LNL snagging on 40SW

[bbqreloader]

Ok, so all those that have had this experience or with another case, need some help.
As of lately I have been having issues with what appears to be the 40 brass "snagging" on the ez ejector. On the up stroke as the plate indexes forward the case seems to jamb up against the ejector hump. I did take some emery cloth and smooth out the edges, watched the HIGHBOY videos. I have run about 2 or 3k cases thru the LNL, 9mm and 45 also, and just started having this problem.
The shell plate was tightened down. I would get thru about 12 or 15 cases then snag for the next 5 or 6.
So I started playing with adjusting the pawls, still no luck and finally ended up snapping a pawl between slowing down or speeding up the process to see if either was the issue. Apparently unitl I get the replacement pawl I wont have to worry about it
Contacted Hornady but figured I would tap some knowledge here to see what issue I could hopefully resolve.
Thanks!

 

[egd]

They put an extra pawl with my lnl when I bought it. I didn't know what it was for a while. Check and see. You may already have one.

 

[BrianC636]

Are you simply sizing or are these fully loaded cartridges?

My LNL will do this if the brass is just getting sized. Hornady says it's because there's not enough top heavy weight to keep it from jamming. Mine has never jammed on loaded cartridges.

 

[sugarmaker]

You may have a burr on the ejector post on the baseplate I recall having some difficulty with 223. I polished the face of the post with 3200 grit after deburring very carefully with a diamond file. The case rim slides on the post and rolls off the shell plate - they do not slide on the plate. This requires a smooth ejector post. Be careful not to remove metal, its a fairly intricate relationship with the case, spring, plate, and post. Also make sure the spring is down in the slot.

 

[bbqreloader]

egd, thanks, I'll take a look.
Brian, they are fully loaded. Just ran a bunch of empty 40 a couple of days ago, just to deprime on a lee universal so I could clean them and had no problems.
Sugar, are you talking about just doing a little smooth out on the edges of the shell plate or the actual ejector post, becasue I already ran some emery over the ejector post while I was snagging and it still did the same thing. I am just trying to figure out why it just started this. Had it snag a couple of times, off and on a few weeks ago, but nothing to this degree.

 

[Itzdapig]

I am having the same issue with .40s. No issues with .223 or 6.8. Mine does it with empties that are being sized and loaded rounds!

 

[bbqreloader]

egd, SCORE, thanks, found one in the spare parts package!

 

[cfullgraf]

I have big problems with ejecting 45 Colt on my L-N-L whether sized cases or loaded rounds.

The cases look like there is a chamfer on the rim that sometimes does not line up with the ejector well at times and the case tilts and locks in place. The case holding spring I have has more kinks than Carter has liver pills and I'm sure that aggravates the tilting problem.

Forum member Walkalong lengthened the slot that the spring recedes into. This allows the spring to disengage the case sooner and also may reduce the tilting. The modification is on my "to-do" list but I have not taken the time to do it yet. Apologizes for not posting a link to the modification, I do not remember exactly where it is. Maybe Walkalong will chime in with it.

I have not loaded any 40 S&W in a long time so I do not remember if I have had issues.

Other cartridges that do not have as much chamfer on the case rim do not get jammed like the 45 Colt.

 

[Walkalong]

.40 & .45 Colt run fine on mine.

Here is the link to the mod on the sub plate.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=464088

 

[sugarmaker]

Did it run 40's ok before?

My memory on the issue is returning...
My first attempt at loading on LNL was with .223 and I had no experience with the press. After much tinkering, I shaped a piece of paperclip wire (the handle on the fancy spring steel kind, maybe .050 dia??) and shaped it as shown, fitting into the press. This solved the problem for 223 and the press ran fine, but the custom ejector needed to be removed for larger shells. At some point I called Hornady and mentioned my solution, which they said was not normal and they sent me a new 234 shell plate, hub, pawls, and spring. i swapped it all out and it works pretty well. So... a little more complex than the polishing thst I first remembered!

 

[bbqreloader]

Sugar, yeah, started a couple of weeks ago, just an ocassional round here and there but today was rounds in succesion.
The completed round gets started out of the plate but gets snagged against the ez ejector.

 

[AR-Bossman]

Your ejector looks worn away.

Also if you have a shell plate that has too much clearance cut in the bottom for the ejector coupled with a worn ejector nub, I could see this being a problem.

There are some posts online of people having welded and reshaped a new nub. I would purchase a new sub plate.

 

[Walkalong]

You can try polishing the shell plate. That sub plate does look bad though.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=6293946&postcount=4

 

[Blue68f100]

Looking at your photo of the base, looks like a piece of brass embedded on the base of the ejector. This needs to be clean, and smooth. Try not to round the edges that will make it worst. Use a piece of metal for backing to keep the ejector square edge. Walkalongs mod to the base works well. I did not take mine as far back as his. I just grinded the the top edge at a 45deg and smoothed it out. This was required for the older wire ejector system.

Kinks in the retaining spring will cause problems too it very bad.

 

[bbqreloader]

Yeah, may be at the point Im just going to get a new sub plate. I did initially emery cloth down the sub plate and the rough edges but may skip this step the next round or at least the extractor. Although I have run a number of rounds thru it, shouldn't be at this stage. Lessoned learned. Thanks for everyones help.

 

[AR-Bossman]

Out of curiosity do you have any other shell plates? If you do, mic the depth of the ejector track/groove on the bottom. It is a FACT hornady has overly machined these on various plates and allowed extra clearance which allows brass to try and hop the ejector.

 

[bbqreloader]

I do, will take a look at it

 

[bbqreloader]

Hand it to Hornady

Ar-checked depth and they measured within.001 of each other.
Called Hornady service, new pawl in the mail and the rep advised me to square up the edges, after I told him what I did, and if that doesnt work he will get me a new sub plate

 

[AR-Bossman]

Thanks for the update.

Look what I found. Haven't got all the way through it.

http://www.salsaspirit.net/docs/lnl_ezject/index.html

 

[Captaingyro]

^^^
That's a great link...very informative.