First session with brand new Hornady progressive, some glitches

[Carrier]

What caliber are you loading and what size PTX? I load coated lead for 38/357 and the PTX is .358 and works great. No shaving or bulge.
You also might what to get a few lower activated case assemblies as they are cheap and make change over fast.

 

[cds43016]

What caliber are you loading and what size PTX? I load coated lead for 38/357 and the PTX is .358 and works great. No shaving or bulge.
You also might what to get a few lower activated case assemblies as they are cheap and make change over fast.

Loading 357 with coated lead with the .358 PTX expander.

 

[DRAINSMITH]

The highboy videos helped me too. My only problem is he has the eye of the chickenhawk and I have the eye of the chicken. That is why I made a toolkit to help me do my timing. (these damn bifocals)

Now as far as the PTX. Don't you dare give up. You don't want everyone to think an old wingnut can do it but a ground pounder can't do you? It took me a while too to get it perfect. But it was well worth the battle. My suggestion is to remove all of your dies and install the power measure in position 4, and time and tune it there. That way it can turn the hopper without hitting anything else. That will take a lot of frustration out of the process. Things work a lot better when we are calm and cool. Oh, remove all tools like hammers be for you start. And install a curse jar. And put a buck in for every bad word. You will now get a perfectly operation power measure and enough money to buy supplies.

 

[Carrier]

Loading 357 with coated lead with the .358 PTX expander.

If you get extra lower assemblies you will only have to set the PTX linkage up once. This is how I did it when I got my LNL. I got everything timed and running smooth and never used it for awhile. Sat down with the book and sacrificed a few cases and bullets until I got the linkage set just right. It works great now and I have lowers for every caliber I load for.
You don't have to buy lowers as I didn't for awhile but now I wouldn't be without them.

 

[cds43016]

I haven’t had a chance to set-up the PTX expander yet on my Hornady LNL press. I’m still expanding with a separate LEE Die.

I was loading today, and another problem occurred. The plastic hopper on the powder measure fell off while loading spilling a half a hopper’s worth of powder over the press, bench, and floor. What an expensive mess!

Two hours later after cleaning everything up, I looked at the measure and saw that the hopper is only press fit into the powder measure! Who designs things like this? First the Rube Goldberg PTX and now this!

I called Hornady and they are sending a new hopper. It was suggested that I take the current hopper and invert it and try that. It was also suggested that I apply silicone to the hopper to keep it tight. Why should I have to do any of this? Why isn’t the hopper threaded or retained by screws to keep it in place. At the very least, Hornady should have applied the silicone

I asked these questions and was given an answer that threads or screws can hold residual powder causing cross contamination when changing powders. How much cross contamination can that be? I know my press, bench and floor were cross contaminated! I’ve been loading since the late 60’s and never had anything like this happen before.

I just got back my LEE Auto Drum Powder Measure from LEE. It was damaged in a recent move and I sent it to LEE for repair. I installed it in the LEE Expansion Die and added the Lee Factory Crimp Die since I now had an extra die position. I adjusted the LEE Drum Powder Measure and remaining dies in less than 20 minutes. Back in business and set up the way I wanted initially. I think I will keep this set-up. Simple to adjust, just as accurate as the Hornady and takes up less landscape on the press.

The Hornady LNL AP has great potential. Hornady needs to work on some basic QC issues before sending a product out the door and if they do they will have an incredible product. Unfortunately, too many companies follow this pattern.

I wish I had used a cuss jar and put a buck in it every time I said or thought a cuss word. My wife and I would be going on a cruise!

 

[Carrier]

I have to agree with you on the powder measure hopper. It almost happened to me as well. Now I make sure it is in all the way before filling with powder and check while loading.
I'm either going to drill and tap a couple of holes with machine screws or just use some kind of tape to make sure its secure.
I really like my LNL and use my friends 650 often. I like the LNL for the simplicity of it however Hornady could have done a better job.
I don't know how much more in dollars it would have cost to fix many of the issues that many have had but I for one would pay 20 or 30 percent more if they would.
I've had very little issues with mine and it continues to produce excellent ammo which is on par or better than some my friend produces on his 650.

