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Old August 13, 2008, 09:50 PM   #1
impactco
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Hornady LNL AP Question - High Primers

I just setup my new LNL AP and everything works great except that primers are not being seated deep enough. They are about .002 high unlike my RCBS bench tool that puts them in about .003 below the pocket rim. I have checked everything I can think of and taken the mechanism apart, dry lubed and cleaned out any powder residue. The press is a dream to use otherwise since I have been using a Rock Chucker up until now. Thanks.
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Old August 14, 2008, 07:46 AM   #2
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after following instructions....

What is Hornady service's response?
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Old August 14, 2008, 09:31 AM   #3
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Double check that your shell plate is tight. It only needs to be "finger" tight. I had the same problem and found out that after load a couple of hundred shells the shell plate would loosen and I'd get primers that were a little "proud". Once I tightened the shell plate the problem went away.
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Old August 14, 2008, 09:47 AM   #4
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Yes, check the shell plate.... and also check you priming punch assembly, make sure it's in there tight. If you still have problems, give Hornady a call, you may have an out of spec primer punch, or the spot on the frame the back end of the punch works against may be out of spec. I've had no problems with either, but looking at the press (I've got one), those are pretty much the only things I can think of that could be a problem -- that, are possibly an out of spec sub plate (the metal plate that is bolted to the top of the RAM, which in turn is what the shell plate sits on).

You could try a thin (and I mean very thin) bit of shim material on the frame where the primer punch pushes back to seat the primer... if that helps, report that to Hornady too, for a proper fix.
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Old August 14, 2008, 10:00 AM   #5
impactco
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Shell plate is tight. Punch assembly is tight. These issues are with twice fired, reamed LC .223 brass and CCI 400 primers. I tried some once fired .38 Spl last night with CCI 500 primers and managed to get them seated adequately but with a huge amount of forward pressure (see below). This was Hornady's response to my inquiry:

"If the press is not seating the primers deep enough, a couple of things can be occurring. 1. The press handle is not being pushed far enough to allow for proper seating depth, 2. The shell plate is not timed properly and not lining up with the punch. This is most common."

The shell plate looks like it is timed correctly.

I noticed that after night's session with the .38 spl the press frame is now dented where the primer punch contacts it. The dent is slightly off-center from the tip of the punch causing the punch to cant slightly.

Additionally, the underside of the primer slide is damaged now.

Let's see how Hornady handles this issue. I hope this isn't a "I should have bought a Dillon" moment!



Last edited by impactco; August 14, 2008 at 11:21 AM.
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Old August 14, 2008, 12:40 PM   #6
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Excellent assistance with questions regarding Hornady reloading equipment is available by calling their customer service:
800-338-3220 X206 Doug Derner

It's been several years since I replaced my old Hornady Projector with two new Hornady LNL/AP's and don't remember all the details. Is the primer stud below the shell plate adjustable for height on the new LNL's or was that on the older Projector?
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Old August 14, 2008, 12:46 PM   #7
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I'm corresponding with them via email and they plan on sending me a new small primer slide and punch. This doesn't resolve the off center dent in the frame issue. I guess I'll have to glue a hardened steel shim in this position to resolve it.

The primer punch assembly is spring loaded and does not appear to be adjustable.
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Old August 14, 2008, 01:04 PM   #8
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Quote: "I'm corresponding with them via email and they plan on sending me a new small primer slide and punch. This doesn't resolve the off center dent in the frame issue. I guess I'll have to glue a hardened steel shim in this position to resolve it. The primer punch assembly is spring loaded and does not appear to be adjustable."

A shim may not only solve the off center punch location but may also seat the primer higher by the thickness of the shim.
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Old August 14, 2008, 03:19 PM   #9
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No help to the OP, but I kept having a failure to prime. The slide would either catch on the way back to prime the shell or it would catch and not slide back to pick-up a primer. I broke the whole priming system because I thought it was a stuck case. I called and explained to Hornady. In 2 days I had the new parts at my door.

The problem was the primer punch. It was sticking high and not retracting.

And I do believe that it is adjustable.
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Old August 14, 2008, 03:55 PM   #10
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Have you tried to prime cases that use large primers?
How it that working for you?
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Old August 14, 2008, 10:24 PM   #11
impactco
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Hornady said that they would do whatever it takes to get the press right.

I may fabricate a steel shim regardless and glue it on the frame under the primer punch. This seems like a point of weakness since the cast iron is relatively soft.

