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MartyZ

New Hornady LnL AP

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Ok all you Hornady LnL AP owners out there. My new press is coming in this week, all the new dies and shell plates already came in and waiting for the press. I have spent the last few weeks watching youtube videos on the press and believe it or not have a few questions. Not new to reloading, just new to the Hornady press.

First question. I know the dies have an anti corrosive coating and need to be cleaned, already done with one shot. But how about the shell plates, do they need to be cleaned out the box also?

Second question. Grease on the shell plates ball bearing and in the zerg fittings, everyone on youtube says general purpose grease, but what do you all recommend, ball bearing grease, Moly, Graphite, Lithium, etc...?

I'm sure I will have more questions once I start setting it up, but that is all for now.

 

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Yeah, clean everything with the black can of Hornady one shot. Grease is grease who gives a shit, grease it all up and it'll be good to go. Also put grease on that ball detent on the bottom of the shell plate and in a circle configuration around where it will ride on the Press.

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I have a tub of wheel bearing grease that I use to lube the shell plates --  just a small amount on my finger -- very small on the ball bearings is all I use -- clean, wipe down, re-grease with every caliber change

 

I only greased the zerks at set up --  don't overdo it -- no need for too much as everything will stick to it

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I also use brake clean to remove all trace of packing oil and use Amsoil Metal Protector on the bare metal parts.  Dry lube the dies.  Never a problem. Got to look into those mods though.  Time to warm up the 3D printer.

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Good luck Marty.

I got mine a couple of months ago and I'm really happy wit it.  Loaded over 1000 9mm so far and will be adding.45 acp next month.

Couple of observations from a noob:

- I added a lock-washer to hold the shell plate in place.  If the shell plate starts to come loose bad things can happen, so the lock washer keeps it in place nicely.

- Since it's new, you may notice some powder spilling when the cases index.  The ball bearings under the shellplate are so new that the cause a little "hop" and some powder can bump out of the filled cases.  I use my finger and add a little drag to the shellplate to help it ease into place.

- Make sure to clean and lube (with Oneshot) the primer feeding area.  I didn't do a great job at first so primers wouldn't consistently feed (resulting in powder going into un-primed cases!).  I cleaned it properly after that and there were no issues.

- If you use the Hornady 9mm combination seat/crimp die you may notices that it "grabs" just a tiny bit after it crimps.  Not a big deal, but some people don't like it and opt for a Lee crimp die instead.

 

I'm only a couple of months ahead of you so let me know if you have any questions that a noob might be able to address.

Enjoy!

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Yep, I saw the trick with the lock washer on youtube. The "grabbing" with the 9mm crimp is an issue with the lee die as well, believe me I know. The fix for that is one shot case lube, dries dry and is primer and powder safe. the issue is the the crimp dies on the inside are not perfectly smooth and need time to break in. As far as primer feeding goes, I saw a few youtube vids where the primer hole in the slide needs to be a little bit chamfered with fine sandpaper. I would not oil the priming system, unless using a primer safe dry lude, as it can affect the primers

I already cleaned all the dies with one shot gun cleaner and lube, will clean the shell plates and bushings today. Press is coming in tomorrow, I have 500 .45s waiting to be loaded. I like the case feed hacks, and will definately look into those once I get the case feed.

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I don't think anyone has mentioned it so I will.  Get extra primer tubes.  Refilling a primer tube really breaks the "flow" when making more than 100 rounds  at a time.  I usually will do 5-600 rounds at a time.

Also

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Automatic-Primer-Filler/dp/B00BQ6A3Y0

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I've got an old school vibraprime, they started making them again worth the money IMO. 

 

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/890424/frankford-arsenal-vibra-prime-automatic-primer-tube-filler

 

I'll have to try the bullet feeder fix. It appears to just be a 1/4" cable clamp and some 1/4" pex.

With teh case feeder, the biggest problem I have had is the casting that feeds and blocks cases falling won't ever stay tight. I cut myself a piece of angle iron, bolted it to the upright everything else is bolted to, and shimmed it with some washers. It keeps it from pushing up off the bolt. As far as I can tell from videos, that's still something they haven't fixed. 

Dunno if the rod that toggles that doohickey back and forth ships with the ball bearing everyone has in videos these days, but I made an angled delrin plug for mine. If it is jsut the chamfered open ended tube still, you need to do something about that, it will gouge a hole through the potmetal casting it pushes out of the way. 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, louu said:

@raz-0 are you talking about the bolt I'm pointing to in the picture? 

 

20171219_153411.jpg

No thats the cast doohickey that goes back and forth. Immediately to the left of your finger is the rod I talk about needing the ball bearing or something to not gouge the shit out of the doohickey.  The bolt I'm talking about is the one that goes through the red box tubing to hold the casting the the aforementioned rod passes through and to which the toggling doohickey is attached by a screw that backs out over time. 

