Hornady LNL Prep Advice

Status
Not open for further replies.
My bench height is 37". I use a tall chair that I can adjust the height on so that when sitting my knee is just under the press. I also bent my handle like the old Projector handle. It's more comfortable. It don't have to lean way down to finish the stroke. I don't have to move much from top to bottom of the stroke.
I have that same chair...well, had... had to throw it away when the hydraulic cylinder started leaking.


I just measured my bench and it is 36.75" tall...the frame is 36" and I have 3/4" plywood on top. I'll try it with a drafting chair before buying the Ultra Mount
 
I have that same chair...well, had... had to throw it away when the hydraulic cylinder started leaking.


I just measured my bench and it is 36.75" tall...the frame is 36" and I have 3/4" plywood on top. I'll try it with a drafting chair before buying the Ultra Mount

Did you know that Amazon carries replacement cylinders for chairs? I replaced one in an office chair for $18 including shipping.
 
I wish I did, too late now...she wanted to be rid of it anyway

Well, it's all cleaned and assembled.

I even have the seating die (RCBS) set to the depth and crimp I want to start with.

The only problem so far is that the shell plate doesn't want to line up with the sizing die...sometimes not always. I can nudge it into place, but there must be something slightly out of adjustment
 
If it needs a slight push to get the detent balls to click into place, ONE of the pawls needs adjusting. Read the manual and a slight turn of an Allen wrench will fix it. My LNL needed to be adjusted ever so slightly the other day.
 
It's the pawl on the left. The adjustment will be slight; start with a quarter turn or less. BTW, The pawls swivel somewhat freely, the adjustment just moves them in and out.
 
If you need to adjust the LNL-AP press Pawls, do so VERY SLOWLY, 1/4 turn IS A BIG MOVE.

Put all dies in and a case into each station, raise the ram SLOWLY watch the cases
to see POSSIBLE MOVEMENT FROM Vertical.

This will indicate if the shellplate NEEDS TO GO in a CLOCKWISE or
COUNTERCLOCKWISE direction.

NOTE!!!!
The LEFT Pawl ADJUSTS SHELLPLATE WHEN "COMING DOWN".
Usually for problems of case feeding into shellplate or PRIMER PROBLEMS.

The RIGHT Pawl ADJUSTS SHELLPLATE when "IT GOES UP". This usually causes
problems with CASE ENTERING THE SHELLPLATE. (jamming on the sizing die is the BIG PROBLEM).
 
Things to watch out for:

The priming system. I works fairly flawlessly until it doesn't. Usually this is related to the primer "plunger" making a small dimple in the bottom of the press where it's supposed to get support to push the primer into the case. Hornady should have reinforced this area but did not. A cheapy fix is to put a quarter or nickel there as the coin will give more than enough support for the plunger. You'll know when you need to reinforce this area because your press will start requiring a lot of effort to properly seat a primer, or you'll start experiencing press lock-ups because a primer isn't fully seated (very annoying!). After you use the coin trick you'll realize how easy it is to properly seat a primer and wonder why you didn't listen to me earlier. If only my wife would take note.

Powder spills. Sometimes you'll forget to seat a primer at all and proceed to charge a case without a primer. This causes lots of powder to spill out all over the press and generally make a mess of things. Additionally, the press "clicks" into place whenever you raise and lower the ram, which will sometimes cause cases to spill their powder. If you use a Powder Cop or Lock-Out die, the foot that goes into the case to make sure the charge is correct will also accumulate and drop powder. The powder will get into tiny, tiny crevasses, like the little holes underneath the shell plate that allow it to move around on the ram. You may want to do a quick brush-down every 100 rounds or so. You'll know when your shell plate is off just slightly and your cases no longer align perfectly with your dies. The powder can also affect the priming system as there's not a whole lot of wiggle room in the primer shuttle for anything other than a primer.