 

[DRAINSMITH]

When your bench is not solid it will shack, rattle and the hopper will roll. I have 9 power measures and none have had the hopper fall off. But my bench is mounted to the wall with 4 large "L" brackets. No movement at all with my bench.Here you can see one of my brackets

 

[cds43016]

I use an Inline Fabrication Ultramount to attach the press to the bench. Although I don’t have the bench mounted to the wall I do have several hundred pounds of lead and heavy tools holding it down. I can discern no appreciable movement. Of course, the measure has a lot of moving parts which can begin to loosen it through use.

I think what happens is that when you take the measure out to empty the powder after a loading session, it eventually works its way loose from handling. Also, it may have gotten loose after the initial cleaning. Either way it should not have happened and was unexpected. The design solutions are so simple.

 

[DRAINSMITH]

Here is how you test if your press has too much shake. Place a .223 piece of brass next to your dies and start loading if it tips over to much shake. I can place mine upside down and it won't tip.

 

[stu1ritter]

I have two LnL presses, one large, one small primer. I have had powder measure hopper problems to the point of sending one back to Hornady. They drilled the body and attached a new hopper with plastic pins. They also sent me two spare hoppers for my other press. Over time the solvents in the powders will attack the hopper at the bottom and cause shrinkage and the hoppers get loose. I do not leave powder in the hopper when I am not using the press. I usually only load 100-150 rounds as I have shoulder problems. I wish Hornady would make the hoppers out of a different material. I've learned to catch the hopper before it gets really loose and flip it over or replace it. I do love the presses though.

Stu

 

[DRAINSMITH]

What kind of power are you using? My main powers are CFE Pistol and Benchmark, and I leave it in the hoppers. I have not had any problem with is shrinking, or discoloring the hoppers.

 

[stu1ritter]

I use about everything for handguns. 4756, N320, Bullseye, N310, 2400, W231, CFE Pistol, #'s 2,5, and 7, on and on. Hornady told me not to leave powder in the hopper when I sent back the measure for the hopper mod. I told them I didn't. Only while actually loading. I just flipped the hopper a few weeks ago, it was shrinking and getting loose.

Stu

 

[cds43016]

I have two LnL presses, one large, one small primer. I have had powder measure hopper problems to the point of sending one back to Hornady. They drilled the body and attached a new hopper with plastic pins. They also sent me two spare hoppers for my other press. Over time the solvents in the powders will attack the hopper at the bottom and cause shrinkage and the hoppers get loose. I do not leave powder in the hopper when I am not using the press. I usually only load 100-150 rounds as I have shoulder problems. I wish Hornady would make the hoppers out of a different material. I've learned to catch the hopper before it gets really loose and flip it over or replace it. I do love the presses though.

Stu

I load the way you do. But for me I load 150-200 rounds at a time just to keep the mind from losing focus and getting careless.

Hornady did mention the shrinkage problem over time with certain powders attacking the plastic. I knew that this could not have been my problem since I had the press less than three weeks. Like you, I don’t leave the powder in the measure. I empty it after each session. I must have jarred it loose in handling. Generally, I wipe down the powder measure hopper before loading with a used dryer sheet to cut down static electricity. Maybe, I loosened it then. Still, it should not have come off.

I haven’t done the case test to check for bench movement but I’m sure my setup is very solid. Still, if it was loose it may not have taken very much to topple it with all that heavy moving metal perched high up on a pole. The Lee Drum Measure setup is considerably lighter and lower which should help with any small movement or vibration, if any.

Again, they know about these problems and do nothing. Why use a plastic as a container that is adversely affected by the very product it is designed to hold? Why not secure the hopper positively instead of relying on just friction? Why should I have to polish parts to assure reliable functioning? Makes no sense other than penny pinching. I agree with Carrier in that I would pay the extra 20-30% premium to have these problems solved. Things like this can be a real turn-off for someone new to the hobby. It can also be dangerous. Problems lead to mistakes and mistakes in reloading can be catastrophic.

No press is perfect whether they are painted red, blue, or green. Each has it pluses and minuses. I’m sure once I get through these teething problems I will have a first-class set-up that will more than meet my needs. But after cleaning spilled powder from my work area, I’m pretty perturbed about being Hornady’s QC. It was a mess!

 

[stu1ritter]

For those that might like to see the modification from Hornady, I just snapped a photo.

Stu

 

[cds43016]

For those that might like to see the modification from Hornady, I just snapped a photo.

Stu

So simple. How much could that add to the overall cost of the press? Frustrating!

