I've been lurking in this forum for months now, soaking up the knowledge and I am finally ready to purchase my first reloading press and accessories. I have settled on the Hornady LNL AP and plan to start with 9mm and 45acp for now. I have the Hornady New Dimension Dies with taper crimp for each caliber in my Midway cart, but am confused about the case mouth expander. Do I need the PTX in addition to the expander die that comes in the three die set? Is there any reason I should stay away from the combination bullet seat/taper crimp die when beginning reloading? Thank you in advance for your help. It never ceases to amaze me how helpful THR members can be.
Hornady New Dimension Dies with Taper Crimp
- Thread starter Ryano
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You really don't need a PTX on the LNL AP as you will be charging your round on the powder station (#3 position) right after you flare the brass (#2 position). As far as the taper crimp seating combo die, just follow the instructions included in the set and you will be good to go.
whtsmoke
Member
congrats on the LNL I've only had mine up and running for a week but that thing is the cats meow. Im loading the same 9mm and 45acp and got the taper crimp dies for the 9 since i had a taper crimper in 45 from Dillon. I am going to add the powder cop die to mine and do reccomend the powder dump for the measure. I made mine out of a steel bar I had and turned it on the lathe.
Isn't the whole point of a PTX (Powder Through eXpander) that use of one means you don't waste a station just for a simple expanding die? That frees up one position to allow use of a powder cop or similar.
Crimping and seating with the same die, IMNSHO, is an exercise in frustration. Get the PTX setup, and a separate crimp die.
If you're in doubt, call Hornady and talk with them - most of the techs are quite reasonable to chat with.
/Bryan
Crimping and seating with the same die, IMNSHO, is an exercise in frustration. Get the PTX setup, and a separate crimp die.
If you're in doubt, call Hornady and talk with them - most of the techs are quite reasonable to chat with.
/Bryan
Yeah, for pistol rounds I try to use the PTX every time and keep the expander that came with the die set in the case.
5 positions on a press seem like a lot until you actually get down to all the accessories. Here is a good link to show some of the setups. http://ultimatereloader.com/2011/01/05/hornady-lock-n-load-bullet-feeder-die-stations/
5 positions on a press seem like a lot until you actually get down to all the accessories. Here is a good link to show some of the setups. http://ultimatereloader.com/2011/01/05/hornady-lock-n-load-bullet-feeder-die-stations/
Well, I ordered after the first response and opted to not get the PTX. Guess I'll have to roll with that for now. I plan to use all 5 stations (3 dies, powder charge, powder cop) and feed bullets by hand. I did get the case feeder so that should speed things up a bit. I cannot wait to get started. Thanks for all the input. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.
I prefer the expander die for mouth expanding over the PTX expander. But I also prefer to clean my brass between resizing and reloading.
So, my powder drop tubes on the L-N-L do not expand the case mouth.
I also prefer to crimp in a separate step from seating. It is a carry over from days when many auto pistol dies did not have taper crimps and you had to by a separate die. But crimping in the seating die works as well.
So, my powder drop tubes on the L-N-L do not expand the case mouth.
I also prefer to crimp in a separate step from seating. It is a carry over from days when many auto pistol dies did not have taper crimps and you had to by a separate die. But crimping in the seating die works as well.
That's the beautiful thing about this hobby. You can add and change things over time to see what works best for you. PTX is not a necessary accessory by any means.
Your setup will mean seating and crimping in station 5. There have been some threads about that effecting accuracy, but give it a try and see if it works for you. The other reason I went with the PTX is to run the Lee FCD on the semi auto rounds. Again, something that you can try over time if you want.
You'll love the case feeder. It makes things so much nicer. It can be a PITA to tune up, but once it runs well it is worth it. The case feeder is also wonderful if you want to deprime and clean cases before loading. Get a Lee universal decapping die and go to town.
Your setup will mean seating and crimping in station 5. There have been some threads about that effecting accuracy, but give it a try and see if it works for you. The other reason I went with the PTX is to run the Lee FCD on the semi auto rounds. Again, something that you can try over time if you want.
You'll love the case feeder. It makes things so much nicer. It can be a PITA to tune up, but once it runs well it is worth it. The case feeder is also wonderful if you want to deprime and clean cases before loading. Get a Lee universal decapping die and go to town.
Huskerguy
Member
LNL
I just received my LNL last week and have been setting it up slowly. So I am reading with interest everything that is in this thread. I plan to use all five stations and the RCBS powder is in one of them. I plan to go with powder in 2, powder die in 3, bullet seating in 4 and Lee FCD in 5. I just like the extra sizing the FCD provides and I only give a very light crimp. A person on another forum got me turn on to this powder funnel: http://powderfunnels.com/products.html and I have one ordered. It works on most pistol cartridges. Seems that if a person wants to use all five stations one would need to expand and dump powder at the same time. But what do I know, I have resized about 25 cases so far as I work through the system.
I just received my LNL last week and have been setting it up slowly. So I am reading with interest everything that is in this thread. I plan to use all five stations and the RCBS powder is in one of them. I plan to go with powder in 2, powder die in 3, bullet seating in 4 and Lee FCD in 5. I just like the extra sizing the FCD provides and I only give a very light crimp. A person on another forum got me turn on to this powder funnel: http://powderfunnels.com/products.html and I have one ordered. It works on most pistol cartridges. Seems that if a person wants to use all five stations one would need to expand and dump powder at the same time. But what do I know, I have resized about 25 cases so far as I work through the system.
