LnL AP Arrived

Status
Not open for further replies.
I figured out last night that the powder drop tubes, handles, etc. are the same between the Hornady powder measure and my CH micrometer powder measure. and the drums ar eteh same size (but not interchangeable.) I'm 99% sure that I can use the CH press with the case-activated powder drop. This is good news for when I'm loading .38 Specials; I don't trust that big chamber in the Hornady for consistantly dropping small charges (although I've got it set up for dropping .45 Colt powder charges, and that's what I'm gonna start with)
 
I got it all set up and adjusted last night; took just a few minutes to load thirty .45 Colt cartridges, even stopping to peer into the cases to check the powder cuz I don't trust the powder measure yet.

I was planning to add a "powder cop" die to the 4th station and crimp in the 5th, but my RCBS crimp die will not work in the 5th station unless I flip the ejector wire up, or cut/bend the loop off the end. I don't know yet if it would eject smaller cases if I cut the loop off so it rides at a different angle. [I just thought of this; maybe what I need is different spacers I can put on the end of the wire, replacing that loop, to hold it at different distances from the center hub for different cartridges...]

I gotta check with Hornady to see how easy it is to replace the ejector wire if I ruin it.

Meanwhile, I have a whole bucket of sized and decapped .45LC brass, so I could drop powder in station #2, powder cop in #3, and seat/crimp in #4...
 
zxcvbob,

Hornady sells a handgun rotor for the powder measure that has a much smaller cavity than the standard "rifle" rotor that they ship with the press.

I've found the Hornady measure to be 100% consistent and reliable with all powder types.

Don't cut the ejector wire. Use either Hornady or Redding crimp dies, or grind the bottoms off the Lee FCD dies to get them to fit. The ejector wire is very easy to replace, but if you don't cut it, you shouldn't have to replace it.
 
I found that the little metal tube that the primer slide bears on when the press is actuated is adjustable via the set screw on the top of the press, and backing it out a smidge so the primer slide had a longer travel in each cycle solved the problem
Click to expand...

I also had this problem and the same thing solved it.
 
Everthing working great. I loaded up about 150 rounds of .223 the other night in less than an hour...and that was with my 8 yr old daughter "helping." Once the powder measure was complete taken apart and cleaned, it is VERY consistent...better than my Lee PM.

I also figured out the problem with the cases hanging....it was those cheap russian cases (YZT or something like that) that were to blame. I learned that if they did that easily slide into the shellplate then they would hang on ejecting. Well these case are going to be put aside STRICTLY as suspect and will only be used for plinking.

Cant say enough good things about this press...now I wish I had three more shellplates, the case feeder and about 5 more die bushings. :D
 
I'm glad I don't have the sheel feeder; I'd never be able to keep this thing fed. I'll have all my brass and bullets used up in a week or two as is (and I thought I had a lot of brass and bullets saved up)

I'm gonna try bending a dogleg in the ejector wire so it keeps the same angle at station #5 but stays out of the way of #4. That's how Hornady should have designed it.

The instruction booklet doesn't say what kind of grease to use on the zerks, and it doesn't say if it's pregreased at the factory (probably not.) I'm gonna call them today and ask about that. I assume the type of grease doesn't really matter but I need to put some kind of grease in there before I use it much.
 
I am using regular automotive grease...yeah it is messy, but drop some powder on the shellplate and it will get in the grease and you got to clean it all out anyways. My guess is that the white lithium grease would be best but I would like to know what Hornady says too.
 
The press comes all greased. You don't have to grease it for a long time. The press is so well made that it's hard to get grease into the fittings.

For grease under the shell plates I use a tube of Hoppes gun grease. I just put 3 sopts of grease on the shell plate and pull the handle 5-6 times and it spreads it self.
 
Y'all probably already figured this out...

Since you can't see when the primers run out, and it's too easy to lose count, I took a 1/8" brass brazing rod and dropped it down the empty primer tube, then cut it off with about 1 inch sticking out the top. I had hoped it would lock up the press after the last primer is fed and then the rod drops down into the primer-picker-upper, but it doesn't. However, it does lock it back and you can see it if you're looking.