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Marty did you get a light kit for it? I have this one and its good enough

https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-44660-Lock-N-Load-Light-Strip/dp/B00AU6C4X0/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513716097&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Hornady+light+kit

It's sticky on the back but not sticky enough so I had to use zip ties to help it out. Make it wrap around the top underneath and it lights up the powder pretty good. 

I just found out about this one, it looks awesome but if it comes unstuck that would suck http://kmssquared.com/ufo_h.html

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1 minute ago, louu said:

Marty did you get a light kit for it? I have this one and its good enough

https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-44660-Lock-N-Load-Light-Strip/dp/B00AU6C4X0/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513716097&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Hornady+light+kit

It's sticky on the back but not sticky enough so I had to use zip ties to help it out. Make it wrap around the top underneath and it lights up the powder pretty good. 

I just found out about this one, it looks awesome but if it comes unstuck that would suck http://kmssquared.com/ufo_h.html

Not yet, will be getting th inline fabrications lighting kit along with the ergo handle, but again, funds are low right now. I bought the press, shell plates and dies for 9mm. .45, .223. and .308, so the coffers are dry. Next purchase will be the lights and handle, will have to wait on the case feeder. I did get the bullet feeders for 9mm and .45 with the tubes, so I only have to feed cases for pistol for now. I might get the Mr. Bullet Feeder dies for rifle since hornady doesn't make rifle bullet feed dies that work with tubes only.

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18 minutes ago, raz-0 said:

No thats the cast doohickey that goes back and forth. Immediately to the left of your finger is the rod I talk about needing the ball bearing or something to not gouge the shit out of the doohickey.  The bolt I'm talking about is the one that goes through the red box tubing to hold the casting the the aforementioned rod passes through and to which the toggling doohickey is attached by a screw that backs out over time. 

I never had trouble with that bolt your talking about but at first I did notice a shit ton of flex on that cast part, I thought it was going to snap in half. It was because there was so much binding in the pivot block. I polished the bottom of the pivot block, the top of the stationary block and the ramp where the rod pushes up to a mirror and greased it up. Now it's super smooth and does not bend like it use to. 

For your shell shuttle isn't there a plastic insert inside that rides on the rod?

20171219_160032.jpg

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9 minutes ago, MartyZ said:

Not yet, will be getting th inline fabrications lighting kit along with the ergo handle, but again, funds are low right now. I bought the press, shell plates and dies for 9mm. .45, .223. and .308, so the coffers are dry. Next purchase will be the lights and handle, will have to wait on the case feeder. I did get the bullet feeders for 9mm and .45 with the tubes, so I only have to feed cases for pistol for now. I might get the Mr. Bullet Feeder dies for rifle since hornady doesn't make rifle bullet feed dies that work with tubes only.

I'll tell you from experience the Hornady bullet feeder dies are a real pain in the ass. By the time you load all the tubes you should just put the heads on by hand. Everyone gets their own system goin with this press, you can get a good rythum going just placing a head, load a case and pull the handle (the in line roller handle is awesome). Another thing I did was weld a pice of flat bar to the back of the tray holder so I can put another tray on the front for my heads. I also like placing heads by hand so I can look at the powder. With the case feeder you can really get rolling, all I do is pull the handle, look in the case and place the head.

20171219_161348.jpg

I forgot to say about the Hornady bullet feeder dies that they only work about 60% of the time. You constantly haVe to mess with them

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33 minutes ago, louu said:

Marty did you get a light kit for it? I have this one and its good enough

https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-44660-Lock-N-Load-Light-Strip/dp/B00AU6C4X0/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513716097&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Hornady+light+kit

It's sticky on the back but not sticky enough so I had to use zip ties to help it out. Make it wrap around the top underneath and it lights up the powder pretty good. 

I just found out about this one, it looks awesome but if it comes unstuck that would suck http://kmssquared.com/ufo_h.html

I went with this for a lighting kit.

https://inlinefabrication.com/products/skylight-led-lighting-system-for-the-hornady-lnl-ap Same idea as the one Lou posted.

I also got their ergo handle and the ultra mount as well.

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35 minutes ago, louu said:

I never had trouble with that bolt your talking about but at first I did notice a shit ton of flex on that cast part, I thought it was going to snap in half. It was because there was so much binding in the pivot block. I polished the bottom of the pivot block, the top of the stationary block and the ramp where the rod pushes up to a mirror and greased it up. Now it's super smooth and does not bend like it use to. 

For your shell shuttle isn't there a plastic insert inside that rides on the rod?

