LnL Question

[jmeacham]

I am setting up a Hornady LnL press with Hornady New Dimension Dies in 45 ACP. The instructions for the sizing die say "Raise the press to highest position without camming-over". A LnL does indeed "cam-over" with the handle down and the ram up. The instructions then say to screw the die in "until the base touches the shell plate". Then tighten the die. No problems, right?

But, with my LnL press, the ram continues to rise even after the cam-over action and in fact will not cam-over because the base of the sizer die is already hard against the shell plate. I called Hornady and ask them what I was doing wrong and they said that the ram on their presses actually lower a bit after the cam-over. I told them that that mine did not go down after the cam-over but in fact went up even further. They said I must be mistaken and that I should look at it again.

I have looked at it again and I am not mistaken. Now, I can make it work by raising the ram all the way to the top of the stroke, past cam-over, and then screwing the die down until it makes contact with the shell plate.

I would like to know how other LnL presses out there are functioning with regard to cam-over. Does your ram go down a bit after cam-over or does it continue to rise after cam-over?

 

[rcmodel]

By definition, cam-over means the toggle linkage has reached TDC, and if continued past that point, would move the ram back down.
If your ram continues to go up, it has not reached the cam-over point yet.


rcmodel

 

[Luggernut]

For the sizing die... you have it just touch the shell plate at the highest point of the upward motion of the ram.

 

[Idano]

jmeacham,

Do exactly as Luggernut said. Make sure that the ram is fully up, handle down, and that the shell plate is install correctly with the retaining bolt snug.

 

[PedalBiker]

I added Epoxy to the linkage of my LnL press so that it comes to a positive stop just before TDC. You could also drill & tap for a bolt, but the Epoxy has held for well over a year now and offers a very positive stop. I used one of the "steel reinforced" putty epoxies.

 

[Roccobro]

PedalBiker- I'm interested in your mod and exactly why. Is it to eliminate unnecessary movement or???

Thanks,
Justin

 

[Bowfishrp]

I noticed the EXACT same thing with my LnL AP. I also have a Hornady single stage press and you can see the shell holder drop a little after cam-over. My LnL AP does NOT drop back down. It comes to a point where the handle wont go any further and the shellplate never dropped back down. Makes life easier on my and so far has not caused any problems.

 

[PsychoKnight]

Mine cams over.

What I do to find TDC is before screwing the die down completely, I move the handle back and forth right around TDC as I adjust the die so that I can feel the shellplate bump the die, and back it off just barely enough so that there is only the slightest contact during cam-over. Not good to mash the sizing die into the plate every time you stroke, but if there is a gap of a few thousandths of an inch, no biggie - your ammo won't know the difference as it won't show in any measurable dimension.