What grease for a Hornday LnL?

[DRAINSMITH]

I have timed it, and it appears to be perfect. I drove the detent balls all the way up to take them out of play and got everything as perfect as I can. Drilled out the primer pocket of a 9mm case so I could make sure the primer punch hits it perfect, and it does. Also, used a Lee undersize die to make sure the cases are dead on while going up, and they are, in all 5 stations. So please tell me what Im missing on the timing.

If the detent balls are not down a certain amount the shell plate is very loose on the subplate, I cant see that being a good thing so I have used my caliper to make sure they are even and as high up as possible while keeping the shell plate somewhat snug on the subplate. I don't get a lot of powder slinging but there is some on a very full case. For example, on two different loads I ran this weekend, one used 3.7gr of N320, don't thing a single granule of powder snapped out. Another load I did used 5.1gr of N330, and that one would toss a few granules of powder would pop out occasionally. Its not terrible, but if I can make it perfect I would like to.

Im coming from several years of Lee Loadmaster use so I am use to working out problems. My hope is I can get the LNL as close to perfect as possible and have it stay that way so Im not having to work on stuff as much.

dave333: Yes... another one that has listened. How many rounds do you have through your press? It may just need to be worn in. You said you don't have"powder fling" so it sounds as though you are just as picky as I am. I have my detent ball adjuster to where they just touch the subplate but do not help in the alignment of the shell plate. Get a couple thousand rounds through it should smooth right out. In the meantime put a little graphite on the subplate. It will help but it will also increase the break-in time. Keep doing what you are doing. You are on the right track.

Skgreen, You are right it is not a fix all, but without proper timing, you are not going to be able to fix the other problems. In the last seven years I have bought and sold over 25 LNL presses all but one had bad timing. The one that the timing was good he was having problems with the priming system. After I replaced the large primer tube with the proper small primer tube it worked great. I had one that sold his because he couldn't get the primers below flush because of the "large primer punch dimple" I adjusted the primer pawl and it worked great.

 

[dave333]

How many rounds do you have through your press?

Just got the press 3 weeks ago, so less than 1000 rounds so far. Did several small runs of 25-100 rounds as I was adjusting things and getting use to the new platform, did one larger run of 330 rounds and was very pleased, very smooth and consistent run with no powder spillage, exactly what I was looking for when I decided to change loading platforms. But, yes, you are correct as Im pretty picky about how things work and want my LNL to be as good as it can be. This includes not spilling any powder on some of the loads that will be pretty full.

I swear I read on some forum somewhere, someone used damping grease to smooth out a little snap of a shell plate for some kind of reloading press. Wish I could remember the forum, or kind of press being discussed but seemed like that might be the last little bit that would get my LNL to the near perfect stage. I will go ahead and run a couple thousand rounds through it and see if it "breaks in" a little more and then see where I am. Thanks for the help.

 

[Blue68f100]

I always rest my little pinky on the shell plate to help steady my hand while placing the bullet, works for me.

 

[DRAINSMITH]

I always rest my little pinky on the shell plate to help steady my hand while placing the bullet, works for me.

My left hand never, NEVER, NEVER lets go of my coffee cup. That is the advantage of having an Auto-Plant.

 

[Skgreen]

Anybody tried any of the specialty damping grease on the subplate to take out some of the snap of the shell plate? I swear I read about someone using the stuff on a press. May not have been a LNL, but it was for the same reason, smoothing out the snap of the shell plate.

Tried some dielectric grease today between shell plate and 'drive hub/sub-plate'

Couldn't tell ya if it stops the snap enough to keep powder from shaking out just yet as all I did with the press today was decap/resize approx. 2k pieces of brass, but,,, there is a little drag now where there once was none,,,

Looking forward to seeing if it helps keep the powder in place.

 

[Dudedog]

I just put some Lubriplate SLF-0 under the shell plate, never had any issues with "snap" and powder escaping even in fairly full 9mm cases.

 

[Skgreen]

never had any issues with "snap" and powder escaping even in fairly full 9mm cases.

I don't have the problem with every powder, just my current favorite,,,

 

[Rule3]

dave333: Yes... another one that has listened. How many rounds do you have through your press? It may just need to be worn in. You said you don't have"powder fling" so it sounds as though you are just as picky as I am. I have my detent ball adjuster to where they just touch the subplate but do not help in the alignment of the shell plate. Get a couple thousand rounds through it should smooth right out. In the meantime put a little graphite on the subplate. It will help but it will also increase the break-in time. Keep doing what you are doing. You are on the right track.

Skgreen, You are right it is not a fix all, but without proper timing, you are not going to be able to fix the other problems. In the last seven years I have bought and sold over 25 LNL presses all but one had bad timing. The one that the timing was good he was having problems with the priming system. After I replaced the large primer tube with the proper small primer tube it worked great. I had one that sold his because he couldn't get the primers below flush because of the "large primer punch dimple" I adjusted the primer pawl and it worked great.