I have not tried any large primered ammo on the press yet but I'll do some 7.62x39 in the next few days to see how it primes.
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Old August 14, 2008, 10:33 PM   #12
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That dent is whats messing me up. I have an old Pro-Jector and just looked at it and the primer arm threads have a larger nut on the bottom so it doesnt allow it to make contact in a small area like that. I primed up a few 38's just now and it didnt even move to bottom out on the frame like your is doing. Sounds like something on the primer arm isnt sized rite.
BTW, Great press!
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Old August 14, 2008, 10:50 PM   #13
impactco
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The Hornady tech said that the primer punch is designed with at sharp point so that it will create a dent in the frame initially to always keep the punch correctly aligned. It must be different from the Pro-Jector press. What I cannot understand is how the dent ended up off center to the punch. There is no looseness in the sub plate when the ram is in the lowered position. Strange.
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Old August 14, 2008, 11:39 PM   #14
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That is strange mine has the same dent an the sub plate dosent move how could it be off centered.if you find out please let us know.an that little gouge in the primer slide is going to happen sooner or later if the slide gets a little powder behind it or a primer gets behind it.I dont think it will hurt anything mine has some gouges too.I think you are just not pushing hard enough some brands of primers are a little tighter I know the wolf primers are tight.Thats why you need to mount your bench down firmly. good luck
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Old August 15, 2008, 12:37 AM   #15
impactco
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Mine is mounted with two 1/2 inch bolts and the bench is bolted to the wall. No movement at all there.

I placed a .015 hardened steel shim under the primer punch and tried a CCI 500 primer in a 38 Spl case. I bottomed out the punch fully. The primer was still about .002 high. Frustrated with this. I hate to think that I will not be able to prime safely on this press.
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Old August 15, 2008, 01:27 AM   #16
bear300us
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If its fully bottoming out I guess some how the primer punch has to be short.if you push down on it with no primer in it you should be able to feel if is pushing up far enough.I will check mine in the morning an get back to ya .
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Old August 15, 2008, 08:48 AM   #17
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I have the exact same high primer issue with my 9 month old unit. I load only .40 S&W and .45 auto. The problem is more pronounced with CCI primers. I load CCI, Federal and Starline brass, all with similar results. Similar issue with large or small primers but will vary depending upon exact case and primer brand/size used.

It does not make much difference whether I place something under the punch, where the "dent" is made or not. Hornady sent me new primer punches to no avail. Comparing the upward travel of the punch during primer seating, there is plenty of travel to seat the primer much deeper, but does not. My unit is timed properly and nothing appears to be loose.

I have a large stock of CCI primers and will be switching to other types when this stock is gone, but this will not make the priming process 100%. Currently I prime on my single stage, which works perfectly no matter what.
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Old August 15, 2008, 09:03 AM   #18
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I tried the shim thing too. Like others said it didn't make a differance. I've just learned to live with it. they aren't high just more of a flush fitting. i would prefer themto be seated deeper but in 5000 rounds of 45 never had a problem with them fireing early or anything else.... So i guess thats good enough.
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Old August 15, 2008, 11:54 AM   #19
impactco
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I have given this some thought and I think that the solution is to grind off about .002-.004 of the surface of the housing containing the punch (yellow area in pic). The punch has additional travel that is restricted by this surface contacting the frame. I need to get access to a surface grinder to get this done. I'll post results when I have them.

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Old August 15, 2008, 01:41 PM   #20
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may want to try different primers

i had a problem seating CCI primers with my Lee hand-held primer, I think the primers were too tall, I switched to winchester primers, haven't had a problem since
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Old August 15, 2008, 04:34 PM   #21
bear300us
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I never tried the cci,s the wolf primers are great an winchester were great also.if you take the shell plate off an push the sub plate down you should be able to see if the ram is protruding above the plate maybe its a shell plate problem letting the shell raise off the sub plate where it should be sitting flat.Let me know please
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Old August 15, 2008, 05:39 PM   #22
SDefender
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I also removed the primer punch inards and did a little filing to no avail. I think all this would do is add a little more travel of the "punch rod" and mine seems to have plenty while viewing the upward punch movement without a casing in that station.
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Old August 15, 2008, 08:56 PM   #23
impactco
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Wellllll.........I went and bought some Federal small pistol primers and tried them out with .38 Spl today. After all this consternation it was the hard CCI pimers that were causing the issue! The Federals seated perfectly with an obvious thunk. I'm thoroughly embarassed! Looks like SDefender & kjshank1 had the answer.

Why does Hornady not know about this issue? I told the tech that I was using CCI primers and he said that it should not matter. I have read that CCI primers are problematic for Dillon presses also. I'll let him know about this.

Case closed.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Uhh, anybody want to buy about 700 small rifle and about 900 small pistol CCI primers?

Last edited by impactco; August 15, 2008 at 09:43 PM.
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Old August 15, 2008, 11:40 PM   #24
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And I thought mine had a bad priming system. I guess the old style still works good for me and it loads all types of primers I have tried so far(only 2).
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Old August 16, 2008, 05:52 AM   #25
WESHOOT2
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CCI, Federal, Remington, Winchester

I have used them all in my Dillon XL650 (and two LEE and now two RCBS hand-priming tools) satisfactorily; I use mostly CCI.

I have used a few........
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Last edited by WESHOOT2; August 16, 2008 at 05:56 AM. Reason: current CCI stock: 14K; other: 7K
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