Lock n load ap progressive

[Ole man 52]

My hornandy lock n load progressive arrived today. I spent several hours getting it up and running properly. I am using Lee dies. It took me a while to get the dies to work properly. I'm not real happy with the priming but everything else is doing what it's suppose too. I also bought a RCBS lock out die. I have not got it to work as advertised but I will keep trying. I'm not sure how to adjust it on the press. I tried it out tonight and spit out a couple hundred rounds in a matter of minutes so I'm very happy with the progress. Gotta work out the bugs then I will be loading with the big boys ( LOL ). Any advise you have will be welcome

[LE-28]

I usually run 4 or 5 cases through the resizing, priming, and flaring operation, then pull them out and set them aside to replace the case in the priming station when you run out of primers, this keeps the shell plate balanced as far as deflection goes and doesn't mess with you over all length of the loaded round.

You should have gotten a white fibreglass rod with your press, it goes in the primer tube on the press to hold weight down on the primers. I put a flag on mine to show me when I'm about to run out.

I would also recomend buying about 4 more primer pick up tubes of what ever size you will use the most.

I honestly have had no problems with the primer mechanism at all. I have found that if you don't get all the tumbling media out of the cases that it will find the whole that the primer slide runs forward in and can keep it from coming into the shell plate far enough to line up the primer with the case. Your first impulse will be to force the handle more but don't do it. You can bend the cam rod out of place. Take the time to clear the jam and see what caused it. Media and powder in front of the slide are the usual cause.

I don't use a powder check die since I can see the powder in the case with no problem so someone else will have to help you with the lockout die.

You'll find that you will get more shells loaded with a slower, steady rythm than you will by cycling it to fast.

just some ideas. hope they help.

[Crunchy Frog]

Watch the video on this page for some very helpful instructions for setting up the RCBS Lockout Die (much better than the instructions that came from the factory): http://ultimatereloader.com/2010/09/...d-maintenance/

[schmellba99]

The only real quirk I have had with my LnL AP is the priming system - my specific problem being that with the inertia of the ram going up and down, the primer tube (with the shoulder) would eventually work its way out of the part it sits in that screws to the ram plate. This would cause the primers to no longer stack up on one another and create a hell of a jam inside the shroud. Was a PITA.

I fixed that by JB welding the tube into the part that screws onto the ram plate (obviously had to order another one for the other primer size and do the same thing). Since then, I have not had a problem with the press that wasn't user induced and my priming system works better than anything out there.

Keep a small paint brush (one that would come with a kid's art set - one of those fairly tiny headed ones) to periodically clean out the primer slide area. You will eventually get accumulation there from primer pockets as you run brass through it. If you are using ball powder, it is also inevitable that you'll get a few grains here and there and you'll want to brush everything clean - I usually do this about every 100 rounds, which works out perfect as I'm adding primers at this time anyway. A small can of compressed air is also handy.

Other than that, keep it lubed properly - both the grease zerks on the ram and the occasional dob of grease on the shell plate roller bearings. You should have relatively few problems.

Can't help you on the RCBS die - I just bought the Hornady Powder Cop, and it is simple as hell to use (like another poster, I don't use it on short pistol cartridges - only long ones like .45 Colt and on rifle cartridges).

Like any other machine, it takes a little getting used to at first.

[hounddawg]

Great little press and congrats. I have loaded over 500 pistol rounds on mine this week. But here are a couple of things I learned the hard way

keep it clean, when you add powder make sure you blow off or vacuum any spillage. If you feel any resistance other than what is normal on the resizing or seating the primer on the stroke stop what you are doing and check to find the cause of the binding. There is a designed in weak link acts like a fuse in a electrical circuit, in case of a bind that is forced the drive hub will break before other more expensive parts do.

A couple of things to look for if you feel binding -

- single grain of powder in the primer seating punch will cause the punch to set a tad high which will bind the primer slide. Forcing it in that situation can break the slide or the drive hub.

- not seating the primer fully will cause the shell plate to bind

- if the shellplate screw is loose it will bind

practice just sizing and priming a hundred cases to develop a feel for seating the primers. After a few dozen you will just know when that primer is not seated correctly. Putting powder into a unprimed case will cause all sorts of issues. An hour spent practicing seating primers is time well spent.

The powder throw works wonderfully on ball or flake powder. 231 measures + or minus .1 grain at the outside and most throws seem to be dead on. Tac works well also. However do not trust it on stick powder, I tried it on RL10 and found it will throw off by a full grain or more.

take your time when loading at first, it is not a race and as far as I know no Guiness record for number of rounds turned out in a hour. As you become more familiar the speed will come naturally

[schmellba99]

I have also found through trial and error that the Lee dies just don't work as well on the LnL-AP as Hornady or RCBS (or any other dies with much longer threads and die bodies).

You can make the Lee dies work, but they aren't as solid, don't have as much adjustment and don't produce the repeatability that other brands will.

I've pretty much switched over to the Hornady ND dies over the last year. Better quality than Lee, work better with my press and having the ability to add micro adjustment to them is nails. I still use the Lee FCD dies on my .223 and .30-06 as their collet style FCD's are better than anything else on rifles.

[JimDandy]

My priming system had an issue with the black plastic mount on top of the guide rod, afte fiddling with it for a while it finally just ended up breaking. Called Hornady, and they shipped two more out to me. I thought I broke it fiddling with it, but after replacing the old one, I think the first one was just warped or something to start with because the guide rod stayed in place from the get go.

[hounddawg]

I bet when you were assembling the press you found putting the primer slide spring on to be royal pain. Hook the open end of the spring to the press, raise the arm and use a foot long piece of fishing line through the closed loop of the spring to get on the slide pin. Once on slide the fishing line out.

