Hornady LNL Pretty Good but...

[SwampYankee]

My wife bought me a Hornady LNL, as I requested, for Christmas. I've got it set up to do .38 Special and it works very well, I'm pretty pleased. There are a couple issues however.

1. It indexes Ok, but only on 5 of the 6 shell plate stations. On the 6th station, it is ALWAYS behind on the upstroke. It is the same position on the shell plate every time. If I push it, the ball clicks into the detent. I have not tried another shell plate so I'm not sure if it is the plate or the subplate. I don't think adjusting the pawls will help so I'm not sure how to fix it. I've added grease, removed grease, tightened the nut, loosened the nut, etc.

2. The powder drop is a little inaccurate. I set it for 4.7 grains (using the pistol rotor) and after about 25 rounds it had migrated to 4.8. After about 200 rounds it was up to 4.9, I'm using Unique. It's not a huge difference, 4.9 is still well within +p but I'm not sure why it's moving. I degreased everything with mineral spirits.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

[Waldog]

There are only 5 stations on the LNL. The shell plate only has 5 stations for cases. Sound like an indexing problem that is very easy to fix. I think there is a video on the Hornady website or here: http://ultimatereloader.com/?p=453 that would show how to adjust the indexing.

As far as the powder measure goes, the powder will settle as you use it and will ultimately change the charge a little. When you start to reload, pour your powder in and fill it to the top. I then "tap" the sides of the measure about 15-20 times to settle the powder. I then take my sizing die and bullet seat die off and run 20 fired cases thru the press. I dump the powder of those 20 cases back into the powder reservoir. NOW, i check my powder charge against my powder scale. With pistol powder I never get more than .1 variation. That is the best you will ever get with a powder measure unless you weigh every charge. Always keep you powder reservoir at least 1/2 full at all times. A powder baffle helps also. Sinclair makes a baffle that works with a little bending.

[Crashbox]

How did you get a six-station LNL? I want one of those!!!

I had a slight issue with the timing on mine when I got it and I had to adjust both pawls, one at a time. It sounds to me like the right-side pawl needs some slight adjustment. I only turned mine one-sixth of a turn at a time, they ARE touchy.

It is possible you have an out-of-spec shellplate as you hinted.

Additionally, I also had metering issues with my powder drop- it took about 300 loads before becoming consistent. At first I had it set to drop 7.1 grains of TiteGroup but near the 100th round it was up to 7.3 grains... it's fine now. The powder drops do seem to need to "break in"; I've heard it from others. Using a dryer anti-static softener sheet rubbed on the outside of the powder drop may also help with consistency.

Just my pair of Lincoln coins, YMMV.

[stump shooter]

I don't own a LNL but in regard to the Unique, it is difficult to meter well. It takes a little extra time, but dial in for your charge and throw/weigh every few. Dial your meter down to allow no more than the max allowable charge you can accept.
If you are looking for a charge of 4.7, but are getting too many 4.9 charges you might want lower your target charge so that it will not throw more than a maximum allowable charge. Find a happy medium that you're comfortable with, if you are getting a high average of +.2 grain, maybe go for a max average of 4.7-4.8 gn., possibly averaging 4.6 gn +/-
It helps to perform an extra tap home on the upstroke (bench mounted measure) and repeat consistently. I'm not sure what kind of extra tap/knock you can acheive with a progressive though.

[Dodge DeBoulet]

My tribulations for my recently-obtained (early Christmas present) Hornady LNL AP can be found here.

In my case, the failure to click to the next detente was causing primer insertion problems. My fix was actually implemented by adjusting the left pawl, which indexes the shellplate on the downstroke of the ram (bringing the handle to the "up" position).

If your problem happens on the ram's upstroke (pulling the handle down), then you'll need to adjust the right pawl.

Regarding the powder drop: You did install the baffle, right?

[Longdayjake]

I had this problem yesterday. The tip of one of my pawls broke off and I had to adjust it a little to get it to properly index again. Mine was the left side.

[SwampYankee]

Sorry, 5 not 6 stations!

Yes, I installed the powder baffle. Hopefully it will break in, my only other powder dropper is a RCBS Uniflow II that is about 30 years old. I inherited it and only have a standard sized rotor for it but it is always within 0.1 grains- even with Unique. Hopefully time will have an effect, I'll try the dryer sheet in the meantime.

I'll try adjusting the pawls, the instructions say you should never have to do it which made me hesitant to do it, but I will give it a try.

Thanks!

[Shane Tuttle]

I'll try adjusting the pawls, the instructions say you should never have to do it which made me hesitant to do it, but I will give it a try.

IIRC, it says it should be set from the factory, but there's instructions on how to adjust. MAKE MINUTE ADJUSTMENTS.