Burrs and unsmooth parts. You'll want to take some fine grit sandpaper to areas like the bottom of the primer shuttle, primer plunger, and primer shuttle area. Hornady could have done a better job of making sure everything fits just right but it's relatively easy to fix. You also may want to use a tiny bit of lube (eg One Shot) or grease around the primer shuttle to make sure it moves freely and easily.

The ball handle that comes with the ram is also unsmooth and will tear up your hand. I again took some fine grit sandpaper to it and now it's tolerable. You may want to look at Inline Fabrication as they manufacture a better handle for the press.

The powder measure is pretty good but you'll definitely want the Hornady Micrometer for both pistol and rifle; it's a lot easier to adjust and have easily repeatable charges. The stock measure requires you to unscrew something and has absolutely no markings on it whatsoever. If you find a charge and stick with it and never load anything but that one weight, great! Otherwise, get the micrometer.

The powder through expander (PTX) is over complicated. Check out PowderFunnels and get one of their units, which will just require adjustment of the powder measure like any other die; no additional contraptions to adjust!

For what it's worth I had an LnL until we moved to Arizona. I now work ~4 miles from the Dillon HQ. My credit card company has a newfound love for me.
 
If you need to adjust the LNL-AP press Pawls, do so VERY SLOWLY, 1/4 turn IS A BIG MOVE.

Put all dies in and a case into each station, raise the ram SLOWLY watch the cases
to see POSSIBLE MOVEMENT FROM Vertical.

This will indicate if the shellplate NEEDS TO GO in a CLOCKWISE or
COUNTERCLOCKWISE direction.

NOTE!!!!
The LEFT Pawl ADJUSTS SHELLPLATE WHEN "COMING DOWN".
Usually for problems of case feeding into shellplate or PRIMER PROBLEMS.

The RIGHT Pawl ADJUSTS SHELLPLATE when "IT GOES UP". This usually causes
problems with CASE ENTERING THE SHELLPLATE. (jamming on the sizing die is the BIG PROBLEM).
Thanks for the effort, but I started adjusting it, following the manual (I thought) before seeing this...you're completely correct , the manual was confusing.

The positive side is that I now know that you can adjust the pawls enough to stop rotation and I have a deeper understanding of how this all works.

Instead of CANNED AIR, I have one of those squeeze balls that CAMERA PEOPLE use to blow dust off of lenses.
This is a great idea, I think I still have mine stashed away somewhere

If you find the Ram Handle Ball NOT to your liking, try placing a SOCK OVER IT then use the press.
This just sounded strange, but since your other advice seems so solid, I'll give it a try if it becomes an issue. I am leaning toward adding a roller handle.
 
My bench height is 37". I use a tall chair that I can adjust the height on so that when sitting my knee is just under the press.
I tried it out today...mostly depriming and sizing and my garage stool (from COSTCO) places my knee about the same place. It seems to work very well.

All I need to start running is the spring for the Primer Schuttle. It wasn't in the stuff I received; he used a SS to deprime and used to hand prime. Hornady was kind enough to put one in the mail for me, along with a new O-ring for the powder rotor (cracking). They said that they don't usually replace "lost" parts, but for the price of these parts it wasn't even worth running my CC through...very nice of them to comp me

I really enjoyed taking it all apart and seeing how it all worked...the only tiresome thing was getting off all the white paint spots. He was painting base boards for his new hardwood floors and there were all kinds of over spray on the press
 
howiepa said:
The powder measure is pretty good but you'll definitely want the Hornady Micrometer for both pistol and rifle; it's a lot easier to adjust and have easily repeatable charges. The stock measure requires you to unscrew something and has absolutely no markings on it whatsoever. If you find a charge and stick with it and never load anything but that one weight, great! Otherwise, get the micrometer.
I was thinking this also, but then noticed that you could get 3 of the regular metering inserts for the price of 1 micrometer one.

I talked to a Tech and he confirmed told what I suspected would be the way to go. Use a dedicated insert, once you've settled on a load with that power, pull it out, mark it (power and charge weight), and just put it away. Do it for each favorite powder and you'll never have to adjust them again.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top