Hornady LnL press and Lee dies?

[72IH]

I have heard that the lee dies don't work very well in the Hornady progressive press. Something about the Factory Crimp die doesn't go deep enough in the lock and load bushing. Anybody heard of this?

 

[pinkymingeo]

The FCD hits the ejection wire when used in station 5. Some guys grind the die for clearance. I tried that with less than satisfactory results. These days when I use an FCD in 5, it's essentially a crimp die. I adjust it high enough to clear the wire. It still provides a partial post-seating resize, and does a good job crimping, with no interference.

 

[Shoney]

A simple solution is to remove the lock ring from the die, drill and tap the side wall of the bushing for a small hex head lock screw. Adjust die to desired depth, then carefully remove the bushing/die and tighten the lock screw.

Good Shooting!!!!!!!

 

[72IH]

sounds like a pain. I think I will go with the RCBS and look into a hornady crimp die at a later date.
Do you think it will be a problem (for now) to seat and crimp in the same station. I am also looking at 45/70 when I can find a shell plate. Already have the dies, including the Lee FCD.

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

Combined seating and crimping works best when the cases are all known to be a consistent length. There is some anecdotal evidence that roll crimping seems to be more forgiving while seating than taper crimping.

The 45/70 FCD, like FCDs for other rifle and bottleneck pistol cartridges, uses a collet to apply the crimp. The bottom of the collet must contact the shell plate for a uniform crimp. If your 45-70 die set is two piece (size/expand & seat/crimp) then you should be able to use the FCD in station 4, where the ejector wire is not a problem.

Andy

 

[Shoney]

721H wrote
Sounds like a pain

To drill and tap a bushing is easy. Since I had over 40 years of various dies when I got my LNL, (Lyman. Herters. RCBS, Hornady, Forster, Dillon, Redding, and others) buying new dies was not an option.

The process of drilling a hole in the bushing, running a tap thru it, and inserting the lock screw is not complex or difficult.

 

[72IH]

Yeah, I read one of your other posts on that. Sounds pretty simple. However I did try my lee crimp die on there last night. .223 cal.

Do you adjust the same way as with a single stage press? Lee instructions say to screw down until the die touches the shell holder plus 1/2 turn.

The other issue is the powder measure. Powder keeps building up in the drop tube. So now I need to pull a few bullets and check the charge. Lucky its only 4 of them.

I ran some cornmeal through a couple of times last night to see if it would smooth out. I also cleaned everything with brake clean. Lubed with graphite and no luck. I will try again tonight since I have not tried it after the cornmeal treatment.

 

[kingpin008]

721H - Could the problem with your powder measure be static electricity? I know that some folks have a problem with powder sticking to the insides of their powder measures and other plasitc parts, but a quick swipe with a dryer sheet does wonders in most cases. Might want to give it a try, and see what happens. Even if it doesn't work, it's not gonna mess anything up.

 

[nofishbob]

Is there an interference with the FCD on thr LNL when using it for pistol reloading, specifically 45 ACP?

Thanks!

 

[Shoney]

72IH
Did you completely disassemble the measure to clean it? I took mine apart and cleaned it in hot soapy (Dawn) water, allowed to dry, graphited, then assembled and used.

what Powder are you using????? It makes a big difference.

Do you adjust the same way as with a single stage press? Lee instructions say to screw down until the die touches the shell holder plus 1/2 turn.

NO!! The LNL will not cam over if you do this. The die needs to be just touching the plate at TDC, not at the point the lever is at end throw. Top Dead Center is just before the lever hits the end of its travel.

The other issue is the powder measure. Powder keeps building up in the drop tube. So now I need to pull a few bullets and check the charge.

Since the measure is case activated, it throws and dumps powder only when a case pushes it up. If powder is hanging up, you have either configured the tube incorrectly or there is a very large static build up. For static, you can wipe it down on the outside slowly with either a wet cloth or a used antistatic dryer sheet.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuu!!!!! Cornmeal? Never.

 

[72IH]

OK took the powder measure apart last night and cleaned with brake clean. The corn meal also picked up some oil in the spots that couldn't be reached with a rag. So say what you want I think it may have helped. I cleaned it afterwards to remove any residue. Everything dried and lubed with graphite. Did the same with the drop tube.

The powder is H335. Powder flow shouldn't be a problem. Not sure how a powder drop tube could be assembled wrong, looks pretty simple.

The dryer sheet didn't work. Tried that the first time cleaning.

The good news is it is working perfect now.

 

[Shoney]

Let us know how it goes now!!!!!!

 

[72IH]

Shoney,

I clicked the link in your sig. Very good stuff.

My shell plate occasionaly will not advance far enough to seat the primer. So I guess I should adjust it. Other than that my test run of 40 went well.