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I need to vent

6K views 40 replies 18 participants last post by  CBirnley 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm sure the Hornady Lock N Load progressive press will be a good one when all the problems get sorted out. In the mean time It's been a very frustrating experience.

When I first opened the box I saw that the plastic bracket that holds the primer cam arm was broken. Call Hornady and two new ones arrive in two days.

After getting the press mounted and starting to adjust the dies I notice the shell holder plate is not indexing correctly. It is about 1/8" off. Call Hornady and they walk me though the steps the make the adjustment. The plate now seems to index correctly. After about 15 or 20 strokes the adjustment is off again so I re-adjust.

Next is the primer feed issue. The plastic bracket that was replaced does not have enough travel in the adjustment slot to allow primers to load reliably. So I remove the bracket and cut the slot longer. That seems to cure the problem and primers are now feeding like they should.

I'm still trying confirm that primers are feeding when the shell holder plate stops indexing at all. Pull the arm up and down and the plate does not move. So I raise the plate and see that one of two indexing pawls has broken off - not the one I had been adjusting but the other one.

Now I'm dead in the water, but at least I can de-primer some cases and put put them in the tumbler. I instal the Lee "Guaranteed Unbreakable" universal decapping die and on the first stroke the die pin breaks off.

Thanks for letting me blow off a little steam - I feel better now and think I'll go take a nap.

P.S. I forgot the part about two grease zerks coming out. The press has three grease zerks and the instructions say to give each one or two shots of grease. Greased up the first with no problem. Gave the second zerk one shot and when I tried to pull the grease gun fitting off the zerk the zerk came out. Same thing happened with the third fitting - the zerk fitting came out with just my pulling the grease gun fitting.
 
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#27 ·
stev32k:

OK so your press is really screwed up. I say choose one:

1). Get them to email you a shipper (free shipping ) to send the whole press back to them for a real repair.

2). Pressure them to give you your money back and go buy a Dillion RL550B.

I think you are wasting reloading supplies and your time trying to get the press fixed via the telephone. I would have been making the above choice long ago. You gave it a good try but there is a point where retreat is a better option. They could lead you on for months and then refuse the take the press back because it is too "used". Avoid the middle men and talk directly to the service supervisor. Anyway that's my opinion, but I'm biased towards the Dillion press and service.

LDBennett
 
#28 ·
stev32k:

OK so your press is really screwed up. I say choose one:

1). Get them to email you a shipper (free shipping ) to send the whole press back to them for a real repair.

2). Pressure them to give you your money back and go buy a Dillion RL550B.

I think you are wasting reloading supplies and your time trying to get the press fixed via the telephone. I would have been making the above choice long ago. You gave it a good try but there is a point where retreat is a better option. They could lead you on for months and then refuse the take the press back because it is too "used". Avoid the middle men and talk directly to the service supervisor. Anyway that's my opinion, but I'm biased towards the Dillion press and service.

LDBennett
Yeah, it's going back. They want me to try some new adjustment screws and if they don't work I'm going to pack it up and ship it back.

I've had PM discussions with two guys on other forums and they both had to ship their LNL back for the same reason - would not hold adjustment.

Here's what can happen on the up stroke if I don't watch carefully. (sorry about the focus)
 

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#30 ·
All of this is the result of a press with auto indexing. I have had three progressive presses with auto indexing (Older Hornady shotgun press, Dillion SQ Deal, and LEE 1000) and each was to some degree of a nightmare when they screwed up. Auto indexing is a waste. I can operate my Dillion RL550B without auto indexing nearly as fast as any of these auto indexing presses.

Several things happen with the auto indexers. The action is usually abrupt which can throw powder out of a case moving from the powder station to the bullet seating station. The indexing can be less than perfect causing the die to not be in alignment with the case or the primer system to screw up because the case is not in alignment with the primer system. When the table/shell holder is moved by hand you can control it to keep the motion smooth and get it locked into alignment perfectly.

Then when it does screwup you got powder all over the press and down in the workings of the press (auto indexing mechanism). This requires clearing the press to clean the powder out. Sometimes you have to take the press apart to get all the dumped powder out of it. Now, how does that save time when reloading?

This thread is the first one I have seen that shows that the Hornady LNL progressive press is not the reliable press that you get with the Dillion RL550B. Funny how others have had similar problems with the Hornady LNL and not mentioned it before(??). Some come here to argue that the Dillion RL550B is over priced and has fewer features than the Hornady LNL progressive press. Well you guys can keep your Hornady press with its auto indexing if this thread is indicative of it. While the Dillion is not perfect it is not this imperfect. Based on this thread the Hornady press design is very suspect (6 broken pawls for the auto indexing before the poster dumped the press entirely!). There is something to be said for the Dillion design which is over 30 years old, has been evolutionarily updated along the way, has an excellent reputation overall, and changed the way service is done across the entire industry. Its continued popularity must say something (??).

LDBennett
 
#31 ·
My Lee Classic turret also auto-indexes and honestly simply works each time, every time, thousands of rounds later and I still am using the original plastic ratchet. I know and respect that some folks have a much different experience and that gives them a negative bias.

I have NO idea how many of the problems this thread expounds are machine design/manufacturing QA failure induced or are a result of understandable pilot error from a newcomer to reloading starting out complex. There IS a lot going on at once with a progressive and each step must be aligned correctly.

