Hornady ammo plant and powder safety die

[Coach Z]

So I upgraded to a Hornady Ammo plant which has had some teething issues as well as me getting used to a progressive but that's for another post.

My question relates to the Hornady powder safeguard die. It's similar in function if I'm not mistaken to the RCS lockout die in that if there is an under or over charge you cannot complete the stroke on the press without crushing the case.

Well, many crushed cases later I can't get this %&^*(@# thing adjusted to save my life. Anyone have experience with this die???

[riflemen]

This was a tricky die to get dialed in...

When I am having trouble with a station I start over from the beginning, so this is what I would do...

Remove the die, disassemble it completely, loosen the sensor holder screws {tiny little screws in the switch}, remove the sensor, remove the spring clip, remove the internals, check, clean, and lube everything..

notes: make sure the balls go in the recess and to set the switch make sure it is tight enough to get tripped when the inner housing is raised even the slightest bit, this will stop you from crushing cases since the alarm will sound right away...

Then reassemble with the brass tip about all the way down then install the die in the bushing so it sits about .125" over the shell plate when fully raised.

Now I get 3 cases, one empty, one with the amount of powder I am running, and one with a little less than twice that amount in it...

start with the correctly charged case, get it in the station and it should lock the press, now grab the brass tip and unscrew it until the press will cycle, then give it another 3/4 turn out...

Now test the die with the double charged and empty cases, it will lock and alarm on both... thats it..

I have set this up a few times since I got it, once you get the feel its easy...

I had a ton of trouble when serting my case feeder, I was about ready to throw it out the window, But instead I just started over, I cleaned everything up with emry, cleaned with alcohol, lubed it all up, and reset it from zero, it turned out to be my stand was interfering with the wire not going low enough, so I spent 2 hours going up and down and loading every v block the kit came with when all I had to do was grind a 1/4" off of my presses stand...

What I noticed with the hornady plant is, its not simple to setup, but once you get it right there is nothing better, station 1 is easy, station 2 is a little tricky since the expander is built into the powder drop so you have to have it really setup well to work flawlessly, station 3 is the die you are having trouble with, then 4 is the bullet feeder which took me some polishing and trial and error to get perfect, then station 5 is as easy as any other press.

[dickttx]

It is my understanding that RCBS Lock-Out die operates completely different from powder check dies.

[Coach Z]

The new Hornady die is more then a powder cop it actually both locks up the press and also has a microswitch which sets off an audible and visual alarm on the hornady "control panel"

[riflemen]

Did you get it straightened out? Where abouts are you in RI/CT?

[Coach Z]

As it turns out no amount of fiddling, trial and error, or swearing was going to fix it. The die was defective. One call to hornady for some advice they gave me two things to test it and call them back if it was bad. I do so and they apologized that I had a bad product and sent a new one with a call tag.

Love hornady gear and their customer service!

I'm also glad that I'm not a dud, was really bummed that I couldn't get the thing to work