So I've had my LNL AP for about 2 years now. During the first year I had so many problems I didn't really use it at all. I've got every bell and whistle you can have on it except for the bullet feeder. I spend more time trying to fix it and get parts out of Hornady than I spend reloading. So far I've done about 20k 9mm and 6k .45 ACP. I'm finishing up another 5k 9mm right now and it's getting painful.
There are times when the stars align and i can run about 800 an hour through the press and there are times when it's only about 150 an hour and the rest of the time fixing shit. Here's are my current problems and what if any fixes I've tried to correct them. Please let me know if you've had any of these issues and what you can suggest.
1. 9mm cases get hung up between the case feeder plate and the bowel before they drop into the tube and lock up the plate. This happens several times per 100 cases. I've talked to an engineer at Hornady and besides removing the metal adjustment spacer on the bowel, his only statement was that it shouldn't be happening. The case feeder has been back once already.
2. When the cases drop onto the shuttle guide they bounce off the guide and fall off the press. We have tried adjusting the guide wire up down and all around without results. Then we made a guard that is taped to the drop tube that extends down to right in front of the shuttle to keep them on the track and that helps, but does not always work.
3. Old primers are not falling free from the cases when decapped. I've adjusted the decaping pin all the way down, all the way up and it does not change the issue. I'm thinking that come of the cases are holding onto the primers so tight that the decapping pin is making a dent in the bottom of the primer and get stuck on the decap pin, then the primer gets pulled back into the case by the pin on it's way back up and get lodged back into the primer hole and stops the press from advancing. I've tried several decapping pins, I've chamfered the drop hole and polished the radius of the hole. I don't believe it's an obstruction in the drop hole that's causing the issue.
4. The timing on the shell plate requires adjustment about ever 100 rounds. The screws do not keep it adjusted correctly and that is causing all kinds of problems at random times. It always seems to be the right paw that is backing out and throwing off the timing. There is also a sticking point about halfway through the ram's movement that I'm not sure about. It's seen plenty of grease without improvement.
We're about to move to .223 reloading and we'll be doing all the case prep on this press with the dillon power trimmer and full length dies. I'm sure that's going to turn into a total cluster and I'll want to throw the whole thing in the trash.
So I'm looking for input from those who may have had these issues with their LNL press and how they fixed them. I'm also interested if anyone has ever sent an entire press back to Hornady for an overhaul and what that experience was like for them. Did their issues get fixed? How long did it take to get the new or refurb press? Does anyone know if there are any big design changes that have happened in the last 18 months to the LNL press? I already have the newer one with the updated case ejector.
I am not looking to be told to just buy a Dillon. I've already come to the decision that I should have bought a 650XL to start with, but I'm well over a grand into the LNL for all the accessories and extras so I'm hoping to not have to junk it and start over with a Dillon.
Thanks in advance for any productive advice. Links to videos on tips or tricks for this press would be appreciated.
Bookmarks