You have bought and sold over 25 LnL presses??

You a gun/reloading shop or something?
My one and only new LnL was not timed correctly out of the box.

 

[showmebob]

I just used some marine grease that was in the gun already from lubing the boat, seems to be working fine on my 3 week old LNL.

Anybody tried any of the specialty damping grease on the subplate to take out some of the snap of the shell plate? I swear I read about someone using the stuff on a press. May not have been a LNL, but it was for the same reason, smoothing out the snap of the shell plate.

Before anyone suggests tapping the bearings up in the shell plate a little farther, I have tried that but to get all the snap out there’s not enough of the bearings in the detent holes and the shell plate is too loose.

I use a heavy silicone brake parts grease made by Motocraft

 

[rfwobbly]

The press is not moving fast enough or working hard enough to specify a specific grease.

However, probably the major concern these days is mixing different greases. So use something commonly available, that you can get more of when needed.

 

[Catpop]

If you like bacon, then bacon grease; otherwise any lithium or anti-seize type will work just fine.

Bacon grease is great!
It has an added benefit in that When you smell and hear it frying you know you are reloading at peak speed!
Don’t, I repeat Don’t exceed this rate as the bacon will burn and the press will begin to stink!!!!
RIG works for me!
Have fun!

 

[DRAINSMITH]

You have bought and sold over 25 LnL presses??

You a gun/reloading shop or something?
My one and only new LnL was not timed correctly out of the box.

I live just outside of Omaha Nebraska I have driven as far north as Sioux City, as far south as KC as far east as Des Moines and as far west as Grand Island NE. Six years ago I bought 3 in one day in KC. Six years ago I could have bought one a month if I wanted to but as the years have pasted more and more folks have found out that the post from the blue guys are not as reliable as the thought and the press can be made to run "problem free". Last year I bought two presses one was a full Ammo-plant.

Do not be afraid to stop by the LGS and ask if you can put a 3" X 5" card up on their buy and sell board. Most of them have one so they can make money on gun sell transfers. And gun ranges pass the word around that you are interested. And watch Craig list daily they go quick there but if you are the first to call you up your chances.

 

[Skgreen]

I use a heavy silicone brake parts grease made by Motocraft

I have some of that as well,,,
(I'm starting out 'light' with di-electric,, Want to see how it goes before I take it the 'next level'! LOL!)

 

[Allen One1]

I'm not real sure what this grease under the shell plate is all about, I just spray that area with Hornady One Shot Gun Cleaner and Lube and everything works fine. I think that by fine tuning the pawls and the ball depth in the shell plate you should be able to get most of the snap out of it. The speed that you run the press handle makes a big difference as well, too slow and it doesn't work right and too fast and everything is jumping around. If you are going for maximum speed try slowing down just a little and see if that helps.

 

[Rule3]

I live just outside of Omaha Nebraska I have driven as far north as Sioux City, as far south as KC as far east as Des Moines and as far west as Grand Island NE. Six years ago I bought 3 in one day in KC. Six years ago I could have bought one a month if I wanted to but as the years have pasted more and more folks have found out that the post from the blue guys are not as reliable as the thought and the press can be made to run "problem free". Last year I bought two presses one was a full Ammo-plant.

Do not be afraid to stop by the LGS and ask if you can put a 3" X 5" card up on their buy and sell board. Most of them have one so they can make money on gun sell transfers. And gun ranges pass the word around that you are interested. And watch Craig list daily they go quick there but if you are the first to call you up your chances.

But why? Do you make money on them? or is it kinda like a Hornady LnL rescue mission? ASPCLnL

 

[DRAINSMITH]

But why? Do you make money on them? or is it kinda like a Hornady LnL rescue mission? ASPCLnL

I guess it's more like an LNL rescue mission. First I like to work on them. I buy a large paperweight and turn it into a press. I do make about $50.00 on each press and $75.00 on each case feeder and bullet feeder. When someone wants a press I will set it up for 1 cal.of there chose. Now when I buy a press I normally don't get dies so I buy new dies and a powder cop for each one.

Now I have kept three of them and they are on my bench and 4 of my son in laws have been given 1 each.

 

[dave333]

I'm not real sure what this grease under the shell plate is all about, I just spray that area with Hornady One Shot Gun Cleaner and Lube and everything works fine. I think that by fine tuning the pawls and the ball depth in the shell plate you should be able to get most of the snap out of it. The speed that you run the press handle makes a big difference as well, too slow and it doesn't work right and too fast and everything is jumping around. If you are going for maximum speed try slowing down just a little and see if that helps.

Hornady has a series of instructional videos about the LnL setup and they advise using a thin layer of grease between the shell plate and subplate as well as adding a small dab of grease to the detent balls, it may be mentioned in the manual as well but I didn't read that real thoroughly.

