Why does my loadmaster suck???!!!

[hsiddall]

I have had so many problems with the priming attachment, it either jams or the little slider doesnt reset. Also my case slider wont push .45 acp case all the way in. Ive watched the youtube vids thanx to Darwint and shadowdogg which have helped the success never lasts. I know that Im opening myself up nice and wide to all the Dillon nation but my lee stuff has worked great in the past and now this. Truth is loadmaster worked great in the begining but now it just seems to suck. Im able to reload a crap ton of .223 if I prime them first and then run them through about 50 at a time and I can bang out 200+ and hour but the pistol calibers are killing me. Im at work today, but all next week Im off and Im bound to fine tune this machine. Anybody around Aurora IL thats good with the loadmaster. Ok thanx for listening rant over....Well maybe....PS the priming system just appears to suck...

 

[Walkalong]

I prime on an RCBS hand primer. My old Projector almost drove me NUTS before I started doing that. I refuse to try to prime on it while loading. I run all the fired/tumbled brass through once, decapping and sizing. Then I hand prime. Then I run it through again to load it.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I also prep and prime all brass before running it through my progressive. There are some steps I like to do in that process that the progressive won't allow. It makes the actual loading much more enjoyable.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[FieroCDSP]

it either jams or the little slider doesnt reset

Okay... Priming on the LM is a pain. We all know it. There are a few things you can do to help it along.

First: Lee's QC on plastic parts is terrible. My case feeder was tippin most of my 40cal cases until I used a knife to trim down a buldge on the slider. It's now feeding everything 100%.

So..... Pull apart the priming assembly. First, make sure all of the parts are clean of junk and debris. This includes the arm on the carrier that pushes up on the priming ram. That thing gets cruddy from the grease on the bottom of the carrier.
Next.... With the priming feeder reassembled and out of the press, cycle the feeder by hand a few times. Mine had a spot where it was hanging up noticibly. It was caused by the mold points on the little black slider binding on the plastic ledge in the white feeder. Take an exacto or some sandpaper and smooth those circular mold-points on the bottom of the slider until it cycles smoothly in the assembly. This should reduce the flipped primers.

This also could cause (if bad enough) the lack of reset. The primer is fed when a case moves to the second station on the bottom of the stroke. The primer is moved to the feed position by the metal pencil as the carrier is raised and the priming ram does the rest.

More as I experiment.

 

[stubbicatt]

I've used a Loadmaster to great effect. I liked the machine, and loaded some exceedingly accurate ammunition on it. For what I paid for the machine it was perfectly adequate.

I prefer the Classic Cast Turret press for most of my reloading needs. I think it is the better press. I don't get the throughput I used to get with the Loadmaster, but it is a more versatile press.

Unlike some who won't drink either the blue koolaid or the red koolaid, I have tools from both manufacturers. The Super 1050 by Dillon is a great press and I load 223 on that press exclusively. I have a Dillon superswage (I think they call it) for taking primer pocket crimps out, and it is really very good.

Just like you though, I have issues running the Dillon. If the primer feed mechanism isn't properly cleaned and the press has any hinks in it, the whole thing grinds to a halt. I think that is the downside of progressive reloading. Upside is when everything works right, you have great production potential.

 

[jfh]

Start by reading this post:

A Load-Master setup overview.

For primer subsystem issues, see this video and the two following.

There are other youTube videos, too--just search on Load-Master.

FWIW, 95% of my priming problems went away once I went to a five-die setup--but that was after I did the primer subsystem clean and replaced most parts. Pay careful attention to matching the correct primer slider size to the assembly and to the anvil.

Jim H.

 

[Steve Koski]

I learned on Glock Talk that if your Loadmaster sucks:

You are a ham handed dolt and should buy a dillon.

 

[Shadow500]

Sorry you are having problems with the priming system. Since it did work well in the beginning I assume the press was set up properly from the beginning and something got out of adjustment for some reason.

The fact that it is not resetting makes me wonder it there is dirt on the ridge that the primer pin sits on. This would hold the pin up some which could block the slider.

I also wonder if there could be yellow primer residue clogging up your system. Take the priming system apart and clean it. The residue is a highly toxic form of lead so wear gloves.

Inspect the system to make sure that nothing is buggered up. If it is, you may have to replace the buggered part.

Check to see if the primer slider arm is hitting on the station 2 case retainer. If so relieve the edges of both.


You may have to occasionally tweak the friction adjustment on the case slider or add a little more STP to the bottom of the tongue to keep the case feed working properly. I currently run my press without the case feeder and my rates are around 500 an hour. I stopped using it when I started loading multiple calibers on the press. I think the time it takes to take the system apart, set it back up, and adjust it is not worth the extra time when you can do a full caliber change and can start cranking out cartridges in less than a minute if you don't use the case feeder.


Hope these tips help.


Chris

 

[hsiddall]

Goin down to the basement, will try all that you folks have mentioned...Thanx again will update later...

 

[hsiddall]

No dice, the priming mechanism is now working fine but the shell plate occasionally rotates back an 1/8th inch instead of indexing foreward. Still working...

 

[RugerGuy]

Don't give up.......you can do it !!