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Mike 27
Member
I have never used the PTX die so I guess I don't know what I am missing. I do seat and crimp on the same die with no issues after working the setup. I have gotten pretty good at it and most of the time will make sure to set and leave the seat die and only make minor adjustments for bullet types.
777TRUTH
Member
I prefer to seat and crimp in separate stations and use the RCBS lockout die in station 3 so the PTX is a must for me.
In station 5, the case retaining spring is beginning to get out of the way in preparation for ejecting the finished round. The spring can tilt the case a little in station 5 which I could see could upset the seating of the bullet and therefore accuracy.
There is a thread a year or two ago where forum moderator Walkalong extended the groove in the press's base plate to get the spring out of the way earlier and to improve the transition into the groove to reduce the chance of kinking.
This may help reduce/eliminate the potential for seating the bullet a little cocked.
I seat/crimp in station four, or seat in four and crimp in five. Any affect the spring has on tilting the case is eliminated with a quality die.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=464088
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=464088
One of the beautiful things about the LNL is how versatile it is. You can choose to do things your own way. I also am one who likes to re tumble my brass after sizing and expanding . I also like to hand prime vs primimg in the press. My process is run through the size/deprime and expand then tumble and store my brass until I have a bunch in a bin. I then sit and prime it and store it again. When its time to load it I have nothing in station 1 , station 2 is powder , 3 is RCBS lock out , 4 is seat and 5 is FCD. I look at reloading as a hobby and really enjoy it , so the extra steps to me are not a big deal.
Captaingyro
Member
IMO, there are two optimum setups on the LNL, one for pistol and one for revolver, and neither requires the PTX setup.
For both semi-auto and revolver, station 1 is the sizer, station 2 is the expander, and station 3 is the powder drop. The difference after that stems from two different qualities of semi-autos vs. revolvers.
In semi-autos, a squib load can be catastrophic during rapid fire, so you'll want that powder cop die in station 4. Since a applying a taper crimp doesn't interfere with the seating process, you use the same die for both in station 5.
In revolvers the priorities become slightly different. Many people (myself included) find seating and roll-crimping in the same step to be a very finicky process, because as the lip of the case is curled into the bullet, it tends to resist the last little bit of seating, with wrinkled or assymetric cases the frequent result. A squib in a revolver, however, is much less likely to go unnoticed prior to the next trigger pull, so the powder cop die isn't really necessary. Therefore, for revolvers, station 4 becomes seating-only, while station 5 crimps with a separate die.
For both semi-auto and revolver, station 1 is the sizer, station 2 is the expander, and station 3 is the powder drop. The difference after that stems from two different qualities of semi-autos vs. revolvers.
In semi-autos, a squib load can be catastrophic during rapid fire, so you'll want that powder cop die in station 4. Since a applying a taper crimp doesn't interfere with the seating process, you use the same die for both in station 5.
In revolvers the priorities become slightly different. Many people (myself included) find seating and roll-crimping in the same step to be a very finicky process, because as the lip of the case is curled into the bullet, it tends to resist the last little bit of seating, with wrinkled or assymetric cases the frequent result. A squib in a revolver, however, is much less likely to go unnoticed prior to the next trigger pull, so the powder cop die isn't really necessary. Therefore, for revolvers, station 4 becomes seating-only, while station 5 crimps with a separate die.
dradave
Member
I've had my LNL AP for over a year now and can attest to its versatility. I use it for both 9mm and .45 ACP.
My setup is:
1. deprime and size
2. powder drop with the PTX
3. RCBS lockout die
4. tube fed bullet feeder
5. the NEW Hornady seat/taper crimp die
This is my optimum set up. The PTX expander works very well and the combination seat and taper crimp die works exceptionally well, also.
Enjoy your new LNL and its many setup variations.
My setup is:
1. deprime and size
2. powder drop with the PTX
3. RCBS lockout die
4. tube fed bullet feeder
5. the NEW Hornady seat/taper crimp die
This is my optimum set up. The PTX expander works very well and the combination seat and taper crimp die works exceptionally well, also.
Enjoy your new LNL and its many setup variations.
Captaingyro, that is exactly the setup I am using, although I've yet to load a single round. Still collecting supplies. I am making a trip to a not so LGS Friday to try and score some small pistol primers. Seems like EVERYONE is sold out of these, except for the local bass pro, and they want $5/100. Couldn't bring myself to pay that.
I use the powderfunnel on my LNL also with great results.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Uncle Richard
Member
Ryano,
I use similer setup as dradave in post #17, and it works great.
I highly recommend switching to the RCBS Lock-Out-Die at station 3. It prevents the shellplate from advancing if a case has a no-to-low powder charge or is over charged. You would think a double charge is difficult on the LnL, but I wasn't paying attention one day and my XD40 went Kaboom! Die cost ~$45 and a new xd polymer frame cost $200. Wish I had the die a long time ago. Learn from my mistake.
my 2cents
I use similer setup as dradave in post #17, and it works great.
I highly recommend switching to the RCBS Lock-Out-Die at station 3. It prevents the shellplate from advancing if a case has a no-to-low powder charge or is over charged. You would think a double charge is difficult on the LnL, but I wasn't paying attention one day and my XD40 went Kaboom! Die cost ~$45 and a new xd polymer frame cost $200. Wish I had the die a long time ago. Learn from my mistake.
my 2cents
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