redcar
Member
Anyone know how to time the hornady lnl ap? It works fine for 38 and 357 but 44 and 45 it jams. I wrote hornady but the process seems cumbersome.
timing in the honady lnl ap
- Thread starter redcar
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Jboutfishn
Member
If the LnL works with a 38/357 I don't think timing is an issue. Try this link to understanding and adjusting the pawls.
THR - View Single Post - Hornady LnL AP case feeder - cases tipping
THR - View Single Post - Hornady LnL AP case feeder - cases tipping
Pocketfisherman
Member
Try Hornady One Shot cleaner/lube on the bottom of the shell plate before you install it. Clean the baseplate well before you apply the lube.
THEWELSHM
Member
Also get a split washer and put it between the allen bolt and washer, which holds the shell plate in place. just cinch it up hand tight, it stops the plate coming loose and keeps a little constant pressure on it
thewelshm
thewelshm
trophyhunter
Member
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OP, check all your die bushings first for lug wear and proper seating all the way in first to rule out any issues there.
The smaller calibers will sometimes mask a pawl adjustment problem as the smaller dies are more prone to align themselves when a case enters slightly off center using a smaller diameter shell plate and casing. It's a tolerance issue with the subplate detent holes that allows for a little more *wiggle* room and you have to tackle the adjustment process to get it running right.
I had one that required constant adjustment until the pawls wore enough to the point where they finally ran pretty smooth after about 5K rounds loading both .45acp and 9mm.
If the adjustment is off just a little bit the larger 44-.45 cal hole isn't as forgiving when a case enters the sizing die and you get stoppages.
Tweak each of the advance pawls just a little bit at a time using the largest caliber shell plate you have on hand and your smaller calibers should work fine when you change up your loads.
You'll know when it's dialed in right as the forward motion of the shell plate will carry it into the spring loaded detent and snap rigidly into place and stay there without the plate continuing to move in either direction as you reach the end of the stroke.
If you find that you have the adjustments timed properly with the shell plate detent balls going home properly and you still have issues with cases hanging up entering the sizing die call Hornady and ask them to pick the press and your shell plates up and fix it on their dime.
Short of a bushing being loose or worn / out of spec overhead with a die in it you'll go crazy trying to remedy one of their bad sub plates that is out of spec for the ball detent holes.
The smaller calibers will sometimes mask a pawl adjustment problem as the smaller dies are more prone to align themselves when a case enters slightly off center using a smaller diameter shell plate and casing. It's a tolerance issue with the subplate detent holes that allows for a little more *wiggle* room and you have to tackle the adjustment process to get it running right.
I had one that required constant adjustment until the pawls wore enough to the point where they finally ran pretty smooth after about 5K rounds loading both .45acp and 9mm.
If the adjustment is off just a little bit the larger 44-.45 cal hole isn't as forgiving when a case enters the sizing die and you get stoppages.
Tweak each of the advance pawls just a little bit at a time using the largest caliber shell plate you have on hand and your smaller calibers should work fine when you change up your loads.
You'll know when it's dialed in right as the forward motion of the shell plate will carry it into the spring loaded detent and snap rigidly into place and stay there without the plate continuing to move in either direction as you reach the end of the stroke.
If you find that you have the adjustments timed properly with the shell plate detent balls going home properly and you still have issues with cases hanging up entering the sizing die call Hornady and ask them to pick the press and your shell plates up and fix it on their dime.
Short of a bushing being loose or worn / out of spec overhead with a die in it you'll go crazy trying to remedy one of their bad sub plates that is out of spec for the ball detent holes.
Moonman
Member
redcar,
Take a trip over to,
TheFirearmsForum.com
go to sub forum
AMMO & RELOADING
look for the STICKY about the Hornady LNL-AP
76Highboy AKA Bill Morgan or Jim, has a video series on the press
HORNADY LNL-AP SET-UP HINTS AND TRICKS.
Well worth the time to watch.
