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Old November 14, 2012, 12:15 PM   #1
JimDandy
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LNL Ammo Plant and/or LNL AP Press

I haven't taken mine out of the box yet, I'll do that on my weekend when I can do all the set up and whatnot right, and in one sitting- barring headsmacking trips to a hardware store. But I did have a question- What happens to the primers when you run a case through the sizing or decapping die? Do they fall through the bottom? Is there a collection system?
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Old November 14, 2012, 01:22 PM   #2
newrugersafan
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Hornady includes a clear vinyl tube that attaches to a brass tube at the bottom of the press ( behind the ram ) the brass tube receives the punched out primers. You can run the vinyl tube to a bucket to catch the spent primers. It works very well I have not had any problems with mine.
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Old November 14, 2012, 01:26 PM   #3
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Thanks, I couldn't find any reference to this anywhere in the manual or th video so far...
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Old November 14, 2012, 03:13 PM   #4
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...that was the only thing that worked flawlessly on my L-N-L....
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Old November 14, 2012, 03:59 PM   #5
newrugersafan
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It seems that rajbcpa may have an agenda against the Hornady LNL. I like mine very much, it make good ammo with little effort. What more could you ask for from a press.

I did have one experience with Hornady cutomer service...my case retainer spring looked like a slinky after useing it for several years, it still worked fine but I decided I should get a spare. Hornady sent me 2 at no charge and also upgraded one of my die sets to the new zip spindle at no cost. They were easy to deal with and very prompt.

JimDandy, I hope you enjoy your new press as much as I do mine.

Mike
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Old November 14, 2012, 04:23 PM   #6
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Yeah, I've seen too many good reviews put a lot of stock in naysayers about it. And I've seen too many bad review not to be cautious. And I've seen enough people apologizing for a bad review because they didn't follow directions. So I'll take it slow, follow their instructions, and make up my own mind
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Old November 14, 2012, 04:53 PM   #7
Whisper 300
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Just when I thought raj had a hard on for Hornady now he is having difficulty with his new Dillon. Go figure.
Maybe he got 2 lemons but maybe not.

I have had mine well over 4 years and 6000 rounds and no real difficulties.

Read the manual, go online and get some practical advice, DON'T dick with the pawl adjustments unless you like frustration and pain (or really understand how they work--there is a great post here or on 6mmBR forum explaining exactly what each pawl does and why----read it and understand it before you go turning stuff as a very very small adjustment is usually all that is needed)

Keep the primer station clean- a can of compressed air or fine paintbrush is your friend.

Unlike some, I have had exemplary service from CS at Hornady even when I buggered up something they say, no problem, and send the proper parts and advice.

Enjoy,

Gary
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Old November 14, 2012, 05:10 PM   #8
JimDandy
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Yeah, but email is slow, I asked them if the All Purpose 4X Tool and something cleaner I have from them will work the same cleaning the powder measure and press of its anti-rust gunk they put on in the factory like the one shot gun cleaner they say to use... I suspect it's the same exact thing with a different label, but want to hear a confirmation first.
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Old November 14, 2012, 06:16 PM   #9
Xfire68
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I have had up's and down's with my LNL AP and case feeder but, when it works it works well.

There can be some fine tuning and other issues you may or may not run into but, all are fixable if you spend the time to address them.

I just started using mine again after getting a new sub-plate but, I don't think the $300 (PITA) case feeder is going to find it's way back on the press anytime soon?
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Old November 14, 2012, 06:48 PM   #10
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Yeah, it's a mechanical thing, I don't expect it to always be perfect.
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Old November 15, 2012, 11:32 AM   #11
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just keep it clean and if you feel a bind stop immediately to figure out what is wrong and don't force it. Dirt and my own heavy handedness was the cause of 99.9% of the issues I had with mine.

