkymingeo]

I got a #45 from Midsouth recently. A Dillon sizing die will cure the rest of your problem.

 

[Wilburt]

The reason i switched to hornady dies was some had stated that the RCBS dies weren't flared as much to facilitate smooth progressiveness. Not sure about Lee but doesn't hurt to try a buddies dies I have heard dillon's are flared the most.

 

[bobotech]

Can I use a carbide cutting end mill to cut more of a bevel into my Lee die?

I mean its not like the die is useful in its current state.

 

[Waldog]

You can get the #45 shell plate from Graf's & Sons: http://www.grafs.com/

 

[pinkymingeo]

Dillon sizer dies are only $23 or so. I've switched over for most of my pistol calibers, just leaving my Lee sizers in the box. You'll find your speed picks up considerably. Worth the investment.

 

[bobotech]

Well I ordered the 45 shell plate from Grafs today. So hopefully by Friday, I should be loading 45 much smoother than I have been. Its embarrassing to show off my big ole fancy press and not be able to reliably load one of the most popular calibers of all time.

My son tries to use it and hates it right now.

BTW tried to use my cutting die to bell out the Lee sizing die, didn't make a bit of a difference.

 

[Roccobro]

Please let us know how it works out for you.

Justin

 

[mrayw]

I have two lnl's set with casefeeders with one dedicated to 45. I get by with #1 shell plate. I really like the press when working properly but second press constantly needs adjustments.
For comparison I just bought a RCBS Pro 2000. It is slower to operate but is so simple to set up and run. I think in the long run I can load faster on the 2000 as it is simply reliable and the frustration level is not a factor compared to the hornady. If the lnl could be set up and stay tuned it would be a great press. This may have more to do with my mechanical aptitude but loading is a fun hobby for me so I may sell lnl and keep Pro 2000.

 

[DEDON45]

I'd definitely try a Hornady dies set for that .45ACP loading, along with their .451 Taper Crimp die... as to the shell plate... mine works great with the #1 shellplate... but I don't use the case feeder, so maybe the #45 will help you with that.

Have you tried contacting Hornady?

 

[pinkymingeo]

I use an FCD and load mainly 200lswc's. Using the #1 shellplate, case jamming on the lip of the FCD was a constant nuisance. The #45 has pretty much solved that problem.

 

[Otto]

The #1 shell plate works for me but only because I deburred and polished it.
Before I did that, the cases would hang-up on the ejector wire more often than not.

It's a shame that you need to spend $35 on another shell plate.

 

[Otto]

For comparison I just bought a RCBS Pro 2000. It is slower to operate but is so simple to set up and run. I think in the long run I can load faster on the 2000 as it is simply reliable and the frustration level is not a factor compared to the hornady.

So a Pro 2000 without case feeder is faster than a LNL with case feeder?
Interesting.
We don't get alot of feedback on the Pro 2000 here, (mostly Dillon, Lee, Hornady) so that's good to know. And welcome to the forum.

 

[pinkymingeo]

I transitioned to the LnL from a Lee Turret. They're drastically different machines, and there was a big learning curve to climb. At first the LnL drove me nuts, and I regretted the change. As time went on, and I got comfortable with the machine, I gradually came to understand what progressive reloading is all about. Now I've got about 20K rounds under my belt, and the LnL seems completely natural to me. Ammo gets produced astoundingly fast. You need to work with your machine until it becomes second-nature. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Idano]

I think in the long run I can load faster on the 2000 as it is simply reliable and the frustration level is not a factor compared to the hornady. If the lnl could be set up and stay tuned it would be a great press.

mrayw,

If you are experiencing reliability issues with your L-n-L press then I would venture a guess that one or more of the following may be causing you problems:

• 
  
  [*]One or more of your adjustments setup correctly. One or more may be on the outer limit so they some times and other times not.
  [*]All adjustment screws and nuts should be set with tread locker (Loctite Blue) once proper adjustment has been located.
  [*]Shell Plates, Primer slider, sub plate, and case pivot block should be polished.
  [*]Keep your shell plates clean.​

It took me about a month to get my L-n-L completely setup properly. That has been about two and a half years ago and since then I haven't had and issue with it. I am constantly switching between 9mm, 40 S&W, .357 Sig, and 223 Remington. I am going o be adding 22-250 this fall and maybe 357/38 too if I pick up a revolver for my wife.

