Horndy LnL AP Problems

[Pilgram]

Help!

I recently purchased a Hornady LnL AP and have been virtually unable to use it.

First, the machine would not feed primers. I polished the parts as suggested by some forum threads with little results. Cases fed through with no primers and had to be disassembled.

I called Hornady and they suggested adjusting the timing pawls. That seemed to work, but I no longer trust that the primers will seat and remove and inspect every case after it passes the primer seating station. Kinda defeats the purpose of a progressive machine, 'tho.

When the bolt holding the shell plate loosened up, things started going wrong, again. And there is no easy way to tighten the shell plate down because applying pressure pushes against the timing pawls and screws things up.

I finally suceeded in very slowly loading about 200 rounds of 9mm. I then tried to switched to 308.

I attempted full length resizing and the primer failed to pop out with the first couple cases, so I adjusted the dies some more. Then a partially extracted primer jammed the press and I broke the drive hub that advances the stations (a problem noted on various reloading sites).

Another call to Hornady and they shipped out 2 new hubs, but here's the new problem with my expensive, non-reloading press ...

I can't figure out how to replace the old broken hub. Removing the two screws as shown in the manual does not free anything so that the broken part can be removed. Instructions woulda been nice. Waiting for a return e-mail from Hornady.

Of course, all this happens on a weekend when there's no way to contact Hornady for help and there is nothing on the internet that guides a newby through replacing these broken parts.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tooltech]

This is a video for performing an upgrade to the press, but it details exactly what you need to know:
http://ultimatereloader.com/2009/05/31/ez-ject-kit-install-part-i-hd/

 

[bluetopper]

The drive hub broke this weekend on my brand new LNL too.

Take out the two allen screws on each side of the ram, then you have to lift the plate off that your shellplate mounts on top of.......THEN you can lift the drive hub off.

I called Hornady this morning and they're sending me out a new drive hub too.

 

[DickM]

First, the machine would not feed primers. I polished the parts as suggested by some forum threads with little results. Cases fed through with no primers and had to be disassembled.

I had trouble with mine at first as well. The fix for mine was to adjust the metal rod that the primer carrier wheel rides on. The carrier wasn't moving back far enough on each stroke to pick up the new primer. Just loosen the set screw on the plastic piece that connects the rod to the press body and slide it back a bit.

When the bolt holding the shell plate loosened up, things started going wrong, again. And there is no easy way to tighten the shell plate down because applying pressure pushes against the timing pawls and screws things up.

Yeah, you don't want to tighten the shellplate with only the pawls providing resistance. I just hold onto the shellplate when I tighten the central bolt and that seems to work OK. It doesn't need to be really torqued down, at least mine doesn't.

I attempted full length resizing and the primer failed to pop out with the first couple cases, so I adjusted the dies some more. Then a partially extracted primer jammed the press and I broke the drive hub that advances the stations (a problem noted on various reloading sites).

I've had trouble with partially extracted primers as well, and we're not the only ones. After wrestling with this for a while, it became apparent that the primer punch was more than enough below the shellplate when the handle was lowered and simply had to be pushing the primers out. And I started noticing that it was more of a problem with some resizing dies than with others. The problem was that the primers were sticking to the pin and getting reseated when the handle was raised back up. Polishing the end of the primer punch pin (pins, really, because you need to do it for each decapping die that has the problem) has taken care of that.

 

[tickfarm]

I had the same problem with tightening the shell plate on my Lock and Load press. If you get a small piece of 2x4 and place in on edge under the raised shell plate by the feed ramp you can tighten the shell plate bolt down as the plate is off the pawls.

 

[Dynamite Rabbit]

I tighten mine down by putting an allen wrench in the primer discharge hole at station 1, blocking the shellplate from turning. The edges of the shellplate are hard enough that I can't see any damage, but you could put tape on the wrench, or use a small piece of dowel or brass if you're worried.

 

[mallc]

I'd just buy a Dillon

Actually, The only problems I've had with my 2 LNL AP is the timing prawls. They are nice for mid-range runs but not true production machines.

Scott

 

[gregj]

Primer Set-back. The machining grooves on the depriming pin tends to grab the primer and then pull it back into the case. Chuck the pin in a drill and polish with wet/dry sandpaper, and you wont have the problem again.

 

[The_Vigilante]

And I was going to buy this press but ended up with the Dillon 650. Looks like I made a wise decision. Have had zero problems with the 650.

 

[nofishbob]

As an alternate viewpoint, I have loaded thousands and thousands of rounds on my LNL AP and have NEVER messed with the timing or broken a pawl.

Some machines from each manufacturer are assembled better than others, and some reloader's techniques match up better with one brand of press.

I hope tha you get things straightened out and have as good of an experience with your LNL AP as I have had with mine.

Bob

 

[Canuck-IL]

I'll second the positive. The machine has reloaded around 50k so far - have never touched the pawls nor done anything more than keep the primer area clean.

Only issue I had was the plastic powder tube was so tight initially that I cracked it getting if off to clean ... had a new one sent free in 3 days.
/Bryan