Take a trip over to,
TheFirearmsForum.com
go to sub forum
AMMO & RELOADING
look for the STICKY about the Hornady LNL-AP
76Highboy AKA Bill Morgan or Jim, has a video series on the press
HORNADY LNL-AP SET-UP HINTS AND TRICKS.
Well worth the time to watch.
Twoboxer
Member
Please define "jams". Are you talking about the pawls jamming, or a case jamming in one of the dies (which one?), or a primer jam, or . . .
The manual (available online) describes the pawl adjustment procedure. There are numerous descriptions with pictures online that might be clearer.
There is a default factory setting you reach by tightenig the screws, then opening them a number of turns. I'm not sure about the number of turns so I'm not putting it here. I tried to google it but got tired searching for it.
A call to Hornady while you are at the press is better than writing to them.
THEWELSHM
Member
Like most presses out the box it's like a relationship once you get used to each other you will definitely fall in love
Thewelshm
dickttx
Member
Moonman, appreciate the videos referenced.
I have had my press about a year and a half and loaded 10/15K of 45 ACP and 38 Super. I have been having more and more trouble with it lining up to seat primers. Not so bad with 45 but when I set it back up for Supers a week or so ago it was consistently off, sometimes the shellholder had to be hand advanced to the right almost half the width of the shellholder slot.
I had never messed with the timing and since speed is not really a consideration for me I just kind of accepted the way it was doing.
But a couple of days ago I got out my instructions, downloaded a copy of the current manual and found a saved file of a forum posted who had included drawings. His were the best, and even when I started out adjusting the wrong way, I soon had them feeding smoothly. I have since loaded a couple of hundred rounds of Supers without a single hand adjustment.
Now I know that I won't have to put up with that anymore.
What I am curious about is whether it will also be spot on when I go back to 45's.
I have had my press about a year and a half and loaded 10/15K of 45 ACP and 38 Super. I have been having more and more trouble with it lining up to seat primers. Not so bad with 45 but when I set it back up for Supers a week or so ago it was consistently off, sometimes the shellholder had to be hand advanced to the right almost half the width of the shellholder slot.
I had never messed with the timing and since speed is not really a consideration for me I just kind of accepted the way it was doing.
But a couple of days ago I got out my instructions, downloaded a copy of the current manual and found a saved file of a forum posted who had included drawings. His were the best, and even when I started out adjusting the wrong way, I soon had them feeding smoothly. I have since loaded a couple of hundred rounds of Supers without a single hand adjustment.
Now I know that I won't have to put up with that anymore.
What I am curious about is whether it will also be spot on when I go back to 45's.
For reasons I've never understood, adjusting the pawls on the LnL AP has taken on the reputation of being equivalent to do-it-yourself brain surgery. As you found out, it's really pretty simple. I find I need to tweak mine from time to time, and I can never remember which pawl controls which part of the advancement cycle or which way you turn the screw adjustment to do what. I just watch everything work for a couple of times and what needs to be done becomes obvious. I probably spend more time looking for the right size allen wrench.
It jams up on ejecting the round when I do 45s or 44s. I have adjusted the pawls untill I was blue in the face. I emailed hornady and they said to sand the plate with some 600 grit on the edges and the base or try timing. I greased the balls under the plate and used some case lube but still no good. So going to try sanding today but I did see that their shellplates are being sold as "improved plates"... am I missing something?
Hairtrigger
Member
76Highboy has several great videos on youtube
Hornady LNL AP Press Set Up Hints and Tricks, Part 1 - YouTube
If the jam occurs because a finished round doesn't eject, the pawls can't do anything to help that. If the pawls are rotating the shell plate enough so the balls drop into their detents on the base plate, they're doing their job correctly - if you need to move the shellplate a little by hand to get it into the correct position that's what indicates a need to adjust the pawls.