 

[bobotech]

The other thing that slightly annoys me about the press is the way the powder measure is adjusted for long or short cases. What I mean is that it is a pain in the arse to adjust the length of the powder measure to compensate for the difference in shell heights.

For example, it was adjusted for 45acp height this week until tonight. I wanted to load up some 44mag so I swapped the linkage pivot point from the short case to the long case point. But then I had to loosen the top part of the powder measure so that it would cycle though the whole throw of the case. Once that was done, I loaded up 50 rounds of 44mag with no issues.

I do love the press, the problem is that I think I'm being nickled and dimed to an extent. Having to buy the 45 shell plate, and now I'm considering buying the updated linkage parts to upgrade my powder measure to the new style and then get some of the powder though belling inserts. A bunch more money to get the press to where it should have been in the first place.

I worry that I should have gotten a Dillon 650 in the first place. I still go back to one of my Dillon Square Deals that I have setup for small primer stuff. I'm not so sure I want to try 9mm or 380 on the press due to the issues i hear with ejection issues.

I want to love this press.

 

[DEDON45]

bobotech... just buy some additional lower powder drop assy.... they even come with the bushing. I just buy ones for my commonly switched calibers, changing them out is a lot faster than tweaking one powder drop die... and they aren't that expensive.

 

[pinkymingeo]

The LnL has no ejection issues if the ejection wire is adjusted properly. I finally learned to do this every time I change calibers. Loosen the clamp screw that holds it in place, and slide the wire in or out until it barely kisses the case at the top of the ram's travel. If it contacts the case early, it'll eject too soon. If there's space between the wire and the case, you'll get jams. Adjustment only takes a couple of seconds.

 

[SSN Vet]

Wow! this sounds like a Loadmaster thread

I thought only Lee presses needed mechanical adjustment

Could it be the color?

 

[Wilburt]

Shell Plates, Primer slider, sub plate, and case pivot block should be polished.

Seems like a lot of work for something that should have been addressed at hornady. Don't mid doing the work but still. Whats the best way to pollish it?

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

It always amazes me when people happily polish up and tweak their Dillon powder measures, add knobs, modify and adjust things to get it to run better without comment. But if someone needs to do that with any other brand, there's this great carrying on like somehow that's a big deal.

I've seen my buddy polish all kindsa stuff on his Dillon 650 to get it running more smoothly and seen other folks do the same thing with a 550.

Get realistic folks, any machine you buy will need some sort of tuning to make it run better or to get it to do something you want it to do that it normally can't during the time you own the machine.

After all, these progressives are semi automated machines and any machine will need maintenance and adjustment. Period, regardless of brand. We're lucky the machines run as well as they do for the price point they're all being sold at. You really shouldn't buy any brand of reloading equipment if you think you shouldn't have to adjust it. That's like expecting a car to run without changing the oil once in a while or performing a tune up. It ain't going to happen.

Seriously,

Dave

 

[bobotech]

I don't mind doing polishing and other tweaks to the machine to get it to run smoother and better. What grinds my gears is having to buy all sorts of new stuff just to be able to get my existing stuff to work as it should. That is my main beef.

 

[Idano]

Shell Plates, Primer slider, sub plate, and case pivot block should be polished.

Seems like a lot of work for something that should have been addressed at hornady. Don't mid doing the work but still. Whats the best way to pollish it?

Wilburt, these presses are mass produced and for the price we are paying for them they really are a great deal so you have to expect to do some finish work. I used jeweler's rouge and a felt wheel in my Dremel tool, it took all of about 15-20 minutes. Other then pumping some grease into the knuckles every 5,000 rounds I haven't had to adjust tweak or modify my press since I originally set it up and added all the bells and whistles.