 

[jfh]

you may not get rid of all the shell plate "backwards rotation," hsiddall. In fact, if you maintain die alighment with cases when the new stroke starts, you are functionally in alignment. The sheetmetal cartridge ejector has a bit of tolerance in it (unless it the mounting hole is severely worn / out of square, so to speak), and will allow the shell plate to back up.

Unless there is an indication of carrier misalignment, the place to work on the shellplate adjustment may be at the indexing lever. Read up on that...

If you are not maintaining die alignment with the case, but the cases are inserting and rotating appropriately, then tweak the turret alignment--that may be off slightly. However, if the primer is working right, and you are routinely seating primers without case/die misalignment, then the turret and shell plate are good.



Jim H.

 

[Shadow500]

Glad to hear that you have the primer system taken care of.

If the shellplate is rotating backwards I would look at two things.

First look at the cartrage ejector.(it is the little plate that sits on the shellplate that shoves the cartrages out after station #5) It also has a little paw that acts like a ratchet when it goes onto the little holes on top of the shellplate. Check to make sure the paw is bent so that it goes into the hole and keeps the shellplate from moving backwards. This part is $2.99 at Midway. You should buy a spare one of these.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=392764&t=11082005

Aother thing to look at is carrier alignment. This is just a simple adjustment.

Lee Precision has a help video that specifically addresses the problem you are having. Go to the following page, then click on "Loadmaster index checking"

http://www.leeprecision.com/html/HelpVideos/video.html


BTW: What turned out to be the problem with the priming system?

Hope this helps,

Chris

 

[hsiddall]

All together things are back up anr running...45acp working well but now I am out of componants...Will go shopping tommorrow and then we shall see how a caliber conversion goes.

 

[jfh]

shadow500, how much 'backplay' do you have in your shell plate? I have a neglible amount--call it under 1/16"--but it does seem to come from the tolerance / wear in the cartridge ejector stamping socket / ram mounting rod.

Tweaking the ejector 'bent tab' actually created more problems for me, once it went beyond simply catching in the shell plate--the tweaking 'shortens' the tab and exacerbates the backplay.

At any rate, as I indicated above, the backplay presents no problems as long as it is minimal, at least on my setup.

Jim H.

 

[Shadow500]

Hsiddall,

Glad to hear things are back up and running great. My observation has been that Loadmaster problems are usually easy to fix but not not always easy to diagnose.


Jim,
I do have a little backwards movement (never measeured it) The important thing is that it does not move back far enough that the indexing rod can't catch on the next button at the bottom of the shellplate to advance it.

My tab just bends down enough to catch the hole as well, any more would be a waste and may let it turn backwards too much.

Chris

 

[jfh]

Back running again--Update on Load-Master.

Other than some "test runs" while I tweaked my Load-Master for 10mm and installed a bullet feeder on that turret / die set, it has sat largely unused for the past six months. My reloading has largely consisted of 38 / 357 "development sets"--e.g., building cartridge runs of ten to twenty rounds before I changed the charge--and I do those on my (standard) Turret that has been updated with a 4-die setup and a Safety Prime.

I had previously set up a Load-Master 5-die turret for 357, and I have a 'standard' PD practice round in that caliber I now want to load, so last night I did the changeover. Removed the 10mm turret, shellplate, and the LP primer setup; installed the SP primer subassembly, the 357 shellplate, and began checking out the setup. I made sure to change out the primer anvil to the small size, and that it was lubricated slightly, per the videos from Shadow500 and DarwinT.

After confirming primers were feeding OK, I had to tweak the primer seating adjustment bolt to get the primers a bit deeper. Then the Pro / Deluxe Auto Disk measure with an adjustable charge bar and the manual / chain return was installed. Bullet seating depth was tweaked, and the FCD / crimp and post-sizing was verified.

Other than the first two-three cases in which the primer depth was set, everything worked flawlessly. The case feeder (set up for 10mm) fed 357 brass without a problem. The first round out of the hopper varied by -.0025; cartridges in the run vary by +-.0015, and the end of a run varies by -.0015.

These are the most consistent numbers I've seen. Intermittent powder checks show the powder is typically +0.0 to -0.1. I ran off about eighty rounds, and began to find my rhythm--the cyclic rate was about 450-480 rph, and that was without trying to speed up.

When I shifted to new brass this morning to test it, I tweaked the PTED slightly to provide a hair more bell, and slacked the return chain off by one ball to reduce tension slightly.

Most of this totally-smooth and trouble-free shiftover I attribute to the previously-done careful detail-strip and clean, and the die setups.

two setup details to call out are

1. A clean primer subsystem, with the appropriate anvil, and

2. STP on the underside of the feeder slide tongue.

Shadow500's and DarwinT's videos are invaluable for their explanations and tips, like the STP trick.

So far, since finishing the overhaul and setup last June, I doubt 300 rounds were run. Last night and this morning have produced another 125 rounds or so.

Although I was NOT impressed with the bullet feed (there is no speed advantage, unlike the case tube-and-collator side, and it can be 'fidgety'), I am going to set one up as well with this die set. Whether or not its used in the long run will depend....

I'll be watching for the need to do a C-L-A and try to get a round count.

Jim H.