I agree that if Hornady can't make it right, then perhaps the OP needs to try a different machine? Reloading is 'supposed' to be a fun, relaxing and rewarding hobby, and for most of us it is. Here's hoping things get straightened out in a satisfactory manner for stev32k.
 
#33 ·
Dillon's are great, but I don't own one.
I have the Lee's (two of them) and they work fine for me.
My advise is that if one is NOT mechanically inclined, avoid the LEE, it can be a challange.
I am mechanically inclined, and I can make a Lee progressive sing.
But it can be a hassle.
I personnaly feel ALL progresives need a thoughtful, patient appoach.
Read the manual, then read it again.
 
#35 ·
Dillon's are great, but I don't own one.
I have the Lee's (two of them) and they work fine for me.
My advise is that if one is NOT mechanically inclined, avoid the LEE, it can be a challange.
I am mechanically inclined, and I can make a Lee progressive sing.
But it can be a hassle.
I personnaly feel ALL progresives need a thoughtful, patient appoach.
Read the manual, then read it again.
:yeahthat:

Well said, and there is certainly valueable lessons learned when a reloaders first experience is with single stage reloading. The overwhelming positve feedback the LNL AP has generated in the reloading community leads me to think that the negatives are typically generated by inexperienced reloaders. BTW did anyone recieve the lates flyer from Grafs? The Dillon 550B is on sale for LESS than the LNL AP, looks like Dillon is throwing the next marketing punch, I'd love to get a 550B right next to the LNL AP.
 
#36 ·
It still could be user error but both stev32 and RAJBCPA appear to be mechanically inclined. Look again at the list of problem RAJBCPA had before dumping the hornady LNL progressive press:


1. Ez-eject system locks up and often throws completed cases high to the right....
2. primer system is horrible, constantly jamming
3. Sliding primer bar fails to pick up primers
4. primer guide rod pulls out of the retaining cup at the bottom of press
5. the holes drilled in the press are mis-aligned....none of the 4 calipers I load aligned cases correctly in Station 1. You needed to use your hand to position the case under the sizing die. locking down the die with a case in the die in Station 1 is no help.
6. the indexing pawls cannot be adjusted to advance the shell plate correctly
7. there is no way to reliably replace broken indexing pawls; they don't come out of the press.
8. the lock-n-load bushings need vice grips to remove and replace dies
9. the L-N-L bushings release on their own during operation of the powder measure station
10 The case retaining spring tears up and breaks

He broke 6 pawls used in the auto advance mechanism. stev32k is also having problems with those advancing pawls.

Has Hornady let down its quality control guard? Is the design bad and people have just been putting up with the press because they have so much invested in it?

I don't applaud anyone having trouble with any reloading equipment and I hope stev32k gets his fixed but if he doesn't then it is money back time and move on (perhaps to the Dillion RL550B??).

LDBennett
 
#37 ·
just got the graffs flyer today.. havn't even looked it over yet.

what I'd like to get is one of those lee hand presses.. so on lon trips when the wife is driving I can be usefull.. ;) and not be bored to tears listening to her audiobooks on cd...
 
#38 ·
My LNL setup and operated correctly first time out. This may be because I resize on a single stage press first. I have always hand primed and don't mind spending the time to do it. This is a hobby for me and I find it enjoyable. The only trouble I had was when I decided to drop powder and expand the case in the same station. I ordered the powderfunnels expander but could not get it set up properly. I then went to Hornadys ptx expander and finally got it working right. Now I can use my powder cop and bullet feeder and the only thing I have to do is watch the powder cop and place cases in the press. I have only loaded a couple hundred rounds so far but have not had any trouble with indexing, etc. Again, this maybe because I eliminate the primer feed and hand prime all my cases. I am happy with my setup, but I may get a Dillon down the road just to see what they have to offer. I can afford to do this so why not.

Jim
 
#39 ·
When you have to short circuit any part of the reloading process to use a progressive press to get acceptable result, there is something wrong with the tool. I reload totally and fully progressive on my Dillion. I don't have a bullet feeder or case feeder or even auto indexing and I think that the key to a reliable progressive reloading machine in the price class of the HORNADY Progressive LNL and the Dillion RL550B presses.

But we all get to choose our frustration level.

LDBennett
 
#40 ·
Mine is boxed up and on it's way back to Hornady. Even with all the problems I've had I'm not ready to give up. There are too many LNLs out there that are problem free and working well. Something is just not right with mine and I believe (hope) Hornady can fix the problem.

When mine works it works well. It's fast and accurate, but it just won't hold alignment. After alignment about 10 cases will cycle before they start hitting the side of the sizing die and primers won't feed

One thing that I am really impressed with is the powder measure. It is dead on every time. I've measured and tracked the variation between charges and it maintains the charge +/- .02 grains for an average error of less than 0.1% that is pretty darn good.

I've had very good service from Hornady. When I've called them the parts usually arrive in two days and there has never been any hassle at all. The press and dies came with coupons good for 700 bullets. It said to allow 6 - 8 weeks for delivery, but they showed up on my doorstep in 9 days.
 
#41 ·
While I don't have a ton of experience with my LNL, I do not have any complaints. I will say that the primer loading slide took some adjusting, however, I chalk it up to operator error and inexperience. When I needed parts the Hornady folks had them in my hands within two days. They even replaced a few parts that broke bc of my actions. I would suggest their product to anyone looking at getting a progressive. Best of Luck!
 
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