Hornady LnL .223/5.56 case prep

[Akula69]

So, I was trying to find a more efficient way to process .223/5.56 quickly (without buying it). Most of my cases are once-fired military brass, so the primers are sealed and crimped, making removal a pain.

So here we go (remember it’s all .223/5.56 here):
I decided to get a Lee sizing die and several replacement straight recapping pins. Why you ask? Because the Hornady sizing die I use has a decapping/neck expansion pin that will not push the primer all the way out (due to the neck sizer it can’t be lowered past a certain point).
I replaced the Lee decapping/neck sizing pin with a straight decapping pin adjusted to full depth, then placed it in station 1. The regular Hornady die is in station 2 for neck sizing.
Station 3 has a Lee Rifle Quick Trim die, and the Power Quick Trim Cutter mounted in an electric drill (Amazon). It’s adjusted to cut to 1.745 (the ideal length for my weapon).
But - enough talking…on to the pictures!



Now, if I can just find a way to incorporate a swager in the process I’d be happy….

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Looks like you need one of the FA's 10 station presses, if they ever get them on the market.

How does that case feeder you made work? I see your using plastic tubes and probably a Lee collator on top.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Don't want to trim on my LNL-AP, I have enough trouble keeping debris out of my primer system. How are you keeping the brass trimmings out of the other stations or is it just falling on the floor? Don't see a vacuum.

 

[Akula69]

I removed the vacuum for brevity sake, but I use a small shop vac with a carpet attachment for the brass shavings. The intake sits off on the right side, but i am not trying to do any reloading with this setup - just process the cases.
The case feeder was made by a guy on the interwebs (Bart Brummins). It works exceptionally well and is reasonably priced (95.00).

 

[tightgroup tiger]

That makes sense now. It looks like you put a lot of work in that project. What kind of trimmer is that?

 

[Akula69]

Its the Lee Power Quick Trim cutter. They show it being turned by a battery powered drill, but the weight of the battery pulls it off center. I bought the corded screwdriver from amazon to power it for 36.00.

 

[Blue68f100]

Don't want to trim on my LNL-AP, I have enough trouble keeping debris out of my primer system. How are you keeping the brass trimmings out of the other stations or is it just falling on the floor? Don't see a vacuum.

I have started taking the primer punch out of mine when I'm doing things that get the press dirty, like depriming for wet cleaning. This way the debree just falls through on to the base, which I just wipe off or vacuum up. The I just blow whats in front of the primer shuttle clean which I put the punch back in.

 

[sugarmaker]

Much as I have tried nothing beats the Dillon 600 setup, flip the finger lever, swaged case flips into a box. Everything else I seem to fight with the press trying to get the case to release from the sewage rod, takes longer than just doing it in a separate step. I have my lnl set up to trim with a custom trimmer I made for a Redding body die. It’s lee mandrel neck size and decap, prime, body size and trim, charge, powder check, seat, eject

 

[Blue68f100]

Much as I have tried nothing beats the Dillon 600 setup, flip the finger lever, swaged case flips into a box. Everything else I seem to fight with the press trying to get the case to release from the sewage rod, takes longer than just doing it in a separate step. I have my lnl set up to trim with a custom trimmer I made for a Redding body die. It’s lee mandrel neck size and decap, prime, body size and trim, charge, powder check, seat, eject

If the swager is sticking in the pocket apply a little Imperial sizing Wax to the offending part. This is only needed every 5-10 cases.

 

[DRAINSMITH]

https://imgur.com/LOp6crp This will do you.

 

[Akula69]

Quick update:

Since the original post I've processed approx. 1500 cases using the setup I described. While there are some who eschew the Lee trimmer, it has worked without problems and is accurate to .002 on the micrometer. As an added bonus, when operating the press at speed there is an occasion a case with a very small neck split or burr may escape visual examination but the trimmer finds them instantly (you can easily tell by the change in sound and feel).

I already owned a FA Platinum trimmer that I am very pleased with and is dead nuts accurate, but wanted to see how inexpensively I could automate the process and maintain the accuracy. In my opinion, efficiency while maintaining accuracy is the goal, and anytime I can eliminate manually handling the case through the prep steps is a win.

I had thought about the WFT and Giraud units - but could not justify spending the extra dollars to go back to a manual process.