 

[rsrocket1]

Good suggestions on this thread.
My single stage and LnL AP are rock solid on the bench but I took a slightly different approach.

For the LnL, I mounted it on a 2"x6" with carriage bolts and fender washers from the bottom. I routed a recess in the bottom with my Dremel tool so that it sits flush on the table (Half a Gorilla Rack from Costco bought in the 90's). The 2x6 extends the width of the bench to the wall and I used bookcase brackets anchored to the studs in the wall. This requires a lot less heft on the wall attachment because the distance from the front of the table to the wall is much greater than the distance from the front of the table to the downforce twisting of the press hanging over the edge of the table.

My Lee Breechlock Challenger press is mounted in a similar fashion but I only need a 2x4 for that mount.

When adjusting the pawls, make very small adjustments of 1/16th of a turn or less.

When the OP says the Lee dies take a lot of force to size/deprime a case, are you doing 9mm? That's a tapered case and many chambers are not tapered meaning you will need a lot of force to resize 9mm. Some advocate a misting of Hornady One Shot case lube on the cases. I just live with the fact that 9mm will be a lot tougher than true straight walled cases.

The hopper will get discolored over time. In 6+ years and over 60,000 rounds (almost all with pistol powder and a lot with high Nitroglycerin double base powder), my hopper is very smokey on the bottom half. I usually load only 100-200 rounds at a sitting and empty the hopper after each session so I never fill the hopper more than half way.

Recently, I used a rolled up overhead transparency sheet to line the inside of my hopper and while it may be too late to prevent the discoloration, it did add a bonus. I taped around the bottom of the hopper with transparent tape and what it did was make the fit of the hopper to the powder measure real tight. That will prevent the spill disasters experienced by some.

 

[sasu]

I have now made several hundred cartridges in 44 Magnum, 45 ACP and 45 Colt.

The primer feed has been trouble free except for the last primer. The primers feed perfectly without the plastic rod, i.e. on their own weight, except the last one which requires gentle encouragement with the plastic rod.

Yesterday I installed the powder through expander for 45 ACP. It is a nightmare to setup. To get proper belling and still have the powder measure rotor go all they way up is a wicked balancing act. To achieve it I had to move the collar on the powder measure as far as the PTX Powder Measure Stop adjustment screw allowed, and even then the belling is barely enough. I fear the day when I have to set it up for another caliber and possibly loose these 45 ACP settings I struggled with.

The Powder Cop die is nice, the one that shows the level of powder in a case with a white O-ring peeking out of the die. I use that and in addition I look into every case before putting a bullet on top. That results in double checking the powder level for each cartridge - I like that.

Two 45 ACP cases had the case mouth gouged in the powder through expander die, so bad that I had to discard the cases. Very odd, what could be causing that? I am using Hornady dies now.

One problem is my own fault. I have an office chair on wheels and it runs away when seating a primer so I have to hold on to the press when pushing the press handle for primer seating. Too lazy to change the chair yet.

 

[Jeff423]

Years ago, I bought a Hornady progressive press. After a week of tinkering and adjusting, I took the thing back to the gun shop where I bought it, plunked it down on the counter, and announced that I was returning it but did not want a refund -- I simply wanted to be rid of the cursed thing, and that anyone who thought they could do better was welcome to it.

Interesting thing was that despite this being a busy Saturday with 30 or so customers in the store, no one took me up on the offer.

I then bought a Dillon -- it worked first time, and works every time, with no exceptions and no apologies needed.

I had an almost identical experience. After 2-3 weeks of tinkering and multiple calls to Hornady I returned the press and bought a 650. Problem solved!

 

[Carrier]

I use an Inline Fabrication Ultramount to attach the press to the bench. Although I don’t have the bench mounted to the wall I do have several hundred pounds of lead and heavy tools holding it down. I can discern no appreciable movement. Of course, the measure has a lot of moving parts which can begin to loosen it through use.

I think what happens is that when you take the measure out to empty the powder after a loading session, it eventually works its way loose from handling. Also, it may have gotten loose after the initial cleaning. Either way it should not have happened and was unexpected. The design solutions are so simple.

I only take powder measure out to clean press or setting up dies if I have to. I use a powder drain insert Hornady Item #050125 to drain the powder.

 

[Carrier]

For those that might like to see the modification from Hornady, I just snapped a photo.

Stu

Did you send the measure to Hornady and they did it? Those look like dash or upholstery snaps.