It would be easy enough to make a little buzzer go off when the ram comes down with the primer arm locked back, but just by watching how much is sticking up you can tell when there's just a couple of primers left. Then either watch for the arm to lock back, or only feed a case every other holder so you can see the primers.

BTW, my previous post about bending the ejector wire was stupid. The wire gets in the way of #5, not #4, and there's very little bending that you can do and have it still work. The answer is to either not use station 5, or flip up and not use the ejector wire (or use Hornady special crimp dies)
 
The Dillion primer warning system will work on the Hornady LNL. All you have to do is add tape around the black plastic holder which is at the top of the vertical primer assy, then add the Dillion warning system. Then just trim the plastic rod which rides the primers down the tube, and you're all set.

I've got mine trimmed to go off when there is only 5 primers left in the machine.

Jeff
 
If you feel the need to lube under the shell plate of the press, something I havent done due to the fact that the case head and primer drag on the plate as it advances and will pick up traces of what ever greese or oil you use...

consider using powdered graphite, which will not affect the primers.
 
I started working with 9mm and am having trouble getting them to eject. About half of them are hanging and I dont want to pull them out by hand.

I seem to remember someone bending their ejection wire and someone else just polishing the wire and shell plate. I would bet that bending the wire would work but I am not 100% sure which way to bend it. Does the polishing really help?
 
Well I answered my own question. I took my dremel and removed any burs on the ejection wire and also polished it up where it touches the shells and where it touches the bolt. I also polished the shellplate on the backside of each station, basically where the shell is getting stuck. I also noticed that occasionally the shell would get hung under the retainer spring so I lubed it up with dry lubricant.

Now it only occasionally hangs or shoots out but that is far better than it was. I will have to do the same thing to #16 shellplate since I was having almost the same problem with my 223 cases.
 
How to empty the primer feeder?

If there's still 40 or 50 Small Pistol primers in the tube and I want to change it over to Large Pistol, is there and easy and safe way to unload the primers? Or should I just prime some brass (even if I'm not ready to load them) to use them up?
 
Take the primer body assembly off, rotate it over your hand and catch the primers as they drop through.

From page 12 of the manual:

If there are primers in the Primer Feed Tube you will need to empty it before changing the tubes. Remove the
Cap Screw (11), hold your cupped hand under the Primer Tube and rotate the Primer Feed Body Assembly (CW)
to catch the primers. After the tube is empty, rotate the body back in place and re-install the mounting screw.
Refer to Step 4 for more details. Disconnect the primer feed spring from the roller pin and remove the Primer
Slide Assembly (15). Remove the Primer Tube Support (1) and the Primer Tube (4 or 5).
Click to expand...
 
I was able to do the same thing...just catch them in your hand...but be sure to move your box of used primers away so that if you do drop some they wont fall in the same box....been there done that. Kind of hard to tell what a good primer looks like when it is in a box with 1000 spent primers. :)


I could not seem to get my primers to see all the way. I was working up some large pistol primer and set about 10 of them but thought they should seat a little farther. I got out my lee hand primer and was able to get them to get a little deeper in the case. I guess I will take the thing apart, clean it and dry lube it. I have been priming everything by hand so far.
 
Well I cheated....I stopped using it and went back to using my Lee Hand Primer. That way I can check each shell to make sure there are no cracks and no media in it before loading a primer.

It is still on my list to go back and revisit the priming system on my AP just to make sure that it works the way it is supposed to, just haven't gotten around to it yet. :) I suspect I had the small primer seater installed instead of the large primer seater but have not checked again.
Robert
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
Will Dillon 550 Case Feeder RUN on a HORNADY LNL AP???
Replies
1
Views
487
1911user
1
N
  • Locked
Hornady LnL AP Set Up?
Replies
7
Views
1K
RustyFN
R
tightgroup tiger
  • Locked
Hornady LNL AP for 9mm luger.
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
noylj
N
Rule3
  • Locked
RCBS Pro2000 VS Hornady LNL AP
2
Replies
41
Views
3K
GW Staar
GW Staar
H
  • Locked
New LnL AP
Replies
8
Views
609
Hunter5117
H
Back
Top