good luck
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Old November 15, 2012, 07:46 PM   #12
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After 200/300 loads the primer system has not missed a lick. Did have trouble seating primers all the way a couple of days ago. Investigation showed that the shellholder plate had loosened, even with a lock washer installed. Added, check the shellholder plate to my preflight checklist.
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Old November 15, 2012, 08:31 PM   #13
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Quote:
After 200/300 loads the primer system has not missed a lick. Did have trouble seating primers all the way a couple of days ago. Investigation showed that the shellholder plate had loosened, even with a lock washer installed. Added, check the shellholder plate to my preflight checklist.
Shell plate is a good thing to add to the checklist, I keep a allen wrench for that purpose next to my press now. The shell holder loosening is what caused mine to bind that time and when I forced it I broke the hub.
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Old November 16, 2012, 03:56 AM   #14
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I found that sticking with 1 caliber till all problems are worked through will give the best results and least hair pulling.
.45 ACP is probably the easiest to start with since its a short fat cartridge.
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Old November 16, 2012, 03:21 PM   #15
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Luckily enough, .45 ACP was one of the two main shells I got it for, the other being .223/5.56
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Old November 18, 2012, 05:35 AM   #16
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Ok finally got a weekend to try and put this thing together, and I have a question for those of you with experience... maybe it's that it's oh-dark-thirty, or maybe it's just twitchy... does anyone have any tips on setting up the shuttle for the case feeder? Even making small one or two turn adjustments I'm sailing all over the place... most of my problem is that the rim(ish area for rimless cases) wants to snag in the recess for the ez-ject spring. I can also see it JUST tapping the rounded part of the shell holder... It can work if I'm exaggeratedly slow on my movements, but a normal handle pull and release has them feed just crooked enough to lock everything up.
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Old November 18, 2012, 09:53 AM   #17
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Quote:
It seems that rajbcpa may have an agenda against the Hornady LNL
No, he has a thread about being I'll suited for progressives here that explaines about him having problems with a 550 too. Not picking on him but read the directions and you can get the Dillon and Hornady presses running fine, although the Hornady case feed can make you cuss.
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Old November 18, 2012, 11:18 AM   #18
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I've also posted many times how flawlessly my LNL has run. But I will say that I think the way the shellplate attaches to the base could be looked at by Hornady.

As those of you who own it know, it's attached by a large allen bolt in the center. This seems to allow a bit more "up" movement at the edges than I'd like- and this "play" sometimes allows the retainer spring to slip under the plate.

I replaced the small washer they provide with a large fender washer to apply downward pressure on the plate more evenly and that helped. Wondering if anyone else has noticed this, and if you've tried anything else to alleviate this...

It's not really a problem, just an area I'd like to improve on.
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Old November 18, 2012, 02:34 PM   #19
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great idea, never had the retainer spring slip under but have had mine work loose a couple of times causing binding. Think I might just toss a lock washer under there just to be safe
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Old November 18, 2012, 03:48 PM   #20
JimDandy
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I'm not sure I like the sound of a lock washer under there... maybe a plastic one, but even then it sounds like it would cause more issues than it fixes....
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Old November 19, 2012, 12:09 AM   #21
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Hey Jim Dandy! I just put mine together this weekend too. The case feeder was a pain in my butt. I was lucky that I had enough honey do projects that got me away from it to take a breather LOL.

On the positive side once I got it running I did a test run of 50 45acp rounds and it went flawlessly. Even pulled every other case to weigh the charge and I was +1 at the max with win 231.
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Old November 19, 2012, 12:15 AM   #22
thump_rrr
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Spray everything with Hornady one shot gun cleaner and dry lube.
It really makes a difference allowing everything to run smoothly.
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Old November 19, 2012, 12:33 AM   #23
JimDandy
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I got everything but the bullet feeder up and running, (and the oopsie I had) and that's all I wanted to get up... I want to hand feed bullets for a bit while I get used to know it and it's idiosynchrosies...

Unfortunately I can't run any rounds through without "Cheating" I didn't realize there wasn't a primer flip tray in the box, so my $1100 press is sitting there for want of a $6 piece of plastic, and free two day shipping Entertaining to me. Sure I could probably fake it with a Lee Autoprime I have, but I'm not in that much of a hurry. I'll get what I need, and do it "right" when I do it so it's the same habit over and over.
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Old November 19, 2012, 12:40 AM   #24
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I didn't get the bullet feeder and I'm not sure if I will. I like being able to check the case while I feed the bullet. Who knows that may change.

Also I couldn't run my case feeder yet. I'm waiting on the inserts to get here. Pay close to $300 for a piece of equipment and Hornady still wants you to spend another $35 per insert. Thats not cool at all.
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Old November 19, 2012, 12:41 AM   #25
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Yes Jim it does suck that they do not include a primer flip. I use the Lee to get them ready for the pickup tube.

I don't like picking up the primers in the tube at all! I can load and prime 30 cases using the lee auto prime in the time it takes to load a Hornady pickup tube! PITA!
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