I'm assuming you have the newer (not so new any more) EZject design rather than the wire? If it's the older model with the wire I'd recommend spending the money to upgrade to EZject - I was never, ever able to get the wire to work properly. So if you have the EZject, what shellplate are you using for .45 ACP (not sure if by "45" you meant .45 ACP or .45 Colt). They originally only had the #1 shellplate for .45 ACP and it was prone to jams on ejection, so now they recommend the #45. I've only ever had the #1 and it works OK for me, but apparently others have solved their problems by going to the #45. There's only the one shellplate for .45 Colt and I've never had any problems with mine.
Failing all of that, the solution is probably polishing of the notches in the shellplate where the brass fits, or the little nub that ejects the shell, or both. I've never had to do that so can't be more specific, but I'm sure others here could tell you exactly where to polish.
One other thought - are you sure it's the ejection that's causing the jam? Many of us have had jams due to the primer not getting pushed out enough at the sizing/depriming station or the old primer sticking on the pin and getting pulled back up into the hole, which was my problem with some dies. The solution was to polish the end of the depriming pin.
I'm assuming you have the newer (not so new any more) EZject design rather than the wire? If it's the older model with the wire I'd recommend spending the money to upgrade to EZject - I was never, ever able to get the wire to work properly. So if you have the EZject, what shellplate are you using for .45 ACP (not sure if by "45" you meant .45 ACP or .45 Colt). They originally only had the #1 shellplate for .45 ACP and it was prone to jams on ejection, so now they recommend the #45. I've only ever had the #1 and it works OK for me, but apparently others have solved their problems by going to the #45. There's only the one shellplate for .45 Colt and I've never had any problems with mine.
Failing all of that, the solution is probably polishing of the notches in the shellplate where the brass fits, or the little nub that ejects the shell, or both. I've never had to do that so can't be more specific, but I'm sure others here could tell you exactly where to polish.
One other thought - are you sure it's the ejection that's causing the jam? Many of us have had jams due to the primer not getting pushed out enough at the sizing/depriming station or the old primer sticking on the pin and getting pulled back up into the hole, which was my problem with some dies. The solution was to polish the end of the depriming pin.
THEWELSHM
Member
personally I would strip down the press and start from scratch per Highboy videos on youtube. You will find that this will take care of all your issues. Been there done that. Plus you get a great understanding of what it takes to keep these presses running to a tee.My 02
thewelshm
thewelshm
All my 45acp brass is deprimed before I put them in the press. Its the ezject newer model I have had for a couple yrs now. I have the 45 colt plate also so maybe I will try that but I had the same problems when I did 44mag. I will take a look at that site and see if I can make sense of whats going on. Thanks everyone for your help and I am trying it all.
Moonman
Member
redcar,
Spend some time watching 76Highboys (AKA Bill Morgan) or Jim's
great video series.
The PRESS is not ROCKET SCIENCE but if you don't understand everything and there relationships,
it just might as well be.
His video series will ENHANCE YOUR RELOADING EXPERIENCE, I guarantee it.
Get a pot of coffee or a glass of great sippin' whisky, set a spell,
and watch ole' 76Highboy unravel some issues for you.
Spend some time watching 76Highboys (AKA Bill Morgan) or Jim's
great video series.
The PRESS is not ROCKET SCIENCE but if you don't understand everything and there relationships,
it just might as well be.
His video series will ENHANCE YOUR RELOADING EXPERIENCE, I guarantee it.
Get a pot of coffee or a glass of great sippin' whisky, set a spell,
and watch ole' 76Highboy unravel some issues for you.
Moonman
Member
76Highboy should be HIRED by HORNADY to do their VIDEOS EXPLAINING
Presses and Reloading Instructions in general.
His easy going and down to earth style is just GREAT STUFF.
HORNADY LNL-AP SET-UP HINTS AND TRICKS video series is the Bees Knees fellas. Just Google for it and see.
Presses and Reloading Instructions in general.
His easy going and down to earth style is just GREAT STUFF.
HORNADY LNL-AP SET-UP HINTS AND TRICKS video series is the Bees Knees fellas. Just Google for it and see.