I NEVER had luck with Unique or Universal powders metering in any of my powder measures more less the Hornady. Did you prep the powder measure before using?

[NESHOOTER]

I gifted myself a LNL for christmas I'll see how it does when in assemble it and mount it....

[DEDON45]

If you are truly having problems with only one station of the 5 on your shellplate (mark it), and a minute adjustment of the pawls doesn't fix things, try another shellplate; if it indexes properly, you may have somehow gotten a shellplate with a misplaced detent ball, but I think that's not the case, as that probably would affect indexing on all stations.

As to the powder measure, make sure the adjustment screw isn't moving around; the adjustment on the micrometer adjustment insert on mine floated around a little bit until I tightened down the allen screw in it. And... it's not unusual to get about .1 grain of variation.

[Rod38um]

Sounds like you may still have packing grease in your powder measure. Did you disassemble it and clean it out with Hornady one shot?

[Dodge DeBoulet]

Originally Posted by DEDON45

If you are truly having problems with only one station of the 5 on your shellplate (mark it), and a minute adjustment of the pawls doesn't fix things, try another shellplate; if it indexes properly, you may have somehow gotten a shellplate with a misplaced detent ball, but I think that's not the case, as that probably would affect indexing on all stations.

This was one of the initial problems I experienced with my LNL AP, and adjusting the pawl (left, in my case) fixed it. The shell plate would index correctly for all but one orientation, and that happened 70-80% of the time. It's a machining issue with either the shell plate or the indexing gear, but not one so severe that pawl adjustment wouldn't fix it (and if it doesn't, Hornady will certainly take care of it).

[wncchester]

Am I mistaken or are the "LnL" and "LnL AP" not vastly different tools?

[mongoose33]

Am I mistaken or are the "LnL" and "LnL AP" not vastly different tools?

No, you're not mistaken--the LnL AP stands for the Lock 'n' Load Auto Progressive press.

Sometimes people abbreviate that with just the LnL acronym, but in fact Hornady offers a single-stage press called the Lock n Load Single Stage Classic.

Both types of presses feature the Lock 'n' Load die bushings that allow for changing of dies with just a twist of the bushing.

The Lee Classic Cast press will accommodate the LnL bushings with a conversion insert that costs $10; I just bought one because I have the LnL AP and want the ability to use the single-stage with the bushings, but the Lee is much less expensive and still gets excellent reviews.

[Shane Tuttle]

There are different models of Lock N Loads. But with his despription of the multiple stations I'm presuming he has the AP (Auto Progressive). They do have the newer AP out which has the EZJect subplate instead of the wire ejector style. However, the base of the unit is the same...pawls and all.

[Shane Tuttle]

I just bought one because I have the LnL AP and want the ability to use the single-stage with the bushings, but the Lee is much less expensive and still gets excellent reviews.

I concur with that if you're still talking about the Classic Cast. IMO, it's quite the underrated press. Probably because it says "Lee" on it.

[Randy 1911]

I am one more to join the club. When I got my LnL AP I had to adjust the pawls. I know it says you shouldn't have to adjust them, but I have heard of a lot of people having to do it.

As far as the powder measure goes. You need to spray the powder drop tube (the part that goes inside the lower powder die) with Hornadty One Shot. Besides being a degreaser, it is also a dry lube.

[SwampYankee]

Well, I adjusted the pawls last night and it worked! It took a good deal of turning (3/4 of a full turn) to get it to run properly so I'm guessing I'll probably have to readjust when I change shell plates.

I tightened down the powder dropper screw and will see if that helps. It was thoroughly degreased with mineral spirits when I set it up and I even ran a brush through it to clean it out. I'll try the antistatic sheet today and get some dry lube ordered.

[Waldog]

If you've got the indexing set properly you won't have to change it when you change shell plates. It should be "dead on" with any shell plate.
However, if you "chip or nick" the tip of one of the pawls, you will need a re-adjustment. Otherwise it should be set.

Thoroughly lube the powder measure rotor with graphite!! Get a powder baffle. I mentioned Sinclair before. They have one that costs about $3-$4. It's not a perfect fit but, you can bend the baffle for a snug fit and it works perfectly. Keep you powder measure at least 1/2 full at all time while loading.

GENERALLY speaking, the best accuracy you will get with any powder measure, DEPENDING ON THE POWDER TYPE, is +/- .01 gr. This is with a fine grain pistol powder. Coarse rifle powder like IMR 4895, 4350, etc. will have accuracy within +/- .3 or even .4 gr.

Plus or minus .01 gr is WELL within acceptable limits with pistol ammo. Factory ammo is not even that close!!

[Shane Tuttle]

You can also get the pistol metering insert as well. This will help in the consistency department if you don't want to change powders.