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

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A small update. I traded my buddy's Hornady New Dimension sizing die for my Lee die and I already notice a difference. I didn't have time to actually load anything but I did run about 20 empty brass through the machine (no primers/no powder/no bullets) and they cycled much better. No more hanging up on the depriming/sizing station.

Still needs some more tweaking but I'm hoping that the new shell plate will make everything pretty close to perfect.
 
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.
Click to expand...

I'm glad that works for you but Hornady advises against adjusting the ejector wire since it's factory set. And personally, I can't imagine jacking with the wire every time I decided to changed calibers. I've had ejector problems with every caliber I've loaded but in each case it was caused by the shell plate. The remedy was to polish the shell plate. Now all of my cartridges eject without a hiccup including the infamous 9mm.
 
I took a Dremel tool, put on a felt "bullet point", jewelers rouge, polished the ejector spring, and each shell station. Took all of 15 minutes. Never had a problem ejecting 9MM or anything else.
 
Good to hear bobotech... when I use RCBS rifle dies in my LNL, I do have to slow down a bit (hey, it's rifle) to make sure the cases enter the RCBS die OK... I suspect hornady dies would be more forgiving. Still faster than loading on a single stage, though, by far. I hope your new shellplate will take care of your case feeding issues.
 
Oh, and what DaveinGA said... I believe every reloader I've talked to in person has had to develop little minor fixes / polish, etc. on their press, and yes, that includes Dillon, at one point or another... the Lee guys, they seem to do more of it, but it works out for them. As for me, my only problem so far was not obeying the instructions that came in my LnL and not totally degreasing the powder measure before first use... and learning that a separate taper crimp for my .45ACPs made life oh so much easier.
 
I stand corrected. Does make sense for the price to have to do some finish work. I going to have to buy a dremel now :D

I took a Dremel tool, put on a felt "bullet point", jewelers rouge, polished the ejector spring, and each shell station
Click to expand...

I'm quessing top bottom and all over (shell station)? Just a quick buff?
 
Wilburt,

That's an excuse to buy a new toy, eh, ah, I mean tool. What you want to do is polish it, then try it out. If it works, you're done. If it doesn't, polish it a bit more.

Regards,

Dave
 
Well i bought that dremel :D. Started polishing the shell holders on the shell plate. i was using that bullet felt thing with jewelers rouge. Tried it and had 4 hang ups on the ejector wire out of about 100. so it's a bit better but just wanting to make sure you can't over due it.... Like making it not uniform or removing too much. i'm guessing it would be pretty hard to do too much?
 
Get up close and watch a case as it (slowly) moves through station 5. If the wire is too close to the case, it's shoved out of alignment with any die you have there. If it's too far the case will tip as the wire makes contact. It's a matter of angles. Tipping cases will jam. If the wire is right the case will slide out of the shellplate without tipping or jamming.
 
Concerning Lee dies...

On Lee dies: Lee dies, though of good quality, are too short to work well in the L-N-L because distance between the top of the LNL bushing and the shell plate is so large...about 1-10/16".:banghead:

In 9-mm Luger, the Lee sizing/decapping die works fine, but the Powder-Through-Expanding die is marginal...I get barely enough flare in the cases for jacketed bullets, not quite enough for lead or plated bullets. (Powder is loaded in the automatic L-N-L dies that come with the press.) The bullet seating die works for bullet seating, but ability to crimp is marginal. The Factory Crimp die won't work...far too short...no threads left for a lock ring. I leave that fifth station empty and run the bulleted cartridges in batches through the Factory Crimp die mounted in a single-stage press.

Dies with longer threaded bodies work fine...RCBS, for example. Measure the threaded portion of your dies and allow space for a lock ring...
 
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