20171219_160032.jpg

NOt that, the adjustable plunger with the spring that move the cast toggle with a hole in it. The shell sled works fine unless the casting mounted to the frame that holds the drop tube gets loose. Which I have since limited to a maximum with said piece of angle iron. 

Also keep in mind my LNL AP with the case feeder has a serial number around 7500. I've had it since like 2003-2004. Something like that. Converted it from wire eject to ezject, etc. I also got one to dedicate to .223 last year which is in the 50,000s IIRC. 

The old one is also well past the 125k mark on loaded rounds. 

 

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2 hours ago, MartyZ said:

I bought the press, shell plates and dies for 9mm. .45, .223. and .308, so the coffers are dry...

I'm sure you already know about Hornady's free bullet offer, but just in case here's the link - https://www.hornady.com/corporate/promotions/get-loaded-2017

With the purchase of the press and dies you'll get 900 bullets.

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Just now, 124gr9mm said:

I'm sure you already know about Hornady's free bullet offer, but just in case here's the link - https://www.hornady.com/corporate/promotions/get-loaded-2017

With the purchase of the press and dies you'll get 900 bullets.

Yep, have the rebate forms already filledout, just waiting for the press to come in. Any experience with the .308 150 gr sp?

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8 minutes ago, MartyZ said:

Yep, have the rebate forms already filledout, just waiting for the press to come in. Any experience with the .308 150 gr sp?

Great!  Glad you're taking advantage.

Sorry, no experience with the .308 yet.

So far I've just shot the 115 gr 9mm XTP.  I usually shoot 124 grn FMJ, but I really like the XTP's...

 

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4 hours ago, raz-0 said:

No thats the cast doohickey that goes back and forth. Immediately to the left of your finger is the rod I talk about needing the ball bearing or something to not gouge the shit out of the doohickey.  The bolt I'm talking about is the one that goes through the red box tubing to hold the casting the the aforementioned rod passes through and to which the toggling doohickey is attached by a screw that backs out over time. 

Are those the technical names?

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17 hours ago, raz-0 said:

NOt that, the adjustable plunger with the spring that move the cast toggle with a hole in it. The shell sled works fine unless the casting mounted to the frame that holds the drop tube gets loose. Which I have since limited to a maximum with said piece of angle iron. 

Also keep in mind my LNL AP with the case feeder has a serial number around 7500. I've had it since like 2003-2004. Something like that. Converted it from wire eject to ezject, etc. I also got one to dedicate to .223 last year which is in the 50,000s IIRC. 

The old one is also well past the 125k mark on loaded rounds. 

 

Can you post a picture I'm dying to see that.

 

Matry, one thing you can do for now is use one of those one dollar led flashlights sitting on top of the hole in the middle works really nice for a temporary sky light. Also I have the bully adapter and the Lee 4 tube thing. If you get your bullet feed dies to work reliably I'll trade it or sell it to you if your interested. 

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1 hour ago, carl_g said:

is this what you are talking about?

38301042815_ef2858a04f_b.jpg

No Razzo said the bolt that holds that whole structure on through the square stock keeps loosening up and he used a piece of angle iron that holds it tight. Also something about the plunger loosening up and I'm a little confused.

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19 hours ago, MartyZ said:

Yep, have the rebate forms already filledout, just waiting for the press to come in. Any experience with the .308 150 gr sp?

The 308 loves the 150-155 grain bullet.  I'm assuming because you mentioned SP that you want a 308 not 7.62x51 round.  Good results can be had with several powders.  H4895, IMR4895, Varget, RL-15, W748, and CFE-223 all work very well. N-140 is awesome but is the most expensive of the bunch.  All of them starting in the low 40's will give you 2500FPS, YMMV.  Be careful when using mil brass those numbers go down a bunch due to case capacity,  Loving the 155BTHP Match for 308 and 30-06 at the moment better than the 168s.

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4 hours ago, louu said:

No Razzo said the bolt that holds that whole structure on through the square stock keeps loosening up and he used a piece of angle iron that holds it tight. Also something about the plunger loosening up and I'm a little confused.

Looking at the manual, it appears they changed things because as I pointed out to them on the tech line. Their design was shit. 

The pivot block sits on a hex nut head you can tighten down. That's it. in the old version. Now there is a cam block clamp that fits over it. I just got a piece of 1/8" thick angle iron lopped off a piece about 1.5" wide, clamped iot ot the tube and drilled through the whole shebang and bolted it in place. Since it wasn't perfectly square, it lifted up slightly and I shimmed with washers. 

Things on the current hornady lineup that end users fixed the stupid design. 

1) plastic primer rod. 

2) The turnbuckle for the powder drop. 

3) the cam block clamp. 

 

hornady_reinforcement.JPG

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