I don't know who thought it was a good idea to put that spring to the side of the slide facing the press instead of the outside where you could get at it without tweezers

[Ole man 52]

Thanks for the tips on primer tubes. Gonna give that a try. I knew that I should of bought the Hornandy dies. I had the lee dies on hand and was trying to save a few dollars because of Christmas. I will purchase the Hornandy dies and a 45 shell plate after the holidays. I was still able to make a lot of shells in a short period of time. My wife primed them on my SS press and I ran them thru the progressive. This kind of defeats the purpose of the press but we were able to kick a couple hundred out in a matter of minutes instead of hours. I hope with your suggestions that I can get the priming system to work as advertised.

[schmellba99]

I bet when you were assembling the press you found putting the primer slide spring on to be royal pain. Hook the open end of the spring to the press, raise the arm and use a foot long piece of fishing line through the closed loop of the spring to get on the slide pin. I don't know who thought it was a good idea to put that spring to the side of the slide facing the press instead of the outside where you could get at it without tweezers

The first time it was a PITA, but usually anything brand new is.

I had the same question - why the hell is it on the inside and not the outside? Answer is so that it is much more difficult for anything to interfere with the operation. If the spring is on the outside, it's easier for it to catch on something you have sitting right next to the press on your bench.

After having the press for a while, I can swap them out without any tools in about 5 seconds. Repetition creates familiarity, like anything else.

I would also strongly recommend to loc-tite the nut on the bottom of the primer cam rod and to occasionally ensure the jam nut on the top tat tightens it down is secure. Had one issue where the cam rod loosened up and I bent it a little bit. Now I check it about every 10k rounds to make sure it's still good and snug to hold the cam guide rod firmly in place.

[de03x7]

I have been loading with a L N L AP for about 3 years now without the feeders. I run around 500 9mm and 600 45s per hour with out pushing. My wife and daughter got tired of loading primer tubes and bought me the Dillon primer loader. The one thing that I make sure to do is blow out the primer feed every time I refill. If I get lazy with this something will be in there to jam it up.

[hounddawg]

I have fingers like kielbasa sausages, good thing I am not a proctologist . I will stick to my fishing line method of installing the spring

[dickttx]

I have had mine a few months now and have loaded maybe 1500 rounds with it. Primers were kind of iffy for a while but things soon smoothed out and haven't had a primer problem in probably the last 1000 rounds. Probably the most help was leaving the primer assembly just a little loose, rather than tightening every thing down snugly.
I moved all my Lee dies and Pro Auto Disk from my Classic Turret to the LnL. They work as well on the LnL as they did on the LCT, which is excellent. I added the RCBS lock-out die also. I test it for no charge and double charge every time I start to load. The video someone referenced above is very good and shows you how to adjust it off the press, which is much easier.

[tkglazie]

I moved all my Lee dies and Pro Auto Disk from my Classic Turret to the LnL. They work as well on the LnL as they did on the LCT, which is excellent.

Do you only use the Pro Auto Disk (which is certainly an excellent measure by the way), or do you use it for some loads and the Hornady powder measure that comes with the LnL AP for other loads?

[Crunchy Frog]

Hooking the spring to the primer shuttle is definitely the "fiddliest" part of the process.

I haven't tried the fishing line solution yet. I picked up a pair of spring loaded bent nosed pliers from Harbor Freight. Its designated function is to grab the loop of the spring to attach it to the shuttle.

[dickttx]

I haven't unwrapped the Hornady powder measure yet. I am only loading 38 Super and 45 ACP on the LnL (maybe 9mm later). It seems much easier to use the PAD on the Lee expander/flair/powder through die. This lets me use the RCBS lock-out die also. All the Lee dies took some adjusting to use them in the Hornady bushings, so they will not easily swap back and forth between the LnL and the LCT.

[tkglazie]

Good to know, thanks. I am leaning towards a LnL myself to go with my LCT (different thread), and it does seem based on what I am learning that it is wiser to get a dedicated set of dies for each caliber rather than try to swap them back and forth from LCT to LnL and vice versa.

Good info in this thread.

[Shane Tuttle]

Disassemble the priming system and take 600 or 800 grit sandpaper to the sliding surfaces such as the plate & shoe. Also, I took a coat hangar, clipped the straight section out of it, took a piece of masking tape and made a flag out of it on one end. Place it in the empty assembled priming assy after smoothing the ends. Now, you have a low primer indicator that doubles as a weight. It helps for positive feeding of the primers.

Whatever you do, lube the snot out of the ram assy ONCE. Wipe the excess and you're done for probably the life of the press.

[schmellba99]

Those of you not using the Hornady powder drop are missing out - it is probably the best powder drop you can get, especially when you add a micrometer to each of the pistol and rifle inserts and can dial in your loads in almost no time.

Polishing both the channel that the primer tray slides in, as well as the primer slide itself makes a huge difference. I also took a pencil and put some graphite lube on the bearing surfaces to help things out as well. Once I did that, it was night and day.

The only other modification I've made is to epoxy the primer tubes into the little piece that screws to the ram plate. I have one for small primers and one for large primers. Before, the primer tube would eventually work it's way out of the adapter and cause a jam from hell. Since, I have had zero issues with my priming system. Clean the primer ram and channel every time you add new primers and you'll find that you have almost no issues with the priming system.

[Vance]

For those of you who are interested. Inline Fabrication makes some accesories for the Hornady Lock N Load AP press. One of them is a modified Dillon low primer alarm that will fit the LNL AP press.