Im new to the LnL press, but have been reloading for several years on very touchy Loadmaster presses so Im familiar with careful setup. Ive got my pressed timed perfectly, and when I drive the detent balls up enough to stop that last little bit of snap that leaves the shell plate too loose IMO. Maybe snap is the wrong term, the shell plate isn't really snapping forward as much as the balls give it a little pop when they drop home in the detent holes. My press doesn't sling powder badly, many loads don't spill a single grain, but I do have a couple of loads with lightweight bullets that do require the case to be pretty full of powder and they do pop a granule or two of powder out on about every 2 or 3 cases, so I was hoping the right kind of grease might stop that last little bit of slop.

Either way, my press is still very new and Mr. Drainsmith, who I understand knows a thing or two about LnL presses, advised me to load a couple thousand rounds on it and then reevaluate. I will be there soon.

 

[Blue68f100]

Hornady has a series of instructional videos about the LnL setup and they advise using a thin layer of grease between the shell plate and subplate as well as adding a small dab of grease to the detent balls, it may be mentioned in the manual as well but I didn't read that real thoroughly.

Im new to the LnL press, but have been reloading for several years on very touchy Loadmaster presses so Im familiar with careful setup. Ive got my pressed timed perfectly, and when I drive the detent balls up enough to stop that last little bit of snap that leaves the shell plate too loose IMO. Maybe snap is the wrong term, the shell plate isn't really snapping forward as much as the balls give it a little pop when they drop home in the detent holes. My press doesn't sling powder badly, many loads don't spill a single grain, but I do have a couple of loads with lightweight bullets that do require the case to be pretty full of powder and they do pop a granule or two of powder out on about every 2 or 3 cases, so I was hoping the right kind of grease might stop that last little bit of slop.

Either way, my press is still very new and Mr. Drainsmith, who I understand knows a thing or two about LnL presses, advised me to load a couple thousand rounds on it and then reevaluate. I will be there soon.

This tells me that you may have your detents not set right. Your detents and shell plate rotations should stop at the same time. If the detents are moving the shell plate the rest of the way (or) back you need to correct this. Sound like your close but not quite right.

 

[dave333]

This tells me that you may have your detents not set right. Your detents and shell plate rotations should stop at the same time. If the detents are moving the shell plate the rest of the way (or) back you need to correct this. Sound like your close but not quite right.

I guess that’s possible but everything seems as perfect as possible. My priming is spot on and all the cases are hitting the center of the tightest dies I have. I even added the case feeder to my press and it is feeding cases perfectly.

 

[Blue68f100]

The detents are not suppose to move the shell plate into position. There main purpose is to keep it in place. The paws should do all the movement. I would be listening for a double click at the end of the stroke, detent snapping the plate into position.

 

[Rule3]

The shell plate can really only go on one way. The small dab of grease on the detents is like that on a roller bearing. A tiny bit is all that is needed.

Around 1:30 on the video.

 

[dave333]

The detents are not suppose to move the shell plate into position. There main purpose is to keep it in place. The paws should do all the movement. I would be listening for a double click at the end of the stroke, detent snapping the plate into position.

Mine don't, once the shell plate clicks into place, there is no movement. When I set it up I did as Drainsmith suggests, hammered the balls all the way up into the shell plate so they had no effect on the rotation of the shell plate, and when the alignment was perfect I moved them back down. I did learn that the amount the shell plate moves is dependent on how fast you move the handle, so I set it up to match the rate at which a comfortable pace would be. If I just creep the handle up as slow as possible the balls will pull the plate that last little bit forward, but no one reloads at that speed, so in my mind my timing should be right. But no matter how its set up, the balls are compressed until they release into the detents and that is where the small amount of powder sometimes pops out.

I wish someone made a low mass ball and light spring that could be swapped in the LnL shell plate like is made for the Dillon 650. That would stop that last little bit of pop and keep all the powder in the case. I had a Lee Pro 1000 that did the same thing, the pop from the alignment ball under the shell plate would pop a little powder out on occasion but clipping a little off the spring cured that problem.

Ive got a case of Acme bullets scheduled for delivery Monday and the forecast for New Years day looks like a bunch of rain so I plan to spend a fair amount of time in the reloading room, should easily surpass the 2000 round "break in" period and will have plenty of time to experiment more. Pretty happy with the new press so far, will be really satisfied if I can just work out a couple minor things.

 

[Walkalong]

The detents are not suppose to move the shell plate into position. There main purpose is to keep it in place. The paws should do all the movement. I would be listening for a double click at the end of the stroke, detent snapping the plate into position.

Yep, they should just help center it after the pawls gets it there.

 

[dunno556]

Now I have kept three of them and they are on my bench and 4 of my son in laws have been given 1 each.

I could use a new press... got any daughters left dad?

 

[edwardware]

These days with all the use specific grades of grease out there one can not be too careful!

If there's anything to learn from 48 replies on this topic, it's that you CAN be too careful.